What is your quitting threshold?

[Tig_]

I'm sure there's lot of versions of this question out there right now, I haven't been hanging out here much to really know.  But I just got some news about work and it's really making me think about how long I am willing to put up with this situation.

To shorten a long, long story -- I have been reassigned at work (university) to supervise a student pandemic response program.  This has taken me away from my normal job (data analysis/program evaluation) almost entirely for the last month to do more event planning and student supervision (staffing testing events, planning COVID trivia nights, etc).  The reassignment was pitched to me initially as 10 hours per week supervising two staff who were being reassigned 30 hours per week each.  I knew 10 hours was an understatement to at least get the program up and running.  Now, one of the professional staff members has been reassigned back to his old role (not by either of our choices) and the other one I was told today will likely (although not final) be ending their time with me (again, not by choice) in December, along with over half of the undergraduate student staff.  So, I will go from 60 hours of support on this program to 0, while theoretically still doing my normal job (my supervisor has been very flexible and knows I am basically not doing my job right now other than absolutely critical tasks).  While also needing to hire approximately 40-50 new students, on board them, train them, role out new responsibilities that VPs have promised they will be working on but we haven't had the capacity to start yet, etc.

Brief Finances:
- Between my current cash and annual leave payout were I to quit within the next month, I can pay my mortgage and co-op fee for over two years (provided someone else is feeding me and paying utilities). This is not accounting for the taxes that would be taken out of the annual leave payout... so maybe 18-20 months.
- I am about 50% or more to what I would call my ERE number - huge lifestyle changes required, but no work.
- I live in a cooperative, so while I do not want to sell my house, I also cannot sell it for a profit until late March, at which point I will have been here 2 years.



So, I don't know.  I don't dislike my job in normal times - although it looks like I've basically been told I won't be doing that again for another 10 months at least.  For a job as technical as mine, I do worry about not using my skills for so long. I normally have a lot of autonomy, access to both a 457 and 403b, 7.25% of salary put to my retirement automatically (not a match, just free), and 5 weeks of vacation a year.  I can see the light at the end of the FIRE tunnel -it's dim but it's there - and I feel like I could just sit and putter and earn enough in the next few (5 ish) years and be done and dealing with starting a new job isn't worth the hassle.  This is annoying, amplified by how big the gap is between what I agreed to and what it is becoming, but I also know many people have it worse, I am lucky to have a job at all, and we could be in for a bumpy ride waiting for the job market to recover.  I'm just one of the the only ones who saves massive amounts of cash to be able to even consider just walking away.

I have applied to one job near my boyfriend (but not close enough to live together) and found another one this morning where I am currently located that would actually be a pay increase and will apply to that as well.  I also want to give leadership (and tbh, the world) a few weeks to get things figured out before doing anything rash to see if they can at least find someone else who can help me with this program.  I mean - the fact that campus is still open BLOWS MY MIND. I likely will have support through at least the middle of December from this other staff member who is with me 30 hours per week, but honestly, that is not completely secure.  I also would feel bad for the students - you've been hired into this role and in the span of 6 months you might have 4-5 different supervisors.  That sucks.

I am incredibly frustrated but it's also not the worst situation in the world.  I am getting paid and have great benefits.  I certainly think I've hit the level of actively job searching, but I'm not sure what my level is for taking that FU money and just leaving.  I have been dreaming all day about my speech letting leadership calmly and respectfully that have FU money and I am not afraid to use it.  This is also not the fault of my actual direct hiring unit - I've mostly been working with folks outside my department on this, and I've alerted them so they can attempt to lobby on my behalf.  It would sure suck if they were called to help out with something (by getting me to help), and then rising to the occasion ultimately led to loosing one of their staff members.

Also context - my partner is currently 3 months in to a 2 year contract one timezone/12hours driving away.  The fact that taking the FU money would allow me to spend more time with him while decompressing from all this is a win in that column.  I've debated that this could be a bargaining chip for more remote work at the very least, but honestly, I would be doing more to support him if I was there full time due to his ADHD and the rigors of residency that I think that is not a feasible option.

So - how do you decide if it's time to say FU?  Rereading all this I can't decide if I'm scared and looking for encouragement to say FU or just wanting an excuse to say FU so I can sit back and do fucking nothing for awhile.

[zolotiyeruki]

Man, that sounds like an uncomfortable situation.  I don't know what to tell you to do, but here are a few thoughts:

1) This is (likely) a temporary situation
2) Who made the decision that you would be doing this COVID-19 response stuff?  It sounds like it wasn't your supervisor
3) Are the higher-ups aware of the negative consequences of you being assigned away from your specialty, and of your staff leaving?  Are they aware that they're paying a specialist to be an event planner?
4) Was this reassignment voluntary?
5) How long have you been without sufficient staff support?

and finally...

6) What would happen if you chose to limit yourself to 10 hours per week on the COVID stuff, and spent the other 30 on your 'real' work?

The longer version of this:  Without discomfort, there's no incentive to change.  This goes for your higher-ups as well--if they're not inconvenienced by you being short-staffed, they have no motivation to fix it, and they won't.  So, don't be a silent martyr.  It may be worth sending an email to your supervisor, and CC the higher-ups, explaining that because you have lost all your staff, you will be unable to complete the COVID-related tasks required in the 10 hours per week, and so events X, Y and Z will need to be cancelled.  Or something to that effect.  If this reassignment was voluntary, you might point out that the current demands of the new role are very different from what you were promised.

This really could shape up to be a good FU Money story, because it sounds like if you left, they'd have *nobody* to do the COVID stuff, and it'd all fall apart. 

You *could* stick it out.  I suspect the demands will diminish over time.  A LOT of people are fatigued with everything COVID-related.
You could make it clear to your higher-ups that you will only spend 10 hours/week on this new assignment.
You could quit and find a new job, although the benefits of your current job are pretty sweet.

I wonder, if you resigned, if they'd post your (old) position, and you could reapply, minus the extra role.

[yachi]

I think at a minimum, you need to make your supervisor aware that you prefer your old tasks and wish these new ones would go away.  You don't want him/her believing that you spend more time on the new tasks because you prefer them to your old ones.

It also sounds like management intended for you to keep doing your old job.  30 hours on your old job and 10 hours on the new job, to me says they wanted you devoted mostly to your old job.  Did they officially change this after the initial pitch?

[FIRE 20/20]

I have been dreaming all day about my speech letting leadership calmly and respectfully that have FU money and I am not afraid to use it. 

I've debated that this could be a bargaining chip for more remote work at the very least, but honestly, I would be doing more to support him if I was there full time due to his ADHD and the rigors of residency that I think that is not a feasible option.

There are lots of things to respond to in your post, but this is what jumped out to me.  First, I'm reading it somewhat literally, so if you meant it figuratively and actually giving the speech is just a fantasy you won't follow through on then you can ignore the rest of this.  I would strongly recommend against giving the speech you're dreaming about giving.  From the manager's perspective, that sounds like a threat and when any relationship gets to the level of issuing demands or threats the dynamic changes drastically and not in a good way.  Work is a relationship between you and the people who employ you.  Yes, it's also an exchange with them giving you money for you to do things you otherwise wouldn't do for them, but the relationships play a key role.  I've seen a number of people come to management with demands of, "If you don't do X for me, I'm leaving", and in every single case when the person left the room the discussion immediately went to their replacement.  The thinking was that if someone has gotten to the point where they're ready to make any demand "or I'm leaving", the bonds of trust and cooperation have frayed beyond repair and the work relationship isn't salvageable.  I'm not saying this is the correct view, but it's what I always saw.  It may eventually come down to having that speech and using the bargaining chip explicitly, but at least at first I'd avoid making it sound like an explicit - "You need to do X or I'm quitting".  If you say something like, "I don't know how long I can continue to do this" or "This situation is untenable - I really need you to help resolve it because I can't do an adequate job in the current situation" then a decent manager will hear the implied "...and if it's not fixed then I'll have to quit". 

[LWYRUP]

The longer version of this:  Without discomfort, there's no incentive to change.  This goes for your higher-ups as well--if they're not inconvenienced by you being short-staffed, they have no motivation to fix it, and they won't.  So, don't be a silent martyr.  It may be worth sending an email to your supervisor, and CC the higher-ups, explaining that because you have lost all your staff, you will be unable to complete the COVID-related tasks required in the 10 hours per week, and so events X, Y and Z will need to be cancelled.  Or something to that effect.  If this reassignment was voluntary, you might point out that the current demands of the new role are very different from what you were promised.

I agree with this advice.

I read a lot of these threads.  Most of the time the person is really frustrated, but hasn't told anyone they are really frustrated!  So first order of business is to talk to your boss.  And no, not with threats of quitting.  Just say you really want to make sure you still get to spend time working on [technical issues], which you were hired for and that you worry you will get rusty if you aren't able to make progress in this area.  Say you know that things are difficult, and you are willing to spend up to X hours a week on Covid stuff, but at some point each week will need to turn it aside to keep working on your original job function.

I always wonder too in most jobs, since nobody is actually an indentured servant, what happens if you just don't do it.  Like you get three Covid tasks, you do one, you do the stuff you were hired to do, then you say "I coudn't get to Covid task X this week because I was working on [real job function].  I might have some time next week."  People do this crap all the time to me, so I assume it works. 

[big_owl]

I'm FI by a long shot so my quitting threshold is pretty low. My boss is OCD about having butts in chairs by 7am despite us all being white collared salaried senior engineers. I suffer from GAD and therefore insomnia so I often don't arrive until 745am (the horror!).   I got hauled into my bosses office last week because he wasn't happy about my start time. I told him that if me arriving at 745am is the most important thing that my company cares about then I didn't see much of a future for myself there and that I'd have my desk cleaned out by the end of the day. He sat there slack jawed.  It helps that we are FI and my spouse makes about 100k/mo.  I now have an 8am start time and my boss is kissing my ass six ways to Sunday. That's when you know you've won the game.  Oh and I expect to be promoted this year because I told him so.  The money difference is a fart in a hurricane to our household income but that's his punishment for pulling that stunt. Like I said, being FI is really nice.

[Tig_]

Thanks all.  I did let the management know that the situation was untenable without additional support (I did have a friend in HR read over the email first to make sure it wasn't too snippy).  The folks I'm reporting to on this are working on a proposal draft to get most of this off my plate entirely now, which is nice, but still has to go through a few hoops to get approved and deal with having limited staff as we try to get there.  Theres a couple aspects of the program that we would love to kill, but have been told it's coming from the President and don't feel like we can, at least not without pushing it on to someone else (which we are actively trying to do).

This really could shape up to be a good FU Money story, because it sounds like if you left, they'd have *nobody* to do the COVID stuff, and it'd all fall apart. 

You *could* stick it out.  I suspect the demands will diminish over time.  A LOT of people are fatigued with everything COVID-related.
You could make it clear to your higher-ups that you will only spend 10 hours/week on this new assignment.
You could quit and find a new job, although the benefits of your current job are pretty sweet.

I wonder, if you resigned, if they'd post your (old) position, and you could reapply, minus the extra role.

Yeah, maybe I'm attracted to the perfect use of FU money too, but it would also be really hard for me to do that to the one person I have left to supervise plus the students.  That would be really crappy for them, so I need to make sure it's really crappy for me.  We do have a lot of folks who are fatigued.  In the last week I also heard of 4 people quitting/leaving - some of them are just fed up, some of them unclear.  One retired but has a new job lined up.  I just wish they came out and said ok, "everyone is going to do 20 hours a week of COVID stuff.  You may ask to be exempted because your current job is all COVID, but we're going to assume its not." There's enough people who are working way, way too many hours and others who are just floating along like nothing has changed and I really hate those people right now.  If I had been met with silence on my email though, I think I'd be in a tough spot.  I can make it through the end of the year for sure - at least if they don't take away my other person. There's no guarantee they won't come for her sooner than that though.  But by that time, the person who made all the promises about our program will be retired, so I'd probably bow out of some.  Plus with the weather turning it's getting more likely cases will spike and we'll shut down again, which would shut down the whole program.  Continuing this through May is a harder sell for me - my spring is heavier workload plus just a whole year of not using my skills -- not good.

So, seems like I'm going to stick it out for now and hope it changes soon.  And really praying for massive furloughs some days - it would kill a lot of people financially, but damnit, there's a bunch of other people who could use the freakin' break.  Morally I don't want furloughs, emotionally I do.

Anyway -- I'll come back here and update if anything changes either way.

[zolotiyeruki]

Thanks all.  I did let the management know that the situation was untenable without additional support (I did have a friend in HR read over the email first to make sure it wasn't too snippy).  The folks I'm reporting to on this are working on a proposal draft to get most of this off my plate entirely now, which is nice, but still has to go through a few hoops to get approved and deal with having limited staff as we try to get there.  Theres a couple aspects of the program that we would love to kill, but have been told it's coming from the President and don't feel like we can, at least not without pushing it on to someone else (which we are actively trying to do).

This really could shape up to be a good FU Money story, because it sounds like if you left, they'd have *nobody* to do the COVID stuff, and it'd all fall apart. 

You *could* stick it out.  I suspect the demands will diminish over time.  A LOT of people are fatigued with everything COVID-related.
You could make it clear to your higher-ups that you will only spend 10 hours/week on this new assignment.
You could quit and find a new job, although the benefits of your current job are pretty sweet.

I wonder, if you resigned, if they'd post your (old) position, and you could reapply, minus the extra role.

Yeah, maybe I'm attracted to the perfect use of FU money too, but it would also be really hard for me to do that to the one person I have left to supervise plus the students.  That would be really crappy for them, so I need to make sure it's really crappy for me.  We do have a lot of folks who are fatigued.  In the last week I also heard of 4 people quitting/leaving - some of them are just fed up, some of them unclear.  One retired but has a new job lined up. 

When I said that people are fatigued with the COVID-19 stuff, I was referring to the intended audience, i.e. the students.  You mentioned a COVID trivia night.  How much voluntary participation is expected in such an activity?  How much participation is expected after eight months of such activities?  My impression is that college students are already fairly unconcerned about coronavirus, and eight months of the school administration trying to force the issue isn't going to change that, and may even backfire.

Coming from the president?  To me, it sounds like either A) the president is unaware (has nobody told him/her?) of the negative impact (that people can't do their normal jobs) this program is having, or B) the president understand the negative effects, and is considers that the program is worth the cost.  I'm fairly sure, however, that the potential for mass resignations did *not* factor into the president's considerations when he/she put the program into place, and *that* needs to be clearly communicated up the chain.

If people are leaving because they're required to do duties they weren't hired to do, the university has a much bigger problem on their hands--not only will there be no covid program in the near term, but all the employees have left, leaving all those "normal" positions empty.

[Tig_]

Thanks all.  I did let the management know that the situation was untenable without additional support (I did have a friend in HR read over the email first to make sure it wasn't too snippy).  The folks I'm reporting to on this are working on a proposal draft to get most of this off my plate entirely now, which is nice, but still has to go through a few hoops to get approved and deal with having limited staff as we try to get there.  Theres a couple aspects of the program that we would love to kill, but have been told it's coming from the President and don't feel like we can, at least not without pushing it on to someone else (which we are actively trying to do).

This really could shape up to be a good FU Money story, because it sounds like if you left, they'd have *nobody* to do the COVID stuff, and it'd all fall apart. 

You *could* stick it out.  I suspect the demands will diminish over time.  A LOT of people are fatigued with everything COVID-related.
You could make it clear to your higher-ups that you will only spend 10 hours/week on this new assignment.
You could quit and find a new job, although the benefits of your current job are pretty sweet.

I wonder, if you resigned, if they'd post your (old) position, and you could reapply, minus the extra role.

Yeah, maybe I'm attracted to the perfect use of FU money too, but it would also be really hard for me to do that to the one person I have left to supervise plus the students.  That would be really crappy for them, so I need to make sure it's really crappy for me.  We do have a lot of folks who are fatigued.  In the last week I also heard of 4 people quitting/leaving - some of them are just fed up, some of them unclear.  One retired but has a new job lined up. 

When I said that people are fatigued with the COVID-19 stuff, I was referring to the intended audience, i.e. the students.  You mentioned a COVID trivia night.  How much voluntary participation is expected in such an activity?  How much participation is expected after eight months of such activities?  My impression is that college students are already fairly unconcerned about coronavirus, and eight months of the school administration trying to force the issue isn't going to change that, and may even backfire.

Coming from the president?  To me, it sounds like either A) the president is unaware (has nobody told him/her?) of the negative impact (that people can't do their normal jobs) this program is having, or B) the president understand the negative effects, and is considers that the program is worth the cost.  I'm fairly sure, however, that the potential for mass resignations did *not* factor into the president's considerations when he/she put the program into place, and *that* needs to be clearly communicated up the chain.

If people are leaving because they're required to do duties they weren't hired to do, the university has a much bigger problem on their hands--not only will there be no covid program in the near term, but all the employees have left, leaving all those "normal" positions empty.

mm students don't seem to be interested in much of anything virtually, doesn't have anything to do with COVID.  We're partnering with someone and offering $300 of prizes for trivia night so, there will be some number of students there, but probably not many.

Most folks don't have the option to leave - in that, most folks don't see the transferrable skills they have and think they can only leave for another higher ed position, which are pretty much all in hiring freeze territory.  I suspect that will change as people get more desperate.  That being said, we're the "fun" part of college and very few of our division are likely to be considered "mission critical."  Mostly, that's reserved for political reasons (e.g., we would always be able to get a hiring exemption for the person who does hiking trips with student veterans). But still, that just means the ones that have happened so far are kind of more surprising.  I do think the Division will be gutted by the time we open up again, just not sure if that will be from layoffs or resignations.  As long as we have staff to yell at the students who cheat on their exams, serve the food, and make sure the residents halls don't burn down -- we're considered done.

[Laura33]

I don't have a specific answer for you, but I will recommend a change of mindset.  The tone that comes through your posts is the kind of stress level you see in people who are really truly stuck in a horrible situation.  That's not you!  You have FU money -- in spades!  So stop the spiraling volcano of doom in your head, and start thinking and acting like you have all the choices in the world.  Because you do.

The thing that jumps out at me is that all that pressure and stress you're feeling is coming from inside you.  Yes, the job situation sucks, has only gotten worse, and is completely unsustainable.  That happens.  The reason you feel stuck is because you have taken on yourself the responsibility to look out for everyone and everything else -- to make the program successful even though it goes well beyond the 10 hrs/week you were promised; to not leave your fellow staff member in the lurch; to not bail on the kids who are employed in your office; etc.  And that is coming from you, not anyone else.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not going to tell you to get over it and look out for number 1 no matter the costs to others.  The fact that you care about the program and people shows that you are a good person.  Don't lose that, ever.  But you also can't let that control your thoughts and planning to the extent that you yourself are drowning. 

The way to manage those kinds of issues is to view everything as a choice, and to evaluate all the consequences of each choice, both good and bad.  In other words, staying in your current job is a choice, and the "pros" to that choice go beyond the salary:  you get to support your coworker, be there for the students, and do your best for the program.  So instead of feeling stuck there because of the guilt you feel at the thought of leaving, you're actively choosing to stay because it allows you to fulfill that part of your moral compass.  Does that make any sense? 

Also:  choosing to stay doesn't mean accepting things as-is.  When you lay out the things that matter to you and look at them objectively, that can often show you that you have many other options that you hadn't thought of when you were reacting out of stress and fear.  For example:  you clearly have FU money, so there is not one single reason to fear getting fired.  That gives you power here that you are really seriously not taking advantage of.  So what changes can you make that would make the workload more tolerable?  Can you triage all the ideas down to a more manageable number, focusing on the ones that are most likely to actually be helpful instead of Covid Theater (trivia night?  really?  seriously?)?  Look at the list, look at how much time and effort each one takes, figure out which ones you can delegate to someone else, look at which ones seem to provide serious value to the students and community, and triage accordingly.  Take the revised list to whomever is in charge and say that this is what you believe you can implement with your current resources, and to let you know if they would like to change the priorities in some manner.  It's pretty likely that whoever makes these decisions is swamped themselves and will be grateful that someone is taking charge and getting stuff done.  Sure, someone higher up will push back, and say no, it all needs to get done.  That's when you hold firm, reiterate that this is what you can accomplish with your existing resources, and note that you will be more than happy to add X and Y back in if you can get more resources to manage those projects.  What's the worst that can happen -- they fire you?  Uhhhh, ok.  Your guilt is assuaged because you're not leaving of your own free will, and you move to be with your partner and start the job search again.  It's not exactly living on the street, right? 

The precise path you follow is likely to be entirely different, of course -- maybe you tell them you can only give the original 10 hrs/week to this task; maybe you tell them that you're willing to continue through the end of the year but put them on notice you need to hand it off come 1/1/21; etc.  The point is to look at the parts of the whole situation that are making the job overwhelming and unsatisfying right now, and brainstorm changes you can make to improve things and make the work manageable and bring some happiness back into your days. 

Final note:  don't ask your supervisors/bosses if you can do something.  Tell them that you are doing XYZ -- respectfully, of course, and providing an opportunity for feedback if they prefer different priorities -- but then hold the boundaries of how much you have to give.  You know that old saying that it's better to ask forgiveness than permission?  100% true here.  Again, what are they going to do -- fire you?  Ok.

[zolotiyeruki]

Also:  choosing to stay doesn't mean accepting things as-is.  When you lay out the things that matter to you and look at them objectively, that can often show you that you have many other options that you hadn't thought of when you were reacting out of stress and fear.  For example:  you clearly have FU money, so there is not one single reason to fear getting fired.  That gives you power here that you are really seriously not taking advantage of.  So what changes can you make that would make the workload more tolerable?  Can you triage all the ideas down to a more manageable number, focusing on the ones that are most likely to actually be helpful instead of Covid Theater (trivia night?  really?  seriously?)?  Look at the list, look at how much time and effort each one takes, figure out which ones you can delegate to someone else, look at which ones seem to provide serious value to the students and community, and triage accordingly.  Take the revised list to whomever is in charge and say that this is what you believe you can implement with your current resources, and to let you know if they would like to change the priorities in some manner.  It's pretty likely that whoever makes these decisions is swamped themselves and will be grateful that someone is taking charge and getting stuff done.  Sure, someone higher up will push back, and say no, it all needs to get done.  That's when you hold firm, reiterate that this is what you can accomplish with your existing resources, and note that you will be more than happy to add X and Y back in if you can get more resources to manage those projects.  What's the worst that can happen -- they fire you?  Uhhhh, ok.  Your guilt is assuaged because you're not leaving of your own free will, and you move to be with your partner and start the job search again.  It's not exactly living on the street, right? 

The precise path you follow is likely to be entirely different, of course -- maybe you tell them you can only give the original 10 hrs/week to this task; maybe you tell them that you're willing to continue through the end of the year but put them on notice you need to hand it off come 1/1/21; etc.  The point is to look at the parts of the whole situation that are making the job overwhelming and unsatisfying right now, and brainstorm changes you can make to improve things and make the work manageable and bring some happiness back into your days. 

Final note:  don't ask your supervisors/bosses if you can do something.  Tell them that you are doing XYZ -- respectfully, of course, and providing an opportunity for feedback if they prefer different priorities -- but then hold the boundaries of how much you have to give.  You know that old saying that it's better to ask forgiveness than permission?  100% true here.  Again, what are they going to do -- fire you?  Ok.

^^^ This.  A thousand times this ^^^

I'd like to add one point to the above.  By letting your bosses know that unless they make a change, Z will get done and that X and Y won't, you have accomplished several things at once: 1) you have clearly laid out for them the limits of their current resources, 2) you have laid out the alternatives (either find more resources, or accept that X and Y won't happen), and 3) you have placed the decision-making burden where it belongs: back on them.  And the consequences of whatever choice they make will be where they belong: on them.  If they decide not to provide additional resources, it's their fault if activities don't happen.  If they tell you to abandon your regular job duties, then you can choose to resign, or stay on.  If they hire more people to take the load, then great!  If they decide to fire you for pointing out that Their Highnesses aren't wearing any clothes, then it's probably a good thing for you to leave :)

[Tig_]

The thing that jumps out at me is that all that pressure and stress you're feeling is coming from inside you.  Yes, the job situation sucks, has only gotten worse, and is completely unsustainable.  That happens.  The reason you feel stuck is because you have taken on yourself the responsibility to look out for everyone and everything else -- to make the program successful even though it goes well beyond the 10 hrs/week you were promised; to not leave your fellow staff member in the lurch; to not bail on the kids who are employed in your office; etc.  And that is coming from you, not anyone else.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not going to tell you to get over it and look out for number 1 no matter the costs to others.  The fact that you care about the program and people shows that you are a good person.  Don't lose that, ever.  But you also can't let that control your thoughts and planning to the extent that you yourself are drowning. 

This is incredibly important for me to remember.  And it's such the SUCK of this field.  We just keep saying "it's for the students" like that's enough to railroad people into doing crazy hours for ... what?  Like sure, if you are a doctor, don't kill people -- please go the extra mile.  But trying to educate students on which mask is better when they're mostly wearing the mask we gave them which are good anyway? meh.  I'm also perfectly fine abandoning a lot of the student focused pieces of this - show up to your shifts, get paid, go home.  We aren't planning ice breakers and making you all friends - that's just not happening.  The person I supervise has a lot more experience supervising students and it's very hard for her to let these things go. Which I think leads to hard moments but also good balance... in some ways, or would be if we had the capacity.


Today I am more leaning towards quitting sooner rather than later.  But I also just looked at my calendar for the past few months and realized I haven't taken a day off that wasn't "for" something (helping SO move) in a few months.  I probably just really need to make that happen sooner rather than later.




p.s. - I know for the trivia.  There's a standing trivia program that we are glomming on to - we didn't come up with the idea, more just want to leverage existing marketing to do less work.