DISCLAIMER: After writing this, I realized this is just one long-ass rant, and probably meant more for my own mental well-being. Continue at your own risk.Wow, having 2 jobs is tiring. Having your 2nd job belittle you, pile extra work on you and deny your request for a raise is not only tiring but frustrating as well.
Today is my day off from my Primary job (The one I like), but I am committed to doing work in the evening for the second job. I am currently getting paid the same amount of money I have been getting paid for the past years of manual labour, but now, the work has changed. I am now filling out Project Manager templates on a nightly basis, even though I am currently not a Project Manager.
Not only has my request for a raise, to match the additional duties I have adopted, been denied BUT my requests to have additional taxes taken off my cheque has been overlooked on enough occasions for me to give up even trying to ask for this simple way to not get screwed when Tax time comes. I mean, seriously. I may get paid 150-200 every 2 weeks. They take off NOTHING for taxes on this amount! If I work 40 hours every 2 weeks (expected amount of work for a part-time job), I get paid 350 dollars and have 5 dollars deducted for taxes!!
So, with all this in place, the question is : Should I feel the same amount of pride I used to feel for a job well done? I remember the days of stripping and waxing a floor and when done, looking at the shine with the thought "Nice, *I* did this", and feeling a sense of pride, of a job well-done. Obviously, the quality of work has no affect on my outlook of the job, since management feels the right to "wring the most out of myself".
Why do I continue working this thankless job, you may ask?
Well... a little background is needed.
I am a single Father, paying Child Support. 5-6 years ago, when I was only working one minimum-wage job on Jewels farm, I discovered something called a "Re-calculation" program, through Maintenance Enforcement, where I dutifully pay my child support twice a month. In signing up for this program, the amount of Child Support I pay a month would be determined by Mine and my estranged wife's income tax returns, instead of a set #. More of a "Ok, if I get laid off, the amount of my support payment would be adjusted, so that I can still afford to buy food, etc." clause.
Which was perfect at the time of introducing it to my estranged wife, since the amount of support payments I was told to pay exceeded my monthly income of working on a farm for 6 dollars an hour.
Awesome.
Quick fast-forward to a few years later when I ended my job on the farm and started my FULL-TIME LIKED job. My Support payments increase a bit, expected behavior and something which was do-able. Life was looking up. I invested in a truck and accepted a part-time job offer with my NOT-LIKED job. The Part-time job basically paid for upkeep on my new truck, the the 2nd used truck I bought as well.
Unfortunately, both trucks, being used, broke down. I currently own a small hatchback, bought used as well, which has very little wrong with it mechanically, but cannot be used for work-purposes, due to it being a car. Now, with the 2nd job in place for 3 years, my support payments have doubled and I really only NEED to work 1 job again.
The place where it stops being logical is, in order for me to only work 1 job, I need to pay the doubled child support payments for a year, with only 1 income.
So, now that we're up-to-speed, this is my situation. I can keep working the 2nd job and ask that they take off extra taxes, but, in trying to, become frustrated as the requests get over-looked. I can ask for a raise to match the "new duties" I have been given but, wait, I already did and was told "N-O". You would think since I was the one who found, introduced and signed up for this "Re-calculation clause", I could ask them to terminate it, but apparently not. Weird no?
OK, wait, maybe, if my 2nd job's boss won't give me a raise and is not so good at remembering to take off extra taxes, I could ask my estranged wife to be lenient on my child support payments for a year, so I can leave the 2nd job and get my budget (and deprived sleep schedule) back on track?
Now, I want to make this crystal clear. I am currently getting along with my estranged wife very well, joking with her and showing a very composed and well-adjusted model for my Daughter. But, unfortunately, even though I am only able to pay 2/3 of the child support payments currently (which my estranged wife has made no issue about), this affects the overdue balance ZERO. By paying what I can afford now, the remainder goes into an "Overdue" amount on a monthly basis. So, if I can only pay 230 a month and the amount is 350 a month, the remaining 120 goes into an overdue pool, which needs to be paid. That is 1440 dollars a year, even though I cannot pay it adjust-ably.
ON TOP OF THAT, since I am now in a higher tax bracket, with no additional taxes coming off my 2nd income, I owe alot in income tax and will owe more on a yearly basis, until the Government decides to do a "wage deduction" to pay for it, like they have been doing for the past few years with my GST cheque. The child support payments will more then likely follow suit, if the "Overdue amount" continues to rise.
In closing, this sucks. And in so, I have absolutely no tolerance for stupidity and ignorance. These 2 things are costing me alot of money on a monthly basis.
Money I could be using to buy, oh, I dunno food. But that's ok, I barely have enough time to eat "food" in between these 2 jobs, even if I did have that luxury.
..... am I pointing fingers? It may seem so. But, I would ask in my defense : Am *I* doing something wrong here?
Ciao
