[Day 4] A temp worker told their contract is ending, a log of energy-saving work until the final day

Hi there, welcome.

This is a Bourbon House that will go out of business in 100 days.
The master is Wasejo-chan, a woman in her late 20s living in Tokyo.

Tonight is the 4th night since opening the shop.
I want you to see for yourself whether this shop really goes out of business in 100 days.

* * *

Are the employees at your workplace on good terms with each other?

Around here, things are pretty tense.
I don't know this company well enough to really feel it, but that's what they say.
In a place like that, the presumed unemployed person is heading to work again today.

* * *

Just because you're told your contract is ending doesn't mean your work ends immediately.
That's just how temp work is, right?

I still feel depressed the night before, but once I wake up and start getting ready, I can actually move.
I'm also careful not to use excessive energy at the workplace.
I'm in energy-saving mode now.

(※ Click here for the background on the contract termination👇)

* * *

I was originally tasked with taking over high-difficulty work that the regular employees were handling.

I thought, 'I'll learn it quickly without complaining and be able to handle it on my own,' and at first, I intended to learn it silently by myself so as not to bother those around me more than necessary.
I knew from experience that was the fastest way to become independent.

But now that it's decided my contract is ending, I no longer have a reason to work that hard.
In two weeks, I won't need this company's formats or work flows anymore.
Once I thought of that, my motivation to learn disappeared.
Well, that's just how humans are, right?

So now, I ask whatever I can without hesitation.
If I look for a memo for a minute and can't find it, I ask a question right then and there.
If there's no one to ask, I leave a note in the chat about what didn't get finished and clock out.

The person in charge of my OJT has already left the company.
In other words, I'm not under anyone's responsibility right now.

Even if I ask a regular employee a question, there's no guarantee they'll answer.
With so few days left, I'm sure they think I'm a troublesome temp worker for asking so many questions.

At first, I had the feeling of 'let's work hard together as a team,' so I tried not to cause any trouble.
But that relationship is gone now.
It feels like I've just returned to being a passerby.

I've stopped participating in small talk, too.
I stopped the 'smile for free' service and put away my unnecessary smiles.
Now I only ask questions when necessary, and otherwise, I work silently and quietly.
Not trying to fit into the circle is incredibly easy.

* * *

In the midst of all this, there was a senior temp worker at this workplace who had been there a year longer than me.
Let's call her K.

K seemed to already know that I would be leaving soon, so I invited her to lunch.

K said regretfully, "I heard. Wasejo-san, your contract is ending, isn't it..."

K and the other employees in the department had been saying since my first day, "We've had a string of short-term resignations, so we really want you to stay this time."
I've worked with them for a little while, so I understand. They probably can't function with the current number of staff.

K: "May I ask why you're leaving?"

Me: "It seems it was due to my lack of ability, and the client made the request."

K didn't seem to know that I had been unilaterally let go.

K: "Did you feel anything was off while working here?"

Me: "Rather than feeling like something was off, it was more like, 'I see, this is how this company does things.' I did feel from the start that they were just throwing tasks at me. To put it nicely, they treated me like a fully-fledged employee from day one... At the time of the initial setup on the first day, I thought, 'Anyone who's going to bail is definitely going to bail' 😞"

Since I was quitting anyway, I said exactly what I thought. I kept my tone light so it wouldn't sound like sarcasm.

K also seemed to have her own thoughts about the company, and after prefacing it with, "I'll keep what I heard from you a secret, so please pretend you didn't hear what I'm about to tell you," she began to share the internal situation of the company bit by bit.

…Hearing that, I felt like I finally understood why my support system was "like that" and why they said the "OJT system wasn't set up."
I think I'll write about the details of that later, once my contract is over and things have settled down.

But even if I understand the company's internal situation, this kind of talk won't reach the temp agency.
Even if I told them, they probably wouldn't even keep a record of it.

I would just be tagged as "landmine talent who got cut twice in the first month" in their inventory, and my document screening pass rate would just go down.

K: "Actually, the employees at this company really don't get along."

Me: "Oh. Not just indifferent, but they don't get along?"

K: "Yeah. It's especially bad among the women."

When I asked for details, I remembered situations where I thought, "Ah, so that's why that happened back then..."

The workplace where I worked the longest in the past was a company where the employees got along very well.
They were so tight-knit it was a bit off-putting, but even so, there were people I became friends with, and I think I was able to keep working there precisely because of that atmosphere.

K said this to me at the end.

"Please try to think positively and be glad you didn't have any real ties to a company like this."

Well, that's true, but having my career as a temp worker labeled as "dead stock" is still pretty painful.
I'm already seeing the real-world damage of my applications not even passing the document screening stage...

* * *

But I still have plans to go to lunch with K-san one more time.
Just that alone makes coming to work a little more bearable.

Actually, at my previous workplace (the one where I got cut after the first month), I felt relieved after going to lunch with another temp worker once my contract termination was decided.
Being able to think, "This person doesn't hate me," makes me feel much better.

Well, I might not know for sure if they don't hate me.
But if I can spend a moment of lunchtime happily, that's enough for me.

About a week after I started, K-san told me, "Wasejo-chan, you're always so cheerful and wonderful."
That made me really happy.

And yet, I'm sorry for coming to work with a blank expression now lol

Today isn't my last day, but I'll keep it calm and energy-efficient today, too.
I'm wearing a face that says, "I don't particularly hate you guys, but my heart isn't here anymore."

That was today's aspiring unemployed person.

* * *

What happened the day after lunch with K-san 👇

My second lunch with K-san 👇

The reality of the unreasonable tasks I was expected to do 👇

* * *

This note is just a place where a 30-something Wasejo-chan who couldn't become anyone talks about "days where I'm not dead, but not exactly living actively either" for 100 days, in the corner of a bar that's about to go under.

Likes, follows, comments, tips, etc., are welcome 🍸