Keep on moving forward

On days like today, I wonder if I'm going to be able to work this job throughout my pre-reqs until I'm able to start a full time program and just live off student loans. "Black Friday"(what an annoying name!) is one of the busiest days of the year at my job. Most of the accounts that we answer for are closed, and so we get all the calls. While there's not a ton of clinical work to do (all the lonely people called in yesterday), the call volume is really intense. I worked for 8 hours and unless I was on one of my breaks or lunch, I was non-stop answering the phone.

When there are calls waiting to be answered because there isn't a counselor available, a little light flashes on our phones and sometimes there's a bell that rings. The bell part all depends on who the supervisor is at the time. So I can be talking to someone and I keep seeing the little light flashing telling me that when I get off that call, that I'll be expected to very quickly answer another one because someone, or several someones, are waiting on hold. It makes a stressful job even more stressful.

While my employer in some ways tries to really appreciate the employees, there is still an unspoken pressure to take more calls, often at the expense of the counselors' mental health. I mean like yesterday they brought in Thanksgiving day dinner for everyone and then today they had pizza. But there was barely enough time to eat the pizza today with the phones ringing off the hook like they were. Luckily I signed up for my lunch at the time the pizza arrived so I got a nice hot slice.

The more I think about it, the more I think that I'll be starting school full time in 2011. This means that I'll be at my job for like 2 years before I'm able to quit, and this thought is kind of freaking me out these days. On the one hand this is a good job in many ways for a student, especially since I don't have to take my work home like I have in other mental health/ counseling jobs. But on the other, hearing so much misery day in and day out is taking its toll. Not to mention the ergonomic issues that pop up after typing like crazy 32 hours/week. When I worked there 10 years ago, one of the main reasons that I left was due to developing carpal tunnel, which miraculously (I'm being sarcastic here) went away shortly after I quit.

I try to remind myself that at least I have a job, which is a lot more than a lot of people have these days. And there is relative job security where I am as well. The pay is decent for the type of work that it is and I can pick up extra shifts to make more money pretty much whenever I want to. I'm trying my hardest to think positive, but it sure is hard to do some days. Especially Black Friday.