I Wore Pink to Work on Purpose, and It Was Empowering
A couple of months ago I changed my work schedule to exclusively weekends. I have picked up a couple of times during the week. I work in the service industry, specifically in the culinary department at a senior living facility. A job where most days the required wardrobe is black.
Wearing black brings with it everything it implies. Slimming? Perhaps. But not in a good way. Black like a ninja jewel thief. Someone with a secret scar that “should’ve done better.”
In the service industry, we are just a bit lower than the front line health care workers, who are also over worked and under appreciated, but who are allowed to be seen.
Direct Care vs Culinary
I have worked on both sides of the equation, both directly with patients/residents and on the sidelines, sticking strictly to serving food and cleaning up messes. In my current role we leave the food on trays in the hall. I rarely interact with patients, instead I scurry back to my post like a good little mouse and do the next thing on the list.
The job itself is straightforward, and most of my direct coworkers are good people that support one another most of the time.
The problem that lingers is the culture. The culinary department has the lowest pay, and the…
