Work dilemma

[jaybird2001wi]

Put yourself in me and my parents' shoes for a minute on this one.
I am currently in search of a job closer to home (as stated in prior threads) and the job hunt is not doing well. I am currently working as a caregiver, which I have good standing with my company and they bend over backwards to schedule me when I can get up to work (my transportation is my parents). I have been willing to work one double shift a week (3pm Saturday through 7am Sunday) because of my transportation issue (Racine to Muskego) to ease the burden on my parents.
I dropped down to part-time and voluntarily lost my health benefits as a result of being no longer full-time but my work has been NEEDING me to work additional hours. I was able to negotiate a deal to take on another double shift (Sunday 11pm through Monday 3pm) which puts me at 32 hours a week for just two "days".
My parents have been willing to drive me to work those two days and it works out because my dad works until 3pm Monday and seems to enjoy driving the country roads for some reason to pick me up on Mondays.

But since I am now at 32 hours a week, it would make sense for me to pick up an additional shift so I can regain full-time eligibility and my health benefits. My suggestion is to voluntarily work Friday third shifts and then my two back-to-back doubles to get my 40 hours a week (I am used to working like this, so it is absolutely doable on my part). If you were my parents, would you be willing to take on an extra burden of driving me to work an additional day? Keep in mind that my schedule would look like this:

Friday 11pm-7am; Saturday 3pm-7am; Sunday 11pm-3pm. My mom would drive me to work Friday and pick me up Sunday morning (I can crash at work or at a coworker's house in between my Friday and Saturday shift). Would you do that if you were me, and would you be willing to do it for your kid? I am intrigued by this working schedule since it gives me a few days off to recuperate and it would ease the burden of my work in scrambling to find people.

Give me your take.

[colbyjack]

My mom was cool enough to drive me to school every day during the first semester of my last year in college before I had enough money to buy a beater car since I couldn't afford housing around UWM's campus. I told her all the time that I would take the bus (I would take the bus home from school as she worked in the afternoons & evenings), and to this day when it is brought up in random conversations she always mentions how much she enjoyed spending that time with me.

 

Which I think is crazy, because I'm always groggy in the morning and not the best of company before 9am (not that I am afterwards), but I guess my point is that your parents are probably more than happy to do this because they probably truly enjoy spending time with you.

 

Just my take. If your parents are willing and able to do it, go for it. Plus, I'm sure they're happy that you have a job, a job that you seem to take quite seriously.

[Katuluu]

Call me crazy, but have you tried asking your parents if they are willing to do this? Brewerfan is a great resource and all, but I'm not quite sure we are a substitute for parental units quite yet.

 

I would be suprised if they said no. It's not adding any additional trips for them, in fact it's reducing the number of trips. I can't really see any issue why they wouldn't want to drive you less times to and from work each week.

[jaybird2001wi]

Sorry katuluu, I am just a bit stressed right now. One of the reasons I am willing to do that is because I need my health benefits back... fast because I have a prescription drug that I need every month and it would cost me $115 a month instead of $15 a month.

[Katuluu]

No worries. My little sister is in a similar dilema at the moment. But like I said, I can't see any reason why your parents wouldn't be willing. With the money you'd save on the prescription you should easily be able to cover your share of gas if that is an issue. Your parents are already making two round trips a week for you, so your new offer to them is one less trip and you save $100. Sounds like a slam dunk negotiation to me.

[Paul77]

... My suggestion is to voluntarily work Friday third shifts and then my two back-to-back doubles to get my 40 hours a week (I am used to working like this, so it is absolutely doable on my part).

Aside from your initial question, is this work schedule something your employer okay'ed? I know as an employer I found that my employees production seemed to dip when regularly scheduled in such a stressful manner. Not to mention that I assume your making overtime on the 16 hours days despite being under 40 hours a week. Just a couple of things that caught my eye from an employers stand point.

 

[Team Canada]

Is finding some super cheap car out of the question?

[jaybird2001wi]

20fry, my work schedule was okay'ed by my bosses. They know I can work back-to-back doubles without a hitch. I can work double shifts as long is it doesn't exceed more than 16 hours in a given shift (or else corporate will give me written disciplinary action).

To be honest with you, working my doubles isn't all that bad. I do usual work on 1st and 2nd shifts (responding to resident needs, etc.) and third shift is the easiest shift to work. In an eight hour 3rd shift, I do maybe 3 hours worth of cleaning and book keeping and then I can sit and chill watching TV the rest of the shift. Aside from the 3 hours worth of cleaning, etc. my only other duty is to stay awake because some residents may wake up with insomnia. I haven't had any major issues with residents working third shift.

Some of the other overnight staff actually bring their Playstation 2s or 3s and play video games to pass the time and I know of one third shifter who brings his own putting green and practices his putting.

But there comes times when our third shifters are in overdrive when we are notified of walk-throughs the next day, which means the house needs to be spotless and we gotta dust everything in sight, so that takes maybe 6 hours. But I always give myself something to do every hour so I am doing something the entire time.

 

To put my work ethic into a baseball analogy, my work sees me as a long-reliever type that is capable of absorbing a ton of innings within a short amount of time with occassional spot starts (1st and 2nd shift).

[Paul77]

To put my work ethic into a baseball analogy, my work sees me as a long-reliever type that is capable of absorbing a ton of innings within a short amount of time with occassional spot starts (1st and 2nd shift).

So your like Elmer Dessens? http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/wink.gif Just kidding. (I thought I was the only one who used baseball analogies to describe my work situations.)

Back on topic, have you asked your parents yet? Otherwise, finding a cheap car, perhaps easier said then done, also sounds like your best option - depending on your situation. It would really expand your options, not only with when you can work but where as well.

Two years ago I found out I was getting a promotion that would absolutely require my own car. At the time we were a one car family. I had all of 3 days to find a car to get to work, talk about a scramble.

 

 

 

[jaybird2001wi]

20fry, I can't get my license back yet due to a "situation" I had back in January and I have two outstanding tickets I have to pay off before I can get it back and my money is so tight that I can't even afford to pay my two tickets right now. I then have to appeal to the DMV after I pay the two tickets to get myself reinstated again.

I had a great driving record prior to January and never once got a moving violation ticket before then. Because of my "situation" my work won't allow me to drive for them for another 3 years. I would explain the "situation" but I am pretty sure you know what I am talking about or read between the unfortunate lines.

[HebrewHammer]

Can't you get an occupational license?

 

It sounds like you're between a rock and a hard place right now. You need to pay off tickets and maybe hire a lawyer to help you get your car back so you can make money, but you can't make money until this happens.

 

Can someone loan you the money to pay off the tickets and get a lawyer?

 

Or you could just drive to work anyways. Obey all speed laws, etc. Don't make any mistakes while driving. Only drive to work and home. It won't be the worst thing if you get caught. Just a ticket.

[dadofandrew]

That schedule is sure to leave you tired and out of sync for much of the week. Other than that, as long as your folks are game, it's all ok.