Tl;dr: starting this weekend, my job is requiring my entire department to work 6 days per week (M-F plus a weekend day of our choice). Due to the nature of my job (insurance) this will last through hurricane season and probably most weeks all throughout the winter due to pipe freezes. This wasn’t disclosed to me when I started working here in the spring. I asked my dad for help updating my resume and he doesn’t see why I’m upset about the change. I’m salaried – I’m getting an extra $150 per week that this happens.
I started a new job in March of this year to get away from my former toxic workplace. I took this job based on the information that was presented to me by the hiring managers and the recruiter, with the understanding that this position heavily emphasizes work/life balance and flexibility. I was advised that since it was salaried and I would have a light workload, I most likely wouldn’t be working a full 40 hours a week, and could leave for the day whenever my work was completed. I was over the moon that I found an employer with an understanding of what I was looking for and I was so ready to work my ass off for them indefinitely.
Several months later, it’s the complete and total opposite. My coworkers are all working 10-12 hour days, and sometimes even on the weekends voluntarily because of how slammed we are constantly (I’ve been leaving at 5 every day because, again, I’m salaried, and also have a life to live). Every day my manager pesters me to work over. Multiple people hired with me have quit, and the ones remaining constantly gripe about how stressed they are. It’s totally different than what I was told it was, and I’m very unhappy here.
Yesterday my manager pulled me and my teammates into a meeting out of the blue and unhappily told us we would be working either Saturday or Sunday, our choice, starting this weekend, for an unknown duration of time. Probably till the spring. We might have to work extra time during the week too. She reassured us we would be receiving an extra $150 a week for this.
I was very upset. My coworkers were too. I immediately began to update my profiles on Indeed, Glassdoor, and LinkedIn, and texted my dad to help me update my resume.
He doesn’t get the big deal. He’s highly money motivated and loves talking about retirement. Every time he gives me some sort of adult advice, it’s always about saving for retirement. I do plan ahead a little bit, but I’m very present-minded and focus more on enjoying myself in the here and now. Like most people here, I’m under the assumption I’ll probably never be able to retire anyway. I understand he’s just trying to look out for me, but he refuses to see my point of view. In his mind, it’s worth being stuck in an absolutely miserable job with no free time or balance for decades if it means you can retire at 65 (he is also not a big fan of “job hopping” – doesn’t get that that’s how you get pay raises now. Even after I’ve explained this multiple times).
He told me this new schedule is not a big deal because I’ll “rack in the OT and make like $75k a year.” I corrected him and said no, I’ll be making an extra $150 a week, still nowhere close to $75k with that. I’m not struggling financially so it’s not like I need $75k to make it or break it with bills or debt. Im simply just trying to enjoy the limited time on earth I’ve been given. An extra day of sitting at my desk crying from the stress, and one less day of freedom to live my life is not worth $150 to me.
And before anyone says anything – yes, because I’m salaried, I’m well aware my employer could be giving me nothing extra. I think my point still stands.