This is a repost from a couple of years ago, before anyone was reading my stuff.

Dear Mr. Boss Man,

Thank you for the raise the other day. I really appreciate it. Thank you also for the glowing review. I am not used to someone saying such wonderful things about me or my work. I appreciate the positive feedback that you give to me each day and I appreciate that you are a very positive person and can admit when you are wrong. That has been rare in my working career, and frankly in life in general.

However, when you suggested that I crank it up a notch you worried me. I am cranking away and as far as I can tell you think so too. I have had every assignment in not only on time but usually long before it is due.

When you suggested that I arrive earlier and leave later you almost made me cry. You see you want the one thing I don’t have anymore to give. You want more of my time. You mentioned that you arrive at 7 am so that you can leave at 3 and golf and fish like you so like to do. And that is great. You do indeed put in a great amount of time in the office. I would love to be there at 7 am right along with you. The problem is I wake up at 5am, I shower, I get dressed, I try to have a moment with coffee and Matt Lauer before I have to wake my children and get them ready to move.

My son is nearly impossible to motivate early in the morning and needs multiple wake up calls but once he is actually out of bed he manages on his own. My daughter needs a little more help. She can dress herself but often times she puts her clothes over her bed clothes and I don’t figure this out until we are walking out the door. She needs to bring her security lovies with her to daycare and sometimes they aren’t ready to go.

I need to prepare lunches and check to make sure that all homework is in the backpack and ready to present to the teacher. I also need to make sure the dogs have been fed, even though it is not my job, and that they have water for the day. I try to throw in a load of laundry so that when I stop at home during my lunch hour to let the incontinent dog outside, I can throw the laundry into the dryer. Because it sits for several hours after drying I have some ironing to do as well.

You have been incredibly understanding when I have left to take my ailing mother to her doctors appointments and I appreciate your suggestion that I carve out a little “me time” so I can go and see my doctor for the post-op appointment I was supposed to have three months ago. The problem is there is no “me time” unless it infringes on sleep time, which there is little left to take from, or the time I am committed to you. The idea of golfing or fishing is alien to me. When I leave the office I am thinking about the full time job at home I am about to start.

I was a happy employee before you gave me my raise. I had a flexible schedule which allowed me to take care of the things that are priorities in my life. That was one of the selling points of the job you offered me. Actually, it was the only selling point since the wage and benefits are rather small. You said that the job was flexible and mobile and as long as everyone completed their assignments you weren’t interested in punching a time clock. I took the job only after telling you I was a single mom caring for my own mother. You seemed okay with that.

Now instead of being a happy employee I will be one who arrives early and leaves on time. I can only afford to have before school daycare, I am sorry. Actually I can’t even afford that but if I cut out what is left of my entertainment and clothing budget I should be able to swing it. I will be the time punching employee. I will do my time, a good portion of it killing time on the internet like everyone else in the office, not happily but I will do it.

I will leave the office and I will rush to pick up my children before the daycare and school close. I will run to the nearest fast food place spending money I don’t have so that I can put a hot meal on the table. I will feel guilty about this and worry that I am causing my children heart disease but since I will have no energy to cook a healthy meal that no one wants to eat it is what will happen.

I will go to sleep alone. No one will hold me and tell me that it will all be okay or that what I am doing is for the greater good of the family. I will constantly second guess myself about the amount of time I am spending on my kids compared to my job.

I can do all these things, maybe not as happily as I was but I can adapt to the new schedule eventually. What I have a problem with is not getting paid. A raise is a really nice thing. But if you can’t pay me when you are supposed to and blame it on the fact that you were traveling and unable to call payroll in even though you have a phone surgically attached to you ear, I have a hard time buying that.

You didn’t mention to me if you were going to cover my overdrafts. Since you said “It’s too bad but there is nothing I can do about it” I get the impression that I am left to handle them myself.

I like my job, I like the people I work with, I think they like me. I think I do a pretty good job and the clients all seem to like me. I don’t want to quit. But I do want to get paid.

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