For those who went back to work how is it

Just curious to know how is it to be back.

Didn't know where to put this.

Hi hunter. I moved this to the "what to expect on return" sub forum forum for you.

I have been working again now for a lol over a month and I must say the transition was pretty easy even after being out of work for over 2 yrs.
My situation is a lil different though. I knew a lot of my co workers already so that helped a bit.
The hardest adjustment was getting up early an going to bed early. Aside from that no issues aside from lousy pay.

Going back to work for me was filled with some eye opening revelations.

I was unemployed for 14 months. That is the longest time I have ever been unemployed. I started working when I was 15 years old. I'm about 30 years older than that now. I had been a supervisor in my past life and was out of touch with the ...um, how do I say this... the cattiness of other female workers. I was the one who was focused on the company, meeting deadlines, reviewing reports, running the meetings, and so on. Oh sure, I had to play bad cop now and then and enforce the dress code but I never much cared if Suzi's hair was longer than Bonnie's hair or that Cindy had nicer shoes than Jamie. But now I'm in the thick of it.

I work in the most casual office I have ever been in. There is no dress code. One of my male managers wears shorts and goes barefoot in the office! Three of them get together at lunch and go for an hour long bike ride which then makes the office... odoriferous. (It smells like body odor.)

I actually work for a big company but I'm in the satellite office that does just the accounting. We have a whopping 10 people in the office.

Having come from a large corporation where the accounting department took up one whole floor of the office building, this is quite a change for me. The only "work clothes" I had were suits. I only owned one pair of jeans so I wore my suits to work for the first 3 days. Then I overheard one woman speaking to another about how high and mighty I had been coming to work dressed like that. The next day I wore my jeans. ...and tennis shoes.

I had to invest in casual clothes to fit in at the office. The thing is, I work with some very smart people. They know their stuff. And they do go on business trips to the main office and do dress accordingly but in our little home office... well, they are totally casual. If you feel like a candy bar in the middle of the afternoon you just drive down the the local 7-11 and grab a few to bring back. (There are no vending machines or even a break room.)

My skill set fits in well but it has been quite an experience to work in this type of environment. I've been there about 5 or 6 weeks now and I like to think that I am starting to fit in.

I have just gone back to work and the biggest difference for me is that the wages are so much lower. I made more over 15 years ago in the same city doing easier work and the cost of living has doubled since then and all of the jobs that were listed that I applied for after moving back here were just as low or almost as low too.

so far I am happy. the pay isnt great and the work is hard but its a good opportunity. the rest home that hired me is going to certify me to pass out meds and also will pay for cpr and use of epi pen. In the long run it will be great for me.

I consider it a stepping stone. I'm not having a hard time adjusting to the physical aspect of it like I thought I would. I am relieved that its not as bad as I thought it would be. Im on my feet nearly the whole 8 hour shift. It probably helps that its not 40 hours a week. I am lucky in the sense that I get to ease back into it I guess.

I was just asked to pick up 2 more shifts during the week, temporarily from august to october. So now I will be working 7-3 mon and friday, 3-11 every other weekend and 7-3 every other sunday.

I got my first paycheck thursday and as small as it was it felt GREAT!!

I got my first paycheck thursday and as small as it was it felt GREAT!!

X2

Jen wrote:I have just gone back to work and the biggest difference for me is that the wages are so much lower. I made more over 15 years ago in the same city doing easier work and the cost of living has doubled since then and all of the jobs that were listed that I applied for after moving back here were just as low or almost as low too.

And even with all of that which I have no doubt is absolutely true I would be thrilled beyond words to be in your position. If only..........

nfpexec wrote:

Jen wrote:I have just gone back to work and the biggest difference for me is that the wages are so much lower. I made more over 15 years ago in the same city doing easier work and the cost of living has doubled since then and all of the jobs that were listed that I applied for after moving back here were just as low or almost as low too.

And even with all of that which I have no doubt is absolutely true I would be thrilled beyond words to be in your position. If only..........

I understand and feel extremely lucky and won't take it for granted. I know that I am one of the very lucky very, very few that finally found one. It took a very, very, very long time to find it and it took getting evicted and moving in with relatives in another town. I moved to an area that is better off than my old area but, there's still not a lot of jobs here. I am just wondering how in the world I'm going to afford to live on such low pay. I can't live with my relatives forever. There's not enough room and I don't even have my husband here with me. He is staying with other relatives where there is room. I want my husband back. Of course, it is better than the $0 I was getting and I do have a better chance to survive with a small paycheck than no paycheck.

It's been a month and a half since I returned back to work at the yogurt factory here in town. After 3 1/2 years unemployed it took a couple of weeks to get back into the swing of working - for now it's usually 4 days a week - 2 12 hour shifts and the other two can be anywhere from 6 hours to 14 hours. It's a slow time because school is out, but in August it will pick up - they tell me we'll be working 6 & 7 days. I take whatever hours I can right now. I'm at this job through a temp agency - and I'm the first one they call in.

In my last job of 27 years I was a supervisor - we made Almond Joys and Mounds - they pay was great $24.00/hr and we had a lot of overtime. My weekly check was awesome. This job pays $9.50/hr - not great but I can survive on it. (My son actually said I got a $9.50/hr. promotion because before this job I was making $0.00 - got way to put things into perspective) Plus I am getting health insurance thru the temp agency. And it's a scary feeling knowing that you're a temp and at any time you could be gone. But I get along with management and I am so thankful for this job. Plus it's only a 5 min. drive to the factory and that is a huge advantage what with the high gas prices (and in the winter with the snow fall). I've seen some jobs that are paying $10.50 an hour but they are like 30 miles away - so I would just be putting that extra money into gas.

I am starting to feel like a real live human being again - carrying on conversations with people at work. And I'm also tired - but it's a good tired that comes from working and not from the stress of trying to find a job. And now Saturdays and Sundays (the weekend) have a meaning and I look forward to them each week. Before everyday was a weekend day.

I can't wait to feel like that again. And I'm surprised M&M Mars layed off.

Hunterforjobs wrote:I can't wait to feel like that again. And I'm surprised M&M Mars layed off.

I'm not,- I worked for Hershey and they closed 7 manufacturing plants, laying off close to 4,000 people.