u/Keiuu

I have a feeling that most people that relate to this subreddit were not gifted at all. We were simply well-behaved kids (probably shy, anxious, depressed) and we likely developed a little faster than most other kids (hence we learned how to read and write sooner, which created our "intelligent" or "gifted" label)

Since we were kind of unhappy, and being obedient and doing homework was something positive for us, we relied too much on that to get affirmation and feel special, among other things. Then, real life came and it hit like a truck, and we're facing the hard truth that developing social skills was better than relying on our supposed big intelligence.

Just one out of a huge amount of examples :/

https://preview.redd.it/5a451nsy4y6h1.png?width=543&format=png&auto=webp&s=4ad297f0a43eb58a4b3b03e6822e8e4f18916290

I feel conflicted at work. I work in a factory assembling plastic pieces. I'm the only man in an area with 7 middle-aged women. Because of that, I'm the only one asked to carry boxes, unload trucks with plastic pieces, and move around containers. I do NOT hold this against my coworkers, because I'm more suited to to these activities as a somewhat tall muscular man.

We work from Monday to Saturday. My coworkers are absent at least once a week for several reasons, but often their absenses don't have any authorization to be valid. Also, we have a daily quota of how many pieces of plastic we have to produce each day. In the four months I've been here, I can reliably hit the daily quota of all plastic pieces. My coworkers on the other hand can't do this, and are only assigned the ones they can do well. There is a piece that I find difficult to work with, and it's only assigned to me because my coworkers are much worse.

There is also a new project where a piece will be assembled with several other pieces, and it's simply a more complex process, and it was assigned to me, as apparently this piece being a little bit bigger and heavier means that I'm the best suited for the assignment.

My problem is basically being the only worker in my area who arrives on time, never misses a day of work, does the physical labor the rest can't, gets assigned the most difficult piece that the others are pretty bad at, and also gets assigned a new project. I sincerely believe I bring much more to the table than my coworkers. How should I talk to my manager about this? 

I drink one energy drink per day at 10:20am. It's a sugar free monster every time.

Most of my coworkers (all in the their late 40s to late 50s) have told me at least once that they're concerned with me drinking this many energy drinks. They tell me that they're basically poison, full of chemicals, and that they can cause a heart attack anytime.

For context, this is a factory job, and since I'm the only man in this area, I move around far more than my coworkers, because besides working on my feet all day, I also have to help carry heavy things, and unloading trucks. They only work on their feet (and they sit often, I find sitting to be actually more uncomfortable, and slows you down).

I've explained to them that my consumption is fairly reasonable (ideally I shouldn't drink them I guess), but they still tell me to cut them out if possible.

Also, interestingly, I'm fat and somewhat muscular. (1.77, 100 kg) and if they were so concerned for my health you'd think they would talk about my weight, but they frequently tell me how strong and healthy I look haha.

Why are middle-aged and older people so scared of energy drinks?

Me dio covid allá por finales de 2021 creo. Estuvo feo el asunto, si me sentía bastante mal. Desde ese entonces he notado varios cambios en mi.

1. Tengo peor memoria. Algo que siempre notaba es que podía recordar detalles fácilmente, pero ahora he olvidado cosas que siento antes jamás hubiera olvidado, como eventos pasados.

2. Batallo más para leer y escribir. Siempre he sido bueno leyendo en español y en inglés, y en estos años he notado que me equivoco de maneras extrañas al leer textos que antes no deberían de tener ningún tipo de dificultad.

3. Soy menos elocuente a veces. Nunca he tenido la mejor fácilidad de palabra, pero si me siento menos hábil al hablar.

En sí no son cosas que afecten mi vida en una medida considerable, pero al parecer no soy el único que siente es menos inteligente desde haber padecido covid.

So I work in a factory, and there are several different areas where people assemble plastic parts. In the area where I work, there are 7 people including me. The attendance of 5 of those people is abysmal, as they are absent at least once a week, often more. One coworker (let's call her Nancy) has only missed two days in the last three months, and I've never been late nor missed a day or work.

Also, Nancy and I are the only ones who can reach the daily quota of all the different plastic parts that we have to assemble. Two coworkers are aging women who can't realistically do it, and the others are kind of lazy, so they get assigned the easiest parts to assemble, if they for some reason have to work with the more difficult parts, they perform pretty poorly. I feel that this point is important because of what happened next:

Today one coworker was absent yet another time, so our manager gave us an ultimatum: any absense without a medical prescription would mean a 7 day suspension. Also, from now on cellphones are prohibited on our work-tables, and we are not allowed to wear caps.

I feel that Nancy and I being subjected to the same ultimatum is unfair. Everyone uses their cellphone from time to time at their work-tables, and I wear a cap sometimes, but why the others being so frequently absent made the ultimatum also apply to people who are not chronically absent? If for some reason I can't come to work, (not because a medical situation) am I going to be suspended 7 days, despite a perfect attendance record and performance?

Tomorrow we'll have a meeting about this issue with our manager, and I'm pondering what to say. What would you say if you were in my situation?