I've said it before, I'm saying it again. I work with some really amazing people. I've recently gotten over a truly hideous flare up with my lower back. During the worst of it I could not drive because we have a stick shift and it was making things worse to work the clutch. One of the girls in the office was kind enough to give me rides to work. Another one was sweet enough to come out of her way to take me in on our time off so I could get the treatment I needed to get better.
Business has been slow...increasingly slow...for way too long. The boss has been sending two different people home early whenever he thinks we can manage with reduced staff. It's been happening more and more. I volunteered to be put in the rotation for that so it wasn't always the same two people taking the hit to the paycheck and I figured I could manage loosing the kind of time I saw the two of them losing and if we spread it around they'd lose less.
This week the boss told us very reluctantly at the weekly staff meeting that he was not only taking hours away from each of us, he was going to take away entire days. It has gotten that bad. We all knew it was bad but none of us thought it had come to that. We were also all concerned about one coworker in particular because she and her husband are already on the edge economically due to his long-term unemployment. As shocked as we all were by our own reduced hours (and they were significant, I lost between a third and half my hours) most of us were more deeply concerned about her (well, and the owners, of course, because they are good and decent people who give excellent care and if they go under we are all SOL). I was sent home immediately that day but found out when I came in to work next that one of the other girls who also lost two days gave up a third to the coworker who we were all so worried about.
I am just continually humbled by the kindness and decency of some people I am privileged to know. I am grateful to be part of such a team of people and certainly hope this will be a temporary situation so we can all get back to doing our jobs well...together.
11 comments:
I still hope 2012 will be a better year for us all. Best wishes to everyone at your work.
Oh my. I will pray for you. Back issues suck.
And I am all-too-familiar with that sense of wondering if your employer is gonna fail or not. God bless you all for taking care of each other.
Hoping things look up, and soon.
Grrrrrrrrrrrr....
Can't things just run smoooooothly?
I hope things get better soon. How great though that you're working with such great people!
Wow. To see people step back from their own wants and needs to acknowledge the greater needs of those around them? Now THAT's awesome.
(btw, I'm sorry about your scaled back hours!)
Yuck on all counts. I hope business picks up soon. The time off is nice, but no doubt extremely stressful.
And I hope your back has been feeling better.
A profound count, this. Yes, we are at out best when we pull together. That being said... hope things pick up soon.
You have some really amazing coworkers, and of course, I think they have a pretty amazing coworker in you.
It is hard to face scary moments like that and so encouraging to see people face them together, trying to help one another.
I'll also be hoping things look up. It's a scary time, especially for small business owners, but wow! How amazing you all are to take care of your own like that. I think that's proof that we can form a family outside of our own.
That kind of human kindness and caring always warms the heart. I do hope things get better.
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