Sr. Cody Hann stares at the ceiling. 2 a.m. Even with school the next morning, he still cannot sleep. His mind is still racing from the hecticness at work; being a manager is more difficult than it seems.
When people think of the word “manager” they think bossy. However, there’s a lot more to being a manager than just bossing people around. Sr. Cody Hann, a former manager of Firehouse Subs, said, “People really do not realize that it is more than just dictating and designating responsibilities.” Non-employees may claim that being a manager is really laid back and easy, while others managers do is yell at people. From the outside, either of these claims can seem true, but it’s all about perspective.
Being a manager puts a lot of mental stress on themselves, even though sometimes they look like they aren’t busy. “They have to make sure other employees are doing things right,” Hann said. “If the tasks do not get completed, the manager is completely held accountable the next day.”
Hann said, “I personally stress about being responsible for untrained employees during a lunch or dinner rush when everything gets way too busy and the employees are being way too slow and/or are making things wrong creating even more problems to deal with because customers aren’t happy.”
Being a manager means being responsible for the store and your employees. The manager is the one who has to make sure the customers are happy, the store is safe, and nothing could go wrong overnight.
On top of the stress during working, managers have to go out of their way and contribute in group chats, setting up manager meetings, and more. They are also responsible for closing the store, which includes making sure all the doors are locked, lights are off, and just making sure that the whole store is safe for the night. “Always being responsible for closing makes you become more of a night owl because you are up later in the night than you usually would, depending on the person,” Hann said.
WO Alumni Claudette Diaz is a Wendy’s employee who recently was offered a manager position that she declined. “Being a manager is a lot of stress and work. I see how much stress the other managers go through and I didn’t want to be in that position,” Diaz said.
Stress is many people’s reason for not being able to sleep at night. Being a manager is more stressful than a typical job, so the stress may make falling asleep challenging. A manager could be as tired as ever but is still thinking about work the next day. There is plenty to think about in the life of a manager.
Although being a manager can be overwhelming at times, there are definitely perks. Managers are paid more than crew members, they have free time whilst employees that they are responsible for are working, and they are given an ego boost by being called a manager.
What is common knowledge to most about being a manager is just the tip of the iceberg. There is much more work that goes towards being a manager than most assume.
