
Work has been demanding reports for metrics and mandatory office days. Both have me really nervous because I fulfill a role with unique customers that make standard reporting metrics pretty meaningless and I am a remote employee who won't get a lot out of reporting to a regional sales office where no one from my team is assigned. Both have me concerned that someone is going to notice me for all the wrong reasons.
But today was the announcements for annual bonuses and not only did I end up on the higher end of bonus allocation, I was granted RSU's for the second year in a row. I did some asking around and it looks like I am one of three people this year or last year to get RSU awards and one of two to get them in both. So I must be doing something right.
Congrats! And congrats for working at a place that provides good recognition.
My current contract isn't being extended. Which is a good thing! The entire point of moving into consulting was to prevent burnout and tedium setting in over the long haul.
Excited for the (as yet TBD) new gig!
Tomorrow is my first official day of being unemployed. Super weird. I have a couple of months of runway, so I’m not totally stressed, but it’s pretty friggin’ weird.
On the plus side, looking for something new has really hammered home how very, very underpaid I’ve been.
You know that thing we did twice and it failed twice. Let's do it again with no changes and no input from anyone new. I am just waiting for the "I know you can make this work" email.
This is going to be a stressful 4 to 6 months.
Chumpy, when that happened to me in late 2015, I grabbed the biggest, most complicated LEGO Technic set I could find (Mercedes AROCS 3245 - set 42043) and built it over two weeks or so. Whenever I got stressed, it was there for my hands to get busy on. It really helped a lot. And it looks very cool on the shelf.
I know you'll find something soon.
You know that thing we did twice and it failed twice. Let's do it again with no changes and no input from anyone new.
No lie, we have to do this often with our build process because it sometimes breaks in ways none of us know how to address. So we kick off the build again.
Oh man. I just... SMH
My work is having an all hands and the lead up music is
"All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
Better run, better run faster than my bullet"
What a light and lovely upbeat tune!
It was a catchy song until you learn the lyrics. Some people never do I guess
I am often stunned by how many people don't seem to get what a song is about. Feel free to insert a joke about conservatives and Rage Against the Machine here.
Oh man. I just... SMH
My work is having an all hands and the lead up music is
"All the other kids with the pumped up kicks
Better run, better run faster than my bullet"
What a light and lovely upbeat tune!
I was trying to figure out what song that was since I recognized the lyrics. Googled them and the result was a song I don't recognize from a band I don't recognize?
Then I remembered that they're lyrics that Weird Al included in one of his polkas.
Have any of y'all ever had success in escaping from your primary field of work?
I've worked Hospitality, primarily hotels, for the entirety of my career. After getting shifted from Night Manager to Assistant Front Office Manager around the start of the year, my responsibilities have expanded and my pay has remained the same (I landed this position after the previous AFOM was laid off for budget reasons).
6 months into this and I'm not sure if I'm cut out for this. I don't want to do this anymore. The responsibilities continue to stack and
Part of the stress is that money is tight at the moment between car repairs and high summer utilities. I'm sure there's plenty of other jobs I could find, but none of them in my immediate research (job boards, Indeed, etc.) would match the $60K I'm making now. Maybe I just need to search harder...
If y'all will forgive the light ramble, would y'all have any words of wisdom regarding this?
Is it possible to return to Night Manager?
Have you tried looking at an adjacent field, like Events Management, Stadium Management, music venues, etc? Even building management?
I've not had to deal with changing my primary field of work (fortunately). But just to explore options: do you think there is any possibility of seeking a raise for the additional work you're doing? Based on what you describe, it seems like the hotel might be in a tough spot if you were to leave, and that could give you some leverage. I'm not sure if a raise would give you some more breathing room and make the job more manageable by taking the stress off your personal finances, or if the job responsibilities would continue to be too much even if you were making more money.
Is your problem with the job you are doing, or the amount you are paid? No matter what they pay you, that is not going to change the work, so if you are unhappy with the actual work you are doing it is probably worth thinking about what you would actually like to or could stand to do that would be better.
If the problem is the pay, then yes I agree try to get a raise on the basis that your responsibilities have increased. I know it is a tough spot because it sounds like the business isn't doing great. Do you like your boss and can actually talk with them frankly about it?
Outside of that, a hotel manager can set you up well for other types of jobs. Have you thought about like an office manager, facilities management, etc?
Many thanks for the thoughts, everyone! I'll try to address raised points one by one:
- Return to Night Manager?: Not feasible. The previous AFOM was laid off for budget reasons, so I was brought onto day shifts as her effective replacement. My prior position is now taken by the base-level Night Auditors.
- Look into Adjacent Fields?: This is the current move I'm attempting right now. The hiccup I'm running into is that a lot of office/building manager positions are listing requirements calling for experience in their given relevant field (a dental office asks for 3+ years in dentistry, etc.). I'm still considering applying for some of these, but I've already made an overly-bold interview attempt after applying for a Cafe Manager position and finding that my experience didn't line up as neatly as I'd hope.
- Raise?: Hoping I can manifest this before too long. My Front Office Manager is gradually training me to take his place when the time comes that he's finally done with all of this mess (which is supposedly on the horizon), so a raise would definitely come with that climbing of a rung. I'd rather be done with the weird hours and customer-facing interactions that are part & parcel to Hotel Front Office operations, but I would be willing to tolerate it more were my finances feeling less scrimbly.
Many thanks for all y'all's wisdom!
Apply for the other jobs anyway, getting interviews is mostly a numbers game.
That hiccup's not nothing, but I'd still apply for some of those. Some offices will be more open than others to the idea that skills are transferrable, and also, some of those places with super-specific requirements might be posting them aspirationally.
Here's a weird one:
Selected for federal jury duty. They want me to commit to 2 full days/week, every other week, for up to 18 months.
That seems crazy to me. Anyone else have this before?
Is it a grand jury?
Yep.
I mean, how do they get folks for this except retirees and the unemployed? Maybe when I bartended I could just shift my work days but if you've got a 9-5, how do you do this?
You don't.
You tell the court that it would impose an undue hardship on you and your family.
Put a literal price tag on what that would cost you (i.e. calculate your lost wages) and tell the court that it's only feasible if the court will make you whole.
Your employer can't deny you time off for jury duty. It doesn't have to be paid time off (but can be if you have PTO hours available), but they are required by federal (and often state) law to allow it. Having to work also isn't genrerally considered a valid excuse to get out of jury duty.
Edit: If you're salaried, your employer is required to pay you for the full week so long as you work at least part of it. So two days a week for jury duty still gives you 3 days a week for work, and you get your full paycheck. Unpaid time off is just the requirement for hourly employees, or if a salaried employee misses the whole week due to jury duty.
Right, so since I'm a contract employee now with 0 PTO, no way in hell. But at my old job that would have been pretty sweet, work 3 days a week and get paid full time.
You'd need to check your state laws, and see what sort of jury duty policy the company has for contract employees. They still must allow your time off, even if they don't have to pay you for it. If you want to make the lost wages argument, you have to show it'd be an actual undue hardship to get you excused, not just a minor inconvenience to you bank account balance.
Having to work also isn't genrerally considered a valid excuse to get out of jury duty.
Not true, at least here in Washington.
Excuse (processed by judge):
Those showing undue financial hardship, outlined in writing, where a person is not compensated for jury service by an employer, or self-employed persons who would incur financial hardship.
A showing that excuse from jury service is a public necessity.
Those showing jury service would be an extreme inconvenience.
Stengah wrote:Having to work also isn't genrerally considered a valid excuse to get out of jury duty.
Not true, at least here in Washington.
Washington courts wrote:Excuse (processed by judge):
Those showing undue financial hardship, outlined in writing, where a person is not compensated for jury service by an employer, or self-employed persons who would incur financial hardship.
A showing that excuse from jury service is a public necessity.
Those showing jury service would be an extreme inconvenience.
Still true, because you have to show that your lost wages would actually be an undue financial hardship. Having to work isn't what gets you excused, it's showing how you cannot afford not to work that can get you excused.
Still true, because you have to show that your lost wages would actually be an undue financial hardship. Having to work isn't what gets you excused, it's showing how you cannot afford not to work that can get you excused.
*shrug* It's worked for me. Got summoned, said, "nah bruv, I'm the sole breadwinner for my family, work only pays me 5 days for jury service, then I'm SOL, can't afford it" (all of which was true), and the court said OK. Didn't have to produce documentation, payslips or tax returns.
Very much a case of don't ask, don't get, I reckon.
So the above links are for WA state courts (Superior, locals). Mine is for Big G.
None of our lawyer friends have heard of this 18 month commitment thing before.
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