Kid wants to quit summer job

In My Humble Opinion
1

My eldest kid is home for the summer after her freshman year of college. She had one part-time job lined up which gives her around 20 hrs a week. My wife and I strongly recommended that she obtain additional employment to get up near 40 hrs a week, and she got a job at a local ice cream parlor. Now, a couple of weeks in, she wants to quit that job.

Her main reasons are that her boss is a stupid, disorganized jerk, they are giving her hours she does not want, and they are not respecting her requests for time off (wanting her to close 2 of the 3 weekend nights).

I did not immediately agree that her quitting is a great idea, but I think I may be being unreasonable, and would appreciate your thoughts. One thing I’m thinking is that she is essentially paying the price of not working hard enough to find a better job earlier. If she wanted weekends off or no late-night hours, she could have looked for a job that would offer that.

I also think a lot of her complaints sound like what a lot of people complain about their jobs - stupid bosses, crummy tasks, lousy schedules, etc. I’m not sure it is a bad thing for her to experience it, to learn how important it is that she get herself in a position where eventually she might be able to get a better job.

OTOH, I think she realizes both of these already, and I don’t know how long she has to continue to make these sink in further. I don’t want her to be “punished.”

She is pretty frugal, and gets scholarships, so she doesn’t really NEED the money from the second job. (Her 1st job pays $2 more per hour.) And she got straight As her freshman year, so we are really proud of her.

Another (minor) thing I’m thinking is that once she realizes she doesn’t need/want the job, she could sort of experiment with some things: learning how to effectively communicate to a stupid boss; stand up for herself when she feels she is being treated poorly. She can be on the - uh - timid side. It might be a good opportunity to develop some workplace skills at a job she doesn’t care if she loses.

Most important, perhaps, is that she seems to not be as happy as I’d hope her to be. And if this job is making her - and the household - unhappy, that’s a good reason to lose it. However, I’d like her to identify her plans for activities that would keep her busy and that are aimed at making her happy. IOW, I don’t want her to quit this job and just hang out.

Just jotting off some thoughts quickly, as I’m outta here and off to the golf course. But I’d appreciate hearing what you think, and will be back tomorrow.

2

If she’s got scholarships and doesn’t need to spend her evenings scooping ice cream, then why should she bother? To build character? It sounds like she already has that.

Let her quit.

3

I agree. If the money isn’t necessary for school or for her personal expenses, and she’s doing well otherwise, let her have a (more) relaxing summer.

4

Unless there is a necessity no one should be in a job they hate.

5

She may be a teen and it seems like you are doing a good job giving her independence but I would let her quit. Remember that she is going to be spending the rest of her life making such compromises - give her a break for now. She won’t be getting summers off much longer, either.

6

Another vote for “let her quit.” Let it be a learning experience - how to write a letter of resignation, work out a two week notice, etc. If she got straight A’s her freshman year I think she has earned a bit of a break, especially considering she doesn’t really "need’ the money.

And tell her congratulations on her grades! If I had done that well my freshman year I would have graduated with honors.

7

After graduation, she will have plenty of time to learn about the entry-level workplace :eek:. I would suggest letting her enjoy her summers while she is still in school, but I would also suggest having a talk with her about what she can expect from her first employment options once she is out of school and on her own.

8

Dinsdale, I’d let her quit. She could always volunteer somewhere too so she isn’t just “hanging out”. There are plenty of places that need good help, KWIM?

9

I can’t think of a single reason for her to have that job, and many reasons to quit.
Why do you think she needs to work so much? All this is going to teach her is to accept being an employee in a crappy situation.

10

Yeah, she shouldn’t work in a job she doesn’t like, for a boss that lacks managerial skills. That won’t prepare her for being a grown up AT ALL.

EDIT: But a teen working 40 hours a week, summer or not, is a bit much. I think a 20 hour/week job is more suitable.

11

I think there is only so long someone gets to have summers off - if she’s a good kid and is keeping her grades up, let her relax and enjoy her summer a little.

12

As the old saying goes, no one ever said on their death bed that they wish they had spent more time at work. Let youth enjoy youth. The time will come soon enough for her to do things she doesn’t want to do.

(My advice would be different if you hadn’t said she had other ways to pay for college.)

13

I started drafting a thoughtful reply, but Khadaji said it better than me.

14

If she can meet her expenses while working 20 hours a week, then more power to her. If you think she needs to pitch in more, then you would tell her what she needs to cover, not how much to work.

But, it sounds like its not about the money, you just want her to keep busy. She’s definately old enough to figure out how to spend her time, I don’t think you can force that. Maybe take her golfing with you?

15

Admit it, you just want her to keep the job so you can keep getting free ice cream, don’t you? :smiley:

I like the idea of using it as practice for a while to see if she can improve the situation. But if that doesn’t make it enjoyable for her, by all means, let her quit. She’s probably busting her ass while she’s in college, and “summer break” disappears once you enter the corporate world and start racking up financial commitments.

16

Another vote for lay off of her and let her enjoy her summer vacation. Why should she have to work full time if she neither needs nor wants the money?

17

Can she get your family free ice cream? If so, the only answer is to force her to drop out of college and make this job her full time career. Otherwise, let her quit.

18

I quit a summer job at a fruit market for similar reasons. It felt good. Really good. I do not at all regret quitting, and made sure my reason for doing so was relayed to those in charge of the power tripping inconsiderate managers.
While I agree that life will throw you crazy managers or crummy work situations sometimes and you must learn to roll with them, there’s only so much I would put up with for minimum wage. Maybe a high employee turnover will encourage the managers to be less disorganized and treat their employees with respect.
Your daughter has the next 40 plus years to work 40hrs per week. I hope she enjoys one of her last “free” summers.

19

Well, her job doesn’t seem nearly as hellish as some of my summer jobs (telephone fundraising, cleaning kennels, time share marketing). And I’d say 40 hrs./ week was the norm, or even a minimum, I aimed to work during the summers. If I had not worked that hard, I think the support my family did give me would have been even less. And yes, I had scholarships and good grades. But my family’s outlook was that I was responsible for pretty much all of my expenses after high school. I’d give her the option of finding other work, paid or unpaid, to fill that time. Or maybe she could knock out a class in 2nd summer session at a college near you.

20

Life sucks and then you die.

If she doesn’t need the $$, let her quit.