Working in retail – especially while managing studies – is an experience that can have a surprisingly profound effect on how we approach our money, our time, and our interactions with people.
IÂ have worked a number of retail jobs since my high school days. These have ranged from a few months as a sales consultant in a local hardware store to several years of internship in a jewellery studio. Each job has taught me something unique, both about the work and myself.
Doing paid work enabled me to put a mental rand value on my time. My first few jobs paid minimum wage or even less, but I could still see that my time had real monetary value. I became far more conscious of my spending habits when I realised that a cup of coffee could cost me more than an hour’s work.
My time-management quickly improved too. If I found that my job was interfering with my studies, I had to do what I could to negotiate fewer or better-timed shifts. Learning to schedule and sticking to the commitments I made has served me so well in both university and my current work.
Retail is a customer-service field, which means that you work directly with people for most of the day – and people can be exhausting, no matter how extroverted you are. Many customers take advantage of retail workers because our job is service-based. They may look down on the work as menial, ignoring how important it is in our everyday lives. I have realised that these negative interactions are a reflection on them, are not to be taken personally, and often are no fault of the worker.
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