Starbucks Baristas: The daily grind
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New hire here. How open to working around physical disabilities is the company? (self.starbucksbaristas)
submitted by DistinctNectarine510
I've got scoliosis. Standing for long periods of time is doable for me, but it's painful at first until my body gets used to the strain. I used to stand for 10 hour shifts at my old job no problem, but I haven't had that job for a year and need to get reacclimated.
I let my boss know today (fourth day on the job) and she sounded displeased and insisted the job requires a lot of standing up. I know I can do it. I just didn't know it'd hurt this much at first.
I guess my question is, if I ask for 15 minute breaks instead of 10 for the time being, are they going to decide I'm not right for the job and terminate me? Or is the company more tolerant than my last employer and try to work with me while my back toughens up?
Worst comes to worst, I hide my discomfort and do my best under the circumstances, but it's hard to focus on training when I'm in agony.
Other than that, I'm sure I'll do well. I thrive in positive retail environments and am an otherwise fast learner. I guess I'd just like to hear your input on if you think it's going to be a problem for them and I should prepare myself to kiss the job goodbye before I'm given a real chance.
P.S. Is there a list of recipes for all the different drinks we make anywhere besides those cards in the store? I would like to learn them before I get put on barista duty, and I don't want to have to stop and look them up when we're slammed because I've never made one before.
I let my boss know today (fourth day on the job) and she sounded displeased and insisted the job requires a lot of standing up. I know I can do it. I just didn't know it'd hurt this much at first.
I guess my question is, if I ask for 15 minute breaks instead of 10 for the time being, are they going to decide I'm not right for the job and terminate me? Or is the company more tolerant than my last employer and try to work with me while my back toughens up?
Worst comes to worst, I hide my discomfort and do my best under the circumstances, but it's hard to focus on training when I'm in agony.
Other than that, I'm sure I'll do well. I thrive in positive retail environments and am an otherwise fast learner. I guess I'd just like to hear your input on if you think it's going to be a problem for them and I should prepare myself to kiss the job goodbye before I'm given a real chance.
P.S. Is there a list of recipes for all the different drinks we make anywhere besides those cards in the store? I would like to learn them before I get put on barista duty, and I don't want to have to stop and look them up when we're slammed because I've never made one before.
yukhentai 11 points 2y ago
you cant be fired because you have a legitimate disability. you just have to request for an accommodation! i dont know the number off the top of my head but in your store one of your SSV’s or your manager should be able to give you the number to Partner Resources (or you can find the number on the Partner Hub) and then they should be able to help you request an accommodation like 15 minute breaks instead of 10 or whatever would help you most. i had a situation where i needed extra breaks and my manager was salty about it but i asked for the accommodation and she had to honor that. there are protections for disabled/ill partners and you cant be fired for putting your health first.
DistinctNectarine510 [OP] 2 points 2y ago
Okay. Thanks! I have the phone number for Partner Resources, so I can call them on Monday and work with them on it since they're not open over the weekend. I guess I'm worried my managers will magically find *other* reasons to let me go as a cover for dumping me because of my ailment. My last employer docked my hours because "I called out too much in the past couple of months" when in reality I'd only missed two days, and one of those days I came in physically ill anyway to specifically show that I was genuinely sick before getting sent home. I've found that when employers don't like you, they'll find legal excuses when the real reason is something they're not allowed to discriminate against.
yukhentai 2 points 2y ago
well speaking from my experience at starbucks its important to have a paper trail. so if you initiate this accomodation through corporate, and then if you’re fired for another reason, you might be able to legitimately prove that its retaliation. if you dont try to make an accommodation at all, and then you get fired, you wont be able to prove that you were advocating for yourself and you want to do the job well, you’re just facing a disability. and i understand your worries but the way you describe, it doesn’t sound like some extra break time would impact your job performance enough to warrant your manager firing you. when you call PR on monday you’ll see that they’re nice and that many partners need accommodations all the time
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