I am not sure how much attention you all have paid to me talking about my work schedule over the years, but I would assume that you have no idea when I work. Totally understandable. I have no idea when you all work either. No hurt feelings. The thing about my schedule is that I work in a lab that has living animals (nothing crazy, just fishing and water fleas). Seeing as how they are alive, they must be fed and what not every day. This means that someone is in the lab 365 days a year. This basically means a weekend and holiday rotation is required to cover all days. For the past three and a half years I have worked weekends, and recently it has been every other weekend. It is one of the few down sides to my job, which I love, so it has never bothered me much. They give us every other Friday off, so although I do work half the weekends, the other half of my weekends are three days off. It seems like a good trade, and honestly I am used to it. Still, it is an eleven day on (with Saturday and Sunday usually being half days) and then three days off schedule. It gets tiring.
It has forever been on the list of things I would like to change, but it is how it is. No need to obsess. Still, when I got pregnant I knew I had an issue. I wanted to only work four days a week. I wasn't exactly sure how to swing it. I would stay in the weekend rotation somehow, but I wanted all Mondays off. I started talking to the lab about it early on in the pregnancy and I have been so lucky with how easy they took to my plans! We decided to change up the schedule so that Justin and I now split every weekend. I work Tuesday-Saturday, he works Sunday-Thursday. Just like that I work five days with two days off just like a normal person! My Saturdays are half days still, so I am working nine hour weekdays. I know I am giving up my Saturday mornings, but oh how it is worth it. This is the second weekend of the new schedule and it feels to good to be true to actually be off work today! and I was off yesterday! And now, I only work a measly five days before I GET TWO DAYS OFF AGAIN!
To make my life even better, we just got word that they are letting us hire a part time student to help out because we are so busy. Let me tell you, this is needed. BAD. Especially with my up coming maternity leave. But here is the key. The magical key. This part time person...is going to work weekends! So...once we get them trained, I will be working four ten hour days, then EVERY WEEKEND WILL BE THREE DAYS OFF! AMAZING. I know ten hour days are long, but I am just planning to come in an hour earlier, and then not take my hour lunch. Just pack something and eat in like fifteen to twenty minutes. I have tried it out and it really isn't bad. Not bad at all. Especially when the result works out so perfectly for me and the baby. I am so excited about it! Now I should go so I can be productive with my day off. I am going to take a nap...then watch Harry Potter three on dvd. It's a hard life.
Wow that is SO cool! I have to work 2 weekends in every 5 and because I'm one of only 2 full time employees we end up having to work 6 out of 7 during the summer 'cos that's how the rota works and it just sucks, especially as T works shifts at the hospital so weekends are the only time we get to have more than an hour or two together. So I am SO glad to hear you have managed to arrange 4 day weeks for after baby is born - that is just too perfect! Enjoy your day off - how better to spend it than watching Harry Potter?!
ReplyDeletesorry 6 days out of 7 I should have said... not 6 weekends out of 7 that really would suck!
ReplyDeleteEveryone should do the four 10-hour workday. I had it once and it was just fabulous. You always had a weekday off to take care of errands - doctors appointments, bank stuff, etc. - and you always had a three-day weekend. Loved it!
ReplyDeleteI work 4 10s now, and I LOVE it. I'm not a morning person, so I don't love getting up and being at work by 7, but I get to take an extra day off (I chose Wednesdays) with my husband (he's off on Wed and Thurs), so that makes it all worth it. I work two days. I'm off a day. I work two days. I'm off two days... and so on and so on. Great Schedule! Glad things are working out for you.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great plan.
ReplyDeletethat is a great plan.
ReplyDeleteI need to get creative with my after baby work hours too.
I asked them to work out my pay for a half day - and it's EXTREME so I'm trying to get my business income consistent so that it makes up for that gap because I live very comfortably on my current salary.