Very nonvegan job getting hard to deal with.

[Rin]

Hello vegans of veganforum!

I’ve been working at a fast food place for almost exactly a year now. I initially got hired before I was vegan, and have been slowly going vegan for the last year. Have been cold turkey for seven months now, and as I get more and more into animal rights and animal ethics, I’m finding it really really hard to work there every day. I’m getting another, better job very soon most likely, but I’ve got about three or four months left at this one before I can leave.

I’m one of the only trained backline workers, which means I’m handling meat 6-8 hours a day, 5 days a week. And it’s really starting to wear on me - I want to attend Save events and do protests and help animals, not help mangle their corpses all day. Quitting isn’t really an option - I need those couple more months of saving to pay for school and starting over at a new job is not a viable option as it would both burn bridges(bad for future references) and lower my pay as I’ve had raises since I started working. Plus, I don’t think anyone would understand my reasons for quitting as the people around me have no problems with meat and think I’m being overly sentimental for feeling like this.

So basically, any suggestions for how to cope with this situation? Or if not, maybe just some support? Handling meat didn’t used to bother me, but now it makes me feel sick, and I can really only think about the sentient beings it came from. I know this is a good thing in the long run for my transition, but getting through these last couple of months is going to be brutal for my mental health.

 

[TofuRobot]

Hello and welcome! First of all, huge HUGS to you. I used to be in your position, not in the back handing it, but serving it, so I understandunde you must feel. One thought - is there a way you could find temporary work until whatever your next job? Maybe search on Craigslist in the Gigs section or something? In the meantime, I don't really know what to do except to disassociate. I was pescatarian when i started in the restaurant before I became vegan, and now i just couldn't do that kind of work anymore. Thank goodness I completely changed fields. I used to really hate going to work....

 

[rogerjolly]

Hi Rin,

I really do commiserate with you. You are so stuck between a rock and a hard place. Just two suggestions that might help you get through this:

It appears that this job might well have played a major role in your conversion. If this is the case then convince yourself that these horrible experiences will make you stronger and more committed for the future.

Get yourself a calendar and circle every date over the next few months when you have to do this work. At the end of every work day put a cross over the circled date. That should work wonders for your mental health.

All the very best. Chin up.

Roger.

 

[Jamie in Chile]

I personally think you should make more effort to find another job and be willing to take a slight salary reduction if needed. Make more effort to find something else at a similar salary, find it, and then quit.

I'm not asking you to do anything that would hurt your financial or other situation, I'm just wondering with more effort and imagination you could find the best of both worlds. Challenge yourself to do better.

 

[Rin]

Thanks, you guys. Your support is super appreciated - irl there’s nobody I can really vent to about this stuff and have them take my concerns seriously. I was doing more or less okay with all of it up until this past week, when I guess it just really hit me on a conscious level what I was touching and tearing up and serving to people. It’s like the switch I’d been flipping every day to go to work just finally short circuited.

I’m...currently undecided as to whether I’m going to quit or stick it out. I’m going to be off work for a week in March and a week in April, then after that, I am definitely going to be looking for a new job(a really good, animal-centered job, I hope!), so with it being that soon I’m not sure it’s worth the transition. Then again, if I find that I really can’t deal with it on the short term, that might be the way to go.

Thanks so much for the encouragement!

 

[Jamie in Chile]

Best of luck to you and hope you sort out the situation for yourself as best as you can.

 

[Flowrydabae]

I remember back when I turned vegan, my McDonald's job was horrid. So, I encouraged everyone at the register to buy a salad with no meat or dairy and offered to pay the tax on their meal. Hint: please don't do this. Not only are you gonna be broke because people will only go to your register to save some money, but you'll also get fired. Just apply for a job you can bare, and quit your old one when you get hired for a new job.