I haven't even done it yet and I already feel guilty

[kindkit]

I really hate it when people are required to work on major holidays, unless their jobs are crucial to the health or safety or others. In general I disapprove of supermarkets, restaurants, etc. in the US being open on Christmas.*

And yet.

The Imitation Game is supposed to open nationwide in the US on Christmas day. Since I don't have any Christmas plans apart from Yuletide, I'm extremely tempted.

And then there's Yuletide. Judging by past performance, I may not have a working internet connection on Christmas day. I would hate not to be able to read my Yuletide fic on Christmas, especially since I'll probably have to work the next day. But Starbucks will be open.

If you listen carefully, you can hear my principles creaking under the strain.

(If I left a big tip at Starbucks, would that make it less wrong?)



*Obviously this doesn't apply to, say, a kosher bakery. Nor to any owner-operated small business whose owner chooses to personally work on a holiday. I'm thinking of larger businesses, and also of the fact that where I live, the overwhelming majority of people are at least culturally Christian and would probably quite like to have the day off.

Comments

[lilacsigil]

Do people get paid extra for working a public holiday in the US? Here you get paid at least 1.5 times your regular salary and sometimes up to 3 times, depending on the holiday and the hours you are working. In my experience, people who don't celebrate/are avoiding Christmas and people who don't have young families are lining up to work that day because of the higher pay. My mum used to have to work either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day (she was a nurse at the time) until I was about 14, but then a lot more non-Christian Malaysian and Indian people had moved into our area and they were very happy to work for double pay! If that's not the case in the US, I'm sure a nice tip would go a long way.

[kindkit]

I'm sure it depends on the job, but probably. I got time and a half for working on Thanksgiving, and I work for a not-very-generous retail company. Starbucks tries to keep a reputation as a good employer, so they probably do pay extra. I suppose I could find out--I know someone who works there.

[executrix]

If you stay home, the people assigned to that shift at Starbuck's are still going to have to work. I think it'll be madly crowded and the people who work will get good tips on top of holiday pay.

Sometimes people *have* to work because they don't have vacation days or personal time and can't trade with someone else, and sometimes it means they can't enjoy themselves or spend time with their families, but in any organization there's usually a balance between people who don't want to work the holiday and people who *do.* I write an arbitration newsletter, and there are a lot more grievances brought by people who weren't allowed to bid on holiday shifts than people who had to work unwanted overtime on holidays.

[kindkit]

the people assigned to that shift at Starbuck's are still going to have to work

Yeah, but if every potential customer stays home, the employees won't have to work next Christmas.

The stuff you mention about people competing for holiday shifts sounds to me like it's coming from a very different work environment than retail/service: one that's unionized, better paid to start with, and where people have more control over their working conditions because they have a union. I didn't notice any particularly hot competition to work Thanksgiving at my job, although we got time-and-a-half.

In the end I probably will go to Starbucks if I have no internet. I'll just feel guilty. *headdesk*

[settiai]

It definitely depends on the job. Retail and such tend to pay extra; restaurants and other jobs where people are paid tipped wages, usually not. Although people do tend to tip better on holidays, so it usually worked out in the end when it came to our pay.