Emotionally shattered by effects of favoritism. 18 year old

by William Garret
(Albuquerque New Mexico)

I have worked at a local sonic for close to a year now My boss has her son and nephew working for her. I am not a pompous man, but I do know that I bust my ass 110% and do a damn good job at work. But always there had been a problem which what I believe to be favoritism. My sister who originally worked there noticed how she had not a sufficient amount of hours for the past month, but yet the bosses son and nephew were always taken care of with hours envied by most employees in the restaurant. She had to quit, she got a job at another sonic and never felt happier.

Anyway it is really irritating to see other family members who are not employed at sonic just waltz into the restaurant and boss around the women or pushover employees, prepare and order their own food (employee discount included) basically have their way with the store like an actual employee just because they are related to the boss. I had always tried to mind my own business and not say anything considering its the most obvious favoritism i have ever witnessed and hoping soon my boss would realize she should act more ethical. But as of late in a monthly meeting between all employees i became very upset that my boss was disappointed with our work performance yet glorified her son and nephews performance like they were the only two perfect beings on the planet.

Now I know what the job requires and entails, my confidence in what I do is strong. So I brushed off my hurt from basically being told, but not directly I'm not a good employee, It was sort of a pride breaker considering every place I have worked in i am always acknowledged for an unsurpassed hard work ethic, and great customer service skills. And so instead of sitting there whining, I decided I should just work twice as hard as i was before, and I did not know it could happen but I found a way to become better at what i do. I am not a judge but I know that compared to my performance my bosses son does not measure up. I literally mentally and physically exhausted myself working trying to become noticed.

One day not too long ago my day of reckoning came when it was super busy and I was alone with a new girl that I was training. The rush was the busiest it had been all winter since the sun had finally come out and the weather was very warm. Normally two-three decent employees could pull off taking the orders out on time without difficulty. Yet I developed a system in which had complete control of the rush not a single problem or complaint, Compliments actually. After it had happened I felt very proud of myself and was in a very good mood believing my boss would give me some credit for what I just pulled off. But nothing was said, instead I am yelled at for forgetting to give a customer straws and told how work performance still lacking.


Then I was told that because her son was off yesterday the efficiency of the store went down. I became enraged and we got into an argument. My feelings are extremely hurt, I feel like I work twice as hard as the top paid employees yet get no recognition. My confidence has plummeted I was always among the best in every place I have worked in. I know for a fact that I am still employed and I have spent hundreds of hours studying every detail and practicing different methods of my job standards. And its so hard because I don't understand why is the son so well recognized by his performance when it does not come close to as good as mine I know for a fact his performance does exceed mine yet I feel so unappreciated my anxiety levels are through the roof and I am very depressed. All my family and friends have noticed how I am not my usual thought always lost in thought thinking about how I am going to improve my job performance to get recognized. But I have tried everything already!

So I am lost, I loathe going to work its hard to smile I do not enjoy it anymore I would never anticipate getting off of work as much as I do now. I am not sure what I should do. First time I have felt lost in life.

Response from Carl: Hi William. You've obviously put a lot of thought and effort into your situation. You mention in your Title line that you're 18 so you're a young guy and the first question I therefore have to ask is how important is this job to you? Is it worth fighting for? Your sister already realized she was being treated unfairly and now you're experiencing the same. Often this sort of treatment does happen when family members are involved so perhaps there isn't much you can do about it and even if there is, is this really a job you see yourself in long term? Is it really worth fighting for and getting yourself so upset for?

Carl