A Starbucks employee has gone viral after breaking down in tears over being scheduled to work eight hours.
Starbucks is the world’s largest coffee chain and employs nearly 400,000 people.
Comparably, which explores workplace cultures of large companies, says research suggests Starbucks employees are satisfied with their work-life balance and do not feel burnt out.
However, one barista – who is also a full-time student – has posted an emotional video calling out management.
They were apparently given a 25-hour work week, which included eight-hour shifts during the weekend.
The video has been shared by far-right Trump supporter Sebastian Gorka on X (formerly Twitter), who mockingly tweeted: “Trans Barrister has meltdown because 8 hours is too long to work on a day…”
Gorka’s cruel post – which is being trolled for its embarrassing typo – has led to many criticising the Starbucks employee.
“My husband normally works 70 hours a week and was it hard, yes but he still did it,” one person comments. “This kid needs to learn what hard work is otherwise they won’t be able to make it.”
Another adds in agreement: “Oh cry me a river. I drove a truck for 35 years. 12-14 hours a day. Sometimes gone for a month at a time.
“Suck it up buttercup.”
However, many have taken to the comments and defended the barista, arguing that it would be difficult to do an eight-hour shift alongside educational studies.
One writes: “They’re allowed to be frustrated at Starbucks and their crappy manager not pulling their weight.
“People keep bringing up their eight-hour shifts but working a job on top of being a full-time student would be tiring. They’re having a vent, so what?”
A second points out: “Wow, you are so brave for bullying a young service worker.
“A full-time college student is expected to do 2-3 hours of homework per every class hour.
“So if this kiddo is in class 15 hours a week, has 30 hours of homework, and then 25 hours of work that is a 70-hour week.”
In the viral video, the barista says that alongside the alleged treatment from management, it’s left them at their ‘wit’s end’ and that they’re struggling to cope.
“I’m a full-time student, I get scheduled for 25 hours a week. And then on weekends, they scheduled me the entire day, open to close, that one’s scheduled for eight and half hours, both Saturday and Sunday,” they explain. “I’m three and a half hours into my shift.”
The barista adds: “There’s so many customers and we have four people on the floor all day. Only five people were put on schedule and somebody had to call out.”
They go on to claim that the managers ‘don’t care about us’ and ‘don’t want to help us’, while also saying customers can be rude and misgender them.
“I don’t get accommodation for being neurodivergent, people get mad at me for having too much sick time,” they claim. “I don’t even know what to do anymore, I’m at my wit’s end with this job.”
