Two unfortunate developments at work, which remains meager.
We now have new hours. I am supposed to come in at 8:30 instead of 7. That's great for me to sleep in, but bad, in my opinion, because of the other shoe to drop: My boss is encouraging all of us to get on unemployment. He probably was before, but I spoke with him to make sure where he was going with this, and he said that even though I didn't have to, he thinks it's the the smart thing to do.
He then said something I possibly should have understood, but I really think this needed to be spelled out: Because of lack of work, everybody's getting cut down to 20 hours of work. Now, I did say that I didn't mind getting only 70% of my check. Frankly, I would be OK if I get only 60% of my check, and I would get 60% of my check under this situation if I declare Paid Time Off for one day this week. However, maybe I should not do that and instead just go through unemployment and accrue Paid Time Off. Otherwise, I will go through that Paid Time Off, then borrow for future Paid Time Off (I'm allowed to do that in this company) until I couldn't any more, and then come to a dead end.
But ... dammit, I don't want to go on unemployment. I know a part of every paycheck I've received is taken from me for unemployment insurance, and therefore I have already "paid" for this. But since this is considered wages, it will be taxed, so next year (and possibly next year) I'll get socked with a tax bill when I file next year. Yeah, that might be a worry to worry about next year, but it's a pain in the ass and I don't want to. I also don't like this because I am about to have dinner with my parents and confess that that is what work wants me to do. Maybe they'll understand that, maybe they won't. Mostly, though, I don't want to do this because of pride and ego.
With that being said, going on the dole may be too logical for me to reject. This is money that is supposed to help me. Meanwhile, I have car insurance and car repairs coming, and even though I do have cash on reserve, I could use some more. I'll think on it.
---
One other thing. My company, and thus my bosses, are now taking a very close eye on hours. I thought that means I should make sure I don't accrue overtime. But now, I think I have to keep myself under 20 hours. That's because, over the course of my meeting, he had to bring up the fact that I stayed 20 minutes after I "should have" clocked out Monday. I needed to sanitize my desk, but I was under the impression I had to process all these applications before I leave ... it's a long and dumb story.
In my way of thinking, if I keep myself under 40, it doesn't matter if I go above the total number of hours I'm supposed to go over. In other words, if I ostensibly work 24 hours this week (20 hours plus four Paid Time Off), does it really matter if I technically work 24 hours and 20 minutes? Apparently so, with the way my boss oh-so casually brought it up. (wanking motion)
I guess I have to watch the clock now. And this makes me think that my boss is also controlling the pursestrings; whatever more money unemployment pays out, the less money the company pays out. That may be why we have this 20-hour edict, and this may possibly be a strict edict. Whatever. Unfortunately, this also means that I am being scrutinized for something that I don't think is a big deal. This might change if we get back to full-time work. Maybe not, and if this scrutiny gets really irritating, I might have to look for other work.
We now have new hours. I am supposed to come in at 8:30 instead of 7. That's great for me to sleep in, but bad, in my opinion, because of the other shoe to drop: My boss is encouraging all of us to get on unemployment. He probably was before, but I spoke with him to make sure where he was going with this, and he said that even though I didn't have to, he thinks it's the the smart thing to do.
He then said something I possibly should have understood, but I really think this needed to be spelled out: Because of lack of work, everybody's getting cut down to 20 hours of work. Now, I did say that I didn't mind getting only 70% of my check. Frankly, I would be OK if I get only 60% of my check, and I would get 60% of my check under this situation if I declare Paid Time Off for one day this week. However, maybe I should not do that and instead just go through unemployment and accrue Paid Time Off. Otherwise, I will go through that Paid Time Off, then borrow for future Paid Time Off (I'm allowed to do that in this company) until I couldn't any more, and then come to a dead end.
But ... dammit, I don't want to go on unemployment. I know a part of every paycheck I've received is taken from me for unemployment insurance, and therefore I have already "paid" for this. But since this is considered wages, it will be taxed, so next year (and possibly next year) I'll get socked with a tax bill when I file next year. Yeah, that might be a worry to worry about next year, but it's a pain in the ass and I don't want to. I also don't like this because I am about to have dinner with my parents and confess that that is what work wants me to do. Maybe they'll understand that, maybe they won't. Mostly, though, I don't want to do this because of pride and ego.
With that being said, going on the dole may be too logical for me to reject. This is money that is supposed to help me. Meanwhile, I have car insurance and car repairs coming, and even though I do have cash on reserve, I could use some more. I'll think on it.
---
One other thing. My company, and thus my bosses, are now taking a very close eye on hours. I thought that means I should make sure I don't accrue overtime. But now, I think I have to keep myself under 20 hours. That's because, over the course of my meeting, he had to bring up the fact that I stayed 20 minutes after I "should have" clocked out Monday. I needed to sanitize my desk, but I was under the impression I had to process all these applications before I leave ... it's a long and dumb story.
In my way of thinking, if I keep myself under 40, it doesn't matter if I go above the total number of hours I'm supposed to go over. In other words, if I ostensibly work 24 hours this week (20 hours plus four Paid Time Off), does it really matter if I technically work 24 hours and 20 minutes? Apparently so, with the way my boss oh-so casually brought it up. (wanking motion)
I guess I have to watch the clock now. And this makes me think that my boss is also controlling the pursestrings; whatever more money unemployment pays out, the less money the company pays out. That may be why we have this 20-hour edict, and this may possibly be a strict edict. Whatever. Unfortunately, this also means that I am being scrutinized for something that I don't think is a big deal. This might change if we get back to full-time work. Maybe not, and if this scrutiny gets really irritating, I might have to look for other work.
No comments:
Post a Comment