People Like This Are Exhausting

I’d worked in this job at a popular sandwich shop for four years and I’ve been contemplating moving on. I don’t find the motivation to do so until the day this story occurs.

We tend to run short-staffed because the general manager is forced to conserve labor, and if a single person calls off, the whole day is thrown off and everyone runs around in a panic trying to get everything done. It’s very stressful and a bad environment for anyone with anxiety, like me.

One day, one of the drivers calls in sick several hours before his shift. This driver is one of the most responsible people I know. In two years working there, he has put in a single time-off request for getting his wisdom teeth taken out, and he put it in months in advance. He never calls in sick, and on the day in question, he is actively throwing up and literally cannot safely come in. I overhear the general manager explaining to the area manager what’s going on.

General Manager: “We’re short-staffed; [Driver] called in sick.”

Area Manager: “What, did his mangina explode?!”

I stopped in my tracks and fixed him with my most ferocious glare. He didn’t notice, so I quickly looked “mangina” up, and basically, he was calling the driver a wimp by comparing him to a woman.

I was furious because one, being a woman is not an insult, and two, how can you say that about someone who has such a track record of responsibility? While fuming, I recalled every sexist, racist, and downright rude thing the area manager had ever said, and I decided that was it.

I walked into the back, pulled out a piece of blank printer paper, drew a little doodle of a fox on it, and wrote, “This is a picture of a fox. This is also my two weeks notice. Love, [My Nickname].” And I left it on the desk for the general manager to find.

True to my word, I finished out my two weeks and found a much better job, with better pay and a healthier work environment. I’m still friends with lots of my former coworkers, including the driver, and they’ve told me that the area manager is still confused about why what he said made me quit. I’m sure someone will have the patience to explain it to him eventually.