Way Too Many On-Call Days
Posted: September 15 12, 3:24 am
Part of the reason I accepted my current job was because of the numerous off days it afforded. I was making the move from working the standard 40-hour work week, eight hours a day, to working 12-hour days (either three or four a week.) When I initially started, I was also informed that we would have two on-call days per month: one primary, one secondary.
But, now all of that's changed. We used to have on-call days per shift; now it's on-call per region. There are four regions per shift, and mine has the least amount of people. This meant splitting 15 on-call days three ways.
Obviously, the edginess I feel from hoping to dodge that phone call has kept me from enjoying those days off. But, it's only gotten worse. One of the people on the other overnight shifts (the one that I have to cover for) has put in her two weeks notice. That's fine enough, except she's called in every single day since making that notice, and my two partners and I have been called each and every night as a result. We're all working on consecutive 60-hour weeks right now, and we're staring down weeks more of them.
I wish there was some way that the supervisors would try to get creative and shuffle people around like they used to instead of going directly to the on-call list. I understand the logic behind it, that you want employees working in more familiar areas, but this is getting ridiculous. I have absolutely no work-life balance right now, and it's really starting to get to me.
But, now all of that's changed. We used to have on-call days per shift; now it's on-call per region. There are four regions per shift, and mine has the least amount of people. This meant splitting 15 on-call days three ways.
Obviously, the edginess I feel from hoping to dodge that phone call has kept me from enjoying those days off. But, it's only gotten worse. One of the people on the other overnight shifts (the one that I have to cover for) has put in her two weeks notice. That's fine enough, except she's called in every single day since making that notice, and my two partners and I have been called each and every night as a result. We're all working on consecutive 60-hour weeks right now, and we're staring down weeks more of them.
I wish there was some way that the supervisors would try to get creative and shuffle people around like they used to instead of going directly to the on-call list. I understand the logic behind it, that you want employees working in more familiar areas, but this is getting ridiculous. I have absolutely no work-life balance right now, and it's really starting to get to me.