For context, I work in an insurance office. I have been a licensed insurance agent for years (property and casualty.) It’s not exactly my dream job. I just like the hours. No weekends, nights, or holidays. If I had it my way I would sell my art. But with the expenses my husband and I have, that’s not really in the cards for me right now. Even though I am not currently pursuing making money on my art, I still do it. The only thing is, for me to be inspired for my hobbies (art, reading, cooking, and hiking being the big ones) I need to have the energy for it. Both mentally and physically. It’s a battle in this industry. Basically, that time off is very precious to me. And insurance is DRAINING! The clients can be extremely rude, entitled, and demading. You always have that one person in the office, who isn’t a boss, that’s gotta be on your tail for no good reason. Micromanaging, telling everyone they’re right and everyone else is wrong. Between the people you work with/for, and the clients, it’s exhausting. At my current job I am first on phones which means I answer back to back phone calls. No one I work with seems to want to help me with calls either. I can answer 10 calls in a row, with 1 minute in between each call, and no one wants to relieve me with answering a call here and there. I work with two other women that are perfectly capable to taking a call so I can take a damn breath once and awhile. Instead, they will stand and chit chat with each other while I am answering call after call. I have to shut myself in the bathroom just for a couple minutes peace. I don’t have a physically demanding job. But there are days I feel like I ran a marathon in the midsummer heat. I am an introvert who doesn‘t really like people to begin with. Add this to the equation. I am DEFLATED by the end of the week. Run ragged. So, again. Weekends, evenings, VERY important to me that I have that time. To decompress, to pursue my hobbies, to spend time with my husband. To breathe.
Well, there is a festival coming up next month in the little town our office is in. And apparently, we attend it. We pop up a tent, hand out flyers, advertise, etc. all day. I absolutely do not want to go to this thing. It’s apparently only on that Saturday. But I don’t care that it’s one day. I really do not want to go. The idea of having to get up early on my day off, get in my car, come to work and hand out flyers to strangers all day long does not sound appealing. In fact, I dread the idea of it. So I am currently trying to think of ways out of it.
Am I being petty? I mean it is just one day. It’s not like they ask us to come in on a Saturday every month. But still. The weekends are MY days. They do not belong to my employer. My employer has me 5 days a week, 8 hours a day. Isn’t that enough? Sure it’s just one day. But that’s an entire day that I otherwise would be using for my own enjoyment that I need. A day for my husband to enjoy my company. One day, when you think about it, is a lot of time when you work full time.