I started this marketing internship at the beginning of the summer. It’s been alright so far, but there’s been several issues that have bothered me since working here. When I first started, I was told it’s a 9-5 job. Sure I’ve taken a few vacation days (all of which are unpaid and approved in advance). However, they’ve recently been making me work overtime every week. I understand it’s common in all careers, especially when there’s major upcoming projects, but it’s become a daily occurrence.
At the start of my internship, they never mentioned working overtime or if they even pay extra for it. As one of the only people working on all marketing materials, the tasks almost become unmanageable because they refuse to hire extra help. This is now the third week where they’ve asked me to potentially come in on a Saturday to finish everything after working 40+ hours a week.
I live far from my family and always make travel plans in advance for the weekends considering that’s my only time off. When I tell them I have plans to leave town the weekend they want me to come in, they kinda brush it off. I also haven’t even been taking my lunch breaks to get as much work done as possible.
Of course I’d be more willing to work these extra hours with employee benefits. Yet as an intern who doesn’t even have paid lunch time, vacation days or any benefits at all, I’m having a hard time rationalizing their requests.
Not really sure how I should go about this. I’m a bit worried to bring it up since I just requested a week off to visit my family for the holidays. If anyone has advice on how I should navigate this, it would be greatly appreciated.