The work I do in Holland after leaving the Warzone...

Today was my day off, actually, I took the day off. Because my body is in pain and I hardly can move. My knee hurts a lot, I can't move my waist and I can't walk properly nowadays because of work pressure and stress. There was another reason behind the off-day.

Today I went to the 2nd job fair for Ukrainians in Almere organized by Almere Municipality. I am very disappointed today because the event was not for me though I was invited. The jobs employers offered were not according to my standard, not even close to my education level and field. I was dissatisfied thinking such a waste of time even the people from the municipality admitted that these jobs are for those who don't have skills. I asked them what about those who have skills and they answered that you have to find your own way. I didn't know what to say.

So, I left. I was looking for office or administrative work even looking for something nice where I can start my career at least and unfortunately, again there was nothing for me. One thing I was clear about today is that being educated sometimes brings difficulties in life. I am not habituated to production work or physical labor jobs but if I want to earn some money, I need to accept what I am being offered. It sometimes hurts my work ethic and dignity but as I am already working so I am just trying to find a better opportunity for myself related to my field.

Today the weather was beautiful and sunny. But I was feeling dehydrated and sick because of health issues and pain. I started feeling an insane level of work pressure and stress. The job I am currently doing is good but due to a biased mentality, and discrimination, I feel overwhelmed and do not enjoy it. On the other hand, work pressure is on so after finishing my work, I carry the stress load with me. I can not do other activities after work and after returning to my room, I feel drained and sleepy. So, a day off doesn't help me much, I stay in the room because of pain and I can't go anywhere and do some activities.

I am an F&B Attendee of a 4 star hotel in Almere. There are 2 more Ukrainians working with me, we joined this hotel almost the same time and it's been over one month we are working here. The hotel is overbooked currently because most of the rooms are booked by the Almere municipality for the refugees. So, initially, it was a hotel but now it turned out to shelter refugees as well. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the refugees and guests.

Currently, the main problem is staff shortage and I don't know why management is not hiring people. My colleagues say that due to low salary and work pressure, people don't wanna work here. Some Ukrainians are willing to work here and I don't know why they are not hiring them. Due to pressure, the dinner shift doesn't serve good food and often there are complaints and even fights. Because the food they serve for dinner for 300 people does not exactly a proper meal. They serve a very limited amount of food and not enough for an adult.

I started my work here as a dishwasher and I used to clean tables and the buffet area as well. Trust me, the dining area looks very pretty and organized but the amount of effort behind this is insane. The kitchen area is very hot and breakfast time for the refugees and guests is 4 hours. So, often we have to serve around 320-350 guests per day and only 3, sometimes 4 people handle this breakfast time. I am also part of the lunch hour team so my work pressure is double.

Recently, I started learning preparation work though I can't remember anything. I keep forgetting things and often do something wrong. Guest can't see it but other employees can notice that.

The work environment inside the kitchen is very toxic and I think that's why nobody wants to work here. Seniors are biased and they don't treat juniors nicely. Some of my shifts were so intense that I was willing to quit my job, I did even cry a lot because the pressure I was feeling mentally and physically was not good. I talked to the management and they said they will change the environment. I don't know how they are going to do that because they can't change people's mentality. I am learning everything of my own by watching what others are doing. Some don't allow me to do anything else except dish-washing. Even I was washing only dishes for around 3 weeks which was inappropriate. I hope you can understand how I was feeling at that moment doing only dishes for 40 hours a week.

I don't know if things will be better or not, so I started looking for other options for myself. I care about my health and about myself and I am already broken because of the war. I can't accept a toxic environment and stress anymore...

Thank you so much for reading...

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Love

Priyan...

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^{I am @priyanarc.... An architect, a dreamer, and a passionate writer who loves to write about life. I try to present my own perspective and experiences. Please leave your feedback and criticism because it's the only way I can know and reach your mind and thought easily...}

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All images used are captured by the author...