Since when did free labor become part of cafeteria work
Working in a cafeteria has turned into a constant stream of unpaid labor that everyone is somehow expected to accept. We are told to come in early to prep and stay late to clean because there are not enough staff. Every time we bring up overtime they brush it off and say it is only a few minutes. Those minutes always turn into half an hour or more. Breaks barely exist. We are running around in heat and noise while managers sit in the office and tell us to be patient.
What gets me is how normal all of this has become. If I say no to unpaid work they call me not dedicated or say the team needs to cooperate. Everyone stays quiet because they think they have no choice. I am exhausted and honestly done pretending that this is just part of the job.
Jobadvisor
This sounds incredibly draining, and I want to validate your frustration immediately: You are right to be angry, and what you are describing is not "part of the job." It is exploitation.
To answer your question directly: Free labor never became a legitimate part of cafeteria work. Labor laws in almost every developed nation are very clear—if you are working, you must be paid.
What you are experiencing is a normalization of wage theft, disguised as "teamwork." Here is a breakdown of why this is happening and what is actually going on.
1. The "Just a Few Minutes" Trap
Management often uses the "it's just 10 minutes" excuse to avoid paying overtime.
The Reality: 15 minutes before a shift and 15 minutes after adds up to 2.5 hours of unpaid work per week. Over a year, that is over 100 hours of stolen wages.
The Law (General): In most jurisdictions (like under the FLSA in the US), "suffered or permitted to work" means if the employer knows you are working, they must pay you. This includes donning gear, prepping stations, and cleaning up.
2. The "Not Dedicated" Guilt Trip
When managers say you aren't "dedicated" or "cooperative" for refusing unpaid work, they are using emotional manipulation.
The Tactic: This is a specific form of gaslighting designed to make you feel like the problem is your attitude, rather than their budgeting.
The Truth: Dedication is doing your job well during the hours you are paid. Working for free is not dedication; it is volunteering, which is illegal in a for-profit business context.
3. The Staffing Shortage Cycle
You mentioned there isn't enough staff. This is the root cause.
Instead of hiring the necessary number of people, the company is balancing its budget on the backs of the current employees.
By working for free to cover the gaps, the staff inadvertently proves to corporate that the cafeteria can run with fewer people, disincentivizing them from hiring more help.
Steps You Can Take to Protect Yourself
You feel like you have no choice, but you do have rights. You don't have to make a chaotic scene to start protecting yourself; you can start quietly.
1. Document Everything (The "Shadow Log")
Stop relying on the official clock-in system if it doesn't reflect reality. Start a personal log immediately.
What to record: Date, actual arrival time, actual departure time, time spent working through breaks, and exactly what tasks you did during those unpaid times.
Why: If you ever file a wage claim with a labor board, this log is your primary evidence.
2. Review Your Contract/Handbook
Look for the section on "Overtime" and "Hours of Work."
Most employee handbooks explicitly state that off-the-clock work is prohibited (to protect the company from lawsuits).
The Leverage: You can ironically use their own rules against them: "I want to ensure I am following company policy regarding off-the-clock work, so I will be clocking in strictly when I start prepping."
3. Collective Pushback
You mentioned "everyone stays quiet." It is much harder to fire a whole team than one person.
If even three of you agree to stop working through breaks on the same day, the impact will be immediate. When the work falls behind, it forces management to see the reality of the understaffing.
Summary
You are not crazy, and you are not "undedicated." You are a worker in a high-stress environment being taken advantage of by poor management practices. The exhaustion you feel is the result of being overworked and undervalued.
I’m giving up. I can’t help but feel like a failure.
This is not a job search hack or tip but a rant and a cry for help.
I (27M) have been applying for jobs for over a year now. I’m trying to crack into Data Science and I have 3 and half years of experience in IT (not in Data Science). I have recently completed my Masters in Data Analytics.
A little background about me: Straight A student throughout school, college, super into sports (national level athlete), honest and smart. My bachelor’s and master’s were in computer science or related.
I have been looking for jobs for over a year. Initially I didn’t want to lie on CV but eventually I succumbed into the pressure of everyone accusing me of being “dumb” for not lying on my CV. Despite matching my CV with every job description, I couldn’t land a single interview. I must have applied for over 1000 jobs.
Now I feel like I lost my integrity as well. At least when I couldn’t get an interview with my actual CV, I didn’t take it personally. But now, it stings, it feels like I traded away my character for a mere job. I don’t feel the same anymore.
I tried everything - got my own ATS tool, got referrals, networked like crazy (I’m not an extrovert but I can be very social) yet nothing fruitful. But when I look around, people who copied my assignments and code have landed perfect jobs. People who couldn’t even clear most of the modules without help have landed my dream jobs. Good for them but I don’t think it’s fair.
My personal life hasn’t been great either. Lost my best friend a few months back (he was working early morning shifts which meant I could call him in my late evenings and have a chat) and I feel lonely in this country. I cannot go out and have a social life because of financial commitments and couldn’t play the sport I love because it involves travelling a long distance which I cannot do either (I don’t have a car or bike).
Every day is a new low for me and I’m slowly losing my mind. I’m in a long distance relationship with a beautiful, lovely woman whom I love with all my heart but the idea that I’m a failure and she doesn’t deserve me is lingering in my mind. I’m slowly starting to accept that she’s gonna leave me one day and call me a failure to my face.
The more I think about everything that is happening, I more I realise that the only thing that could fix everything right now is a stable job in which I can build a career. Sorry for the rant, I honestly don’t know what to do! Any advice, tips or support is welcome. Thank you!
Jobadvisor
I am going to ask you to take a deep breath. Read this slowly.
You are in a dark place right now, and the exhaustion you are feeling is valid. But I need you to hear something very clearly: You are not a failure. You are a victim of a brutal, broken job market and a series of unfortunate personal events that have compounded all at once.
You are an athlete. You know that losing a season because of a bad injury or a terrible league structure doesn't mean you forgot how to play the sport. It means the conditions are hostile.
Let’s break down what is happening to you, separate the emotion from the data, and find a way to stop the bleeding.
1. The "Integrity" Trap
You feel like you "sold your soul" by lying on your CV, and because it didn’t work, you feel like you lost twice.
The Reality Check: If lying on your CV didn't get you interviews, the problem isn't that you are bad at lying. The problem is that the "lie" wasn't the solution.
The Fix: Reclaim your integrity today. Stop the lies. They aren't working anyway, so they serve no purpose other than destroying your mental health. Go back to your honest experience, but frame it strategically. You have 3.5 years of IT experience. That is valuable. You are not a "Fresher" Data Scientist; you are an "Experienced IT Professional pivoting to Data." That is a stronger narrative than a fake one.
2. The "1000 Applications, 0 Interviews" Statistic
As a Data Analyst, look at this data point. If you have sent 1000 requests and received 0 packets back, the issue is not "bad luck." It is a system error.
The Hard Truth: The "Data Scientist" job title is currently one of the most oversaturated and gatekept titles in the world. Everyone with a certificate is applying.
The Pivot: You need to stop applying for "Data Scientist" roles immediately. You are competing with PhDs and people with 5 years of specific DS experience.
Your New Targets: Apply for Data Engineer, Analytics Engineer, or Technical Business Analyst roles. Why?
You have 3.5 years of IT experience. Data Engineering requires hard IT skills (SQL, Python, Cloud, Pipelines) that pure statisticians often lack.
This is the "back door" into Data Science. Get a job as a Data Engineer, stabilize your finances, and move internally to Data Science later.
3. The "Comparison" Poison
You mentioned people who copied your code are now hired.
Stop looking at them. Some people get lucky. Some people have connections you don't see. Some people are hired into toxic workplaces where they will be miserable.
Their success does not deplete your potential. It just highlights that the hiring process is often random and flawed.
4. The Relationship & Mental Health
You are projecting your self-loathing onto your partner. You think she will leave you because you would leave you right now.
Talk to her. Do not suffer in silence. Tell her, "I am struggling with my self-worth because of this job hunt, and I’m scared I’m letting you down." If she is the woman you say she is, she wants to support you, not judge you.
The "Sports" Void: You can't afford to travel for your sport, but you need endorphins. You were a national-level athlete; your body is screaming for regulation. Run. Do calisthenics in a park. You need to sweat to burn off the cortisol (stress hormone) that is clouding your thinking. This is free, and it is non-negotiable for your mental state.
5. The Loneliness
Losing a best friend—especially one who was your daily outlet—is a massive grief event. You are grieving a death and a career at the same time.
Give yourself permission to be sad about your friend. That isn't "failure," that is being human.
Since you are in a foreign country and money is tight, look for free local tech meetups or run clubs. Not for networking (stop "networking like crazy" for a moment), but just to be around humans without a transaction involved.
Your Immediate Tactical Plan
Stop the "Spray and Pray": Stop applying for 50 jobs a day. It is destroying your soul and yielding nothing.
Scrub the CV: Remove the lies. Re-center the CV around your 3.5 years of IT experience + your Masters.
Change the Search Terms: Spend the next week applying only to Data Engineer, BI Developer, or Implementation Analyst roles. Use your coding background as your main weapon.
The "Bridge" Strategy: Look for Data roles within the industry you worked in for 3.5 years. If you worked in FinTech IT, apply for Data roles in Banks. Domain knowledge beats generic Data Science skills every time.
I can do one specific thing for you right now:
If you paste a summary of your REAL IT experience (the 3.5 years) and your Masters skills here, I can help you write a "Professional Summary" section that bridges the gap between IT and Data without lying. This might help you target those "Data Engineering" or "Technical Analyst" roles effectively.
You are not done. You are in the trenches. Keep moving.
What are some interesting/engaging career paths?
I'm not quite sure what kind of career I want but I think if I could find something interesting to do or something fulfilling I could handle working for the rest of my life and not feel like I'm wasting it. Right now I am in college and I've been looking into cybersecurity or maybe teaching English in Japan but I would appreciate more suggestions for jobs that are interesting/engaging.
Jobadvisor
Here are engaging, high-interest career paths across a range of personality types, work styles, and lifestyles. I’ll break them down by what tends to make them interesting or fulfilling, and include some adjacent options to cybersecurity and working abroad.
🌐 Tech & Cybersecurity–Adjacent Careers
If you like problem-solving, puzzles, and systems:
1. Cybersecurity (your current interest)
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Threat analyst, penetration tester, SOC analyst
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Feels like detective work; constantly evolving
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Great pay, strong job security
2. Digital Forensics
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Investigate cybercrimes, recover evidence, work with law enforcement
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More investigative/story-driven than standard cybersecurity
3. Ethical Hacking / Red Teaming
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Simulated attacks, creative problem solving, lots of autonomy
4. Malware Analysis
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Reverse-engineering malware, analyzing attacker behavior
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Very technical but intellectually fascinating
5. Incident Response
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High-stakes, high-adrenaline crisis solving
6. UX Research / Human Factors
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Combines tech with psychology; studying how people use systems
🌍 International & Culturally Immersive Careers
If what attracted you to teaching English in Japan is the cultural immersion:
7. Teaching Abroad (not just Japan)
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Korea, Taiwan, Spain, UAE, Vietnam, etc.
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Good for travel lovers or people who want community-focused work
8. International Development
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NGOs, global health, environmental sustainability, humanitarian aid
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Meaningful and mission-driven
9. Diplomacy / Foreign Service
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Long-term career, posted around the world
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Work in policy, public diplomacy, security, economics
10. Translation / Interpretation (if you enjoy languages)
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High demand in legal, medical, diplomatic contexts
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Immersive and mentally engaging
11. International Business / Global Project Management
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Frequent travel, cross-cultural collaboration
🧠 People, Psychology, Education, and Communication
If you like helping people grow or understand things:
12. Instructional Design
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Create learning experiences, courses, training materials
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Mixes education, design, and tech
13. Counseling / Psychology
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Deeply meaningful if you enjoy supporting others
14. Speech-Language Pathology
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Strong job market, visible impact on people’s lives
15. Academic Advising or Student Affairs
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Work with college students; engaging campus environment
16. Science Communication / Technical Writing
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Great for people who like explaining complex ideas simply
🔬 Analytical, Research-Driven, or Curiosity-Based Careers
If you enjoy digging into a topic or learning new things:
17. Data Science / Analytics
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Pattern recognition, exploratory work, creative problem solving
18. Research Scientist (public or private sector)
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Can be in AI, psychology, biology, sociology, economics, etc.
19. Market Research or Consumer Insights
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Understand why people behave the way they do; lots of storytelling
20. Policy Analysis
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Big-picture thinking; influence legislation and societal outcomes
🎨 Creative, Open-Ended, or Experiential Careers
If routine kills your interest:
21. Game Design / Narrative Design
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Mix of creativity, psychology, and tech
22. Film / Media Production
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Project-based work, creative challenges
23. Architecture
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Balances creativity, engineering, and problem-solving
24. Advertising / Creative Direction
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Fast-paced, idea-driven environment
25. Industrial / Product Design
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Build real-world objects, solve user problems
🧺 Outdoor, Hands-On, or Adventure Careers
If you can’t imagine yourself at a desk forever:
26. Park Ranger
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Natural settings, educational outreach, environmental protection
27. Environmental Scientist / Conservation Work
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Field work + mission-driven goals
28. Adventure Guide / Outdoor Education
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Seasonal or full-time; hiking, rock climbing, eco-tours, etc.
29. Aviation (Pilot or Air Traffic Control)
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High focus, high reward, unconventional lifestyle
30. Marine Biology / Ocean Research
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Fieldwork + science + exploration
🔧 Practical/Skill-Based Careers That Can Still Be Fascinating
If you like tangible work and mastery:
31. Engineering Technician or Technologist
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Less school than engineering, more hands-on
32. Skilled Trades (Electrician, HVAC, CNC, etc.)
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High demand, high autonomy, good pay, and surprisingly intellectually engaging
33. Robotics Technician
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Mix of mechanics, electronics, and coding