At the Stitch Fix Bizzy Hizzy, the facilities crew is quite literally taking the warehouse down around us as we do our jobs. Bits and pieces of the warehouse are literally left on a "free" pile for employees to cannibalize-- plexiglass, craft paper, pvc pipe, stickers, lanyards, pins. You never know what bits and pieces will turn up on the pile.
This week started early dismissals, where they let us go while paying us for the whole day. They already diverted the bulk of our work to the remaining warehouses-- the Hoozy (Indiana), the Phizzy (Phoenix) and the Breezy (Atlanta). The company didn't expect so many of us to stay so long. Tomorrow we have our final employee appreciation luncheon.
Today we received tickets for a raffle for some of the larger items left and some random prizes (outdoor chairs, air fryers, speakers, a shop vac) and furniture, decorations, and a bidet. They set up the items in the back of the warehouse, where we crossed an empty central zone where the facilities team has been stacking empty work tables, unneeded conveyer belts and pieces of racks in large cardboard gaylords.
And even amid this, and as I interview for new positions that range from professional to freelance to more warehouse work, I struggle to make my numbers. I almost wonder if my body is saying, "What's the point?"
And today I realized, as we still struggle with "us against them" mentality in a warehouse full of cliques, that everyone is eager to help a friend with a temporary disability-- like pregnancy, childbirth, surgery, an accident or an injury. But if people are asked to help a stranger or a peer with a permanent disability, especially if its something alien or scary to them, some will be reluctant or resentful. And some, if faced with someone who may have an invisible disability, will behave in a manner that is judgmental and without grace.
So, as I step into another sad day in our warehouse, I ask all of us to extend grace and kindness wherever we can.
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