Depending a.) on how long you’ve been reading this blog, and b.) how much you remember, you might recall c.) that I’ve been working at the Bookstore for just about a year (next week, actually), and that d.) I’d been working 22/26 hour weeks until e.) after the Christmas holiday season, when an attempt to keep the company afloat meant lay-offs and a tightening of the payroll, which resulted in my hours being cut to 9.
Which, to put it mildly, sucked some major ass. I mean, I enjoyed having my weeknights free. I mean, y’know, I was bored out of my mind those nights, too broke to go out. But, hey, I watched a lot of TV, and I read a lot, and that’s always good. Well, maybe not so much the TV watching.
As time passed, things got better: unreliable employees were fired, others quit for more reliable hours elsewhere. A month ago or so, a new round of lay-offs was not targeted at employees at the corporate HQ. Instead, numerous salaried positions — managers and supervisors — were let go, including three from my location. This was done to free up money for hourly employees for increased staffing. It sucked, because they were all good people, but I saw an immediate benefit: I got my Mondays and Tuesdays back, and it became quite common to get a call on my cell phone or my office line, asking if I wanted to pick up extra hours.
Well, duh.
In fact, with the exception of last week (when I took a four-day vacation from all my jobs), I’ve been at 22 or more hours for the last month.
However, it should be noted that this was not because I was scheduled for them, but because I was being called in one or two extra nights. It might be a small distinction, but it was something I became very concerned about when “Now Hiring” signs started to go up.
Most retail places I’ve worked at are pretty good about “fixed” schedules: what you work one week is what you will work the next week. I didn’t want to become trapped in a situation where new hires filled in the shifts I’d been being called in to work.
So I called the Ops Manager on Saturday, to discuss this with her. I thought she’d be amenable, but apparently I caught her at a really bad time, because the only shift she offered me was Saturday. Something you may know about Saturdays is that they’re my only day off.
On the other hand, when I’m asking for hours, it’d be kind of rude to say “no.”
And, as it happens, she called right back and asked if I would also be interested in working two additional weeknights. Mark me down for: “Yes!”
So, with forty hours at my Office job, I’ve now got 32 hours at the Bookstore this week, and only Thursday night and Saturday afternoon free for myself. I don’t mind, I can use the money, and especially in the economic situation we’re in, I’d rather be working too much than too little.
On the other hand, my next day off is April 25th.
I mean, assuming I’m not scheduled.