I’m pretty sure many of us experience this on a frequent basis, but you have a schedule set in your mind and all of a sudden, your boss or supervisor approaches you to work extra hours for a variety of reasons (either because the original schedulee had something else come up) or because they need extra help for a company related activity such as a higher up visit.
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Recently, this was brought up to my attention as my day job is holding a “grand reopening” next Friday and my manager was trying to recruit me to work several extra days.
Normally, I wouldn’t mind taking them as a way of getting extra money towards the operations of “Going the Distance,” but given the events of recent such as the death of my friend/colleague and brother figure, David Sharif, as well as my recent talk at the Florida APSE conference in Jacksonville, I had to respectfully turn down any extra days.
You see, this is a situation where getting extra work days isn’t worth it. If you recall last year, I talked about people going unnecessarily bananas over company visits. I’m pretty sure that in this case, the higher ups will understand that the best worker may have to step back for their own mental health.
At my day job, I have been lucky to have made several close connections with the higher ups. Hell, I’ve known our current regional vice president for 12 years and we have a good working relationship (plus, we can relate as my own father was a vice president of operations for Sensata Technologies for 35 years).
I can assure you that the higher ups, no matter how high they are over you, are human just like everybody else out there. If they were in the position that I am in, they would do the same thing. A Grand Reopening is just that, a “Grand Reopening” and sometimes people will want to work it or avoid it altogether to avoid any unwanted stress and pressure.
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Just because someone within your organization wants to put pressure on you to make themselves look good for the higher up, doesn’t mean that you have to participate in the madness. Sure, it’s the nature of the business or the industry, but still.
I’ve always said that being flexible is a survival skill that we need not just in the workplace, but in our everyday lives. But, if those extra hours that your place of employment wants you to work are not good for your mental health, then you have to speak up. They may throw a temper tantrum about it, but that’s their problem and not yours.
Finally, if you have a strong relationship with the higherups like I do, they know you are a capable and hard worker and will agree with you that you need to put your mental health first and foremost over a “grand reopening.”
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Although, for some workers who are lazy, maybe they need to have that pressure put on them by working extra hours against their own will. Something like a “grand reopening” is nothing more than a chance for those who are lazy to fight for their jobs and prove not just their employers wrong, but the company higher ups as well.
If you want a visual example of a “grand reopening” from an autistic/neurodiverse point of view, watch this Thomas the Tank Engine Season 5 episode about the character of Gordon.
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At “Going the Distance,” I feel that it is my duty as a self-advocate who is neurodiverse and struggles with mental health issues at times, to come forward and say that it is okay to say “no” when it comes to working for specific company events or functions like a “grand reopening.”
When I first started becoming more self-aware of my mental health nearly five years ago, I had the realization that there are plenty of others who still haven’t found their own self-awareness and thus, need that extra nudge to get them to stand up for themselves.
Money isn’t everything and Mental Health is everything. Money is just the gas that goes into your car, home or own self-business. It can be replaced, the mental health of a person who is a loyal worker like me cannot.
I am now telling myself that there are going to be plenty of company events in the future that I can help out with, but this is one where I need to step back and get my mental health under control.
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Catch you all later!!
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