Ask by Lucia P09: How deep is your role in a company as an intern?
I am a first year communications and international relations major. I have finished my internship at an NGO and decided to work for a health care service company that specializes in massage therapy until the start of my third semester to gain more experience and earn some extra income.

Apart from my boss and his partner we are all interns! He claims that he is taking us under his wing and is guiding each of us in our respective fields, but he makes us do everything in his company. And most of us are biting more than we can chew.

As a communications intern I agreed to translate the company’s website into two different languages and to write articles for magazines and newspapers about the company’s health care sessions and courses. But he wants me to book radio and tv interview and make a deal with the ministry of tourism so that they promote his company to tourists. He also wants me to work on the company’s pamphlets and flayers as well as help other interns write articles.

Furthermore he is disappointed that my articles have not been published by a major newspaper. I believe most newspapers require the company to pay for the space of their advertisements, but he wants them for free. So i have to email and fax the adverts and hope that the newspaper has a spare space somewhere, but so far i have not had any luck.

The business, management and multimedia interns all have to “multitask” as well, even if it is not related to their field of study.

I have tried my best to accomplish the tasks set in the contract as well as the other ones but he has complained that my work has not produced any real income for the company.

Are interns usually expected to generate income for the business or institution they are working for? I think my boss is abusing his power over us. He repeatedly threatens us that he will not write a recommendation letter nor an evaluation letter for their university. He also reduces our monthly allowance by 30% to 50 % when he is not satisfied with our work.

Some of the interns have complained to their colleges. Lecturers have met with my boss but he usually fires the interns a few days later or they quit by themselves. He then quickly finds new ones to replace them. Is there any way that I can prevent this unfair treatment towards my fellow students and towards myself?

To put the icing on the cake, the place where i work is very dirty. There are piles of papers everywhere, the desks are dusty, the carpets are dirty and there are cockroaches! Sometimes they crawl on my desk or on my feet. I spray my working area and wear bug repellent, but it doesn’t really help. Don’t these sanitary conditions break the health laws?

During my second semester, i wrote articles for a college newspaper that is distributed to several colleges and universities around the city . I was thinking of writing an article on this internship experience for my college newspaper after i finish my term with the company so as to warn others and expose the company’s ill treatment. Are there any ethical issues that would prevent me from writing about it because I was a former intern there?

thanks

Selected answer:

Answer by Bill
I don’t know about your situation, but many moons ago when I was an undergrad the guys that did internships (I didn’t bother because I had a full time job and attended part time) had an intern coordinator at their school to ensure they were treated fairly, not exploited, had reasonable working conditions, or other not on stuff. You really need to take your concerns up with that person. If he fired you because of it their is no way your college will penalize you in any way for it. You cant let ‘bully’s’ like that get away with it. They basically rely on people not going to authorities about it.

I don’t know what it was like for you at school, but bully’s feared snitches, which is why they claimed it was wrong to snitch. Don’t you snitch or I will beat you up (in this case fire you). When you tell authority you will be surprised how quickly bully’s back down – especially if you let then know should they retaliate then it will be worse for them. I could tell you stories – but suffice to say my experience is you should never ever let them get away with it. If your parents had a bit of money I would be inclined to take legal action. I can tell you from experience that makes them run scared like you wouldn’t believe.

No ethical issues would prevent me from being brutally honest about it.

Thanks
Bill

Give your answer to this question please!

Ask by Lucia P09: How deep is your role in a company as an intern?
I am a first year communications and international relations major. I have finished my internship at an NGO and decided to work for a health care service company that specializes in massage therapy until the start of my third semester to gain more experience and earn some extra income.

Apart from my boss and his partner we are all interns! He claims that he is taking us under his wing and is guiding each of us in our respective fields, but he makes us do everything in his company. And most of us are biting more than we can chew.

As a communications intern I agreed to translate the company’s website into two different languages and to write articles for magazines and newspapers about the company’s health care sessions and courses. But he wants me to book radio and tv interview and make a deal with the ministry of tourism so that they promote his company to tourists. He also wants me to work on the company’s pamphlets and flayers as well as help other interns write articles.

Furthermore he is disappointed that my articles have not been published by a major newspaper. I believe most newspapers require the company to pay for the space of their advertisements, but he wants them for free. So i have to email and fax the adverts and hope that the newspaper has a spare space somewhere, but so far i have not had any luck.

The business, management and multimedia interns all have to “multitask” as well, even if it is not related to their field of study.

I have tried my best to accomplish the tasks set in the contract as well as the other ones but he has complained that my work has not produced any real income for the company.

Are interns usually expected to generate income for the business or institution they are working for? I think my boss is abusing his power over us. He repeatedly threatens us that he will not write a recommendation letter nor an evaluation letter for their university. He also reduces our monthly allowance by 30% to 50 % when he is not satisfied with our work.

Some of the interns have complained to their colleges. Lecturers have met with my boss but he usually fires the interns a few days later or they quit by themselves. He then quickly finds new ones to replace them. Is there any way that I can prevent this unfair treatment towards my fellow students and towards myself?

To put the icing on the cake, the place where i work is very dirty. There are piles of papers everywhere, the desks are dusty, the carpets are dirty and there are cockroaches! Sometimes they crawl on my desk or on my feet. I spray my working area and wear bug repellent, but it doesn’t really help. Don’t these sanitary conditions break the health laws?

During my second semester, i wrote articles for a college newspaper that is distributed to several colleges and universities around the city . I was thinking of writing an article on this internship experience for my college newspaper after i finish my term with the company so as to warn others and expose the company’s ill treatment. Are there any ethical issues that would prevent me from writing about it because I was a former intern there?

thanks

Answer:

Answer by Bill
I don’t know about your situation, but many moons ago when I was an undergrad the guys that did internships (I didn’t bother because I had a full time job and attended part time) had an intern coordinator at their school to ensure they were treated fairly, not exploited, had reasonable working conditions, or other not on stuff. You really need to take your concerns up with that person. If he fired you because of it their is no way your college will penalize you in any way for it. You cant let ‘bully’s’ like that get away with it. They basically rely on people not going to authorities about it.

I don’t know what it was like for you at school, but bully’s feared snitches, which is why they claimed it was wrong to snitch. Don’t you snitch or I will beat you up (in this case fire you). When you tell authority you will be surprised how quickly bully’s back down – especially if you let then know should they retaliate then it will be worse for them. I could tell you stories – but suffice to say my experience is you should never ever let them get away with it. If your parents had a bit of money I would be inclined to take legal action. I can tell you from experience that makes them run scared like you wouldn’t believe.

No ethical issues would prevent me from being brutally honest about it.

Thanks
Bill

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