Ch ch ch ch Changes...
Shifting back to in-person work isn't easy. I know. I've been spoiled.
After two years of happily working from home, I return tomorrow to an in-person job. I prefer change to be gradual, but in my life, just as in our country, recent changes have come swiftly and unexpectedly. For me, they are intertwined. First, with one of my main clients, West Virginia labor laws required them to transition freelance contract workers to part-time employment, limiting us to five work hours per day and 28 work hours per week. Since I had been working three or four ten-hour shifts for them weekly, that was a significant cut in hours. (So much for WV being a “right-to-work” state.)
Then, one of my other clients lost their federal funding. That’s when I started looking for what my mother calls “a real job” again.
The minimum wage in WV is $8.75 an hour, and there are plenty of minimum wage jobs available here. With my commute, those jobs would almost cost more than I would make in the long term. And I will say, though our legislators are not embarrassed by this state-wide standard, many local employers are embarrassed to offer so little.
Knowing the savings we experienced in our household when I stopped working in person, I knew the wage I needed to make in-person work worthwhile. Also, after a few stints working in the public sector (education, library, AmeriCorps), I really wanted to focus on the private sector. I’m a little worn out on being a martyr “for the children” or “for the community.” Neither the children nor the community appreciates or even recognizes when someone works unpaid hours for their benefit, offers personal income and/or items for use, or works for far less than they should be getting paid. They feel entitled to it, and public boards and leaders quickly forget any sacrifices made and tend not to keep their promises.
(That’s when I learned that the phrase “thank you for your service” is a rather empty and dismissive sentiment. FYI: “Thank you for your sacrifice” is more appropriate.)
As luck or fate would have it, I found a position that met my set wage, did not include anything I felt was beyond my capabilities, in an environment where I would be comfortable and appreciated. When I interviewed, I learned that only two people applied for the position. This may have had to do with the limited output of the job listing, perhaps with the job’s location. Either way, the competition was scarce.
Now, I would typically share the position and the location, but the last time I took an in-person job, the leader of a local non-profit organization and her husband took it upon themselves to contact my boss and call for my immediate termination. Since then, she has also apparently looked up our farm deed in public records and has threatened to take our farm - among other things. So no, sorry, I’ll be keeping that information private for now.
NOTE:
The person who filled that position when I quit has since:
a. taken on twice the duties listed for the job,
b. taken a pay cut, and
c. is now attempting to save that business to keep the job.
You know — “for the community.”
I read once somewhere that “too much too soon = trauma.” I have thought about that a good bit since the pandemic and the last national election. It does not surprise me that the symptoms of long-term Covid are very similar to long-term stress on the human psyche.
As for me, the shift from remote work back to in-person work has come a little too quickly.
First, for the last two years, I’ve been working West Coast hours. My shift typically started between 6-8 pm our time, winding up around 1-2 am. Tomorrow, my alarm is set for 6 a.m. I’ve had two weeks to adjust my sleep schedule — with some success, but not consistent success. Frankly, I don’t know how people who do shift work manage it.
Second, I have spent the past two years wearing lounge clothes. Pajamas, leggings, muumuus. I spent two days organizing my closet to adjust my wardrobe back to “business casual.” To complete the wardrobe, I spent a day out with a friend visiting thrift stores, and then ordered a few pairs of comfortable business casual shoes online.
NOTE:
If you are local, you may find yourself excited that there’s a new Goodwill at the Flatwoods Outlet Mall. However, you will find better prices, less of a crowd, and more interesting surprise finds at Encore, the thrift store in Gassaway. For example, in addition to cute tops and pants, I got a pair of crystal candleholders, new in the box, for 50 cents. My entire haul came to less than $3.00. Two blouses at Goodwill came close to $15.00.
Third, and probably my biggest ache is that I have spent two years at home with my dogs by my side - one at my hip, the other at my feet. What will they now do with their days while I am gone 8-9 hours? How well will they fare without bathroom breaks every 2-3 hours and our daily mid-day walks? I can’t bring myself to crate them that long. It seems like punishment. I’ve decided to use baby gates to block off certain areas, and lay out pee pads to keep bathroom activities in and around the actual bathroom. I guess we’ll see how that goes.
Other adjustments? Hair styles other than a messy bun, an increase in facial hair that needs plucked, every day make-up, more social interaction and small talk, and more time on my feet (thus, the practical shoes). The position is also in an entirely new field than what I have ever worked in before, but all previous job skills apply — just in a different way.
I have always believed that change can be good, always known that growth is good. And I’m one of those people for whom life (and a career path) has been a journey with interesting twists and turns, mostly because I have chosen to stay and live in a region where we have to make do with what’s available. I felt liberated (and was better paid) with remote work. Imagine how I feel that our state and federal government actually puts in effort to ruin that.
I don’t want to give the impression that I’m not looking forward to the new position. I am. Any freelancer or small business owner will understand the benefits of a regular paycheck. Any remote worker will understand the plus side of leaving the house regularly. The last time I worked from home, I did so for over a decade. Believe me, I know: becoming a hermit is not necessarily a good thing.
So, back out into the world I go. I will keep working with clients outside my new work hours, and keep hoping that someday, WV will actually become a right-to-work state in more than name only. And, I will even maintain a slim hope that the cuts to education and cultural endeavors implemented by the current national regime are someday reinstated.
But in the meantime, this is a needed change, and survival comes in our ability to adapt.
Wish me luck.