Last October, I took a 16 hour per week position as an admissions nurse. My schedule was suppose to be from 4-8 - four evenings per week. I really like the position and my co workers. The problem is, it is not a 16 hour per week position - I end up working anywhere between 25 - 40 hours per week. I am expected to stay until the admission arrives and complete all the assessments and paperwork required. One admission can take up to 4 hours. The problem is - Most evenings the admission does not come until my 3rd or 4th hour there and other evenings I get multiple admissions. On top of that I am expected to attend meetings and inservices. On the nights that an admission is not scheduled to come in - I am still required to go into work and I help out on the floor or take MD orders etc... as needed - even those nights I rarely get out at 8 p.m.
As I said, I really like the position and it is unlikely that I would find another position in nursing like this. However, the hours are killing me - I am working on my own start up business and I have kids in elementary and high school that I have to get up in the morning. On some nights I get home as late as 1-1:30 in the morning then I cannot fall asleep for a few hours after getting home. Then I get up at 5:45 to get the kids off to school. I am so tired I end up taking a nap most of the day and I am not getting anything accomplished with my own business.
I really like the position and really don't want to quit and look for a new one because my hope is to be working full-time with my own company by the middle of the summer (2.5 months). The other thing we need the money - (16 hours a week would have been enough extra money right now).
What bothers me is they are calling this a 16 hour per week position so that they don't have to give me the benefits that 24 hour or 36 hour per week employees get - sick time, personal days, vacation etc...even though I know that I am not planning on staying forever - it bugs me.
The other thing is I am exhausted and can't keep up - So I need to work at least 16 hours per week, I am thinking about asking if I could drop to 3 days a week. I know they like me, I have been told by the nurses that I work with that they appreciate all that I do to help out when I don't have an admission and the Director of Nursing has called me a "God send" - (yeah because I work all these hours!)
So my question is what do you think about a facility doing this to an employee? I think it is wrong (I will not make a big stink about the benefits or whatever, as I said I plan to leave)
How should I approach my Director about dropping to 3 days per week? Currently, on the days that I do not work - they scramble to find per diem nurse or someone to cover.
Marda, I was hired for permanent 16 hour per week position.
I wouldn't go in and make a stink about benefits and all that at this point. Maybe if I planned on this being forever then I may try to negotiate.
I talked to my Director today and not only did she say that it would not be a problem. She asked me to train for Supervisory position. So, not only did I get the number of days reduced but I got a Supervisory position - a little promotion!!! They told me that they thought I was doing a great job and that I would make a great Supervisor! Yeah! This will really work for me.
I will talk to my Director about the hours and see what she can do.
It sounds like they really need the help. If that is the case they would gladly take you for three days as apposed to not at all. Just say this is too much, I would like to go down to three days. If you want let them pick the three days they need you most.
I wouldn't bring up the benefits or any background noise, just stick with what you need, three days.
As of next week, my work availability is .......
If you were planning on working 16 hours for the next 2.5 months for the money, why do't you just work the extra hours (I hope you are getting paid hourly) for one more month and bank the extra and quit and do your business. Yes, jobs are hard to come by, but they are really taking advantage of you.
Sounds like a good opportunity for job sharing. Is that an option? Maybe after you train someone, you can cut back to 2 days.
Updated
I understand that you like the people and the actual position, but truly, this job isn't for you. You cannot keep not sleeping like this. You need to talk to your director and ask for a cut in your hours, or you need to quit.
Getting benefits is not the issue for you. You didn't take this position to work second shift. You took a 16 hour a week position. No amount of hourly pay extra over that 16 hours is worth not sleeping for...
If they know you will quit, they will either make it so that you can go home, or they will find someone else who is willing to work these hours and can sleep late in the morning.
So sorry...
Were you hired in the category of temp? My daughter works at a hospital for a 16 to 24 hour position and ends up working more hours than that at times because because her status as temp doesn't have specific hours listed for her. She is to fill in as needed.
I think the facility has the right to use you for any numbers of hours that they need you. You have the right to say you can't work that many hours. I urge you to talk with the Director in a calm and reasonable way, expressing your wish to be a part of the team and to be helpful while at the same time this many hours isn't working for you. Ask how this situation could be managed so that it's helpful for both you and your employer.
Do not try to turn this into a "this is unfair" sort of fight. It's not about right or wrong. It's about you working the number of hours you want to work. If they need someone more full time then it may be that you'll have to quit. I suggest the need has grown and it's time for a discussion.
It's also reasonable, if you choose to stay and work more hours, to ask that the position be reclassified so that you will receive benefits. In Oregon you have to consistently work 32 hours, I think, before it's considered full time and has benefits.
Just go to the Director and discuss this with her. Do not make it a right or wrong conversation. It sounds like you have difficulty being assertive and your fall back mode is a need to show that the other person is at fault. That rarely gets any one what they want.
Speak to your manager or HR specialist. You should be working the hours that you are hired for. I would give them the scenario and ask to either work your scheduled hours OR number of days. They need to be aware that more help is needed.
I dropped my hrs at my job from 40/week to 25. Yet I still get scheduled 28 hrs I do not want more then 25. There's not too much I can do about it though but u gotta do what you can handle.
With those hours I think I would ask for 2 days per week.
Good luck with your new business too😊
Go in and visit with them. Tell them that since you are not working 16 hours but way more that you have to cut your time there.
You can't do everything and they can't do this to you. I think that if you consistently work a certain number of hours per week they can't say you don't qualify for the benefits that the position of more hours would offer. Call your state labor board and find out if there is law pertaining to this.
You sound like a valued employee that they are trying to USE UP! I had a similar situation last year while caring for a dying father. I was Dance Teacher for $18 a hour 4 days a week for 5 hours a day. They wanted me to do bus duty, moring duty, after school duty, EVERYTHING and my pay ended at 2!
This year, I am not there. Get the hint?
