Miscellany

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

It’s another beautiful but chilly morning, and I’m to work today at Home Depot. Yesterday, a coworker said we are being required to start logging into a “store phone” every one of our working efforts. Apparently, management needs assurance we’re not wasting time. As a part-timer, my job is doing whatever someone tells me to do, and sometimes I self-assign activities to fill time.

After thinking about this change, I have decided against logging my at-work activities. First, I often clock in after all store phones are taken, so I don’t always carry one; plus, I’ve no idea how to enter such data on a phone. Next, if management considers the store overstaffed and decides to take corrective action, I must go with the flow.

The math is simple: for part-timers that HD might let go, Lowe’s might hire.

This whole thing about ensuring “busyness” is questionable in a retail environment, still seeking more staff and actively hiring. Staffing is a strange business these days. For example, I hear of new HD employees that show up and work for one or two days and then disappear.

It’s our shifting economy that’s forcing attention to the staffing landscape. I used to view economy-driven changes from a management perspective and now see these phenomena from a front-line perspective. So interesting!

BTW, I have made some fence adjustments at home, and so far, Chase hasn’t escaped. However, I’m certain the stubborn fellow will find a way to get free. He’ll be in the stand-alone kennel today while I’m at work, that so far has contained him.

Dear Friends: BTW, I’ve begun stretching and working out at the gym, very proud of myself. Diana