Managers not allowing employees water bottles.

[Rageaholic]

Except I still have a problem with this. There's a difference between not suffering health problems and being comfortable. Sometimes I'm very well-hydrated, but my mouth and throat get dry from talking.

Why do people so easily accept it when their company comes up with a policy that says, in a nutshell, "We will do the bare minimum to keep our employees alive and moving so that they may serve us. Their comfort and humanity are not our concern."

Policies like banning harmless water bottles put downward pressure on productivity (as employees become disgruntled) and put upward pressure on wages (as disgruntled employees demand more to stay). It's not just bad for the employees; it's bad business.

You said it. The research only looks at what can keep you alive. It's still a basic need for comfort that can easily be provided if they would just allow water bottles. No offense to blaquekaatt, but that's not what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about a very simple right that is limited because of an idiotic policy. I absolutely despise stupid rules like that. To me, it just sounds like a petty control issue (unless I can be proven wrong).

[KabeRinnaul]

Most likely the rule is in place, at least for cashiers and the like, because management believes that letting them have drinks on the clock will somehow look bad to the customers. Maybe they think it will give the impression that we're not working.

And I kinda have to laugh a bit at the idea of pretty much any of my managers or supervisors taking over for me in an emergency like that. I think maybe one would be willing.

[KitterCat]

About the only business I can think of for not allowing a water bottle is in the medical field. When I use to work in a lab we weren’t allowed any food or drink in the lab. You didn’t want to touch a tube/container with a specimen in it (blood, urine, anything that can come from the body) and then touch the cap of your water bottle. It was a sure fire way of eventually catching something. Can we say Gonhna-riha-herp-il-aids? During lunch or breaks you washed your hands before you ate/drank anything. And you know what, the human body learned to adapt. After a couple of days you found you could go 2 hours with out having to drink something every 15 minutes.

Now in a job that requires a lot of customer interaction. You definitely need water, something, anything to drink so that you can keep your voice working. Other wise you cant do your job very well when it stops working. Some bosses need to stop being such jerks, especially in the retail world and realize different jobs need different requirements.

[Rageaholic]

Most likely the rule is in place, at least for cashiers and the like, because management believes that letting them have drinks on the clock will somehow look bad to the customers. Maybe they think it will give the impression that we're not working.

And I kinda have to laugh a bit at the idea of pretty much any of my managers or supervisors taking over for me in an emergency like that. I think maybe one would be willing.

*Silently fumes*

I'm going to guess that some customers complained about the cashiers drinking on the clock. Just reading stories on the forum, we all know customers love to complain to management about the stupidest things. So because some customers found it "offensive" that employees are humans with basic needs, management decided to kiss their ass and cater to their complaints. As someone who is currently unemployed and has never worked in retail, I have one thing to say to the customers of these places...

GET A FUCKING LIFE YA LOSERS!!!!

Jeez! No wonder sites like CS exist! I swear, if I ever see an employee being treated like crap, I'm going to post a letter on PlanetFeedback! And it won't be asking for free stuff!

I don't know how y'all keep your sanity dealing with the bull shit dished out by both customers and management, because I probably wouldn't last a day dealing with the crap they expect an employee to put up with for minimum wage...

[Fryk]

KitterCat, Gonhna-riha-herp-il-aids may be one of the funniest things I will hear all day.

[guywithashovel]

When I worked at Wal-Mart, we were allowed to have water bottles with us---if we brought in a doctor's note saying we had to have water with us at all times. Rules such as this are simply management lauding their power over their employees and pushing them around. Try as you may, you simply cannot come up with a good defense for such a policy.

However, I do think it bears mentioning that in chain businesses, it isn't reasonable to get overly angry at the store level management for enforcing these rules. Keep in mind that they have corporate level management to answer to. For example, if the management at the Wal-Mart where I worked allowed us to have water bottles, then they could have gotten in trouble if the district or regional manager had come in and seen us with the bottles.

[Rageaholic]

When I worked at Wal-Mart, we were allowed to have water bottles with us---if we brought in a doctor's note saying we had to have water with us at all times. Rules such as this are simply management lauding their power over their employees and pushing them around. Try as you may, you simply cannot come up with a good defense for such a policy.

Just as I suspected. If there is one thing I cannot stand, it's control freaks. They make everyone's lives miserable with their stupid rules for no reason other than to boost their egos. Even as a kid, I could never accept "because I said so", as a good reason for something. If you can't come up with a good reason, than I see no reason why I should do what you say.

However, I do think it bears mentioning that in chain businesses, it isn't reasonable to get overly angry at the store level management for enforcing these rules. Keep in mind that they have corporate level management to answer to. For example, if the management at the Wal-Mart where I worked allowed us to have water bottles, then they could have gotten in trouble if the district or regional manager had come in and seen us with the bottles.

Cause I'm sure the big wigs at the top aren't allowed to have water in their big fancy office. Why is it always the people with their heads up their asses who have so much power?

[BlaqueKatt]

I'm talking about a very simple right that is limited because of an idiotic policy. I absolutely despise stupid rules like that. To me, it just sounds like a petty control issue (unless I can be proven wrong).

at one of my jobs we were allowed water bottles only-one co-worker "forgot" hers and brought a cup, spilled it on the computer and power strip $4000 worth of damage(it shorted out other equipment connected to the powerstrip as well)-water was banned from the workstations after that-all it takes is one person being a "spshel snowflake" and not having a bottle because they "forgot it" but still "need water"-manager doesn't catch it-damage ensues.

[Boozy]

That would be a fine argument for a "no drinking glasses by computers" policy. But it has nothing to do with water bottles.

[DesignFox]

Many of my jobs technically forbid employees from having food or drink on the sales floor.

I can't think of a single manager that forbid us from having water bottles despite that rule. As long as the drink was capped and kept out of sight, we were permitted to have them rather than fall over from dehydration or lose our voices. (Almost all of my jobs have been sales oriented. Gotta have a voice to do my job properly)

I can understand banning open containers. There are plenty of ways you can spill and damage equipment or cause a slipping hazard. But water bottles? Really?

[blas87]

I'm pretty thankful right about now that we have bubblers all over the factory and all you need to do is tell someone you'll be right back and go get a drink whenever you want.

[Lace Neil Singer]

At the garden centre, the manager banned water bottles til the day that I fainted due to dehydration. After that, I had a water bottle under my till and if he said anything, I just said, "Remember that day I fainted?" XD

[BlaqueKatt]

at one of my jobs we were allowed water bottles only-one co-worker "forgot" hers and brought a cup-all it takes is one person being a "spshel snowflake" and not having a bottle because they "forgot it" but still "need water"-manager doesn't catch it-damage ensues.

That would be a fine argument for a "no drinking glasses by computers" policy. But it has nothing to do with water bottles.

requoted the relevant part-we WEREN'T allowed glasses-but one coworker thought her "right" to have water at her workstation trumped her forgetting to bring her bottle.

[Rageaholic]

requoted the relevant part-we WEREN'T allowed glasses-but one coworker thought her "right" to have water at her workstation trumped her forgetting to bring her bottle.

So it sounds like the rules were fine the way they were. It wasn't water bottles that damaged the equipment, it was the spill from the glass. Had she had her water bottle it wouldn't have happened.