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popkin16I stepped down from my management position two weeks ago.
Back in July, Walmart decided they were going to do a big coach shuffle (coaches are a fancy new title for "assistant manager". Department managers are now called "team leads"). They took my coach, Trish, and sent her to the worst store in our market, where she's improved the department's metrics, but she's been facing some interpersonal problems with the other people. The coach, Kellee, that replaced her is...........bad. Terrible. Awful. She doesn't know how to do anything - she claims she received none of the training she was supposed to despite repeatedly requesting it - and she hangs out in the back offices for 80% of her shift, rather than being in her department helping her people. When she is up front, she's very condescending to everyone, makes decisions that makes the job harder, and just piles on expectations without checking in on how things are going first. This is daily.
They decided to change the team lead's rotation, which meant we now had to work 1-10s as a closer instead of 12-9. That didn't work for my fellow team lead, Crystal. Her husband works 3rd shift, which starts at 10pm, so she has to be home before then for her young kids. So she put in her two weeks. She left. Walmart decided our particular store was going to start this new thing called IP, which is frankly too boring to go into. But it piles on even more work - we have to pull people from picking to do IP now, so we have fewer pickers, and we were already struggling to get it all done. Morale is so low, and everyone is talking about leaving or transferring. We're drowning in picks every night because we're so short staffed (though to be fair, we HAVE been trying to hire) and I just...had enough.
I'm in apparel now. My only job is to fold clothes and straighten up the racks of clothing. It's boring, but I can listen to audiobooks, podcasts, or podfics. Plus, after being in Online Pickup for 6 years, it's so chill. Like yeah, it's boring, but it's so so nice not to be stressed all the time. I'm sleeping better (though still not great overall tbh). I'm not coming home exhausted and enraged because my job should NOT be that difficult.
The woman who replaced me, Allie, used to be in apparel so it was a straight switch. She's nice, and I think she has the drive and desire to succeed, but the poor woman is being beaten down in OPD. They should have had her come over 2 weeks before we switched so I could train her up because she knows nothing about Online Pickup, not even basic stuff. She told me the first week that she's started to have a single drink when she gets out of work, and then this week said that she's been "drinking heavily". I guess Kellee is calling her multiple times a day to micro-manage and yell at her. She'll tell Allie to do something, Allie will point out that she hasn't been shown how, and Kellee will tell her she'll show Allie...and then ghosts her. Then later, she'll again order Allie to do it, and ignore her when Allie says she still hasn't been shown how. Kellee has also been telling Allie that nobody respects her because she doesn't know anything. Allie has admitted to crying, too, and has said she doesn't want to step down as a team lead but she DOES want to get out of Online Pickup. Again, it's been two weeks D: I guess Allie spoke with our market manager - Kellee's boss - and told her that if she doesn't get trained up, she's going to have a break down and quit.
Part of the problem is the holidays are approaching, so we're busier than ever. I feel terrible, but I'm also so so glad I got out when I did. It did involve a pay cut, which has me mildly stressed, but it's still more than I was making before I stepped up and just means I have to be more careful about what I spend it on. Overall, I'm happier :)
Back in July, Walmart decided they were going to do a big coach shuffle (coaches are a fancy new title for "assistant manager". Department managers are now called "team leads"). They took my coach, Trish, and sent her to the worst store in our market, where she's improved the department's metrics, but she's been facing some interpersonal problems with the other people. The coach, Kellee, that replaced her is...........bad. Terrible. Awful. She doesn't know how to do anything - she claims she received none of the training she was supposed to despite repeatedly requesting it - and she hangs out in the back offices for 80% of her shift, rather than being in her department helping her people. When she is up front, she's very condescending to everyone, makes decisions that makes the job harder, and just piles on expectations without checking in on how things are going first. This is daily.
They decided to change the team lead's rotation, which meant we now had to work 1-10s as a closer instead of 12-9. That didn't work for my fellow team lead, Crystal. Her husband works 3rd shift, which starts at 10pm, so she has to be home before then for her young kids. So she put in her two weeks. She left. Walmart decided our particular store was going to start this new thing called IP, which is frankly too boring to go into. But it piles on even more work - we have to pull people from picking to do IP now, so we have fewer pickers, and we were already struggling to get it all done. Morale is so low, and everyone is talking about leaving or transferring. We're drowning in picks every night because we're so short staffed (though to be fair, we HAVE been trying to hire) and I just...had enough.
I'm in apparel now. My only job is to fold clothes and straighten up the racks of clothing. It's boring, but I can listen to audiobooks, podcasts, or podfics. Plus, after being in Online Pickup for 6 years, it's so chill. Like yeah, it's boring, but it's so so nice not to be stressed all the time. I'm sleeping better (though still not great overall tbh). I'm not coming home exhausted and enraged because my job should NOT be that difficult.
The woman who replaced me, Allie, used to be in apparel so it was a straight switch. She's nice, and I think she has the drive and desire to succeed, but the poor woman is being beaten down in OPD. They should have had her come over 2 weeks before we switched so I could train her up because she knows nothing about Online Pickup, not even basic stuff. She told me the first week that she's started to have a single drink when she gets out of work, and then this week said that she's been "drinking heavily". I guess Kellee is calling her multiple times a day to micro-manage and yell at her. She'll tell Allie to do something, Allie will point out that she hasn't been shown how, and Kellee will tell her she'll show Allie...and then ghosts her. Then later, she'll again order Allie to do it, and ignore her when Allie says she still hasn't been shown how. Kellee has also been telling Allie that nobody respects her because she doesn't know anything. Allie has admitted to crying, too, and has said she doesn't want to step down as a team lead but she DOES want to get out of Online Pickup. Again, it's been two weeks D: I guess Allie spoke with our market manager - Kellee's boss - and told her that if she doesn't get trained up, she's going to have a break down and quit.
Part of the problem is the holidays are approaching, so we're busier than ever. I feel terrible, but I'm also so so glad I got out when I did. It did involve a pay cut, which has me mildly stressed, but it's still more than I was making before I stepped up and just means I have to be more careful about what I spend it on. Overall, I'm happier :)
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Date: 2025-11-25 06:35 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2025-11-25 01:16 pm (UTC)I was thinking about what the key to staying sane in high pressure work positions is, and I think it is to be professional about it but to not care so much that it has access to the parts of your heart and mind that can really hurt you.
It is not really possible to stick to that principle all the time.
Not long ago, a male friend of mine told someone at his job to "fuck off" when she was insisting that his telling her to do something that was a sane and best and secure practice should not matter because "the CEO doesn't care".
It worked out okay for him, and I get that the woman was being dismissive and basically telling him not to do his job because it mildly annoyed her, but it's also not okay to become so frustrated that your amygdala kicks in and prompts swearing at someone like that at work. And I just kinda expressed that to him. Like you should NOT be so invested in this job that someone doing something stupid with their computer makes you feel that much at all.
It's just a thing that's happening.
But I think, at the same time, a lot of millennials in our various professions feel a lot of moral injury about the fact that whatever specific knowledge we do have is not deferred to because we tend to get dismissed a lot while having the generational spirit of trying to do things correctly if we are in positions with any longevity at all.
It sounds like your situation is basically allowing you to take that step back and breathe. To not have anything that serious to care about at work. (Though, folding shirts the way they do in department stores consistently and quickly is a small superpower that I've never mastered.)
I hope that the income ding is not too bad and that, if it is, a path toward making better money or supplemental income easily comes to you now that you're not as stressed.
As an aside: I've never used online pickup except once where I got it from the weird boxes they had at one point but seem to have gotten rid of? But I heard that with the grocery cost crisis that some people are using it so that they will not impulse buy ANYTHING and only get what they meal-planned, in particular. Sad state of affairs.
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Date: 2025-12-06 01:04 am (UTC)I was thinking about what the key to staying sane in high pressure work positions is, and I think it is to be professional about it but to not care so much that it has access to the parts of your heart and mind that can really hurt you.
It is not really possible to stick to that principle all the time.
I agree with everything you've said here. Another friend pointed out that because we spend so much time in our place of work, it's hard not to care. I do take a lot of pride in doing my job well, and toward the end there I had to repeatedly tell myself, "Leave work at work. Don't think about it at home, don't let it ruin your personal time." But I'd bring it home with me anyway and think about all I needed to do, what I should have done differently, etc. At least in this new position I'm not doing that!
it's also not okay to become so frustrated that your amygdala kicks in and prompts swearing at someone like that at work. And I just kinda expressed that to him. Like you should NOT be so invested in this job that someone doing something stupid with their computer makes you feel that much at all.
Yes, exactly! I get being frustrated and upset if their doing something wrong directly impacts your job (like submitting paperwork wrong or half-filled out, so now you can't do what *you* need to do), but it's never okay to swear at them. Bring it to your manager if it's a consistent problem; that's why they get paid the big bucks.
The pay cut wasn't too bad - I just have to be smart about stuff now. And we're supposed to get raises in Feb/March, and though the raises are never AMAZING, every bit helps.
some people are using it so that they will not impulse buy ANYTHING and only get what they meal-planned, in particular.
Oh yeah, people have used it for that very reason for a few years now. The number of people who have told me it cut down on their impulse buying is pretty high!
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Date: 2025-11-25 04:54 pm (UTC)I'm glad you're in a much more chill position, though a pay cut is never fun. You deserve the time to de-stress and clear your head. ::hugs::
Ideally we wouldn't care so much about our jobs, but the reality is that we're in them for such a big chunk of the day and it's hard not to want to do well at whatever job we have. I find the older I get, the less patience I have for stupid admin decisions and obnoxious students. Retirement can't come soon enough, and I don't care that I have no savings. I just want to be out of here.
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Date: 2025-12-06 12:43 am (UTC)Sadly, it apparently *is* difficult. I feel partly responsible for her situation, even though we're both adults who made these decisions. But I honestly thought she'd have an easier time of it for various reasons.
Ideally we wouldn't care so much about our jobs, but the reality is that we're in them for such a big chunk of the day and it's hard not to want to do well at whatever job we have.
You are VERY right. I care about my job, and about doing it well...and that creates difficult situations sometimes lol.
I still have quite a while before I retire, but I'm already thinking about it and daydreaming. I don't think I'll ever be able to retire fully, but even being able to drop down to part-time sounds divine at this point. I hope the year(s) until you can retire go by fast!
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Date: 2025-11-25 07:10 pm (UTC)I'm so glad your new position is chill and boring. It sounds wonderfully low stress. <3
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