i’ve been at the same company for about 3 years now. a year ago, i accepted an offer for a different internal position which paid a little more and offered more opportunities for advancement. i was relatively happy with my last role, but was approached with this opportunity and thought it would offer more in the long-run. i read the posting, asked questions to the manager, interviewed, tried to bargain for more compensation (was shot down on 100% of my requests, including additional vacation), and was ultimately offered the job and accepted. in the year since, the role has slowly changed from what was sold to me. i understand this happens sometimes and since the department has changed a little (i’ve already changed managers even), i’ve taken on said changes without complaint. just trying to be a team player while i train and settle into the role!
today, i had a meeting with my manager who outlined how my job will again be changing for the coming year. not only the core responsibilities and tasks, but my hours too. i printed out the description of my job just now. i’m probably trained in about half of it and never got to do the other half as it was. going forward, approximately 90% of my job will be completely different than the job i accepted and interviewed for. unless you count that all under the “and other duties as assigned” line in the job description… bait and switch is fairly common, i realize, but this is my first time experiencing it first-hand and at this level of employment. what a disappointment! i wouldn’t have accepted this job (nor even applied for it) if it had been described for what it really is as i am not at all interested in these new responsibilities.
but the reason i’m here isn’t to complain about a crappy but fairly normal situation. it’s to ask about my new hours. i was told today that i’m required to report to work an hour earlier now, which sucks (really bad since i have chronic insomnia) but i can manage. the reason is directly related to being available to perform part of my all-new job responsibilities, so it makes sense. the part that deeply concerns me however is that i was also told that i am now required to be on-call. my on-call schedule will be every other week, including weekends. i just found the company’s on-call policy (had to hunt that down as it was not provided to me – my manager is very hands off). i am to be “fit to perform work” during my scheduled hours and must answer my work phone “immediately” when contacted. i am expected to perform any subsequent work immediately. i am an exempt employee paid by salary, which the policy states means i won’t be paid for this time on-call nor any additional time worked if i am called in to work. this is NOT something i am interested in doing and relates to job responsibilities that were not a part of this job when i accepted it. i live my weekends to the fullest and am often traveling away from the area, attending events, and sometimes drinking. it’s MY time to do with what i wish – or so i thought. my salary is not quite matched for the job i perform during my standard hours, let alone to be available at a moment’s notice for 50% of my time outside of work. this is a mega bait and switch that has me quite upset. i’m not looking forward to having to stay local, convince the ONE other person available to be on-call to cover my shift if something i want to do on a weekend comes up but it’s my turn to sticks round, carry a work phone and laptop everywhere, leave places unexpectedly, and remain “fit for work” in what was supposed to be my off time.
i’m not in medicine. my role is classified as non-critical, but i work in critical infrastructure in michigan. so, there is a reasonable need for on-call work. to give an example of a recent on-call experience, a coworker whose job already required her to be on-call, had to work after her friday shift on december 23rd, christmas eve, and christmas day, missing all of her family events. she received no additional pay or overtime as an exempt salaried worker. i know we don’t get called that often, but the idea of giving up my off time without even additional pay kills me. i need work-life balance and with this bait and switch, 50% of that is gone in my mind since i’m not free to just do whatever i want anymore. but i NEVER would have accepted a role with on-call hours. i almost feel like this part of the job was purposely omitted so that the pay range would seem acceptable. which is stupid, because that’s a proven way to not retain employees…
by the way, i have nearly 10 years experience in critical infrastructure, 3 in this specific industry, 15 years professional experience overall, and a bachelors degree. i hold a senior position, it’s not like i’m an intern being jerked around here.
i checked my offer letter, current job description, etc. and there is nothing about requiring on-call for this job. can i fight this or am i stuck looking for another job?