4 weeks in and not doing well...

[SchizoHammer]

Hi people, thanks for taking your time to read this.

I have just completed my 4th week at work and am feeling very unhappy at work, so much so that I nearly broke down crying this past Wednesday and I am not ashamed to admit that.

My contract is 25 hours (5 of 7, 09:30 - 14:30) and from my first day I was asked (not told) to come in from 08:00 so I could learn about 'throwing out'. I was happy to oblige as I was eager to learn and was also told that my extra hours would be paid for.
I was then sent out on a walk with a regular postie and that was how it went for the next week and a bit with each day I was being sent out on 1 of 5 different walks, each time with a different person to show me the route and never repeating the walk until the second week.
At the end of the 2nd week (Friday) I was sent out on my first day alone (a long and complicated route) and 'asked' to get the job done. I returned to the office having completed the walk at almost 17:45 only to find that it had been closed and locked up with my stuff inside. I called the only number I had apart from the office (a work coach) who basically said there was nothing that could be done. Fortunately I had carried my wallet with me so I could travel home so I locked up the HCT in the garage and went home.
The next day I was apologised to and given the key to a bag drop box outside the office so I could leave my belongings there while out on a walk.

Since then I have had a mix of a few days being on a walk with someone but mostly being sent out on my own to complete a walk in as much time as it took me. I went along with this although I commented several times to my manager about my concerns over how long a full walk was taking me to complete even though I was going as fast as I could and trying my best and that working those hours was making me ill.

This last week has been the worst so far. The main manager was off for a week's annual leave and so there was only the 'second' manager (not sure what they are called). I started on Monday at the usual time of 08:00 and finished again at 18:00 and feeling very ill. The next morning I went to work at 08:00 as I would be expected then and informed the manager that from then on I would be working to my contract hours and while the manager accepted this it was very obvious that I was under a lot of pressure to complete the walks.
The next day I arrived to start at 09:30 and got on with sorting out my bundles for the walk. At nearly 11:00 I went to talk to the manager again expressing my concerns that I wasn't learning and feeling completely stressed. I was asked to do what I could and that the next morning we woul;d have a talk about me and the job. As I was about to leave I was asked to wait as the manager was on the phone to the area manager who had basically told him that this was the job and I had to get on with it and complete the walks. During this conversation I was told that I had been hired to be a solution and by working to my contract and not completing the walks I was now a problem. It was at this point that I nearly broke down.

Just then a Union member came over and asked what was going on and I told him my side and the manager said what he had been told to tell me. This Union member then got on the phone and spoke to someone in the Union who then told me on over the phone that I was entitled to work to my contract and if I hadn't finished my walk then it was fine to just return it, let whoever was in the office know and leave it to be sorted. The next couple of days were very uncomfortable at work and I feel extreme pressure to do more, more than I feel that I am able to.

I am back to work on Tuesday and the main manager is back then. I am extremely stressed over this whole situation and am constantly fighting the urge to quit the job, especially as I know the worst is yet to come with Christmas and the winter yet to come.
I am sorry for such a long winded explanation but I am anxious about what is going to happen on Tuesday as I feel I will be sacked or forced to complete the walks.

Again I thank you for reading this and for any advice that you offer...

P.S. I am a Union member as I signed the forms at my induction.

[wannabeek]

I'm very glad that you had somebody there to stick up for you. All overtime you do in RM is voluntary. It is shocking how they try to take advantage of those that don't know the rules. I would recommend you spend some time searching this site for info to back you up in future should you feel pressured again, specifically the Overrunning Deliveries Procedure.

I think this is the correct link to it here:

http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... ng#p180740

[GT85]

Sadly as a newbie your willingness to create a good impression and maybe do a bit extra makes you an easy target for mangers to just dump their problems on. You do not have to do anymore than you contracted hours if that is all you want to do.

If you are in a position that you need extra hours to make your money up it's up to you but although they obviously should management will not take into account that (1) you are new and therefore not fully up to speed and (2) you are being moved around different walks that you do not know yet.

Taking all the mail in your frame and then bringing some back can get you into trouble so it's better to only take what you can get done in the hours your are working so before you tie up everyday have a discussion with the manager about what you can realistically complete that day and if you can't do it all it's the managers job to get it covered, he should not be bullying you into saying you will do it. Sounds a bit extreme but have a witness with you when you have this conversation.

As soon as you go back on Tuesday speak to your union rep and work coach and explain the situation, hopefully they can help you out, that's what they are there for after all.
Good luck,be strong, try and stick with it and don't worry about Christmas it's chaotic but the pressure should be on management not the posties.

[SchizoHammer]

Thanks for the replies...

I have to admit that while the work coach has been friendly enough, they seem far more concerned with getting the walk finished as soon as possible and me out of the way so they can get back to doing other work (OT or 'docket', I am not sure). There really doesn't seem to have been much of anything in the way of actual training.

I will try to read up some more as advised, although I admit it is a lot to take on board and much disappears in the moment when you are confronted with the manager expecting you to complete a full walk. It seems that the overwhelming attitude is that an experienced postie can complete the full walk in time and so it is up to me to make up the difference while I am learning...

As for not taking out more than I can do, honestly I have no idea about how much of the walks I can do as I have only done them once or twice with someone with the walk being split between us, or having been out on my own only once or twice and usually being on a different walk each day.

We'll see what happens on Tuesday.

[peshwaarinaan]

So sorry to hear that you have been treated so badly and having such a tough time!

I started in July on a 20 hour contract (Weds to Sat) and from day 1 I was put under pressure to do six days a week (they work 5 and have a rest week in my office). I kept on saying no and now they don't bother any more. I am the only person in my office that doesn't do the full week.

From my experience management will always take the piss and you really need to stick up for yourself. Overtime is not compulsory and if you don't want to they can't force you.

If I were you, when you go in on Tuesday, tell a Manager what time you will be finishing and ask him how much of the workload you can complete in the given hours. If you tell them in advance there is nothing they can do.

I really hope you have a better week. Stick with it!

[movingon]

I feel so sorry that you are experiencing this. It's just crazy that this kind of thing goes on - it's all over this forum! What is it with this type of bullying management?!? Our DOM has just resigned and some say it's partly because he doesn't want to do the bullying of staff required by those "above" him.
I'm a new starter and we are all experiencing something similar in our DO. Just yesterday one of the other new starters was saying they'd been in tears and were on the verge of resigning. It seems RM advertise contracted hours for jobs that don't exist. How can you work 9.30 til 2.30, 4 days a week - it's just not possible - there isn't a walk you could do in these hours as a new starter.
It is so dispiriting to be given a job that you don't have the time to complete properly. The whole thing is so inefficient. You don't have to spend long thinking about it to realise it could all be done an awful lot better!!
What a joke the Induction Day was - how caring RM is and everybody looks after everyone else and how you'll be on the same walk for 6 weeks to begin with and get trained properly - ha bloody ha!!
In my DO the other posties are absolutely incredible - they are always looking out for us new starters, checking we are ok. We don't know from one day to the next what we'll be doing, it's a complete shambles and sadly they've seen it all before!!
I don't mean to rant on and make you feel worse - hope it helps you to realise we are all in the same boat - though yours does sound to be extremely rocky at the moment. Hang on in there and make sure your rep is with you when you speak to management. I wish you all the very best - it's a crappy start to working in a new place. Yet if you can get through this bit, as we get faster and faster, hopefully things will get better.

[yellowbelly]

As for not taking out more than I can do, honestly I have no idea about how much of the walks I can do as I have only done them once or twice with someone with the walk being split between us, or having been out on my own only once or twice and usually being on a different walk each day.

Schizo, as other posters have said, this is not uncommon for us newbies, I have been in similar (but not quite as bad) situation myself,
and even now I can look at a prepped frame with its packets/parcels, D2D etc. and I haven't got a clue how long it's going to
take me.....one day my P&L partner rang me up and said how long will it take to complete the particular burst I was on (so
he could go and deliver some parcels) I said 10 minutes - it took me 25!!

Just try and bear with it - just try and concentrate on getting what you manage to do done correctly. One day I tried to do
the parcels as my more experienced colleagues do it (ie from memory as they're chucked in the back of the van) and it turned into a disaster - I've gone back
to making a list as they are loaded even if my partner is stood there tapping his feet and huffing and puffing - as I
almost lost the plot with him one day as I was doing it so said to him - 5 minutes here will save 30 minutes out on the delivery if
it got screwed up...! (Expletives deleted and unable to express the tone of the conversation here ) Very tense in the van that day.

.......and if I hadn't finished my walk then it was fine to just return it, let whoever was in the office know and leave it to be sorted

Not sure that this is quite correct, as far as I understand the procedure (bearing in mind I'm new also) if you're out on your walk and realise
you can't finish in time you have to let your manager know ASAP (ie prior to returning to the office) - the assumption is that we've all got mobiles and can call the
Duty Manager to let them know - unless you don't have a mobile phone between you and your partner, and have no
other means of contacting the office (is anyone's PDA enabled to make calls?/a working phone box anybody?) I don't think taking
the remaining bag(s) you can't do back to the office without notifying anyone is the correct procedure - just my understanding,
the more experienced posties will be able to confirm or otherwise, wouldn't want you to dig yourself a hole unnecessarily.

Keep going and keep using these boards, they're a good source of information and you're not alone!!

YB

[rambo1]

This is shocking but all too familiar. I am a workplace coach and have been training a few up recently, I always do a good job, management don't like it when I say, you'll have to cover some of my Walk today as I'm training up. I take the time to do the job right, to give newbies the best chance of staying, which for the business is more cost effective. I am shocked though to the extent of induction, where I believe you learn about corporate royal mail and f all to do with actually doing the job. If I were you I would email moya to let her know of the experience of a new starter. In fact i may do this myself. Get some support from your coach, we get paid for it, and try chill a bit, work your hrs if you want, it's your right, the dom wouldn't do twice his hrs.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Yellow belly, making a list is also quite a long way round of doing it. In my office we annotate the letters for the address with a large

P - normal packet.
T - Tracked
S - Special Delivery
PS - Packet needing signature.

So when you get to the address you know what you have for them. If you can get your colleagues to do this as well it will save THEM time.

[nickinoneck]

Are you saying in your first four weeks you have had to learn 5 different walks?! If so that is scandalous. It takes a good 2 to 3 weeks to really start getting up to speed on any one walk let alone 5.

[yellowbelly]

Yellow belly, making a list is also quite a long way round of doing it. In my office we annotate the letters for the address with a large

P - normal packet.
T - Tracked
S - Special Delivery
PS - Packet needing signature.

So when you get to the address you know what you have for them. If you can get your colleagues to do this as well it will save THEM time.

Will try this out (normally just turn the letters), but Specials and larger parcels and large tracked are only picked up just immediately before
loading the van so list still comes into play for those items

If you can get your colleagues to do this as well it will save THEM time.

- !!!

TBT - sound advice as always from a former PANDA, when they morphed into PERSADMIN and then 'Human Resources Clerks' (computer says no) it
didn't have quite the same ring to it.....

YB (ex peanut)

[meercat]

I am extremely stressed over this whole situation and am constantly fighting the urge to quit the job

Stop getting stressed is the answer. I know it's easier said than done but basically when you realise these 'managers' are no better than you and they are just taking the piss you will realise they are not worth getting stressed over. Most of them couldn't do what they are expecting you to do.

Stop rushing and stressing and instead work efficiently. Take a guess at how much mail you can deliver and tell them straight.

DON'T be talked into taking more than you think you can do in your time. If you give in once they will think they can talk you round all the time so they will nag you every day.

[2pints]

Keep that union rep close and any time anything happens which you feel is unfair go and see the rep and ask advise,that is what a rep is for.That is why we pay our fees.

[Boydieboydie]

I think some of the advice given is not a very good idea. At the end of the day, you seem like you don't want to ruffle too many feathers, you are happy to work a little over but not ridiculous hours. The thing that comes to mind is the amount of different duties you are on, which is not good for learning and neither for your confidence in doing the job. As a new starter, they should aim to put you on the same delivery for 6 weeks if possible (although it can sometimes be difficult). This is very inportant for you to learn the job, and you should explain to your Manager that you don't want to cause problems but you need to be given this chance to get quicker and be able to complete at a reasonable time. If he does not try to accommodate this, then he is an idiot and feel free to cause as many problems as you like because if he can't see that, then I'm sure he won't know where to start with getting rid of you either :)

[Boydieboydie]

But j wouldn't try to cause problems, at first, try to explain the situation and what you need from him. I always find that once new starters are on the same duty for a bit, all of a sudden it will all click into place and your confidence will grow and you will find yourself much quicker, even with making less effort to rush. Everyone's a winner!