Work

The Worst Job I Ever Had

And the worst part isn’t what you’ll expect

Photo by Europeana on Unsplash

I distinctly remember the worst job I ever had. Think of a hot summer’s day and imagine you’re eighteen years old. You’ve bagged seasonal work, between studying, at a local holiday camp as the head housekeeper. This means you supervise a team of cleaners who scrub the holiday homes and caravans before new patrons arrive.

What could be simpler?

A lot, it turns out.

I arrived at the holiday site with good intentions, enthusiasm, and little self-doubt. Knowing how to clean meant I could easily advise others, if required. But, of course, the employees I inherited would already know how to do their jobs, wouldn’t they?

Not at all.

It turned out that I was hired to “put things in order.” The last housekeeper couldn’t cope and was fired.

Oh bother. Could I do better?

I checked the cleaning materials and got them ready for the cleaners, who took them after warily eyeing me as I smiled.

Why were they upset to see me, I wondered?

I soon found out. Upon checking their work, as my job required, I discovered they hadn’t actually done much scrubbing. The vans were dusty inside. The…