What is this new thing about employees having to stand for long periods of time?

My UPS has one chair and it is uncomfortable to sit for more than 30 seconds. I had to wait for a hour to pick up my parcel. So I went next door and had some gross Mongolian dumplings until. I ended up in McDonalds and had a blueberry turnover. My cell phone provider doesn’t have a chair either, so I sat on the ground and then went to the food court for 30 minutes. I would like to invent a pair of jeans that you can pull out a compressed air or physical compartment and sit on.

The human race is getting beyond weird these days.
Just an observation I made a while back, while clothes shopping with Mrs Squeeky I noticed this one womens store had a small couch with some magazines,I thought what a great idea a place for the husband or boyfriend while the little women looks and tries things on,I told the store manager I thought that was a great idea , and she told me since they put in that couch sales went up.
Why are other business’s so slow to catch on to that concept?

It is absolutely an ableist control issue.

Someone once told a middle manager about the phrase “if you have time to lean you have time to clean”, and since then, every low wage worker had to sacrifice their sciatic nerves in order to make minimum wage standing on a concrete floor for 6–8 hours a day.

Aldi – the grocery store owned by and centered out of Germany (I believe), gives their employees not only >$11/hr jobs starting rate, but chairs at the registers.

Love Aldi.

I found this from a Flutherite. Portable pants I don’t know if it is a joke or not.

@RedDeerGuy1 – It’s absolutely a joke. Karl Pilkington is sort of an accidental comedian on British TV.

We used to know Nancy (she did scheduling) was pissed at us when we would get doubles of “Door” (tearing tickets) at the theater. You would pretty much stand in the same place from 10AM until 10:30PM. And if you got this on a Monday during a slow time you were screwed since there might only be a few hundred people that would come in that day. It was amazingly boring and no chair allowed.

And the way things were set up you were stuck in the middle of a long hallway. At least the ushers could sit in the theaters for half their shifts.

In the box office they did allow chairs until a idiot was kicking back with his feet up on the counter when a district manager walked in. So then the chairs in there got yanked.

Do you think there is a possible lawsuit here? Not for my personal gain, but to force dumbass to act like humans?

When I was working night shifts at a convenience store I refused to stand for 8 hours at a time and I grabbed a chair and sat on it at the till.

I worked at a large farm for four years and their motto was “If you have time to lean, you have time to clean.”

From cashiers to produce guys to bakery staff to the actual farmers, nobody sat — ever. And everyone worked 10 to 14-hour days.

I was their graphic design/marketing guy so I worked at a computer much of the time. The owner would repeatedly ask me if I had to be sitting to do that job.

Nuts.

I personally would rather stand than sit for a long time. If I want to sit I can do it all day long at home after the work has been done. Haven’t you heard that sitting for a long time can actually kill you? It’s not a new thing for corporate to ged rid of sitting appliances and it’s certainly isn’t applied in every workplaces for all jobs all around the world.

I must tell you that sitting on a chair immediately after standing for hours really feels satisfying, and lets not forget it makes you feel healthy, too. As for people that can’t tolerate standing for hours, they have the option to not take the job knowing the situation or they can try to reason with the management to add back the chairs if it’s really affecting the entire workforce’ productivity.

I love Aldi too, everything they do is just right on so many levels. I have had several of those standing jobs, not healthy unless you are at least able to walk around. Rotating shifts are another peeve I have…just no.

I worked in retail, and we stood all day long, except our lunch hour and a break if you got lucky. I’m pretty sure this will never change in the majority of retail stores. Having said that, I think cashiers and tellers should be able to sit on a stool of some sort at times. They definitely should have special matts they stand on. Standing in one spot for a long period is different than walking around sales floor. Standing still is bad for your back, and much more difficult.

A few of my banks have a stand up height desk out in the lobby. I like it as a customer. I’ve seen the employee have a chair, and I’ve seen it set up without.

Ironically, now they are making desk extensions so you can turn your sit down desk into a stand up one at work or home. I think it’s marketed for health reasons. They have treadmill desks also.

I just googled it because I know recently there’s been a push to give employees the option of standing at work. Standing desks are a new trend. They say “sitting is the new smoking” meaning that sitting for long periods is just as bad for you as smoking.

I found this article about California passing a law that employers must allow employees to sit.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-court-sitting-workers-20160404-story.html

@Unofficial_Member I’m guessing that you are under the age of 50. I used to be able to stand all day too. At 59 it’s not so easy any more, and certainly not at the age of 80. That is the whole crux of my complaint.

@jca having the option would be really nice. Anymore it seems like it’s not an “option.” Checking out the CA law!!

“Just as bad for you as smoking…” when in the hell did our employers decide it was their job to do what they think is right for us as far as health? Isn’t that our own decision, even if it’s the wrong one in their opinion?

@Dutchess_III The Health factor comes in when they pay your health insurance premiums. Several companies banned smoking on company property and make smokers pay a differential amount for health/life insurance, being a “nicotine user”.

To an extent that’s fine. But to then turn around and force you to do something that is unhealthy, that your body just can’t tolerate….isn’t that defeating the purpose?

All of my jobs have been desk jobs. When times were slow I’d drop and do sit ups, or stretching exercises or just walk around. But that was my choice. My employer didn’t mandate it.

OMG. My daughter just called. She had taken a 2nd job tending bar. She had to work for 10 hours. She was allowed to take 3 breaks, but they had to be at the waitress station and she was not allowed to sit down. WTF is wrong with people???

And my Sonic breakfast burrito tastes like soap.

Jesus Christ.

I do 12 hour days on my feet at the Renaissance Festival, and I literally have to numb my feet 3 times a day with Aspercreme so I don’t notice the punishment as much. And that’s outside, on dirt, not indoors on a concrete floor. And I’m allowed to sit down if it’s slow. And it STILL takes me 2+ days to recover.

That is… unconscionable.

It is. I think I’m going to fire an email off to my attorney, just to get her take on it. It should be a law that employees need to be able to sit down when ever the fuck they want to. If they end up sitting instead of working, then fire them.
Getting ready to post my Official Complaint Letter, see what you all think.

I don’t see the point of a break if you can’t sit down.

Right @jca? And what is odd is I haven’t talked to her since last week so she knew nothing of my recent complaint. In fact, you guys are the only ones who have heard it.

It’s not a break in my opinion if they are dictating where and how the employee takes the time. That’s bullshit. I can’t imagine the law supports making employees stand during their break.

That’s what I said to my daughter..

In my opinion, the employees should just band together and sit down on their break away from where customers can see them.

When I hear crap like this, I am thankful I am in a union and for the existence of unions.

@jca I think part of it has to do with the industry. Bars, restaurants, especially places like Hooters, Tilted Kilt, and alike, often treat women horribly. It happens to men too, but I think women are at greater risk.

What I found working at the farm was that they treated all employees as disposable – regardless of years of experience or skill set. They were confident they could find replacements in a jiff, so either tow the line or get out. This is why I left.

That being said, they’re apparently right as they’ve been in business for over 100 years with no sign of slowing.