I currently work an 8-5 office job only a couple of minutes from my home. I accepted the job due to the little travel and the set hours, meaning I can have a pretty healthy work and life balance despite the 40 hour weeks – something I couldn’t always find when working varied shifts in retail etc.
Today my boss wanted a quick chat and they seemed annoyed that I show up at 7:59am and I leave at 5pm. I always make sure my work is done in time.
The issue, as with many companies, is that they have too much of a workload and too little staff. With the three staff in my office, we always manage to get the work done, but lately they’ve been pinching one of our staff to help out with another understaffed department, leaving two of us to do three peoples work. My other colleague (and also my manager) often disappears during the day leaving only me to do the work.
I’m a little annoyed that they’ve even brought this up as if I’m somehow doing something wrong by leaving at my finishing time. It’s not my issue that they are not managing their staff correctly and not hiring enough people to fulfil the workload available, let alone reducing the current staff we have to help out elsewhere.
I’m wondering what people suggest my next steps should be? I did make it known to my manager that I only accepted this job due to the set hours (something which they agreed during the interview) as it gives me a good balance, but now that seems to have changed. I did explain that I’d happily stay back to help out if I feel that I was underperforming my duties, but that I do not agree with it when it’s simply down to poor staffing.
I did mention during the meeting that if I’m asked to stay later it’s something I could potentially do, but the more I think about it, I might just tell them when I’m back in work that under no circumstances shall I work any later than my contracted hours. I also explained that I am currently looking for a new job, something that seems to have come as a surprise.
I’m not a pushover and I’m not gonna bend over backwards for a £9:60 an hour job.
What do people suggest?