NZ employers...

[avgas]

umm next time don't ask just do - if they fire you then you knew it wouldn't work anyway.

[Toaster]

I have some friends at agency's that may have been able to help.

Agencies huh Tank? I know the kind... laying around in bed all day earning tax free cash....

[brendonjw]

So what is the position you are looking for?

[Jez]

i totally agree with Jude ... except i wouldnt say ALL employers ...

I worked at Chch casino for 8 years as a supervisor and very good at my job, my rotational roster equated to working nights for 5 years straight with early weekdays off, ie Mon/Tues Tues/Wed ... when i appraoched them and said it was affecting my relationship at home with my wife and kids and asked for 1 month in 4 with dayshifts they knocked me back. I asked if i could swap with another supervisor on dayshifts who had agreed to it, and again i was knocked back. So i asked a 3rd time and got the same reply which i answered with my resignation.

As far as im concerned, if the employer doesnt care about the employee, then why should the employee care for the employer?

there are some good ones out there, finding them is the hard part

[iangee]

I think theres some new rules regarding flexi time, didn't have time to read it fully but heres the link...

http://www.dol.govt.nz/worklife/flexible/act.asp

[Gremlin]

Don't know the situation, or what work you are in, but there are good employers.

Me, effectively, my time is my own, work when I need to, and can do quite a bit from home...

Of course, this translates often in 12+ hour days, working any hours of the day/night... but the point is, its flexible.

[awayatc]

Not a load of rubbish from where I'm sitting, thank you very much.

Until then, don't tell me that I'm talking cr@p becasue you have no idea the shit I'm facing at the moment

You sure it is the "NZ employers".......

[bull]

You give the employer a list of demands and they will say no!, you give them a list of requests and negotiate with them then they are likely to say yes to some of your request's.

I feel your pain Judecatmad and am in a psoition myself where im weighing up the job options compared to the child care etc, its quite the conumdrum at the moment and id say alot of families are in the same boat right now.

The best part for you is that you have a skillset that is in demand so the likelihood of you finding a employer that suits is better than say joe bloggs whom has basic skills, so head up and move on to the next employer and show them your list of job flexi requests.

[slowpoke]

Hmmm, sounds like there is more than just the problem related to your employer. For what it's worth it sounds like you are pretty close to the edge.

So what is the way forward? That's the important thing. While you are hanging on by your fingernails you've got to figure out a way out of the situation.

What's the biggest problem here? Losing your job? Losing your partner? Putting your son into daycare? Losing your mind?

It's all very well to say the situation sucks but if the situation is untenable you need to figure out what the biggest problem is and start working out the best way forward. Your employer may be inflexible (which they are entitiled to be, they have their own set of problems to deal with) but that just rules out one option, there are bound to be others.

You have got to prioritise, and first priority is your health, that means mental health too, 'cos the situation is only compounded if you fall in a heap.

[firefighter]

excuse me if i'm mistaken, but are you whining because you are expected to actually go to work to do your work.....just because it's possible to do it from home? And that your approaching new companies saying you want to work at home at the times you like?......ummmmm, I think by just quoting you iv'e made my point.......LOL

If I read it wrong, forget my post, if I read it right, well, ask yourself why the doors getting closed, because i'd slam the bloody thing! and employ someone who wants to come to work, and work the proper office hours I had advertised....

Just my 3c

[judecatmad]

excuse me if i'm mistaken, but are you whining because you are expected to actually go to work to do your work.....just because it's possible to do it from home? And that your approaching new companies saying you want to work at home at the times you like?......ummmmm, I think by just quoting you iv'e made my point.......LOL

If I read it wrong, forget my post, if I read it right, well, ask yourself why the doors getting closed, because i'd slam the bloody thing! and employ someone who wants to come to work, and work the proper office hours I had advertised....

Just my 3c

You're excused.

No, I'm not 'whining' because I'm expected to go into work to do my work. I actually don't WANT to work from home full time just because I can. I actually enjoy my time with my colleagues and am really looking forward to going back into the office for some social contact (staying at home all the time is driving me nuts, if you couldn't tell....).

What I'm 'whining' about is that I'm asking for a later start than 8.30 (by half an hour) and an earlier finish than 5 (by an hour), and in return I'm perpared to mess my scheduled breaks around in order to achieve this so that I am, bar half an hour, working my full-time contracted hours. I'm even prepared to make up the extra time in the evening so that my company isn't disadvantaged.

What I'm also 'whining' about is that I'm asking for me to be able to work from home just one day a week so that my son can continue with a music class he's been going to since he was a tiny baby. In return for me staying at home that day, I would do more hours than if I were in the office but still only get paid for my normal hours.

What I'm further 'whining' about is that I have colleagues who have teenage children who have retained their flexible hours even though they no longer need them, and I have colleagues who got flexible hours several years ago for their babies and who have been able to retain these. I also have colleagues who have no children at all who have flexible working hours. I have proved while I've been doing part-time from home that my productivity is much higher than when I'm in the office so it's not that I'm a slacker.

So what I'm 'whining' about is the apparent 2-tier system and that by not allowing me similar flexibility so that my wee man isn't in care 12 hours a day, my mental health is going down the drain with the stress of it all.

And no, my employer is under no obligation, I get that.

And to the person who said I should go with a list of requests not demands - I've tried that approach. Softly,softly was my first approach (even though it is against my nature - I'm not a political animal most of the time).

And to the person who mentioned the new legislation - section 6AA it's called - it's a piece of cr@p as far as I can see. Done a lot of research into it and if you apply under this section, you can only apply once every 12 months. Your employer has 3 months to get back to you (what do you do in the meantime??). And if they decline your request for 'business reasons', you have no right of appeal and then cannot reapply for a whole year.

I am actually feeling a lot better today - not that you can tell from this post, LOL!

Baby has taken to screaming as a pastime, I've not slept properly for around 17 months (pregnancy and then broken nights with baby), I'm at home with no friends and no family to turn to.....I'm going stark-raving bonkers. I do NEED to get back to work but I also need to know that I am going to be able to spend some awake time with my baby during the week (dropping him off at 7am and picking him up at 6pm - he may as well live there). The only way I can have that happy medium is by my employer (or a new employer) allowing me shifted start/finish times....is it really such a big ask???

[alanzs]

Baby has taken to screaming as a pastime, I've not slept properly for around 17 months (pregnancy and then broken nights with baby), I'm at home with no friends and no family to turn to.....I'm going stark-raving bonkers.

Hang in there.

[slowpoke]

I understand you are upset but you are majorly upset over a music class? For a small child?

You are perfectly entitled to vent on here (we don't have to read it) but if I said I wanted to adjust my work roster to suit a child's music class I would be laughed out of the office.

[riffer]

Baby has taken to screaming as a pastime, I've not slept properly for around 17 months (pregnancy and then broken nights with baby), I'm at home with no friends and no family to turn to.....I'm going stark-raving bonkers.

Hi Jude,

AK Osteopaths have been a great help with our little ones:

http://www.osnz.org/go/index.php/dir...ak_osteopaths/

Donald is a rare breed - an osteopath who's also is very skilled with working with food allergies. We've had to put up with similar stuff and this guy has been a miracle worker.

He may have an answer to the troubles your little guy is going through.

Hang in there. It DOES get easier. After four of them I feel mildly qualified to comment.

[imdying]

In my admittedly very limited experience, it appears to me that babies very much reflect the head space of the mother... if you're stressed and can't relax, the wee mite will just keep on screaming. Relaxed mother, relaxed baby

Normally I wouldn't offer such a meagre nugget of information, given I don't have any children... but even I observe things like this and process them, and it sounds from your posts that their might be a little bit of stress in your life, so maybe useful and relevant?

/edit: And your cat is very cute