Weekend Grafting

I've worked in a number of different jobs and industries in my life. Some of them were mickey-mouse jobs and some of them weren't, but it didn't matter which of those two categories my work fell into, I took my work seriously.

There are many people that I know that eat, breathe and sleep their work. They put blood, sweat and tears into every single moment they are working and often they end up spending more of their "free" time at work than anywhere else. I don't think I agree with this idea but some people are work-a-holics and some aren't...each to their own.

❞𝑻𝒘𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖: 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈.❞

A good couple of the jobs I've had have required weekend work and while I did it as it was part of the contract of employment, I can't really say that I liked doing it. It was a requirement that needed to be met which I did to the best of my ability, but there were plenty of times that I remember thinking "The beach would be nice right about now" and it didn't even matter if it was raining outside at the time.

Honestly though, I think it also depends on the team you're in, the leader you have and the general vibe of the place...if those three comprise of good quality people, then working on the weekend isn't as bad. One job I had I remember there were a few times I had to work 18hour shifts occasionally and it was through the night over a Friday night into the Saturday morning. I didn't mind these at all, in fact, I looked forward to them. Why? I had the most awesome team leader and our head co-ordinator was a really funny man. The three of us were a bit silly when we got together so there was never a dull moment and those 18 hours would go by so fast that it felt like a normal work shift. The bonus was getting paid overtime at double hours as well. I'm not really at liberty to say what the job was, but it was customer focused.

With age, I don't think it really becomes easier per se, I think we just get conditioned to having to do it sometimes. We don't have the luxury of throwing our toys out the cot either and our other priorities just have to make way for these things at times.

Do I still have to work over weekends? Sure, it happens all the time. If my company calls me and I need to sort something out, I will drop everything I am busy with to get it done, especially if it's urgent. Do I like it? I wouldn't say I like it, but I don't really mind either. The clients that I do work for rely on me and know that they're in good hands. It's the fact that I respect them and treat them well that keeps them with the company. That's also what keeps me with the company - I am valued and feel worthwhile there. All in all, that's a pretty decent combination for all involved I'd say. There's plenty of compromise and flexibility so I certainly don't resent having to give up a few hours over a weekend when required.

The one thing that I don't like about it? It totally screws up the flow of the week in my mind. Mondays feel like Wednesdays, Saturdays feel like Thursdays. It gets really confusing and can be annoying too.