I lost my job today

[undeterred]

I was up all night oncall for the job and working at home this morning when I got the call. My two female co-workers have had a hostile attitude towards me from the beginning- about 7 weeks ago. My agency and the manager have had conversations which really didn't result in much.

Yesterday the ladies finally gave me the oncall schedule for November-December. That's right, the oncall schedule for November-December with the news that I am on call 24 hours a day for 7 days from Dec 23 - Dec 30. There are only 2 billable days during that time because the company has holidays before and after Christmas and New Years. So that's 5 non work days that I would have to be available 24 hours a day without being paid unless I am actually called. Including Christmas.

I emailed the manager indicating that I was upset about the short notice of being on call during the holidays- I had been asking for the schedule for weeks- and I asked if I could bill regular time for the unpaid days off.

His response was to call my agency and fire me because he didn't like the "tone" of my email.

Being a contractor totally sucks. They expect a whole-life kind of sacrifice and commitment, but they don't even owe you a show of respect.

[livetohike]

1. I'm sorry undeterred

I quit a job once because I didn't like the way they treated the contractors. I was a first level manager and there wasn't much I could do about it.

:hug: You will find something better :-).

[undeterred]

2. Thanks

But so often when I find something that seems better, its just more of the same.

[hfojvt]

3. you make a contractor sound like another temp

I thought they made better money than that.

At least you now have the holidays off, and have not lost a permanent job or your only employment. I have been stuck at the same dsyfunctional job for over 3 years now.

[undeterred]

4. a contractor is just a fancy word for temp

I have indeed lost my only job, my only income. When the assigment ends, you are unemployed, no severance, no notice, no nothing.

Becoming unemployed on December 15 is NOT like having the holidays off. I can't possibly get more work till after the New Year.

[hfojvt]

5. Sorry, I was not aware

of how hard it would be to find more employment at this time of year, but OTOH I would expect many stores and perhaps even factories to need extra help too.

I was hoping to find a brighter side, but I guess I need to keep digging. There's gotta be a pony here somewhere.

[undeterred]

7. It will probably be hard to find tech employment

And the other stuff doesn't pay as well as unemployment compensation, frankly. I'll find something, I always do. But I never seem to know what I am getting into, and there are a lot of bad situations out there that just keep cycling people through. They never fix the situation, they just keep blaming it on one person after another. I was the 4th contractor they had this year.

I was ambivalent about it and angry about the way I was being treated and looking around any way. But having your income terminated when you've just knocked yourself out staying up all night for the company is really nasty. Its the corporation ethic.

[tjwash]

6. It's a blessing in disguise, trust me..

...I quit my last job because of that shit. This is the first year in 10 years that I have had holidays off. That on call all the time stuff starts to affect your health after a while.

[undeterred]

10. I realize that somebody has to do it

and if they had told me in the beginning that as a condition of getting the assignment I would have to take Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years then at least we could have talked about it and everything would have been out on the table. But springing it on me at the last minute- especially when I had been asking for the information for weeks, just stinks.

And this is a sucky way to be on call. I've had other jobs where you just get a phone call in the middle of the night once or twice the week you're on. At this job the pager goes off a few times every night, and even though it turns out to be nothing 80% of the time, you still have to wake up and check on it. You don't get a night's sleep the whole week. And there's no compensation for the lack of sleep.

Basically, being on call without being paid for it is exploitation and it ought to be illegal.

I interviewed for a permanent position this year where one person handled everything- and she was on call 24x7x365. She told me the only time she didn't get calls was if she left the country on her vacation. I walked out of there thinking no amount of money would make me want to do this job.

Good for you for quitting over it.

[Metta]

8. So, how do things balance out?

What benefits are you now without? What grief do you lose? Where do you stand? Holding your reactions will provide for answers to unfold.

[undeterred]

9. I am without a paycheck

I didn't have insurance anyway.

I no longer have to spend 3-5 hours a day driving to a job where the only two people I work with have a hostile attitude towards me. There was seemingly nothing I could do to change their attitude, and the manager wasn't willing to deal with it on that level.

The job had a good $ rate but really didn't turn out to be much of an opportunity for learning.

It had the possibility of being extended a quarter at a time, but no guarantees.

If they hadn't cut me I would have stayed until I found something else, but I was definitely already looking for something closer and less stressful.

Really, its just the money. Its the financial insecurity that I can never seem to break out of, because I do the kind of work (contracting) where there are unexpected gaps in employment. Just when I start to catch up, something like this happens and I slip back again. Of course I would like something permanent, but its not that easy to find.

Thanks.

[Metta]

11. Good and bad in everything.

Congratulations, that job was always temporary. You were dying there, ... death by a thousand cuts. It was only a matter of time before you'd have left or gotten sick.

I went through a series of incidents where I'd get close to doing something I wanted only to have unforseen circumstances take my money. Let's see how your suffering will unfold to bring you closer to what you want.

"The way is easy for those who have no preferences." Can you ride the wave or will you take it out on yourself?

[undeterred]

12. I'm undeterred

and I've earned the name. :-)

[Metta]

13. Go well and be well.

Good for you. :) :toast:

[undeterred]

14. Thanks.

:beer: :cry: :beer: :cry: :beer:
Cries into beer.

[Metta]

16. Please cry.

Please have your emotions, to everything there is a season. I'm glad you're giving them play. They can certainly inform you and pave the way for you seeing options. Now's the time to get them out, to think of every right and wrong decision. Prioritize and plan later. A wonderfully possible time. All the best.

[CarpeDiebold]

15. Sorry to hear that undeterred

hope everything works out. doesn't sound like a pleasant place to work, but work's work. hope you find something new(and better!)