A Case Of The Mondays: Vent Your Work Spleen Here

[DeLurker]

@GHScorpiosRule - it is always nice to hear someone has landed in a good work environment where their skills and contributions are both recognized and valued.

[AgentRXS]

@GHScorpiosRule So few of us have or ever had healthy work environments, so I am so glad it seems you've won the golden ticket! You worked so hard for it, you deserve it. I love hearing that is possible to have a non-stressful work environment.

[emma675]

GHSCORPIOSRULE, you've earned it and more!!

[BookWoman56]

@GHScorpiosRule, it's great that  you're finally in a good environment and getting positive feedback. After the horrible work situation you were previously in, you're probably still in a state of ongoing surprise at the improvement. After a while you will internalize the new environment and get used to it, which is as it should be. It shouldn't be the case that employees are overwhelmed to be treated well and rewarded for their efforts. Yet all too often it is. 

I had the initial meeting with my new dotted-line manager, and it went very well. He brought up the idea that I will probably need a new job title/role once I've been formally moved to his team. No decisions yet, but I told him I would forward my resume and a couple of other items to him so he can get a better sense of what I bring to the table. He's definitely interested in changing my role to something more than a tech writer; he wants me to get immersed in the overall project so I can assess things and make decisions as needed. So far, this is sounding almost exactly what I wanted, to the point that I feel a little weird that this entire change has been so smooth thus far. On the down side, now that my current team is aware that my role is changing, they're hitting me up with a lot of documentation and so forth to finish. I will still do some work with them, but only for certain documents, and so they want to use me as much as possible before the start of the new year. Some of it is actual writing and editing, but some is just doing some things in documents that nobody else knows how to do. I refuse to feel guilty here, because I have told my manager and colleagues several times that I should not be the only person on the team who knows how to do functions A, B, and C in Word docs or Visio files, but my existing manager was always much more interested in hiring project managers than hiring someone else with solid writing skills. My former colleague/friend who is now my colleague again because I recommended her is running into some issues with the colleague who used to do her job. This is the colleague I've mentioned before who is lazy, can't write an email without multiple typos or grammar mistakes, but who is the golden child as far as my current manager is concerned. She is one of those people who thinks that if she makes everybody else look bad, she will look better in comparison. So I'm trying to provide support to my friend, while giving her any tips I can for how to deal with the other colleague. Overall, though, I feel very good about the changes and am hoping the positive changes continue.

[ginger90]

I work in home care. A recent e-mail stated, not to call the on call or office, if we are calling off due to weather. They will not provide coverage due to weather related call offs. We are to call the “consumer” and let them know.

How is this ethical? I’m going to be meeting with a caseworker today, and I’m going to share this little factoid.

So, I guess if someone is slammed into a snow bank, they have to call off due to gastrointestinal problems, then the shift will be covered? How about the bed ridden incontinent “consumer”?

I am livid.

[DeLurker]

@ginger90 - that sounds sketchy.  I have no idea what would be SOP in the field, but this seems to be the kind of situation that all companies providing comparable services would face.  My first thought is they are trying to shift liability to you so if there is a serious medical issue, they can say you should have instructed the consumer to call 911 and they were not part of the communication chain. 

They may also have contractual obligations with the consumer to provide service as scheduled, so by avoiding talking with the consumer they avoid having to hustle up a replacement (although if it is a weather issue, they may not be able to do so anyway).

[ginger90]

18 minutes ago, DeLurker said:

@ginger90 - that sounds sketchy.  I have no idea what would be SOP in the field, but this seems to be the kind of situation that all companies providing comparable services would face.  My first thought is they are trying to shift liability to you so if there is a serious medical issue, they can say you should have instructed the consumer to call 911 and they were not part of the communication chain. 

They may also have contractual obligations with the consumer to provide service as scheduled, so by avoiding talking with the consumer they avoid having to hustle up a replacement (although if it is a weather issue, they may not be able to do so anyway).

I feel every effort should be made to find coverage, regardless of the reason for a call off. The office has access to staff contact information, we do not. So, like I said, a lie about the reason would get attention, that’s just ridiculous. 

I have been called to cover call offs , just about everyone has. They stress working as a team. Yeah ok!

[Hanahope]

So my office is open on Monday, Christmas Eve.   /sigh

One of the secretaries asked the partner if we'll get off early on Monday.  He asked (seriously), "Why?"  She had to say "uh, because my family is coming over, and we're going to church, and then we're having a family dinner."   So he said, "well, we'll see."  My own family does a big dinner on Christmas Eve as well and I want to be home to help my mother in law and sister in law get everything ready.

Not like we're getting a holiday party or bonus either.

I'm pretty sure that ultimately, he will let us go early (3 or so), but the fact that we can't absolutely count on it is so annoying.

Many years ago, when I worked at another firm, there wasn't even a question that we'd get the entire day off with it falling on a Monday.

[theredhead77]

I posted my feelings about Christmas in the peeve thread but I'll say I seriously resent my company making us use a floating holiday for Christmas eve so we can be closed. If you want the day off use vacation day. My old office was open on the 24th, if you wanted the day off you use vacation day. Now, they typically let us go a few hours early but that all comes down to the law for hourly employees 'if you ask to leave you don't get paid, if your manager or HR tells you the office is closing early or you can leave early, you do get paid.

[2727]

December 24th isn't a national or state holiday so I don't have an issue with companies not granting time off for what is essentially a normal work day. Everywhere I've ever worked required Jews or Muslims to use vacation time for their religious holidays

But I'm not Christian and don't celebrate it, so that may be a factor. ;-)

[magicdog]

For the last several years my overnight shift got Christmas off because we ran a Yule log for several hours.  There would be some news later that night but we enjoy a de facto day off.  We still get paid holiday too.  We could come into the office for our regular shift but nobody does!

[Hanahope]

1 hour ago, theredhead77 said:

I seriously resent my company making us use a floating holiday for Christmas eve so we can be closed.

My office has a floating holiday that the employees have to choose between MLK day, presidents day and day after thanksgiving.  Everyone choses the day after thanksgiving (which again, my old firm automatically gave off - in addition to those other 2 days).  My current firm gives the absolute minimum, New Years day, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas.  Employees have to use vacation days for anything else. 

 

It used to be a real pain when my kids were younger because school gave them everything off and the daycares followed school schedule.  There are some places that do these 'holiday camps' for kids (must be toilet trained - so didn't work for real young'uns), but they usually went 9-5, so that wasn't always helpful for full time working parents.  

parents in my office just bring the kids to the office, no other choice.  I did too.  

My kids are older now, so they can be left at home.

[theredhead77]

1 hour ago, 2727 said:

December 24th isn't a national or state holiday so I don't have an issue with companies not granting time off for what is essentially a normal work day. Everywhere I've ever worked required Jews or Muslims to use vacation time for their religious holidays

But I'm not Christian and don't celebrate it, so that may be a factor. ;-)

Technically I'm Jewish (though completely non observant). What if I wanted to use my two floating holidays for the High Holidays but now I only get one because I'm forced use it for Christmas Eve. 

[bilgistic]

OK, y'all, I just applied for what could be a very meaningful and impactful job at a museum/foundation. Please send up/out good thoughts to the universe to give me a break now! :)

[GHScorpiosRule]

25 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

OK, y'all, I just applied for what could be a very meaningful and impactful job at a museum/foundation. Please send up/out good thoughts to the universe to give me a break now! :)

[DeLurker]

^^^^

What @GHScorpiosRule said!

[theredhead77]

54 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

This one made me literally snork my water.

GOOD LUCK @bilgistic!!!!!!!!!!

[ParadoxLost]

7 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

I posted my feelings about Christmas in the peeve thread but I'll say I seriously resent my company making us use a floating holiday for Christmas eve so we can be closed. If you want the day off use vacation day. My old office was open on the 24th, if you wanted the day off you use vacation day. Now, they typically let us go a few hours early but that all comes down to the law for hourly employees 'if you ask to leave you don't get paid, if your manager or HR tells you the office is closing early or you can leave early, you do get paid.

The way my work is, floating Holidays are just more vacation days I don't have time to take or vacation days that I need to work over time before and after in order to have some chance of not working during the vacation days I do take.

I would be willing to give up the observation of anything just to have some "the universe is closed" days where the work stops coming while on vacation/holiday and I don't have to deal with how coverage of the days everyone wants off are divided up fairly and the resentment of those who have to work to cover and the entitlement of those that get the time off and somehow feel  like they are being treated unfairly (people suck and baffle me) and the people who don't have to worry about covering anything and feel like its ok to load up work before the Holidays despite knowing that they are doing it to people who are trying to take some time early because they have to cover.

[BookWoman56]

6 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

Technically I'm Jewish (though completely non observant). What if I wanted to use my two floating holidays for the High Holidays but now I only get one because I'm forced use it for Christmas Eve. 

I think it is extremely crappy that your work is forcing you to use a floating holiday so the office can be closed. If they want the office closed on December 24, then that should be a paid holiday just like other holidays, that doesn't cut into your personal floating holidays. I don't see that this is any different from a situation where, for example, the office is closed because of severe weather or something, and the employees should get paid for the day because it wasn't their choice to skip work. Where I work, we are open for December 24, as well as December 31, but we got the email yesterday that everyone can leave at 2 pm local time on those days, assuming there's nothing critical going on. We have regular PTO, paid holidays, and a couple of personal holidays. Floating holidays are reserved for times when an actual holiday would fall on a non-work day, such as if July 4 falls on a Saturday, then  you can use those 8 hours on another day. The personal holidays are intended to be there for people who have non-Christian religious days they want off, but it's obviously not required that you be religious at all to use them. I do find it interesting that they are now tracking whether  you use the day for religious reasons, though; when you go into the system to put the request in, if you select a personal holiday as your type of time off, there is now a pop-up that asks you if it is for religious purposes. It gives the option of "Prefer not to answer" as well. I'm just wondering if HR is trying to get a sense of exactly how many people are using a specific day as their personal religious holiday.

I'm not religious at all, but am taking December 24th off as a regular PTO day so I can do various things to get ready for Christmas, which this year involves my 90-year-old mother who lives with me now, who is Christian, my son (agnostic), his wife (Buddhist), my daughter (half-Jewish), her boyfriend (family is Muslim but no longer religious), and my younger sister and her husband and son (fundamentalists). The thing I dislike about Christmas is that people get so damn obsessed with it; there's music, TV movies, decorations, massive pressure to buy gifts, etc. It's a weird hybrid of a religious holiday and a secular holiday, with the primary focus being OTT consumerism.  In the workplace, though, I'm tired of the general assumption that everyone is going to observe it as a religious holiday, and  that everyone wants to participate in a holiday gift exchange. Because I don't work in the same physical office as most of my colleagues, I'm exempt from the gift exchange, thank goodness. 

[Bastet]

59 minutes ago, BookWoman56 said:

I think it is extremely crappy that your work is forcing you to use a floating holiday so the office can be closed. If they want the office closed on December 24, then that should be a paid holiday just like other holidays, that doesn't cut into your personal floating holidays.

Yeah, I'm so befuddled by this -- it's not a company holiday, but everyone has to use one of their floating holiday days so that no one is there?  That's some deep-fried bullshit.  If they want to make it a non-work day, make it a company holiday.  I'd show up for work (whether I could get in or not) and make a point of being there/attempting to be there and then use my floating holiday day off for something I actually wanted to celebrate.

[ParadoxLost]

23 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Yeah, I'm so befuddled by this -- it's not a company holiday, but everyone has to use one of their floating holiday days so that no one is there?  That's some deep-fried bullshit.  If they want to make it a non-work day, make it a company holiday.  I'd show up for work (whether I could get in or not) and make a point of being there/attempting to be there and then use my floating holiday day off for something I actually wanted to celebrate.

I don't think there is a way to win in this.  Companies don't just decide that there are variable holidays.  They set a certain number per year.

My company sets holidays new every year.  They basically have some they always observe.  They use floaters to make a long weekend depending on when some holidays fall.  And the balance become floaters.

Some people (me) hate floaters because it puts you behind and you are more apt to need to be accessible for emergencies.

Some people would hate floaters not being used to make a long weekend (because long weekend)

Some people want there floaters because the holidays taken aren't the ones they observe.

All of the above are valid.  I do think that people should be able to sub in days for holidays they observe for ones they don't but I also have seen enough to know that would quickly devolve into a bunch of petty whining for no good reason.

Because everything devolves into petty whining for no good reason.

[theredhead77]

12 hours ago, BookWoman56 said:

I think it is extremely crappy that your work is forcing you to use a floating holiday so the office can be closed. If they want the office closed on December 24, then that should be a paid holiday just like other holidays, that doesn't cut into your personal floating holidays.

 

10 hours ago, Bastet said:

Yeah, I'm so befuddled by this -- it's not a company holiday, but everyone has to use one of their floating holiday days so that no one is there?  That's some deep-fried bullshit.  If they want to make it a non-work day, make it a company holiday.  I'd show up for work (whether I could get in or not) and make a point of being there/attempting to be there and then use my floating holiday day off for something I actually wanted to celebrate.

The best part (/sarcasm) is this is policy by the area I'm in now (in "the south"). In my old area (California) the office was open on the 24th and of course people were free to use vacation or floating holidays. This isn't just because it makes a 4-day weekend, it's the company policy for this area. The 2019 vacation schedule has the same shit. I went round and round with HR about it when I moved. It pisses me off because it's just more 'religious influenced bullshit' that I have to deal with in "the south" (like not being able to buy booze before noon on Sunday). Fuck that noise. If I was actually religious (and attending Jewish High Holidays) and wanted to make waves I'd look into suing. 

[Hanahope]

12 hours ago, BookWoman56 said:

I do find it interesting that they are now tracking whether  you use the day for religious reasons, though; when you go into the system to put the request in, if you select a personal holiday as your type of time off, there is now a pop-up that asks you if it is for religious purposes. It gives the option of "Prefer not to answer" as well. I'm just wondering if HR is trying to get a sense of exactly how many people are using a specific day as their personal religious holiday.

Since there's a constitutional right to practice your religion, I think they do this so they know they can't ask you to change the day, if say, too many people want the same day off and they need to get a couple people to give up the day off.

[GHScorpiosRule]

In all the jobs I've worked, from college on, I've worked on Christmas Eve. BUT, back then, stores and shops would close early on Christmas Eve. And later, firms I worked at would let everyone leave early, but we'd still get paid for the full day. This year would have been the first time I would have had to work a full day, and that's okay. Because my parents aren't here. And I don't have plans to go anywhere. However. the firm decided to close the office on Christmas Eve, so that people could have that time with their families. So woot!woot! I have a four day weekend! I wanted to use my floating holiday for Diwali last month, but I hadn't accrued enough hours to quality, so I can use it next year and tag it on to my vacation, or use it for Diwali next year.

And HOLY TINSEL, BATMAN! I got a cash gift from one of the firm's partners! Something I was NOT expecting. And this isn't related to any end-of-year bonus, because those come in the form of checks and are taxed. Going straight into my bank, those Benjamins and Grant.

[DeLurker]

@GHScorpiosRule - Genuinely happy for you!  It sounds like the firm is made up of decent people who understand and appreciate the value of a good employee - I am so happy that you have landed up there!

[Hanahope]

Hey!  We got an email from the partners saying the firm will be closed on Dec. 24.  Yay!  Its really the least they could do, but its something.

[JTMacc99]

My company requires me to use a flex or vacation day for the day after Thanksgiving.

Here is why:  We're open 24/7. If something happens, a service disruption for example, somebody has to be manning the phones to talk to customers, somebody has to be in a truck to go fix it. If service goes out on Thanksgiving morning, people will be PISSED if we say, "hey, it's a holiday, we'll look into it tomorrow." And the day after Thanksgiving is just another business day as is the Saturday after Thanksgiving. 

So the vast majority of our employees come to work because we're open for business that Friday. But I work in the corporate office. We don't really do much interacting with customers, and our functions aren't really necessary to be up and running on that Friday. So long ago the decision was made that corporate would be closed that day, but we would need to use a flex or vacation day since the rest of the company wasn't also going to get that day off.

And I've got 25 days of flex and vacation to use each year. It's not a big deal to me. 

Edited December 21, 2018 by JTMacc99

[theredhead77]

1 hour ago, JTMacc99 said:

And I've got 25 days of flex and vacation to use each year. It's not a big deal to me. 

I get 80 hours of vacation time and 2 1 flex days plus 5 sick days. Another shitty thing is that I can only roll over 40 hours and have to use it by June (which I now understand is how most of the country operates - *I* still think its bullshit). I used a sick day for the first time since I moved, the day I came back from vacation. I was just d.o.n.e. Thankfully boss is super cool and knows if I am taking a sick day I must be dead. Since I'm salary I have some flexibility to my schedule, as long as I work 4 hours in a day I don't have to use time so when I go to the doctor and am gone for 2 hours it's no big deal.

I left a little before noon today to make up for the fact that I'll still have to do a little work on the 24th (from my couch in my jammies). Ran some errands and came back online. I can shut down at 5pm.

[bilgistic]

As you all know, I'm working in a gourmet grocery store right now. Since the week of Thanksgiving, when I got four days of work, I have since worked two, one and two days in each successive week until this week, when I worked/am working four days. I'm back down to two next week. This is all because "we have to cut hours" [because "we" overhired]. I've been there just over 10 weeks and three people have been hired in my department since I started. I have talked to management about working in another department some to get more hours, so we'll see if that happens.

I think I mentioned my looking for other part-time work (while I'm still looking for full-time work) because eight to 16 hours a week at $11/hour isn't sustainable. I applied at a holistic pet supplies boutique and had an interview on Monday. I hadn't heard back. I reached out yesterday (via text, which wasn't ideal, but it's how we were communicating to set up the interview; it was very/too(?) casual) and still nothing. So I have two conclusions: 1) She's too shitty to just tell me "we went in a different direction" or "thanks but no thanks" or whatever, and 2) I have my answer and know that I don't want to work for such an inconsiderate person.

[theredhead77]

Or 3) She's on vacation because it's the week before Christmas. Call the store on Wednesday (or Monday) to follow up. 

[BookWoman56]

17 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

Or 3) She's on vacation because it's the week before Christmas. Call the store on Wednesday (or Monday) to follow up. 

Agreed. It may well be that the person is simply dodging you because she doesn't want to tell you the store went with another candidate, or that now the interview's over with, she's not going to respond as quickly. But, and this is a big but, tons of people take off for several days before and after Christmas, for a variety of reasons. If she has kids, for example, she may have had to take some days off because of no school. My grandson's school was closed for the holidays effective Friday, which makes no damn sense to me; his day care was open Friday but will not be open Monday through Wednesday of this coming week. So my son is having to take Monday and Wednesday off to take care of him. 

My point is just that while I understand all too well how frustrating it is not to hear anything, especially when you texted her, it doesn't necessarily bode ill. I don't know if the phone she was using to text back and forth with you to set up the interview is a work phone or personal phone. If it's a work phone, then it may just be switched off until she returns back to work. Beginning earlier this week, if I had $100 for every auto-reply "I will be out of the office from December ## to January ##, with limited or no access to phone or email," I got when emailing colleagues, I could do some serious online shopping. If it's a personal phone, she may just not want to deal with work-related messages until she has to. Obviously they're not hiring for the Christmas rush, so I'd have been very surprised if you'd heard back at all from them before Christmas; this is a bad time of the year for a lot of business stuff, whether it's hiring someone or just routine business. 

No matter what the situation is, though, I wish you the best of luck in finding something that will enable you to pay your bills and that is not the toxic swamp your last full-time job was. 

[bilgistic]

It was her personal phone. She was talking to me while driving at one point. She's the regional manager and responsible for hiring. I remain convinced it's a matter of consideration. She was very communicative until she wasn't. The interview was last Monday, the 17th. A simple "We will let you know something after the holidays" (if that's the case) takes three seconds, as does any other texted notice. I contacted her four days after the interview, and it's now two days since that, and still no response. That, though, is her response.

"If they wanted to, they would have." I'm no longer in the business of making excuses for and apologizing for others. People show you who they are and how they will treat you. I've spent far, far too long in my life thinking I could make things better with people who were never going to put in any effort from the start.

If the situation were reversed and I had said I was going to interview but never showed up, I wouldn't be given a second chance if I called two weeks later with a sorry excuse. Respect is a two-way street.

Edited December 24, 2018 by bilgistic

[theredhead77]

Work is d.e.a.d. Our parking lot is about 1/4 full and all I get is out of office messages. I think I'm working from home the rest of the week.

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 12/26/2018 at 9:56 AM, theredhead77 said:

Work is d.e.a.d. Our parking lot is about 1/4 full and all I get is out of office messages. I think I'm working from home the rest of the week.

This week was interminably loooooong. I had a visit from one of my practice group managers, asking me how I was enjoying the work. It was a good conversation, and he told me it was a very good sign that those that I help when I have no pressing deadlines in my own group, bypass them and come to me directly for more work. And that if I did screw up, they would let me know, or if they weren't happy with what I did, or if there was an issue, they would contact him or my other manager. And they haven't heard or gotten any calls that they've been unhappy/dissatisfied with my work.

Then he sent me the billable hours I've worked since my date of hire (Second Quarter or something), but the target was pro-rated since I started in mid-August. But, but, BUT! With the pro bono work and work that was client development related (Non-qualifying billable) AND the overtime I've worked, I am ahead of the year end target! Woohoo! This was a concern for me on the days where I had time on my hands and was worried it would affect my billable requirement. I feel better now. And not as stressed. I've actually had a few "Great job" in catching some huge errors in a brief we filed last week. And the partner told the other attorneys in our group when we were taking a break. And he tapped his beer bottle to my glass of champagnee (we were celebrating two of the attorneys making partner at the firm).

I'll be taking a break from this site for the next week or so, so HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!

Edited December 29, 2018 by GHScorpiosRule

[BookWoman56]

On 12/26/2018 at 8:56 AM, theredhead77 said:

Work is d.e.a.d. Our parking lot is about 1/4 full and all I get is out of office messages. I think I'm working from home the rest of the week.

Of the roughly 20 people I normally work with, maybe 3 are working this week rather than taking PTO. I'm not complaining, though; I've been able to catch up on some things that had gotten shoved to the back burner while dealing with urgent stuff. I will work Monday of next week, and am taking the rest of the week off. I'll put in a few hours this weekend to ensure that nothing slips through the cracks while I'm out of office, but I'm seriously looking forward to having several days in a row of not working. 

If things go as planned, by the end of January I will officially transition to my new manager's team. However, my colleague from my current team, who is more or less acting as manager while my current manager is out on medical leave, keeps saying things that indicate she doesn't really get what kind of change this will entail. For example, my manager's manager, when we had our initial talk, specifically said he saw no reason for me to be working on routine procedure documents and similar items, because there's a ton of much more complex documentation that I should be working on instead. Yet my colleague is still making comments about my future work on updating various procedures that she is responsible for. Hell, no. I've already had a few conversations with the guy who will be my manager in a month, and his plans for me and my work do not include doing this person's work for her. I am so looking forward to being able to tell her that I don't have capacity to sit in BS meetings and take notes for her, etc., which other people in her role do for themselves.

[JTMacc99]

I had this week on my calendar as vacation since July. Yet I spent a couple hours in the office on Monday and the whole day there on Thursday. 

It doesn’t feel like a break. But I suppose that comes with the territory for what my responsibilities are these days  

So I think I’ll take off Monday and have a full five day break. 

On the other hand, the people I hang around with at home... it’s not the worst thing to go to work and hang out with same grown ups. 

[theredhead77]

I worked from home today and I'll be working from home Monday. That basically means I'll be sleeping in and taking a look at my email and our orders a few times during the day while otherwise relaxing and doing my December 31st cleaning spree (I haven't worked on a Dec 31st in nearly a decade). Today I received exactly ZERO emails and I expect even less on Monday. Our warehouses are closed, which sucks because that means any orders received over the weekend won't ship and invoice until January which means my revenue streak will end but we're already nearly 20% over revenue from December last year so at least there is that.
 

Edited December 29, 2018 by theredhead77

[ABay]

I've been having a hard time relaxing on my vacation. I feel guilty all the time for not doing most of the things I intended to do, like purge closets, organize important paperwork in the boxes in the unpurged closets, hem a pair of way-too-long pants, etc. The only day I really felt OK was Christmas, the rest of the time there's a nagging "you should be doing something productive" voice in my head. And yet I don't do anything productive, just feel guilty and don't enjoy the unproductive vacation-y things. 

[magicdog]

1 hour ago, ABay said:

I've been having a hard time relaxing on my vacation. I feel guilty all the time for not doing most of the things I intended to do, like purge closets, organize important paperwork in the boxes in the unpurged closets, hem a pair of way-too-long pants, etc. The only day I really felt OK was Christmas, the rest of the time there's a nagging "you should be doing something productive" voice in my head. And yet I don't do anything productive, just feel guilty and don't enjoy the unproductive vacation-y things. 

I totally relate!  For the hemming, get thee to a tailor or dry cleaner and have them do the dirty work.  Then do what I did and hire a professional organizer to help you sort out what needs to be done.  I found my organizer very helpful in that regard!

Edited December 29, 2018 by magicdog

[DeLurker]

I talk myself into doing something for an hour or just going through 1 of the boxes.  Often, I end up getting into a groove and keep going until I hit a natural stopping point so get more done then intended, but not to the point of overwhelming myself.

Put on some enjoyable music, make a nice cocktail and get started.  Alternatively, entice yourself with a special indulgence after you finish.

[Bastet]

@ABay, relaxing is productive - it helps your body and mind get some sorely-needed rest.

[Hero]

I think I have written on here about my terrible boss. She is a shitty person who is obviously very unhappy and takes out her anger on me and my other co worker. 

I have been thinking a lot these past few months and I came to the conclusion (It took me long enough!) that I deserve to be treated better and not to be treated like shit. My boss' behavior is getting worse and I see no good outcome in the future. 

So, I spoke with H.R. about her and how she has treated me and others. It feels like a weight has been lifted off my chest. He can't do anything about her, because she answers to people who do not work in the building. My other co worker also spoke to him and she is a person that everyone loves and whatever she says, he knows she is serious. Even though I know he really has no pull, hopefully he can speak with someone higher up. 

I applied for another job that has benefits and is similar to something that I have done before and I went and interviewed for it. I am not truly qualified for it, but I can learn. My co worker spoke with the person who is hiring for that position to take a look at my application, so they might have only interviewed me as a courtesy, but I am very grateful to her for helping. If I don't get it, i'm okay with that because it means more experience for me. 

It sucks that my boss is terrible, because I really love what I do now and the people I work with. It's crazy how one person can ruin the vibe of a workplace. 

Edited December 30, 2018 by Hero

[magicdog]

11 hours ago, Hero said:

It's crazy how one person can ruin the vibe of a workplace. 

One person is all it takes.

When you leave, send the poop!!

[ABay]

Thanks, @Bastet et al.

To make myself feel more entitled to relax, I'm trying to remember what I have done , like clean up some problem area around the house, instead of what I haven't. This is an unusually long period of vacation for me; in 20 years at this job, I've never taken more than 2 consecutive weeks off. Those periods were in order to travel so I was too busy being a tourist to spaz out over doing nothing but fun stuff. The rest of my time off has been stretching out weekends or taking days around holidays. Americans work far too much, but I don't want to get started on that because it doesn't end anywhere good. 

[Hero]

7 hours ago, magicdog said:

One person is all it takes.

When you leave, send the poop!!

That's perfect! 😂

[bilgistic]

I worked today for the first time since Monday. I am not scheduled again until next Sunday. Everyone's hours are cut; I'm not the only one with just eight hours this week. It's just another example of a shitty company that treats employees with complete disrespect. Do the managers actually think people can live off of $88 a week gross?

[auntlada]

10 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

I worked today for the first time since Monday. I am not scheduled again until next Sunday. Everyone's hours are cut; I'm not the only one with just eight hours this week. It's just another example of a shitty company that treats employees with complete disrespect. Do the managers actually think people can live off of $88 a week gross?

I don't understand why they would do that. I understand hiring enough people to keep everyone under the hours that would require listing them as full-time, but if you hire so many people that you can schedule them for eight hours a week, doesn't that just mean a lot more paperwork for you? It seems inefficient. Is the manager or owner or whoever it is giving jobs to friends or relatives or their kids when there aren't really openings?

[BookWoman56]

1 hour ago, bilgistic said:

Do the managers actually think people can live off of $88 a week gross?

My guess is that (a) the managers don't give a flying fuck whether their employees can or can't live off the wages from seriously reduced hours, and (b) if the thought crosses their mind, they delude themselves that all the employees are high school kids or bored adults (retirees/nonworking spouses with a different steady income stream) who don't actually need the income to live on, just as extra spending money. I hope something else comes through soon for you, so you have a reliable income. Bad enough that the hourly rate is low, but when the number of hours is inconsistent, that makes it difficult to take on another part-time job, in addition to wrecking your budget. The other option is that the low hours is management's way of encouraging people to quit. That's a very common way of shoving people out the door without actually laying them off. As @auntlada noted, it's inefficient to hire so many people you can give them only a few hours a week, because that increases the amount of paperwork required. Maybe they're hoping that several people will quit, and then they can bump the remaining employees back up to 30 hours a week or something. Sounds like stupid management, all the way around.

[bilgistic]

I have no idea what is going on. There were three people hired in my department (bakery) since I started at the beginning of October. The company is a regional/eastern U.S. chain, and the store I work at is a newly constructed building across the parking lot from their old location. It opened October 4, I think. I don't know if they just over-hired for the opening "honeymoon" period or what, except that the others were hired several weeks (eight-ish) after I was, and all within a couple weeks of each other.

Business has definitely leveled out some since opening, which was October 4, I think. I started the next week. We were very busy through Thanksgiving. December was slower, but steady. Christmas week was busy, but not nearly as nuts as Thanksgiving. It was dead today, but people may (still) be out of town or hunkered down for the long weekend.

I made $600 less this month than I did in November. That's quite a difference, especially considering I make $11 an hour.

Edited December 31, 2018 by bilgistic

[bilgistic]

3 minutes ago, BookWoman56 said:

My guess is that (a) the managers don't give a flying fuck whether their employees can or can't live off the wages from seriously reduced hours, and (b) if the thought crosses their mind, they delude themselves that all the employees are high school kids or bored adults (retirees/nonworking spouses with a different steady income stream) who don't actually need the income to live on, just as extra spending money. I hope something else comes through soon for you, so you have a reliable income. Bad enough that the hourly rate is low, but when the number of hours is inconsistent, that makes it difficult to take on another part-time job, in addition to wrecking your budget. The other option is that the low hours is management's way of encouraging people to quit. That's a very common way of shoving people out the door without actually laying them off. As @auntlada noted, it's inefficient to hire so many people you can give them only a few hours a week, because that increases the amount of paperwork required. Maybe they're hoping that several people will quit, and then they can bump the remaining employees back up to 30 hours a week or something. Sounds like stupid management, all the way around.

Yeah, there's exactly one teenager working there. I'd guess that the average employee age is in the mid- to late-30s. Some of the young 20-somethings are in school and live with their parents and/or are young mothers living with their parents, but the rest of us adults all have lives that come with bills to pay.

One theory is that they keep more people than really needed on staff because people call out often...but my manager (in the bakery) NEVER calls anyone to come in when someone calls out sick or whatever. It's dumb. The afternoon baker called out today and John didn't call anyone else in (and he won't train me to do it). That means tomorrow morning's baker will have twice as much work because there wasn't a "head start" made.