Long Post Ahead!! I just need some advice or outside opinions/help.
I graduated college recently and was so excited to find a job working on a political campaign right away. As a recent college grad with a liberal arts degree, I was pumped to have a job so quickly and I thought it would look great on my resume. Additionally, it was only until the election, which was basically 6months (giving me nice experience but not locking me down. However, from the start I should have realized this job would be a shit show. The job description made it sound like more of a volunteer management and event planner role, an office job. It pays 42,000 a year which at the time I thought was good for my first job.
In my two months working here I have learned:
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We work a bare minimum of 55 hours a week. Tuesday’s are our only day off per week. We work every single weekend. This was not mentioned in the job offer, job description, or interview process. I would even go as far as to say we were intentionally lied to during the interview process as myself and several other co-workers asked about the hours and were told “they are flexible, occasionally when we need help with an event you may need to be available on the weekends”. This is a far stretch to me from working every single weekend for 4 months and also 55 hours a week. Not to mention, the hours for this position are 11-8 every single day, so you cannot really do anything when you get home because they are such awkward hours.
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Although we have PTO, we have to get it approved to use it. My supervisor will not approve PTO, many of us have tried to ask for days off to no avail. “it’s too close to the election” they say, as we are still 4 months away. So what, I am just supposed to work 55 hours a week and every single weekend for 4 months straight????? One girl asked for a single weekend off to go out of town, and was given half a day and told to make sure to be back the next morning. To make matters worse, according to the employee manual: PTO that is not used will not be paid out at the end of this position.
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My coworkers and myself were under the impression that this was a mostly office based job with some outside events. This could not be further from the truth. We go out and doorknock for a minimum of 4 hours a day. Not to mention, as young 20 something women, they make us go out to these stranger’s doors completely alone. We have not planned a single event other than sourcing volunteers to door knock. Not a single event. All we do is cold call, door knock, and try to make volunteers door knock.
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Goals keep raising every week, along with hours increasing, but we are not getting paid more. There is no incentive to reach goals. We are consistently being told we need to do new things when we cannot even realistically achieve the goals that we had for the past week. For example, one organizer is supposed to make 600 calls a week, knock 1,000 doors a week in their area. Not to mention, at least 4-6 meetings a week. Three volunteer recruitment events a week. When do I have time for this??????? I already work 55 hours a week. Not a single person hardly ever hits these goals, so I know it is not just me.
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Overall it is just a poorly organized shit show, I constantly receive emails and messages outside of working hours that I am expected to respond to.
A couple of our employees are trying to address these issues with our boss, and their response was to say “Yes that’s how campaigns are” and “make sure to make time to take care of yourself”. WHEN???
I am so upset. Now I feel trapped in this role because it looks bad if I quit after a few months but also this is not at all the role I agreed to. Not to mention, I have no time at all for a personal life. I come home exhausted and grouchy and as much as I try not to take it out on my significant other, I do. We never see each other and when we do it’s to do chores or sleep. I come home stressed and regularly have to do more work at home. What do I do????
TLDR; I took a job straight out of college that was intentionally misrepresented to me. It is 55 hours a week, unusual hours, working every single weekend for 4 months straight. I have only been here a few weeks. I have no work-life balance and it is ruining my life. Advice appreciated.