hello i'm in a tough spot and need advice. Because of a family emergency I have been working a reduced schedule at work for the past 3 weeks. Normally I work 8 hours a day and am now only working 4. I feel guilty about it to the other employees but its soemthing I can't help. The problem is in my 4 hour day I have honestly been able to get my work accomplished..i can't believe it myself. But when I'm there i strictly work, don't talk, don't gossip, have been approved to skip some non essential meetingsand it's amazing to see it can be done. I'm expected to be back to my 8 hour schedule soon but i anticipate a talk with my superiors that they saw the work could be done in 4 hours instead of 8 and them wanting me to stay at the reduced schedule. the truth is it would be better for the situation but i honestly can't afford it. So when this talk takes place and i know it will from the comments coworkers have said..how would you handle?
"I'm just so thankful that I was allowed to take care of this temporary emergency. But no, I couldn't possibly keep up that pace for more than a few weeks at a time. I'm just glad I could help the company by not falling behind."
Ask for additional duties and responsibilities!
Ditto what others have said. And also... you haven't being doing ALL of your job, have you? Don't forget that. You said yourself that you have skipped non-essential meetings (that I presume, once you go back on your 'regular' schedule, you will be expected to participate in, right?).
And also remember, many many people can put in beyond normal effort for a short time, that cannot be sustained for the long term, without burnout. Don't let yourself get set up for that.
Even my husband can do a fabulous job doing "my" job as mom, for a day. But not for weeks on end...
Well the only reason you are able to do the work in 4 hrs is because they are excluding you from meetings. I'd say that if they ask about it first thank them for giving you the opportunity to modify your schedule and see if they can add other job opportunities to your job at this point.
As far as the comments from your coworkers; I'm sure they are a little jealous and trying to make you look less valuable. Take what they say with a grain of salt.
You've have now set a precedent. They will just give you more work for the same amount of pay.
Here's the thing. You said "have been approved to skip some non essential meetings". Those kinds of things make the day longer and they do add to the work load. Compiling work projects takes more time and combining those meetings with other conversations and such will make the hours in the day much better.
If you truly feel that you are not pulling your weight for a full 8 hour day then you do need to address the issue by compiling some data as to what you used to spend your day doing. Did you get some 15 to 30 minutes breaks? Did you go to others offices and discuss work related projects? Did you stop and talk to a co-worker about an idea you had and wanted to develop?
I am thinking you will find that you did actually do more during the other 4 hours of the day than just sit and gossip. You were working, maybe not at the optimum level but you were attending meetings and doing more work all together. They have just let you work on smaller projects without it being a group effort for now.
Perhaps they won't be bringing this up. (Just because coworkers are commenting doesn't mean it will.) Three weeks isn't very long. You could say that you are grateful that your coworkers helped pick up the slack while you were out (it certainly sounds good to say.)
Don't bring the subject up - just come back to work fulltime and start doing your normal job, including any backup work that needs to be done. Sometimes it's not just the busy work that has to be done, but the brain work and creativity that make you value added. If they bring it up, the other remarks mentioned here so far are a good way to start out with your side of the conversation.
Good luck!
Dawn
What are these coworker comments you speak of? Granted I have a few here dumb enough to go the higher ups and say have you noticed Bertha has been getting her work done in half the time do you really think she needs to work full hours? Still the first response from the higher ups would be perhaps we need to look into who else is being inefficient.
Think about it this way, each person gets X amount of work, usually different but equal. Why can you do it in four and they can't?
I have taken on the responsibilities of two other full time workers in the five years I have been here and I still have time to mess around here. What does that say about their efficiency? :p
Unless you want to live on the reduced amount of money I would agree with first poster that you should go back and say "since I can do all this in 4 hours I can handle some additional responsibilities." That's and employee I would keep! Leverage for a raise later too!
Do NOT ask for additional duties. You're condensing your work into a short amount of time by making a lot of accommodations in order to do so. I wonder if you actually did an actual 8 hour day of work in only 4 hours for weeks on end without meetings, breaks, talking, or anything else. I find it more likely that in addition to your schedule accommodation, they also accommodated your work load somewhat. They would have been idiots not to do so.
Perhaps you can bring it up in a different way. Sort of 'wow, I realized how much I can get done, so I am really looking forward to taking on some additional responsibilities (perhaps with some more $$) when I am back to full time. Make a list of some specifics you can propose. They could be long term things that need to be done or maybe some projects with a real end date.
Asking for additional responsibilities IS HOW YOU ADVANCE in your career. Since you can handle it, why would you not?
