Is it wrong to call in once in a while for no good reason? Up until recently I have worked two FT jobs as a paramedic. I was super burned out. I recently got hired at a service that I've been wanting to get hired at since I became a medic. My home county, co-workers that I grew up with etc. and I love it there. I kept my second laid back ems job for second income but the first couple months of getting hired at my new job I didn't work much at my second because of schedule conflict ions, so I basically worked one FT job and I'm so much happier in ems. I love coming to work. It's so much better working 48 hrs a week as opposed to 72-96. The dilemma is my other service has been super good to me the whole time I've been there but they have a shortage of medics and need me to work more. I don't want to let them down, but I can't bare the thought of working like a use to and hating what I do again. I'm considering a call in at my second job tomorrow. It will be a first but I really feel like I need it. I can't help but feel guilty about it tho, leaving them in a bind without a medic. Am I in the wrong?
Calling in
- Thread starter brd1883
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NomadicMedic
I know a guy who knows a guy.
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No. That's why there are days off.
I think it would be hard to call that right or wrong -- at least from where the rest of us sit. If you work two jobs, as many of us in EMS do to pay the bills, it's likely there will be conflicts. As DEmedic suggested, I used personal days and even vacation time for that.
A different situation you've hinted at is calling in when you need a mental health day. I think I did that twice in 20 years, but I was working for bosses both times whom I was able to advise the day before. They were fine with that; they understood I needed it.
From a supervisor's point of view, I wasn't too happy when any of my people called in at the last minute, but if they were honest with me about being sick or not, and they didn't make a habit of calling in for no reason, I let it go as stuff that happens.
If you look at the big picture, bosses and employees have to compromise sometimes for everyone's sake. If you routinely call in sick for no reason, just to use up your sick days, your boss is entitled to be unhappy about that. If you have to call in at the last minute because you're too sick to work, your boss should understand, despite the inconvenience.
A different situation you've hinted at is calling in when you need a mental health day. I think I did that twice in 20 years, but I was working for bosses both times whom I was able to advise the day before. They were fine with that; they understood I needed it.
From a supervisor's point of view, I wasn't too happy when any of my people called in at the last minute, but if they were honest with me about being sick or not, and they didn't make a habit of calling in for no reason, I let it go as stuff that happens.
If you look at the big picture, bosses and employees have to compromise sometimes for everyone's sake. If you routinely call in sick for no reason, just to use up your sick days, your boss is entitled to be unhappy about that. If you have to call in at the last minute because you're too sick to work, your boss should understand, despite the inconvenience.
DrParasite
The fire extinguisher is not just for show
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1) never call out of your full time job to work your part time job. It doesn't end well, esp if your FT employer finds out you called out sick, and your FT coworkers see you working on another ambulance.
2) If you need a mental health day, take it. relax, sleep late, enjoy doing whatever you want, but don't work.
3) 2 FT jobs as a paramedic sucks, because you don't have any time off. If you have 1 FT job, and a side job, that's fine, but remember, you need time off, or else you will end up as overworked as you did before. If your side job need to hire more medics, than that is what they need to do, not run their existing staff into the ground (which many seem to do, but that's another topic). You can't, nor should you, shoulder the staffing issues at the expense of your sanity.
2) If you need a mental health day, take it. relax, sleep late, enjoy doing whatever you want, but don't work.
3) 2 FT jobs as a paramedic sucks, because you don't have any time off. If you have 1 FT job, and a side job, that's fine, but remember, you need time off, or else you will end up as overworked as you did before. If your side job need to hire more medics, than that is what they need to do, not run their existing staff into the ground (which many seem to do, but that's another topic). You can't, nor should you, shoulder the staffing issues at the expense of your sanity.