A Case Of The Mondays: Vent Your Work Spleen Here

[RealHousewife]

11 minutes ago, partofme said:

I actually did have a manager like this who never replied to emails.  She was one of the nicest managers I ever had, the day to day was great but she wasn’t a very effective manager.  My situation was a little different in that I didn’t need her to train me on anything though, I had been in the position before she became my manager and I understood the job better than she did.  We got a lot of emails and I know she didn’t respond to my colleague’s emails either.   This was pre Covid and I had to go into her office if I sent her an email that I needed her to reply to urgently.  I did like reporting to her on a day to day basis as she was easy going, I always got whatever time I wanted off, if I needed to leave early or come in late it was never an issue, but she was ineffective as a manager in that she was always promising me promotions and stuff and there was no follow through.  

I would think email etiquette would be a big part of most modern jobs. My supervisor is pretty nice so far, so if she is like your former manager, I can work with that. I just hope she understands if I'm not picking up as quickly as I could be. I wish they had me training under someone else. I've had supervisors who were very passionate about their jobs and helping everyone, and that is how I prefer it. 

I will take someone nice and laidback and horrible with emails over someone who's quick responding but not so nice. 

Edited April 22 by RealHousewife

[BlueSkies]

I’m thinking back to a former manager I had years back.  He was pretty funny and truthful.  But at the same time not a hard worker at all and he just quit the job one day,  I looked his name up and it seems his work history is like that.  Moves around and only stays in work gigs shortly.   
 

Kind of leads to my next point of It Is What It Is when it comes to working.  The company I work for is really pushing a work happiness study if you will of employees.  Like questions are along the lines of are you proud to work for this company.  It’s supposedly “anonymous”.   I mean in theory it’s a good idea it just comes across more forced to me.  And as I say when it comes to work I have a it is what it is kind of attitude toward it.  

Edited April 23 by BlueSkies

[Cloud9Shopper]

Does anyone here have experience with freelancing? I’ve only done it on the side, and not often, so not sure what’s normal and what’s not.

I’ve been doing some editing work for a company, and I currently have two invoices due for payment. They told me that the invoice due on May 12, they will process the Friday before (seems reasonable) but the invoice due June 10, they won’t process until June 14 because the 10th is a Monday. They also of course gave the caveat that it may take a few days for the money to hit my bank, meaning that I won’t be paid until after the invoices are due.

Is this normal? I’m thinking of getting out of my contract or seeing if it’s possible because I don’t think I should have to wait until after the invoices are due for payment. And if the money doesn’t show up in my account for a few days, what am I supposed to do? I am relying on this extra income while I look for a better paying full time job but they seem to be taking their very sweet time. At most, I will finish the work I have with them and never work for them again due to their practices about payment. My next assignment starts about two weeks before the second invoice will even be processed.

It feels unfair but maybe I’m wrong in this situation. 

[ginger90]

2 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

It feels unfair but maybe I’m wrong in this situation. 

What does your contract say?

[Cloud9Shopper]

It does say that they process payment the first Friday after the due date of the invoice. I will just have to cross my fingers that my bank gets the payment quickly and puts it in my account. (I have gotten direct deposit notices on Saturdays before so it’s possible with my bank at least.) I must have missed that part, which is my own fault (I did think I read carefully) or maybe I misunderstood it and thought the payment would be there on the due date of the invoice rather than them just starting to process it. 

I think I will finish my contract and then not work for them again. Hopefully by then I’ll have a better paying full-time job, as this kind of payment schedule does not work for me and this is also why I don’t freelance full time. Waiting two months for payment but having to take assignments in the meantime while you wait is just not fun. I have written for other websites that paid much quicker. Maybe within a week after they published my article, if that. 

I did have a promising job interview yesterday, and when I was checking my emails after the interview, I had an invite to schedule panel interviews with my top choice employer. So here’s hoping one of those two things works out soon. I really can’t get by on my current pay and companies who are slow with work payment much longer. 

Edited April 23 by Cloud9Shopper

[partofme]

23 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Does anyone here have experience with freelancing? I’ve only done it on the side, and not often, so not sure what’s normal and what’s not.

I have never freelanced, but in my most recent position I did sometimes have to approve freelancer timesheets, I think they normally got paid the pay period after they submitted their invoice, but I would sometimes get emails from freelancers about missing payments and would have to follow up with finance to resolve the issue.  

[Cloud9Shopper]

How do you guys deal with burnout at work? I hit a breaking point at my job last week based on some things said in a staff meeting (not to me personally, just some stuff that’s now a part of the job that we’re expected to do) and I just feel like I can’t handle it anymore. The customers are getting worse and I’m tired of being a customer servant, having to listen to tantrums and complaining all day, and make exceptions to deadlines or hear people argue when I tell them “no, not even a supervisor can make an exception for XYZ.” 

So with all that, you think I’d be motivated to apply for jobs, but I’m also burned out on the job search. I’m tired of constantly having to change my resume (am on the fourth version and I have gotten pretty consistent interviews throughout my job hunt so this probably isn’t the key issue), tired of always having to think about what I’m doing wrong that’s not getting me an offer, sick of writing out STAR answers and reviewing them, etc. I have had two interviews within the past week with two different employers, which is a positive. One was just yesterday so I wasn’t expecting an answer today, and they are coming into their busy period, so I suspect I may not get a quick decision. The other interview was last week and they haven’t gotten back to me yet, but I do think they said the hiring manager would be going on vacation. And I feel disappointed in myself watching others announce their new positions and how excited they are while I sit and wait, worried my offer will never come and I’ll be stuck on the phones for years.

I’ve been monitoring the job board at my current employer so I can apply from within and at least get the internal candidate edge, but there’s nothing available right now, unfortunately.

So, for those of you who have been there, and don’t have the option to just quit, how have you managed in the meantime? I just don’t know how much longer I can keep going like I am.

 

[Ohiopirate02]

13 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

So, for those of you who have been there, and don’t have the option to just quit, how have you managed in the meantime? I just don’t know how much longer I can keep going like I am.

 

I was at this point two years ago.  I was burnt out and could not quit because my employer was the only place I could conceivably work in my area.  I was also sitting on a lot of unused vacation days, so I told my boss I was using them and he needed to find coverage for one of the two days I was going to take.  I recognize how fortunate I am that my job needs me as much as I need it, so he did not push the issue.  I then found a cheap hotel room a couple of hours away from home and decamped there for 3 days.  Again, I am fortunate that a couple of hours away from home is the beach.  It was not my preferred beach weather, but I could afford an ocean view room during the off season on a weekday.  The work situation got better after that, but I was so close to breaking that my boss definitely picked up on it even though I had been screaming for help for the past 6 or 7 months that he somehow never understood.  

[isalicat]

18 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

So, for those of you who have been there, and don’t have the option to just quit, how have you managed in the meantime? I just don’t know how much longer I can keep going like I am.

Well, I think each time I have felt "at the end of my rope" I considered the alternative: not being able to pay rent/mortgage, not being able to buy food, etc. etc. - ultimately as a self-supporting adult you just have to suck it up, or throw yourself on the mercy of others (which isn't always possible and certainly, unless in case of emergency, not very desirable). I think it is crucially important in life to have sources of joy and refreshment outside work - you have mentioned in other threads singing in your church choir, which for me was a great place of nourishment; it seems like that is wearing on you as well. Perhaps you need to take up a new hobby or find something like hiking or swimming or something else physical that takes you "out of your head" - I also like to put on some really loud EDM and throw myself around the living room to get the cobwebs out. Inner fortitude is something you are going to have to find for yourself but it is the final stage in growing up, really.