United States Postal Service

Work there was hard, Having one go through extensive physical lifting and moving, and job experiences differ from office to office, as a casual mail handler. Some offices have more extensive physical work, such as in the package plants. Others are more focused on mailing letters, and some jobs there require less physical labor. employees are expected to stand for eight hours with a minimum of three breaks. It is also expected to work longer hours in December, the busiest month of the year. One may find themselves having to move from office to office depending on workloads.

An average day at the Van Buren office, the one where I was mainly assigned, had me drive from home to their gated employee parking, using my ID badge to get past the doors. Immediately inside was a cafeteria, some vending machines are common, but other offices do not have this luxury. At the time I was told to clock in I had to swipe a time card at one of the terminals located around the area. The entire area is one large room with noise from the machines predominantly humming and whirring. I went to my assigned area and sorted letters, but could have been moved by my supervisors to sort packages and move around large cages of mail, about the size and weight of a refrigerator on wheels. On Saturdays I commonly went to the robots, Which were large machines that sorted out mail into the cages, which had to be removed and replaced, with the cages having to be prepped for robot use, which required a lot of bending down and working with the cage.

Co-Workers were nice, and the regulars were happy to inform a casual what was required of a job one was assigned in, as often supervisors would send a casual into a work environment without training on what to do.

Management was alright, they often cannot keep track of all of the casuals at once, so they will sometimes make mistakes sending an employee to a work environment where they do not know the responsibilities required of them. Others are nice enough, but some of them try and work the casuals really hard just because they can.

Hardest part of the job personally was balancing work with school life, the management does not care about outside responsibilities, and will fire an employee for any reason if so inclined. I was part of the seasonal workers, so I was there for 4 months before being fired at the end of the year. The physical labor was difficult, especially this being my first job. Sadly there are no benefits, even working full time.

The Pay here is very good for an entry level worker, at 11$/hr, I had no problem paying for gas to get there, even if it was a half hours drive. Payday is every two weeks, After the two weeks of work they will pay you on the next Friday, so first payday is at the end of the third week, do not expect any fast cash.

Your checks will be short. Keep track with proof of all your hours. Even then you might not get it back. Management will not like you for this.
Management avoid or is incapable of its job. Hostile to the carriers except certain ones. Managers have their own sets of rules that contradict the other managers or those of the post office, which causes problems. Managers do not communicate to you or with each other and this leads to problems. The only manager who seems to want to be there is the one who is completely incompetent. Management practices CYA.
It is necessary to ask the right questions to do your job right- they will not just tell you. They will pile on you for the slightest mistake in a heartbeat. You will not be encouraged in any way. You are nothing more than a tool. The vehicles are better cared for than you. You are not respected.
It's sink or swim, but if you come up for air they'll smack you down.

Typical work day would be 8-9 hours, as a driver's mate. Would go on deliveries in both residential and commericial areas. I learned to better my navigation skills, aswell as go at a brisk pace while carrying heavy stacks of parcels. The management was generally good, only complaint would be they would often try and take advantage of the more efficient employee's by giving them a much heavier workload, with no extra compensation. My co-workers were generally a laugh, never had any issues. The hardest part of the job was dealing with abusive customers, it could be very tough to navigate the situation. The most enjoyable part was working outdoors, always being on the move around town, and keeping in shape and working at the same time.

Typical day changed by the day. Some days I would stay in the city I was hired, other days I was asked to work for another city. I learned the what happens behind the scenes with the mail business. I met more people and was known as the mail man. I honestly didn't care for the management. He used and abused his title too much but still claim to be a "friend". I worked well with my co-workers. On busy days we would help each other out but taking a load off the other. The hardest part of the job was actually learning everything at the beginning stages of employment. I enjoyed the job in general. It was relaxing and peaceful to deliver mail.

o	Print reports for drivers for special pick up and deliveries.
o	Reroute packages to proper location
o	Assist with concerns and problems with package location
o	Computer efficient constantly using word and excel daily.
o	Customer service helping with payment and completing delivery of packages
o	Printing tags and forms for international and domestic deliveries
o	Organizing drivers each morning to be prepared for special customer requests
o	Help drivers locate and load packages into UPS trucks. 
o	Assist head office with customer relations
o	Sign off and delivery packages for mechanics and head office employees of UPS

What is the best part of working at the company?
Working independently and outdoors on a beautiful day

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Over worked, physically exhausting and nobody from upper management cares

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
People are tired, overworked and don’t receive needed assistance 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I enjoy working with the public. But my aches at the end of each day

You're not told in the beginning that your hours are 2p-10p and that they give mandatory overtime almost daily.  It's usually 4 hours of overtime making you work 12 hour days ending up with a 60 hour work week.  Also, they only give you one day off a week.  Benefits and pay are great but it's not worth never seeing my family and never being able to enjoy life anymore.  Working holidays is mandatory as well.  Can not take days off around the holiday either.  It's miserable.  I wanted this job so bad.  I worked 6 months to get on with them and now I can't wait to get out.  I'm done.

I worked mid day shift and basically sorted mail o’n this machine called high speed tray sorter and it handled the letter to be sorted and prepared to be carrier routed to homes. I also transported mail to its destination using various power equipments. Its one of the best experiences I’ve had at a job but the hardest part about this job may be the people but if you know how to navigate various individuals and have good ppl skills then you’d be fine.

The jobs comes with plenty of freedom and flexibility for those who are experienced, although the learning curve can be a bit steep for rookies. This is mainly because the training lacks nuance and the totality of information needed to excel at the position. Once you're in though, the job has a union so there's plenty of security and the pay keeps increasing for years. There are retirement benefits and a thrift savings plan available for forward thinkers.

Typically I would sort the mail for the day, organizing it for delivery, then I would go out and deliver it, but then when I got back, I would have to do the same thing over with another route and often worked more than 60 hours a week. I had to work every day of the week, and never had Sundays or holidays off. The management would force you to pay for any mail that was damaged by residents, even if it was there doing...

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