I'm done (sorry long rant)

thembcat

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Okay, I'm finally fed up with being constantly tired and my body constantly fighting itself on when its bedtime.  I want I job that I can actually sleep at night like a normal person. None of this 11pm-7am junk.  I miss seeing the sun, I miss sleeping at night...god I miss sleeping at night. I miss having a life. I miss being awake when everyone else is, being able to go out for lunch or dinner without worrying if I've gotten enough sleep to make it through the night. I hate the 8 hours of solitude and boredom. I want a job that I actually have work I can do. Don't get me wrong, its nice the have a job that I can just sit at a computer and goof off pretty much the entire shift, but that makes me feel lazy.

For those who don't know, I'm currently a Night Auditor at an extended stay hotel in Wichita, KS.  The pays not horrible and lets face it, the job can't be much easier but oh gawd the hours. I hate the hours. Like I said above, I miss sleeping at night. I'm not wired to be up all night. No matter how long I stick it out at this job, I'll never get use to it. The chances of me being about to move to a FT 1st of 2nd shift Front Desk position is pretty much zilch.  We have a girl that is getting fired once a replacement is found BUT she only works two days a week and I need more hours than that. 

Part of me would like to hold out for the current girl that works FT Mon-Frid at the Front Desk to be fired but since the Assistant GM likes to flirt with her, I doubt she ever will be. I'm sorry, don't mean to sound bitter but she needs to be fired. She's probably one of the worst employees I've seen in a long time.  She's constantly screwing up. She can't seem to make reservations correctly, she has a total disregard for anything resembling professionalism, she has no filter on that mouth of hers, nor does she have volume control, she's consistently 6-10 minutes late every single shift, she can be even later to work just because "she can't find the skirt she was going to wear today," she comes to work every morning with a hangover and just complains through the entire shift change, she can't correctly count the cash drawer for the life of her, nor can she even handle cash correctly period. The drawer is always off at the end of her shift, its always off really weird amounts that don't make sense either. She comes in not even ready for work, she just brings her makeup and hair stuff to work and does everything here. I could go on and on.    You know, some of the things she does, I can ignore. Like the constantly being 6-10 minutes late, I mean heck, more time on the clock for me BUT what I do have a serious problem with is her issues with the cash drawer and the lack of a filter her mouth has.  She will blab just about anything despite how rude it is.  We had a maintenance guy that was fired one morning. He was reliable but he was old and he worked only one day a week and he could only do light maintenance. I would say the guy was at least 70 years old, he was a very nice guy and he always got his work done. Well we got a new GM who decided we didn't need him so one morning, he came in a fired him.  The Maintenance guy had a box of his personal items outside the maintenance office. He had a package of underwear in it. Well this Front Desk girl saw the package of clean underwear and apparantly thought it was the most disgusting/hilarious thing ever. SO when she comes to the front desk to relieve me after clocking herself in, she immediantly starts making fun of the poor guy. She was talking to hotel guests about him, she didn't care who over heard or who she told. Luckly the man wasn't around to hear it. I was so angry. Who is she to think she has to right to talk about internal matters to guests? Who is she to think she can make fun of someone who has just lost his job? She doesn't know why he had the underwear, considering his age, for all we know, he could have a bladder problem. Lets see how she likes it when she's his age and has bladder problems. Lets see how she like being laughed at behind her back.  I still regret not ripping her a new one right then and there. If I hadn't been totally exhausted from events that happened just before she came in then I would have (a stray dog kept on running into the hotel, so I was busy rangling him all morning.)  You know if she had just been talking/laughing to me about it, quietly in the back office, out of earshot of guests, I wouldn't have had as big of problem with it. I would still be angry but at least guests weren't hearing anything.

Anyway back on topic, basically I am going to start looking for a new job.  I have my eye on a few, I'm going to apply to some of them tomorrow/today (saturday.)   So far my top picks is a Co-Manager position at the local Hobby Lobby (yay for discounts lol,) a Cruise Representative for Royal Caribbean (pretty much making reservations and such so pretty much what I do at a hotel,) and a receptionist at an Autoplaza. Even though I doubt they're hiring, I think I'm going to apply at Michaels just because I've always wanted to work there.    

So wish me luck on my job search.
 

bawdy

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Well to start with: Good Luck!

I worked 8 years on nights, both reception and Night Auditor, loved it, money was good, lots of tips and commission's for arranging escorts ect, plus of course as a then single guy there were "guests with benefits" 


I changed for two reasons, one I wanted to do something more normal and two, 3 of the 5 other permanent guys on nights in the three hotels our employers owned had heart attacks, I figured I'd pass on mine! At about the time they were dropping I read an article on the effects that night work has on your body and mind, not nice, you can Google this stuff to give yourself more justification in changing.

Remember though, you might have to spend a full 8 with some SOB you can't stand and wish for the solitude of nights! 


In the meantime one tip: When you get home don't go to bed, stay up and hit the pillow around 2-3pm, when you get up you go straight to work in the way day workers do...That made a big difference to me.
 
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mrblanche

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I worked nights at a large Hilton property (corporate) as a desk clerk and statistics clerk. 

Hate working nights.

My trucking job went from a great job to "just OK" job when we switched from hourly to mileage/stop pay and started running all night runs.  I immediately raised my life insurance to the max.

If the good Lord had meant us to work at night, he would have given us eyes like cats.

Work for Royal Caribbean.  The discounts there have to be great, too!
 
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thembcat

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lol oooh so it's hotel employees like you that make guests think that all front desk staff are available for those "special benefits" lol.    I think being a guy, you'd enjoy it but it gets darn right creepy when you're a girl. Even if I was single...it would just be creepy.  Especially when they don't take no as an answer and say that if I don't meet him at the airport in the morning, he'd come back and get you. *shudder* All lickin his lips and looking at you up and down...... I got that guy banned. And then the drunk guys....trying to steal beer from the keg in the kitchen....or government officials trying to get you to go upstairs for a "glass of wine" with a friend.  Noooo thank-you. I'll pass.    

Yeah the night auditor that I replaced I guess was stockpiling weapons and he prank calls the hotel during my shift and just breathes heavily into the phone...creepy. To add to the creepy factor, he walks slumped over and he wears a ratty trench coat. lol and he was secretly living at the hotel...which is the reason he was fired.  I was told when I was first hired not to let anybody in that matched that description.

Luckiy my man stays up all night playing video games so I'd still have peacefully nights lol.

I agree. People aren't meant to be up all night. Well I guess most people.

I know that's what I'm hoping. Hopefully I can at least get an interveiw and ask about the perks and discounts. *crossing fingers for HUGE discounts on cruises*     You know if I was single I'd get a job on an actual cruise ship. Yes I'd be working all the time but just the scenery I'd get to see would be amazing!
 
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Winchester

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I hear you about those night hours. I worked a 7-day, swing-shift for 18 years. One weekend off a month and we got 2-3 holidays off a year. I never got used to the hours. Never. Shifts like that make people old before their time and studies have shown that people who work weird hours have all kinds of physical problems, largely due to the hours.

I know that, in the winter, when it was dark all the time. I'd awaken around 6:00 and I'd have to lie in bed, trying to figure out if it was 6:00 in the morning or 6:00 in the evening....and was I late getting ready for work? It was maddening.

Best of luck to you with your job search....I hope you can find something with decent hours and that you really enjoy doing.
 

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I used to work nights and enjoyed it, but I think it's genetic. My aunt's been on nights for 21 years and loves it. My brother, on the other hand, hates it - he's desperately trying to switch to days. 

Best of luck to you. It's so draining to be working a shift you hate with people you can't stand. Hopefully something good will come around soon.
 
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thembcat

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yeah if I'm still at this job during the peak of winter then I'm going to be twice as tired as I already am just due to depression. Going to work when its dark, going home when its dark. Its going to be horrible but hopefully I'll find something before then. 

To a certain point I enjoy the job. If my body could only adjust to being up all night then I think I would enjoy it but the fact that my body's in limbo when it feels like its time for bed then its just too exhausting being exhausted all the time. If I wasn't so tired all the time, I'd be able to tolerate employees that can't do their job and I'd be able to handle all the drunks and all the men who think I'm going to go up to their rooms. But I don't have the energy and one of these days, the girl that works first shift during the weekdays will do something totally stupid or she'll just complain about her hangover one too many times and I won't have the self control to keep my mouth shut (not that she doesn't deserve to have someone give it to her. She's so spoiled, one of those spoil rich girls, whose daddy has always given her everything that she wants but nothing that she needs. She about had a hissy fit when she found out that we're going to be getting uniforms some time in the future saying that its not fair...seriously? A lot of jobs have uniforms get over it.)
 

speakhandsforme

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Over the summer I worked first shift at the toll bridge in my hometown. 4:30am to 1pm, 5:30am to 2pm, etc. Sometimes they'd put me on a later one, like 9:30-6.

I thought I was going to hate it, being a teenager who likes to sleep late and all that. But I figured out that I just get more stuff done if I can get off work at 2pm.
 

natalie_ca

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I worked nights for years, both 8 hour and 12 hour ones. I can totally relate to everything you said.  The world seems to pass you completely by, and your social life takes a huge downward turn.  Also, I live in an apartment, so it's not very easy to sleep during the day when there is construction, or neighbours making noise going about living their daily lives.

By the time I decided I had enough and looked for a different position in the hospital with days/evenings rotation vs days/nights or straight nights, I was so turned around and feeling depressed.

I work straight days now, which fits much better into my life, but I didn't mind working my day/evening rotation either.  Sometimes it was nice to be able to sleep in and not have to be at work until later.

Lots of vibes coming your way for a new job with better hours!!!!
 
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thembcat

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I worked nights for years, both 8 hour and 12 hour ones. I can totally relate to everything you said.  The world seems to pass you completely by, and your social life takes a huge downward turn.  Also, I live in an apartment, so it's not very easy to sleep during the day when there is construction, or neighbours making noise going about living their daily lives.

By the time I decided I had enough and looked for a different position in the hospital with days/evenings rotation vs days/nights or straight nights, I was so turned around and feeling depressed.

I work straight days now, which fits much better into my life, but I didn't mind working my day/evening rotation either.  Sometimes it was nice to be able to sleep in and not have to be at work until later.

Lots of vibes coming your way for a new job with better hours!!!!
yeah I really wouldn't mind alternating between first and second shift (7am-3pm and 3pm-11pm) I've had to do that at other jobs anyways but I just want to get off of nights. 

I didn't have much of a social life to begin with but at least I would be up when everyone else is up. 
 

bawdy

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Rotating shift are the worst for me, I can fit a life around any shift combined with 2 days/nights off but not when they change all the time. From what I've heard from others day and night rotation leave you in a permanent state of dazed tiredness...Lucky me I am now in banking and my shifts are Mon-Friday 08.30-17.00...plus overtime as required.
 
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thembcat

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Rotating shift are the worst for me, I can fit a life around any shift combined with 2 days/nights off but not when they change all the time. From what I've heard from others day and night rotation leave you in a permanent state of dazed tiredness...Lucky me I am now in banking and my shifts are Mon-Friday 08.30-17.00...plus overtime as required.
I really don't have a problem with it as long as its 1st and 2nd shift.   I could not handle working 2nd and 3rd or 3rd and 1st. As long as my schedule is stable like the days I work each shift isn't going to change unless someone's going on vacation or somethin.   I worked at a Hilton owned hotel and my schedule was so unstable, each week was always different which is what made it rough for me. Luckly at this hotel, we have concrete schedules so unless someone goes on vacation or something then they don't change.
 
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