Not sure what to do exactly...

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So for the past two weeks and this coming week I have only been getting one 5 hour shift per week. Me and my boyfriend are trying to move into an apartment and its going to be hard to afford it if that is consistently all the hours I get. Just not sure when I should approach the employment people about it and request more shifts or find out if they plan on giving me more or if one day a week is all I'll get from here on out...if so I will need to either just find a new job or get another job in addition. My goal is to get off of SSI because I think I am functional enough and have worked some long weeks at this job and it wasn't as bad or overwhelming as I worried about.

But yeah not sure if they are giving me less hours to even out all the longer weeks I worked or if they really are planning on just having me come in one day a week from now on or worst case senerio if they are planning to fire me. I am just nervous about interaction as is expected with people with aspergers so just not sure how to approach asking about it. I mean I certainly don't want to wait till I am actually short on money to pay rent or anything to figure out whats going on with that. But yeah one five hour shift per week will get me like 100 dollars per paycheck and that's not enough.

Also this is pretty much my first actual job, so yeah I don't know what I am supposed to expect, what is B.S or anything like that, just trying to do the best work I can and make income....

I had to demand that someone let me know when I was going to be getting shifts.
My boss is really flimsy, and kept making changes to the opening hours and our schedule all the time, and it resulted in a similar situation to yours. Never really knowing if I was going to work, or how much I was going to get paid by the end of the month.
I couldn't take it. I didn't mind the economical uncertainty, but the constant schedule changes, and the risk of being called up whenever to be asked to come into work or have a random meeting. It caused so much stress it started hurting my relationship to the boss because I couldn't help becoming agitated whenever I saw him.
So I just let him know that I need more certainty. I need to know when I'm going to be where, and if he's going to call me on my free-time, he has to do it within certain timeframes.
I didn't have to let him know that I have AS just to solve the problem. He was quite understanding about it. Seemed like he just didn't get that this kind of uncertainty causes stress. Since he's on there full time, he pretty much forgot that our income doesn't work in the same way, but as soon as he was reminded of that, he got it.

Just try talking to your boss. Let them know that you need to be able to know if you'll make the rent or not. That's a problem that most people can relate to. If you want more hours, ask if you can get it. The worst thing that can happen is that they say no, and then it's up to you if you want to keep going like this or find a new job.

Good luck!!

That sounds like what was going on with my first job 5 years ago. My mom told me that when they give someone less than 10-hour work weeks, they're trying to get them to quit- especially if the company knows that the person has a disability. I ended up having to find a different job altogether and turn in my resignation because I wasn't getting anything of value from my old workplace.

Ask the manager, or whoever is in charge of scheduling, if you could meet with them about something in private (so it's less overwhelming). Try and explain your situation to them and that you'd like more hours if that is at all possible. If they try and say something about how "more hours aren't available", or that they intend to keep you on 5-hour work weeks for some flimsy reason, it may be time to look for a new job.

I hope things work out for you! Trying to move in with someone when you're worried about finances is NOT a fun experience (I've been there before), so I hope you can get some peace of mind before the moving process starts. Good luck!

Maybe I will just start looking for a new job...get employed somewhere else and then just call up my current job and quit. Probably won't be able to actually do much active job searching till me and my boyfriend are settled into the new place. But yeah its not like this is the only job I am sure plenty of other places need a dishwasher or some kind of behind the scenes labor.

Of course I have multiple work shirts...lol I should just wear one in and get something to eat after I am employed somewhere else.....say hi to the servers, ha ha ha. Like seriously no hours for two weeks, I think that is what most people call B.S so there are probably better places to work.

Two years ago this would have devastated me, but I don't care plenty of other places to work in the area, I am sure I can get something. I mean let me guess, I wasn't social enough even though I was just getting to the point I was more comfortable talking to co-workers there. So yeah its frustrating but whatever there are other places hiring.

IDK why places don't want me to do work for them....

What field are you working in? Or what field do you want to work in?

Knowing that could help us guide you.



FF

Reducing hours in this way can be a tactic companies use to motivate an employee to leave of their own accord. You've got some experience on your resume now, so that should make this job hunt easier than the first one, do you think will they give you a reference?

They should know that 5 hours a week isn't enough to make a living.

I would ask, explicitly, for more hours.

What sort of feedback have you received about your work?

Well the supervisors I have had seem to be pretty pleased with my work.

So if this place is trying to let me go, I don't think it has to do with how well I do work...I mean I do the dishes and if the mop/broom closet is nasty I have cleaned it out a lot of times like rinsing out garbage out of dust pans people leave all filthy and brooms....Like I know I was doing a good job, if they don't want me I can do a good job somewhere else.

Maybe I will call them just for s**ts and giggles you know....uhhh it does make me angry perhaps it would be good practice to call, but the thought just makes me so nervous so not sure if I can do it.

Either way I am a good worker, they want to complain about not being social enough...well at least I got freaking work done, they want some slacker who doesn't put their all into it, it's just fine I am sure there is some place out there where i will be living that would love to have someone with my work ethic.

Like how hard is it I will do work for pay, why my current workplace is doing what they are I don't know....they want me to quit with so few hours, will maybe I will and get something better. Just not sure how that is an accomplishment...oh we got rid of the dishwasher who actually cared about coming to work by reducing hours so much I can't make any money there.... well I hope they are happy when I quit.

Maybe I am being egotistic, but yeah I don't give a crap if this place doesn't want me to work for them, there are other places. Why should I waste my time on it.

Like what they are too chicken to tell me 'you're fired' they just want to reduce hours till I quit? well f*****g fine I'll just find something else, as*holes.

I guess I will ask the next job that if they fire me, they actually give me notification instead of just keeping me employed yet not giving me any hours.

Should just call them and be like 'hey am I still working here or have I been fired"?

If your hours are THAT few that gives you time to look for something else. So keep working there while you look for something else.

Or

Keep working there and take a course at the community college in excel, or in powerpoint, or whatever. Half of the job descriptions in want ads scream "familiarity with excel".

Make a virtue out of necessity.

I wish I could just call and see what is going on....but that makes me so unbelievably nervous. But I should call and ask what is going on just for principle even if I look for something new. It would be a good step, but I am too nervous, like I just want to find something else and forget about this place but too nervous to call my job and confront them about reducing my hours to none for like two weeks.

I need to just bite the bullet and confront this, but it makes me so nervous.

You should call them---but don't ask if you're "fired." That would be a mistake.

Ask for more hours. Nothing wrong with asking for more hours.

If you don't get the hours, just go elsewhere.