The 40 Hour Week

 


        This past week I worked 40 hours because part of my duties are to cover vacations and time off requests. I like this arrangement because it benefits everyone. Working part time allows me to get housework done, spend more time with C and our cats and visit my parents regularly and help them when needed. It's good for the pharmacy because I know our computer system, our customers, the area doctors and the tech staff. There is no need to bring in a relief pharmacist and all the expenses that hiring from an outside agency incurs.

        Many times when I cover a vacation the schedule is one eight hour day with alternating 12 hour days. I don't mind working 12 hours once in awhile. When I worked full time I worked one a week. This was the first time that I can remember where I worked every day of the week like a normal person. 

        I enjoyed it. It was good to be able to come in and know what is going on and be able to follow up on things from the previous day or days. I am pleased to know that I can still handle busy mornings ( I normally work evening shifts). It was good to work with the day tech staff and interact with more people. 

        One thing that surprised me was that I wasn't totally drained and empty at the end of the day. Yes, I did need a little downtime, I'm a introvert after all. The last time I worked full time, I remember feeling wiped out and mentally spent after a work day. Part of this is due to the fact that the volume in my current store is half of the store where I worked full time. My current store has appropriate tech help scheduled unlike the other store where they were stingy about support staff. The last few months at my former full time job, I worked 10 hours most days and was suffering from undiagnosed anemia. I never realized how big a difference these things made.

        Another thing I wondered about was how did I get anything done especially when I was single? I did get some chores done around the house, but not much, mostly because I knew I'd have time later. How did I keep the house clean, cook meals, grocery shop and go to various appointments. I know some of this got done on days off and on weekends. Many weekends when I lived in southern Minnesota, I would travel to my parents' home to help care for my grandfather who lived with them. When he moved into the nearby nursing home my mother and I visited him on the weekends when I was there. How did I ever manage without doing meal prep and laying out clothes the night before when I work the day shift. How much more productive could I have been?

        One thing this experience did was to make me realize how fortunate I am that I can work part time. I'm also grateful that I work for a company that is stable and that I get to do work I enjoy and am good at. I am almost happy to go to work and to be at work.  Many people are not so fortunate.

        As good as this week was, I'm going to enjoy this weekend off. Even if it is cold.

    


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