HELP!!!, ive never been so stressed, angry and miserable in my life!!!

in the last 18 months my stop count has gone from 135-145, where it had been for most of my 6 years on the route and 11 years of the guy before me, to 170-180 everyday. today it was 200 with an extra huge bulk stop that isnt mine. i called in sick mon and tues so i expected to get it hard but gimee a break. ( yes i was really sick. very, very sick) on the rare occasion that i call in over 9.5 or 10 i get a message saying that my numbers better be in line with OJS numbers. but they change the routes around so much, sometimes im doing a completley different route than what i was ojs'd doing. for instance when they cut routes during the summer, i get stuck with a split that has 4 hospitals, 2 schools and 2 medium office buildings, not to mention a pickup, that is anywhere from 20 to 60- 50lb boxes on the third floor ( with elevator and dock, but still, can only put 4 on 2wheeler at a time) they call THAT A SPLIT! our sup is just the most ruthless, inconsiderate jerk, we all hate him so much. last week i called in over 10, within an hour he was following me, spying on me, and taking pics. the best he came up with was that i didnt put a cone in back of the truck at a few stops. this past bid there were guys bidding out of the building just to get away from him. 20 year guys!! didnt even care where they were going just as long as they get away from him. im sure he looks great to UPS, but im so stressed out. i find myself ready to snap, sometimes even at customers. im being mean to people because im so upset all the time. sometimes ill even throw packages out of anger. i have grown to hate this job so much because of this guy. this is my 10th year driving and ive never been so miserable in my life.
 

iruhnman630

Well-Known Member
You need more than can be offered on a message board.

But for starters...work as directed, ask for help when needed, take your breaks.

Laugh at the numbers....

You can't be disciplined for performance....
 

gottogo

Member
Sorry Bro, Just do the methods, keep records of your day and smile . Everyday is different. They can pressure you all they want but when it comes down to it, as long as you are doing nothing illegal, they cannot touch you. Call Solutions if you need to.
 

srvhero

"leastbest"
You know, I have NEVER met a former UPS driver (or supervisor) that regretted leaving the company. Some had to make lifestyle changes, some did not. But all seemed very happy with their decision. My advice is to do your best, because that is all you CAN do, and start preparing yourself for a happier life. Jump on the Dave Ramsey plan, get your degree, network a little and BAM...your free. Good luck.
 

tomuchdrama

Well-Known Member
boy i guess a lot has changed since my pkg car yrs[9yrs].been in feeder 12yrs an somtimes think how the hell i did that job.[pkg car] drv feeder is almost like working for another company.the stress can eat you alive if you let it.:peaceful:
 

MC4YOU2

Wherever I see Trump, it smells like he's Putin.
There is a lot of pressure now to perform at levels that are not always sustainable, especially with daily changes. The only way to change that is to perform at your best sustainable level and no more or less, using the methods and working safe. This whole production push is an old song that corporate pulls out whenever they need to see if by some chance they forgot to tell us we need to hurry up while working. They have new tools to verify that we are working, how we are working and where. This is a phase , like many others you have undoubtedly seen in your years here, and it will pass. Not soon enough, but it will pass. I believe at some point UPS will see that they have all the blood from the stone and will again turn to a more customer oriented approach as has been done in the past and will have to put this push on the back burner. Until then just keep lookin toward the future, because this will all change many times.
 

StopCount

Well-Known Member
Find out everything about his guy you can.

Get a metal baseball bat.

THEN

Go to the batting cages and picture his face on every ball.

;-]

This job sucks sometimes...

I was feeling the same way you were.

I started listenening to hypnosis tapes at night.

It helped!
 
There is a lot of pressure now to perform at levels that are not always sustainable, especially with daily changes. The only way to change that is to perform at your best sustainable level and no more or less, using the methods and working safe. This whole production push is an old song that corporate pulls out whenever they need to see if by some chance they forgot to tell us we need to hurry up while working. They have new tools to verify that we are working, how we are working and where. This is a phase , like many others you have undoubtedly seen in your years here, and it will pass. Not soon enough, but it will pass. I believe at some point UPS will see that they have all the blood from the stone and will again turn to a more customer oriented approach as has been done in the past and will have to put this push on the back burner. Until then just keep lookin toward the future, because this will all change many times.
True, the pressure is tremendous now and has been slowly growing for a few years now. With each "improvement" in technology the pressure increases along with the stop counts. Working safe within the methods is all a driver has that they can depend on as a saving grace.
The emphasis on production is indeed an old song, but the rhythm of the tune has changed into something too difficult to keep up with and I don't look for it to change unless there is a wholesale change at the top of the UPS food chain.
Yes the new tools can show them the "when, where and how much" a driver is getting done, but it can't show how the push is effecting the driver and frankly the system just doesn't care. This technology and the thinking behind it isn't going to go away. This is no phase nor fad that will fade away save tragic The thinking is that if we can not grow the number of packages that UPS handles daily, the amount of employees used to handle them must be reduced. This is a mind set that is not likely to be changed with out changing the people that hold these thoughts. UPS top management seems to believe that there is no need for a 25-30 year driver, the work can be done faster by a less than 5 year employee. I believe that is one goal of the top brass. I believe that any hope of UPS returning to the srevice company we once were are false hopes.
For now, the only hope for a driver is to work safe, within the methods, and hope their body and mind can deal with the stress.
 

Dragon

Package Center Manager
Home - everyone here has given you some good advice. Take a deep breath stay calm, if you go off on a customer or they see you throw a package in the car there is a good chance you are done. Don't worry about the OJS if they changed it that much from the ride, it will not hold up at any panel. Make sure you are delivering the business first, then start residential. Take your lunch and break. You WILL be ok.
 

jw55wags

Well-Known Member
Home- I have seen it and lived it. I can tell you not to let them get to you. Do the methods and drive safe. Make sure that you take your lunch and break. If they know you don't take lunch they will load you down. Its an old trick they play,if they can get you to not take lunch you can and will deliver more. I know we all want to take care of our customers but you must draw the line. The stress is not worth it. The longer i work here the more goofy mgt gets. Like Dragon told you deliver the buss. first then res. If you work over 9.5 everyday then you need to file-file-file. Good luck. But please keep your cool.
 

dannyboy

From the promised LAND
You can't be disciplined for performance....

I keep hearing this line, and it is only partially true. You can be fired for performance problems, as has been demonstrated by a union shop steward that is no longer working for ups. There was a whole thread here about that, and if interested, we can start a new thread.

But I believe what the guy was trying to say is that you cant be disciplined for performance as long as you work to the best of your ability, you listen to advice from management, and keep a decent attitude. Anything less can land you in the doghouse.

As far as the baby part, you can control that part of your life. It gets very expensive when you start having young ones.

The sup is playing head games.

The job at times is like playing poker. You cant let them see you crack, if you do let them see you crack, they will exploit that to the fullest.

UPS over the years has promoted some real sadists, people that enjoy making other peoples lives a total terror. Not that they really expect you to do much better on road, they just like messing with peoples minds.

You have to shut the games out of your head.

Do your job properly, to the best of your ability, keep your calm always. If you lose it at work, at best you wont have a job, at worst, your wife and kids wont have a husband or provider.

There have been tens if not hundreds of thousands that have gone through what you are going through. Always remember, this too shall pass.

Find some way to rid yourself of the aggression and tension if possible. A gym, ball game, video game, anything. Just leave it at work, dont bring it home.

Keep your chin up, you are one of the proud, the few, you are a good UPS'er.

YIMP

d
 

3 done 3 to go

In control of own destiny
Work in your comfort zone. I believe to work at your pace not theirs. Not only for you, but for everyone you come in contact with everyday."safety" Follow the methods. Their numbers kill themselves. If you try to keep up with them you will kill yourself. File,File,file. You can also call the 800 number about what manager is doing to you. Harassment,stalking,personal attacks
 

BLACKBOX

Life is a Highway...
Yes, great advice from all. It's very important you not take this kind of stress home, leave the grief behind when you hit that clock. Things have a way of working out and it seems like they are testing you to see just how much they can get away with at your expense.

Please don't take this situation out on the customers or packages, they have no control on how UPS does things internally. We've all been there at some point of our career with UPS so don't feel like we don't it's not happening just to you.
 

dannyboy

From the promised LAND
One more thing, misery tends to feed itself until it has totally consumed you. Dont let it get that far.

If you need people to talk to, there are several here even that you could contact via PM.

d
 

brown67

Well-Known Member
I bid a route about 10 years ago where the previous driver had been been skipping his lunch. Needless to say the sup came down hard on me over my numbers being an hour worse than the previous driver. Was pressuring me to skip my lunch. Got great advice from a senior driver who told me to turn it around on the sup. Whenever she started harassing me in the morning I would just ask her for a ride along. I would play a little dumb and just tell her to come out with me and I would ride in the jump seat and she could show me how to run the route scratch.
Every sup I know hates going out on route all day with a driver, especially if you have a 10+ hour day. Also, they hate delivering. What happened with me is the sup just starting leaving me alone. It works quite well. Sup knows your not intimated, and they have a really hard time pressuring you, because they know you'll just turn it around and ask them to come out on a ride along. Most sups like yours use fear to motivate and a lot of drivers will react with fear or anger. When you turn it around on them and start asking for help it puts the sup in awkward situation. Can't discipline, because you are asking for help, and if you do get pulled into the office you can say the sup won't help you. That you want a ride along, and help from the sup to show you how run your route faster. Put the ball in his court to have him demonstrate how to run your route scratch.
 

ups1990

Well-Known Member
In our center we have a driver currently on stress leave. He felt the same way you are feeling. Who knows when he'll come back and what happens thereafter. It's an option and no driver, I believe will take resentment. We all know how this company can stress a being to the fullest. Hope things take a turn for the best.
 
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