sickly worker question
I will be moving in the new year, and I will be looking for part time work in my new town (Castlegar or Trail BC) and I have some questions about how would be best for me to do this.
I have a lot of serious health issues and shouldn't be working (as advised by my doctor and my body both) but must due to financial need.
Is it realistic to find a job that is only 14 hours a week (like 2 days a week)? This would be minimum wage as a waitress or cashier or something as I have no great career skills. I have done daycare, teaching (not certified) and farm work most of my life but am not up to that level of physical activity anymore.
Does anyone have any ideas that I might not have thought of besides waitress or cashier? I am literate and can proofread. I am trying to think of anything else...so far that is what I have come up with. I am very low tech when it comes to computers...nice way of saying clueless!
Where I live right now I worked as a waitress, then ended up a long time in hospital this summer and very long recovery afterwards. I did love working though, even just as a waitress, because I am an extrovert. Now I am working at the community hall as program director, run the preschool, seniors exercise & social, moms & tots programs etc.
The problem is that I am finding that I am sick one week to 10 days out of every month. My current job involves a LOT of volunteer hours. It's actually quite exploitive so I do not get in trouble for being so sick like this because they pay only 10 hours a week but I work between 20 and 30, some from home on paper work. I can go to work sick on sheer will power sometimes but that is what literally almost killed me in July while watressing. (Did you know that just because you can force your body to do something doesn't mean you SHOULD? Who made up that terrible rule! Sheesh! ;) ) So now I basically kiss butt by letting them exploit me on tons of volunteer hours in return for them letting me be sick one week a month.
I dream of a job that I just work my 14 or so hours a week (my disability allows me to earn $500 a month) and do not have all these extra unpaid hours and stress. Go to work, do my job, come home and forget about it until the next working day, and repeat!
BUT the big BUT...how can I be a good employee and a person of integrity if I know I get sick so much?
I thought I would ask the good people here because, holy crap you folks are smart! I read some of these discussions and realize you are way above my head! Smart and ferocious to each other at times, but incredibly kind and caring to me so far! :)
I also accepted my current job as advertised and hired for 12 to 15 hours paid work but then after moving to a rental that required that amount of income was told they could only pay for 10 hours a week. They are so disgusting to work for but I enjoy the actual job itself. (I absolutely, utterly and completely LOVE my seniors!) I am also extremely lucky to have any job at all in a place where there are NO jobs. However, the mean part of me wonders if there are any worker's rights that I may have in this situation that could benefit me. I feel like I have to kiss butt and take anything though because of how sickly I am, which they haven't penalized me for.
Sorry this is so long! My most important questions really are:
Is it realistic to get so few hours a week part time job?
Is it realistic to apply for jobs knowing that I get sick so much?
Are there jobs I could do that are better suited to me that I haven't thought of?
And just to add that I work very hard, I'm very loyal, very honest, and have an excellent work ethic when not sick. I am very good with the public, extroverted and very friendly and caring.
Any ideas anyone has are appreciated! :) Thanks for reading this long post!
If you're honest with prospective employers, and try and schedule off time so that you aren't stressing yourself, maybe you can minimize the amount of time you have to call in sick. Would you be willing to share the nature of your illness? Maybe knowing this will help people to make recommendations for you, giving us an idea of what you can handle. (If you'd rather not, that's cool.)
Maybe a part-time office job? You have emphasized that you are "clueless" about computers, but if you can successfully post here, you can learn Microsoft Office Suite. (When I first got an office job, I used one of those "Dummies" books to get up to speed on computer stuff.)
I also learned that the hard way a few years back, when I forced myself to work through the flu, and ended up with weeks of complications.
Some practical thoughts:
Waitress does not sound like a good idea. Too demanding on the body.
I dont know how you find this little niche.... but I'm thinking mom and pop retail business, where the owners have to be there all the time... and have scheduling flexibility. When you can only pay minimum wage its not always easy to get people- especially if you cant promise them a lot of hours. They are used to having to put up with all sorts of stuff from workers.... so I can see them liking someone who has a reliable attitude and only has to be covered for occassionaly, when they are able and eager to make up later for what they missed.
Or, maybe another way of looking at it is taking your skills and experiences and putting yourself out there as a back up person to a variety of businesses? Like if their regular emplyees call in sick, or something unexpected comes up, they can call you to fill in.
I know it's not predictable, but maybe if you got established in town with enough busineses, it would give you the hours you need?
Economic situation
Employing approximately 1,800 people, Teck Cominco is the region’s largest employer. The average age of an employee at Cominco’s Trail operation is 47. It is anticipated that within 15 years Cominco’s Trail operation will have a completely new and different labour force. A younger and perhaps more technical labour force will most likely replace those that are retiring. The big picture for the area is one of an aging population which brings about ongoing employment opportunities in the area. This is evidence based on the improved housing sales in the years between 2005 to 2007, making the Greater Trail area a target destination for people looking for better quality of life in a smaller community setting.
The City of Trail is also home to the largest hospital in the West Kootenay region.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail,_BC