Almost to the breaking point

[toivo99]

One other idea, and I'm completely serious: If your company has an employee assistance program, look into it. Get a physical exam and tell the doctor you are worried about the toll stress is taking on you. If there are warning signs, you might be able to get a referral to a mental health professional who can help you sort through any issues. If it's severe, you might even get a physician's directive to stay away from work temporarily, and I guarantee the bosses would see how much work really you do -- and how unreasonable the expectations are -- by your absence.

A job isn't supposed to kill you. If it is, then something needs to be fixed. Start by controlling whatever you can control and, for most of us, that means our personal well-being. Good luck.

My former employer forced me to see a counselor (on my own dime) as a condition of employment. The job did almost kill me and I snapped. So glad I am not an SE any more.

 

[Oggiedoggie]

They're repairing the roof on the printing plant part of our newspaper. I'm not sure that it really needed it. I think that the powers that be hired the crew so that we would look down out of our tower window and think, "My job might suck a bit, but at least I'm not a roofer working with hot tar in August."

 

[Magic In The Night]

I would suggest a well thought out e-mail with a detailed explanation of just how much you're doing, sent to your boss and whoever needs to know. I had a situation a month or so ago where I literally could not do anymore work in one shift and we were barely making it on time while a few others, who I'm in charge of on the desk, were doing very little. They couldn't add a person on that day but they switched around the duties to make things work better. Sometimes, you just have to send up a flare. If you're not the kind to cry wolf, they may try to fix things.

 

[sprtswrtr10]

A long time ago (almost 15 years) I was the sports editor - I'll just say it - at The Daily Ardmoreite. Two man staff. Two stringers. Six days a week only because we didn't publish Saturday, (PM paper, but for Sunday, making Sunday the only day off), but there was just no way not to do it in less than 60 hours a week. I know it was 80 sometimes. We covered three counties I think, and we covered them HARD. Perhaps we covered four counties. One day, I worked 21 hours. I can't explain it, but the culture was what it was. THIS STUFF had to be in the paper. THIS STUFF … HAD TO BE STAFFED. What I didn't realize at the time was that all that stuff just wasn't true. I have no idea what the culture is where you work, but I would just say this. Be as efficient as you can possibly be. There are many tricks. Use them all. But after you've employed them all, do not work for free. Don't ask your boss what he or she doesn't want covered, first ask them how much overtime is too much overtime. Then ask them what they don't want covered. All of us tend to live in this world where WE HAVE TO BE THERE. When the truth is, we don't.

 

[NightHawk112005]

I'm actually the opposite, I have to tell my editor to stop worrying about my workload because I can handle it. If I were in my 30s with a family, maybe I'd feel overworked, but I'm 22. It's not like I have anything else I could be doing.

 

[Stitch]

I'm actually the opposite, I have to tell my editor to stop worrying about my workload because I can handle it. If I were in my 30s with a family, maybe I'd feel overworked, but I'm 22. It's not like I have anything else I could be doing.

That's the problem. There are plenty of people who have other things to do with their lives besides work. Married guys have no chance in this business because the bosses don't think they work hard enough, but some single guys have nothing better going on in their lives during their off hours.

 

[Ace]

I'm actually the opposite, I have to tell my editor to stop worrying about my workload because I can handle it. If I were in my 30s with a family, maybe I'd feel overworked, but I'm 22. It's not like I have anything else I could be doing.

That's the problem. There are plenty of people who have other things to do with their lives besides work. Married guys have no chance in this business because the bosses don't think they work hard enough, but some single guys have nothing better going on in their lives during their off hours.

I'd bet some of the single SportsJournalists.com guys would go out on a date, but apparently there aren't any women in the world hot enough.

They might as well work, Stitch.

 

[playthrough]

I'm actually the opposite, I have to tell my editor to stop worrying about my workload because I can handle it. If I were in my 30s with a family, maybe I'd feel overworked, but I'm 22. It's not like I have anything else I could be doing.

That's the problem. There are plenty of people who have other things to do with their lives besides work. Married guys have no chance in this business because the bosses don't think they work hard enough, but some single guys have nothing better going on in their lives during their off hours.

Huge problem. I'm a married with a kid and I know those obligations don't make me as good of a small newspaper guy as I was a decade ago. I'd like to think I can turn a better phrase, file quicker, blah blah, but so what? If I'm an editor, I can't necessarily take those traits over a guy who is unattached and will never duck out of a night of taking calls to go to his kid's open house at school. It's just the truth.

 

[NightHawk112005]

I'm actually the opposite, I have to tell my editor to stop worrying about my workload because I can handle it. If I were in my 30s with a family, maybe I'd feel overworked, but I'm 22. It's not like I have anything else I could be doing.

That's the problem. There are plenty of people who have other things to do with their lives besides work. Married guys have no chance in this business because the bosses don't think they work hard enough, but some single guys have nothing better going on in their lives during their off hours.

Huge problem. I'm a married with a kid and I know those obligations don't make me as good of a small newspaper guy as I was a decade ago. I'd like to think I can turn a better phrase, file quicker, blah blah, but so what? If I'm an editor, I can't necessarily take those traits over a guy who is unattached and will never duck out of a night of taking calls to go to his kid's open house at school. It's just the truth.

That's true. It's why I'm probably going to end up choosing between this or a family at some point in my life. I've seen too many people struggle to make it work, and I doubt my ability to still do this job well in that situation. Luckily, that's not a choice I'll have to make for a while, or possibly ever.

 

[WriteThinking]

Huge problem. I'm a married with a kid and I know those obligations don't make me as good of a small newspaper guy as I was a decade ago. I'd like to think I can turn a better phrase, file quicker, blah blah, but so what? If I'm an editor, I can't necessarily take those traits over a guy who is unattached and will never duck out of a night of taking calls to go to his kid's open house at school. It's just the truth.

That's true. It's why I'm probably going to end up choosing between this or a family at some point in my life. I've seen too many people struggle to make it work, and I doubt my ability to still do this job well in that situation. Luckily, that's not a choice I'll have to make for a while, or possibly ever.

You're right. You'll never have to make that choice if all you ever do is work.

Just fair warning. Don't be like a lot of us, who did what you're doing, then reached middle age, had no other family and no other life, and then, when we were kicked to the curb, usually also in middle age, ended up with no life at all.

It's easy to say what you're saying when you're 22. When you're 42 or 52 but still needing to work, you'll have a different perspective and just be regretting your devotion and wondering, 'What was it all for?'

That saying about deathbeds and how nobody ever looks back and says they wished they would have worked more is very true.

 

[Stitch]

The one thing I hate is that the stress carries over to my off hours. Can't actually enjoy myself and my family. A few people care about the product, but some just care enough to ***** about it.

I wouldn't mind doing freelance PR work, but the mom-and-pops, or even mid-sized businesses, don't seem to care if most of their written correspondence is filled with errors.

 

[Fredrick]

Huge problem. I'm a married with a kid and I know those obligations don't make me as good of a small newspaper guy as I was a decade ago. I'd like to think I can turn a better phrase, file quicker, blah blah, but so what? If I'm an editor, I can't necessarily take those traits over a guy who is unattached and will never duck out of a night of taking calls to go to his kid's open house at school. It's just the truth.

That's true. It's why I'm probably going to end up choosing between this or a family at some point in my life. I've seen too many people struggle to make it work, and I doubt my ability to still do this job well in that situation. Luckily, that's not a choice I'll have to make for a while, or possibly ever.

You're right. You'll never have to make that choice if all you ever do is work.

Just fair warning. Don't be like a lot of us, who did what you're doing, then reached middle age, had no other family and no other life, and then, when we were kicked to the curb, usually also in middle age, ended up with no life at all.

It's easy to say what you're saying when you're 22. When you're 42 or 52 but still needing to work, you'll have a different perspective and just be regretting your devotion and wondering, 'What was it all for?'

That saying about deathbeds and how nobody ever looks back and says they wished they would have worked more is very true.

I agree with you, but not really. Those who get kicked to the curb with no life, can adjust. Prior to that, what choice do they have? I guess go back to school. Those of us with families have already blown it in many cases with our kids and wife pissed at our career choice.

 

[NightHawk112005]

Huge problem. I'm a married with a kid and I know those obligations don't make me as good of a small newspaper guy as I was a decade ago. I'd like to think I can turn a better phrase, file quicker, blah blah, but so what? If I'm an editor, I can't necessarily take those traits over a guy who is unattached and will never duck out of a night of taking calls to go to his kid's open house at school. It's just the truth.

That's true. It's why I'm probably going to end up choosing between this or a family at some point in my life. I've seen too many people struggle to make it work, and I doubt my ability to still do this job well in that situation. Luckily, that's not a choice I'll have to make for a while, or possibly ever.

You're right. You'll never have to make that choice if all you ever do is work.

Just fair warning. Don't be like a lot of us, who did what you're doing, then reached middle age, had no other family and no other life, and then, when we were kicked to the curb, usually also in middle age, ended up with no life at all.

It's easy to say what you're saying when you're 22. When you're 42 or 52 but still needing to work, you'll have a different perspective and just be regretting your devotion and wondering, 'What was it all for?'

That saying about deathbeds and how nobody ever looks back and says they wished they would have worked more is very true.

Well, if journalism busts, I'm good enough at making desserts that I can work in or open a bakery, so I'm good there. The day this stops being fun for me is the day I leave it. Right now, I'm having too much fun to stop.

 

[BobSacamano]

I wouldn't mind doing freelance PR work, but the mom-and-pops, or even mid-sized businesses, don't seem to care if most of their written correspondence is filled with errors.

The big networks don't care either. I work at a well-known cable television network throughout the day (as a paper pusher) and am constantly identifying errors. If it's not a run-on sentence from someone high in the legal department, it's a terrible press release, poorly-written poster, and/or a sloppy programming synopsis blasted out to all departments.

I've expressed my aggravation with these errors to the VP of my department, and it's ignored. He knows my journalism work and knows I'm more than capable of taking a copy editor role, but no one here cares. And then they wonder why the competitors are kicking our asses.

 

[BobSacamano]

Huge problem. I'm a married with a kid and I know those obligations don't make me as good of a small newspaper guy as I was a decade ago. I'd like to think I can turn a better phrase, file quicker, blah blah, but so what? If I'm an editor, I can't necessarily take those traits over a guy who is unattached and will never duck out of a night of taking calls to go to his kid's open house at school. It's just the truth.

That's true. It's why I'm probably going to end up choosing between this or a family at some point in my life. I've seen too many people struggle to make it work, and I doubt my ability to still do this job well in that situation. Luckily, that's not a choice I'll have to make for a while, or possibly ever.

You're right. You'll never have to make that choice if all you ever do is work.

Just fair warning. Don't be like a lot of us, who did what you're doing, then reached middle age, had no other family and no other life, and then, when we were kicked to the curb, usually also in middle age, ended up with no life at all.

It's easy to say what you're saying when you're 22. When you're 42 or 52 but still needing to work, you'll have a different perspective and just be regretting your devotion and wondering, 'What was it all for?'

That saying about deathbeds and how nobody ever looks back and says they wished they would have worked more is very true.

Well, if journalism busts, I'm good enough at making desserts that I can work in or open a bakery, so I'm good there. The day this stops being fun for me is the day I leave it. Right now, I'm having too much fun to stop.

I'm fantastic at eating them, so keep me in the loop.

 

[Stitch]

Feeling a lot better this week, but the boss is gone as well. Same thoughts on the workload, though. I don't mind working hard, but why should one or two people work hard when several others could do just a little more to lighten the load?

 

[Magic In The Night]

Feeling a lot better this week, but the boss is gone as well. Same thoughts on the workload, though. I don't mind working hard, but why should one or two people work hard when several others could do just a little more to lighten the load?

Is there anything you can do to make them take on more? My latest plan is to not just fix all the stuff that they leave in to fix and send it back to them. Why should they spend five minutes on something and then make me spend 30 minutes to fix it? There is no reason why some people get to do almost nothing and other people barely have time to go to the bathroom.