If you’ve ever worked a service job, you’re likely familiar with the struggle to get more hours. While some jobs may be willing to offer you more time on the clock, others will give you barely any time at all, leaving you to figure out if you can piece another part-time job into your schedule’s gaps.
Confusingly, some of these latter jobs will, in addition to cutting your hours, start employing more people. Now, a user’s clip on TikTok has gone viral after offering an answer as to why.
In a clip with over 819,000 views as of Saturday, TikTok user Moe (@moeblackx) stitches a video clip in which two workers complain about this practice.
“Because they don’t want to give you paid breaks,” Moe adds. “When a company does this, it’s so that one person can work four hours a day, another person can work four hours a day, [and] another person can work four hours a day, etc., and every single person will go through only getting a 15-minute [break] instead of two paid 15-minute [breaks] and a lunch.”
@moeblackx #stitch with @Moana ♬ original sound – Moe 🍸
“The company is cheap as f*ck,” she continues. “A certain orange company used to do that to us all the time.”
There are a few reasons why a company may do this. While Moe’s explanation may be one reason, others have noted additional factors that could play into a decision to do this. They include preparing to fire the workers in question, offering more flexibility for the employer, and simply trying to prevent their employees from becoming full-time workers.
Regardless of the reason, many users in the comments section are sick of it.
“I’ve been booked to start at 2:30 instead of 2:00 just so they don’t have to give me a break!” a user said.
“I only got breaks if i worked five hours. So i’d often be scheduled 4.5 hour shifts,” another recalled.
“Home Depot does this. My cousin works 5 days a week but they are only 4 hour shifts so its only 20 hours,” stated a third.
Several users specifically called out Ulta, which many speculated was the “certain orange company” referenced by Moe.
“They get mad at us for getting second jobs and say we have no availability…but I can’t live off of 10 hours a week,” explained a commenter.
“Omg this is exactly how our schedules were at ulta,” shared a second.
“SAME, I’d have a long hour shift once in a blue moon and the surprised expressions I’d get from my managers was so weird,” detailed an additional TikToker.
The Daily Dot reached out to Moe via email.
