I started a new job 2 weeks ago. It was supposed to be a part-time, low-responsibility admin job, and therefore low paid. This suited me perfectly with my mental state, working around my family, and the other responsibilities in my life. I couldn’t be happier.
It immediately became apparent that this is much more than a basic admin job. It’s a boutique agency across two small offices, and in my office it’s just me and my boss (the owner). I’m essentially running the place, while the owner flits in and out doing her sales thing. We’re boutique but we’re very busy and I’m on the go constantly, using systems and running tasks I have zero experience in, and very little training (as the only person who can train me is always off selling). It is EXHAUSTING. I’m so drained that by the time I’m home, I have just enough energy to tip my kids into bed and then I’m crashed until morning. Work/life balance has vanished.
Because it’s such a small agency and just getting off the ground, I know the owner can’t afford to bring on another person. She also can’t afford to pay me anything more. I feel like I essentially got tricked into this high-pressure job and now I feel stuck because I do need work (cost of living has hit us hard), but 1) looking for a new job 2 weeks after starting a job looks terrible, and 2) there’s no chance I’m getting any time off for interviews yet. The place would literally shut down if I vanished for a morning.
I don’t know what to do? She has no more money to give (one of my tasks is accounts so I have full access to the bank accounts, I see the money) until she’s built the place up, and the place would fall into utter shambles if I cut down on hours, as I was supposed to be doing. I would end up with way more work to catch up on.