Get your free gum while you still can
UPDATE 10/10: The post below refers to a MySpace profile which has been made private in the last 24 hours. When I found the profile by accident using Google it was public. Following Julz’ comments (below) I have slightly modified the original post.
Julz is 17 and works at a Nextra newsagency somewhere in Brisbane. She dislikes her job as she has told the world through her MySpace blog:
so everyone knows how much i disslike my job at nextra right?
well…..
i’m QUITTINGG!!!!! wooooottttt
and have a new job at David Jones in the city – young contemp womens fashion
n e way enough with the smileys…ok one more…
so come visit me at nextra, i’ll only be there like 2 weeks more, and get your free gum while you still can!!
Julz is entitled to her view. What concerns me is that she seems intent on taking out her dislike for her job on her employer – or am I misunderstanding the line about free gum? I’d like to know what Julz has said to her employer about the job and how her employer responded. Have they made an effort to make the job more enjoyable while continuing to serve the needs of the business? How would David Jones’ management feel if they read Julz’ comments – would they still give her a job?
Blogging provides Julz and millions like her a place to publish her feelings and opinions. She, like her My Space friends, needs to understand the consequences. For example, I’d expect that human resources departments will trawl through My Space and other public places for what is not submitted in resumes. This blog entry would knock Julz out of contention.
There are jobs in this world which are not great, especially if you’re 17 and just starting your working life. The best way to make those jobs bearable and even enjoyable is to work with your boss. Maybe there is not one else to do the crap tasks. So be it. Maybe discussion will lead to compromise and a more enjoyable job. Bitching about it at My Space and quitting for a job at David Jones does not fix a problem Julz is likely to take with her.
I am all for employees venting publicly – as long as they have taken the matter as far as they can within the business in pursuit of a fair resolution.
PS. I’m not spending hours trawling My Space for what people working with me think. Julz’ blog came up via a Google blog search for newsagency references.