You need money so you look for a job. The only job available is at a retail store making minimum wage ($7.25 per hour) working 40hrs a week. You will be bringing home $290 per week before taxes, before you put gas in your car to get to work, and before any other work related expenses you have to pay.
Once you get the job you will be given job requirements. Possibly the following: ringing people up at the register, cleaning the floors, up-selling merchandise and driving sales, processing credit card orders, stocking shelves and racks, organizing and cleaning shelves and racks, pricing merchandise, doing inventory and more.
You will also be required to be there every day, on time as scheduled regardless of what is going on in your life. You will be required to do as asked by the management, supervisors, directors and especially the customers. You will be given a book containing a dress code and a very specific set of rules that need to be followed.
If you are lucky you will get low cost benefits that can be deducted from your $290 a week (before taxes) and if you work hard and do a really good job you may get 3% of your hourly pay once a year in a raise.
In order to make your $290 a week before taxes, gas and expenses, you need to maintain doing all of these things. If you don't do the all of the work your job requires, if you don't show up for work when scheduled or on time, if you just stand around doing nothing...you lose your job and therefore you won't get paid.
Now answer me this...
Why is it that people will do all of that, busting their butts to barely be able to afford groceries each week - but give them an opportunity (any opportunity) where they can put in the same effort as they do at that minimum wage job (or less) and they just sit there doing nothing to improve their current situation.
It's something I will never understand I guess.
Have an amazing successful day!
- Christine Mikulski
