The Timing of Things

 Two weeks. It has been a little over two weeks since a funeral-esque service for my late grandfather was held. The actual funeral service itself was held back in December of last year; the service I am now referencing was for the spreading of the ashes. 

I was not able to attend either ceremony. Due to the distance I would have to travel, the length of my typical shift at work, when my shift takes place, and the usual amount of mandatory overtime I have to work, it simply was not feasible for me to even attempt trying to attend. As I had predicted a full month in advance, since the service was being held on a Friday, I would have to take at least two days (Thursday and Friday) off, possibly three (Saturday) if it was made an overtime day. (And as it so happened, Saturday was made a mandatory overtime day, thus reinforcing my point!)

The rest of the family (or at least those who could make it) were saddened that I could not join them, but understanding of my plight. Scheduling is a very tricky business, and with a family as large and spread-out as ours, inevitably someone won't be able to attend. There is simply too much going on.

Situations like this make me wonder if it is all truly worth it, or worth anything, really. I work, and work, and work. For what? I barely have any time to be spent on my own pursuits and interests. At least five days of a typical week are dominated by work, with a sixth day occurring all too often. (It has occurred to me, repeatedly, that if they could do so legally, my employer would be having us all work seven days a week, every week.) 

My thoughts are only worsened by a recent development: they've brought back scheduled Saturdays. Schedules have been posted, listing "potential" overtime Saturdays weeks and months in advance. I say "potential" with quotation marks because these days are not truly potential. Saying that they are potential makes it sound as though there is a chance we will not be working on those days. We had to work every Saturday listed, up through March. 

At the end of March, a Saturday that was not even listed as being a potential day was made a mandatory overtime day! The schedules were taken down after that; there was no longer any need for them. As of April, EVERY Saturday had the potential to be a mandatory overtime day. The schedules were nothing more than a meaningless waste of paper. How long, I wonder, before the schedules are disregarded once more?

The end of the year is our busiest time; demand ramps up, and we employees are called on to work greater hours. But usually, by mid-February, things settle down, and we return to only a five-day workweek, instead of six. This year, things never calmed down. We have been stuck working mandatory Saturdays every month since the year began. So then, what will happen when we get to the end months of the year, and demand picks up even more?