I hate this..

I hate this…

I hate that I feel like I’m married to my job.

What other professor has to go into work on the weekend or stay there late at night almost every week of the year? And why do I have to do this? Mostly because our University doesn’t believe undergraduate students should have keys to things on campus. So, what is a department to do that operates 7 days a week sometimes 24 hours a day? Well, we’ve been working on ways to check out keys but it is at a risk to each of us who loan our keys because we are liable for any charges if the keys are lost and locks have to be changed. So, instead, we sometimes have students who do not have keys that are in need of them and there are none left to check out.

My problem is that there is nothing at the University that says I have to let anyone know what I do at night or on weekends. Sure, I’m a salary employee, so I do still have to get work done when it requires it. But, am I responsible for everyone else’s work or just my own? And what is considered “my” work and what is considered someone elses? All of these questions are left unknown and I’m starting to define them myself because no one else seems to be. I have been working all last semester on making myself less available. I ignore calls and answer only when I want to or when I assume it’s something I need to deal with. I ignore texts often & I’m starting to separate myself further from work.

Why do I do this? Well, because I have to. As I said to my supervisor repeatedly, I went into academia because I wanted something predictable & stable. Being in theatre, I understood there would be times I would need to work nights and weekends or be on call, but as a professor, I demand the ability to expand my own career further. I demand the ability to start a family, have a social life and enjoy the life I live. I demand the ability to go away on weekends, to watch movies on weeknights. I demand the ability to travel, to explore and to educate myself of the world. If my job will not allow me to do these things, then I will work on taking it. I get paid a salary, but under federal law, I am still allowed overtime pay if my job requires more than 40 hours of work a week on average. I know my rights and I know that if they do not want to pay me more, I have the ability to turn down extra work, walk away and work less on weeks not required of me to work.

This past week, I worked 26 hours over two days, 10 hours over the next two and a full 8 hour day on the 5th. Between Mon-Friday I put in over 40 hours and yet, because of the nature of my work, I still went in today to unlock doors. Granted, it only took me about 30 mins plus the cost of gas, but this is the point. Even if it’s “only” 30 mins, it still means I was not able to wake up on my own leisure, go do things on my own & not worry about work.

Why do I put up with this? Well, partly because I have no other options. The economy sucks. My skills are specialized and I cannot just jump into another job that easily. So, I’m essentially stuck, building my resume & skills so that when a job does come up, I have a better shot. Or, this could mean I’m here until I can change careers. This semester may determine how much I want to do the later… Until I know, I just continue through the life I live.

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