First week at a new bakery job and I'm already depressed, exhausted, and want to quit. Need advice and a fresh perspective
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I need advice and maybe a reality check cause I don't know if this is just normal or if I'm being dramatic. Probably too soon? π
I recently just got my first real full time job a few days ago as a kitchen helper at a local bakery. I really wanted this job especially because I'm on summer break. But OMG it's only been my third day and I've been thinking of quitting multiple times. I feel so crazy and ungrateful like I know how hard the job market is and even getting this job was a struggle but this is wayyyy harder than I was let on. 6 hours a day 5 times a week but I'm doing multiple jobs in one. Not only do I have to make 50+ sandwiches for customers all on my own within the first two hours of opening, after that I have wash dishes (dishes is a STRETCH THESE ARE BIG ASS INDUSTRIAL BAKING PANS where there are easily 200+ GREASY pans stacked against each other) the goal is to get at least "20" done but I could barely get 15 done plus other dishes.
Then I have to help the chef with whatever tasks he needs me to do. But on top of that I have to sweep the kitchen floor AND the basement floor and stairs. Then I have to mop the floor and also take out the garbage too apparently? I feel like maybe this isn't a big deal and I'm just acting over dramatic I really don't know but the way my body is so sore after I get home and I just completely crash on my bed.
Yet even when I wake up after decent amount of sleep I still feel so tired and then I dread going back and doing it all over again. But what really bothers me is that I feel like this is too much for just one person like idk if I'm even making sense. I also struggling to even understand what the hell my manager wants from me because like he keeps telling me different things. He keeps saying he "understands" that I'm new and it's my first week but low-key feels like he's expecting me to be a machine π₯ yesterday he tells me I need to focus on getting as much dishes done like he literally told me that was a big priority for me so okay I'll do that.
Then Today I try to improve from yesterday and get the jump on getting those dishes done I put a timer for about an hour to get as much done as possible. Tell me why this man comes up to me and tells me I'm not fast enough, I'm like okay I understand so I ASK him how many does he need me to get done and how long should I get it done like what is his ideal goal. He starts beating around the bush and is still vague and he just keeps telling me I need to have more "energy" like I need to spend max 2min per baking pan.
I'm like how the heckkk am I gonna do that these things are big as hell. Basically he's telling me that I need to focus more on helping the chef which is my job position "helping with production" and I'm trying to be understanding like I really am but I felt so frustrated π₯΄ Like I felt like crying cause it's like I can't do anything right. One day he says this the next complete opposite. So my question is like what can I do to not take criticism at work personally? Also how do I make work feel less depressing and have time for myself outside of work. I feel like every time I get home from work I just crash and sleep for hoursss and then the next day rolls around and it just feels like my life is just work and I genuinely felt depressed thinking about how I I'm going to have to keep coming back to work for multiple months. Is it just normal for a first week? Does it actually get better? Am I being too sensitive?
TL;DR: Started a new bakery job as a kitchen helper this week (6-hour shifts, 5 days a week) and I'm already miserable, frustrated, and wanting to quit. I'm drowning under a massive workload making 50+ sandwiches solo in two hours, sweeping/mopping multiple floors, and tackling a dish pit with hundreds of greasy industrial baking pans stacked up (my goal is to wash 20+, but they take forever). My body is in agony, I crash for hours after work, and my manager is driving me crazy with moving goalposts. Yesterday he told me to prioritize dishes; today he tells me I'm spending too much time on dishes and that I need to be faster, claiming it should take a "max 2 mins per pan" and vaguely saying I just need "more energy." So he tells me I need to spend more time helping the chef and less on dishes. I feel like a failure, I'm stuck in a depression loop, and I'm dreading going back. Does it actually get better, or am I just being way too sensitive/over-dramatic? How do I stop taking work stress home with me so my life doesn't just revolve around work?
Posted May 24, 2026, 2:55 AM UTC