Don't Know What To Do!!
Well, This has been a fun filled month to say the least. I am now about to say goodbye to the financial institution that I work at. Two weeks ago my husband had a mild heart attack and I had to miss work. I go back to work and now I am faced with the threat of being fired!!! Because I haven't been at my job for one year I cannot claim FMLA and my supervisor said that if I miss another day I will be terminated because she needs me there. I put in a vacation request to have 3 days off because my husband has to be admitted into inpatient care. The days I want off are in the middle of April. My boss said no I couldn't have to days off but if I call in I'm fired! So I told her to do what she had to do because I feel that I shouldn't have to choose between my job and my family. I am under enough stress as it is and I don't need this.
On a better note, I got another job at a department store working for 2 bucks less than what I make now so I have to find another job to supplement my income. I found another part time job, but it's not stable and I have 3 interviews this week, one of which is for a local newspaper. Sometimes I feel as if i'm sacrificing for nothing and maybe school was a bad i dea, I don't know. Well wish me luck!
So, you sound like you may be a workaholic (http://www.collegerecruiter.com/weblog/archives/2006/03/careful_balance_1.php). And it sounds like it's difficult to determine just what your "brand" is (http://www.collegerecruiter.com/weblog/archives/2006/03/building_your_b.php).
While your GOAL is to earn your degree and gain meaningful experience on the way so that you can get a job as soon as possible, you have some existing relationships and obligations that need some attention. Keep your goal but get the priorities in order.
No matter how you feel about an employer personally, as a professional, it is important to speak to the employer with at least a modicum of respect and deference, to be professional in the delivery of your work, and to be reliable. Flying off the handle when things go wrong will not get you noticed for those first three attributes. Negotiation, conversation, and coming to agreed-upon solutions is a better way to get there.
So first things first. Do what you can to preserve the existing full-time job. In a non-threatening, non-hostile manner, talk with your supervisor. Explain that your husband's health is extremely important to you but serving the needs of the bank is also one of your priorities. Ask what can be done so that you can attend to your husband's hospitalization.
Make certain that you set your alarm clock 15 minutes earlier from this day forward. Get to work five minutes before starting time, if not earlier. Be on time from breaks and lunch. Be at work every day. It is possible that you can save this situation if you develop a healthier relationship and attitude.
Next, you're burning the candle at ends that don't exist. Develop some priorites. If time will not allow for items 5 through 75, then those will have to be left off the "To Do" list until much later.
That also goes for the extra jobs. Do you really have time to work all of them? If not, determine what jobs are the most important. Handle them with the greatest of expertise. Make sure they're remarkable examples of your most positive work. There are project that are getting left on the wayside. Reject them. You can't do them wihin their time limits. Let someone else handle them while you do the best with what you have and retain a positive image and reputation for yourself. If the things that you reject are meaningful to you, never fear, they will present themselves to you again in the future -- when you can handle them as they should be.