Work has offered overtime, but only once in a while. When it is offered, it usually is early in the workweek -- in other words, Tuesday and Wednesday, when any stray forms over the weekend are sent in with the regular amount of stuff. That causes such a backlog of things that we need to catch up. Usually, we are asked to stay after Tuesday after work and Wednesday before work.
And that has triggered a myriad of internal cries of the soul as I try to figure out what to do. I believe that for every week this, uh, "offer" has been offered, I took it, at least some of it. It's an opportunity to make more money which, as meager as it may be, will work 1.5 times as much for you. On the other hand, the hours are killer. Tuesday afternoon I volunteered to come in last/Wednesday morning. I e-mailed my boss and asked how early could I come in; she replied three hours early. I seriously entertained doing that, but that would mean getting in at 4 a.m., which means waking up at 3 a.m., and there have been times when I've gone to bed at 3 the night before work. And still, yesterday morning, my body was on full-on revolt as I tried to start my day two hours early. I somehow made it -- never underestimate the rejuvenating power of a power nap, even if it's only 15 minutes -- but before leaving work last/Wednesday afternoon that same boss' boss offered all of us to come in again early this morning. If I were assigned at the lab today (Thursday), or if I wasn't out and about last night, I would do it. But I was not and I was, and so I gave in to my body and passed.
Moreover, the infrequency of OT is bothering me more than it should. My main department is short-staffed (moreso after this week, when two people are leaving). So is the lab, and the lab gives us the work. If they're backed up, we have nothing to do, so a lot of the OT consists of an initial processing of the forms that come in. We are so short-staffed these days that I feel as though that overtime has been offered every week I've been working at this job. That's isn't the case. In particular, I don't remember too many weeks where while my parents were gone that I had the possibility of overtime. And that sucks, because when I had the house and my time to myself, I could do whatever I want. Then again -- and I'll be honest -- I was allowed to stay after Tuesday, but I didn't because I wanted to see a movie that was showing just after I left work. Maybe I can't complain about this.
At any rate I am hoping for some consistency when it comes to OT. If it is offered every week, at such-and-such particular days for "x" hours, I would feel as though I could commit to a healthy, if not total, period of extra work. But if some days there are and some days there are not -- and if my supervisors don't know if there will be until the afternoon of my workday -- I don't feel much of a motivation to pick up more hours. And then I feel guilty of caving into my "weakness" instead of trying to stay awake in order to make a few bucks.
Oh, and there is another wrinkle: One of the workers who will be leaving this weekend works Sundays by herself. Until my actual boss finds someone, I will be asked to cover that position. Now, I can't cover it on a regular basis because of my commitments to the Vikings this fall, but if they're on the road, and if I'm not on vacation, I'm working Sundays -- and for OT instead of allowing me to beg off a portion of my workweek that usually is not busy, such as Thursday or Friday afternoons. One would think the corporation would feel the same way because they would not have to pay me time and a half, but the edict from my boss is that I am working more than 40 hours some weeks for the time being. And on weeks I'm doing that, do I really want to stay over and/or come into work before dawn just to pick up more hours?
Going into work. Tired af already. And to think I can get up earlier than this to pick up OT. Oy.
And that has triggered a myriad of internal cries of the soul as I try to figure out what to do. I believe that for every week this, uh, "offer" has been offered, I took it, at least some of it. It's an opportunity to make more money which, as meager as it may be, will work 1.5 times as much for you. On the other hand, the hours are killer. Tuesday afternoon I volunteered to come in last/Wednesday morning. I e-mailed my boss and asked how early could I come in; she replied three hours early. I seriously entertained doing that, but that would mean getting in at 4 a.m., which means waking up at 3 a.m., and there have been times when I've gone to bed at 3 the night before work. And still, yesterday morning, my body was on full-on revolt as I tried to start my day two hours early. I somehow made it -- never underestimate the rejuvenating power of a power nap, even if it's only 15 minutes -- but before leaving work last/Wednesday afternoon that same boss' boss offered all of us to come in again early this morning. If I were assigned at the lab today (Thursday), or if I wasn't out and about last night, I would do it. But I was not and I was, and so I gave in to my body and passed.
Moreover, the infrequency of OT is bothering me more than it should. My main department is short-staffed (moreso after this week, when two people are leaving). So is the lab, and the lab gives us the work. If they're backed up, we have nothing to do, so a lot of the OT consists of an initial processing of the forms that come in. We are so short-staffed these days that I feel as though that overtime has been offered every week I've been working at this job. That's isn't the case. In particular, I don't remember too many weeks where while my parents were gone that I had the possibility of overtime. And that sucks, because when I had the house and my time to myself, I could do whatever I want. Then again -- and I'll be honest -- I was allowed to stay after Tuesday, but I didn't because I wanted to see a movie that was showing just after I left work. Maybe I can't complain about this.
At any rate I am hoping for some consistency when it comes to OT. If it is offered every week, at such-and-such particular days for "x" hours, I would feel as though I could commit to a healthy, if not total, period of extra work. But if some days there are and some days there are not -- and if my supervisors don't know if there will be until the afternoon of my workday -- I don't feel much of a motivation to pick up more hours. And then I feel guilty of caving into my "weakness" instead of trying to stay awake in order to make a few bucks.
Oh, and there is another wrinkle: One of the workers who will be leaving this weekend works Sundays by herself. Until my actual boss finds someone, I will be asked to cover that position. Now, I can't cover it on a regular basis because of my commitments to the Vikings this fall, but if they're on the road, and if I'm not on vacation, I'm working Sundays -- and for OT instead of allowing me to beg off a portion of my workweek that usually is not busy, such as Thursday or Friday afternoons. One would think the corporation would feel the same way because they would not have to pay me time and a half, but the edict from my boss is that I am working more than 40 hours some weeks for the time being. And on weeks I'm doing that, do I really want to stay over and/or come into work before dawn just to pick up more hours?
Going into work. Tired af already. And to think I can get up earlier than this to pick up OT. Oy.
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