Need to some advice about work.

[dulcemariamar]

I give classes around the city. I work as a freelance teacher with two companies that organize classes in the city. Most of the classes end the last week of June.

I have one class that is in the center, twice a week. I live in the south but it is only 20 minutes away by metro. When I got there last week, I found out that the office was closed and locked. My student showed up, and told me that they had changed offices and now are in the north of the city. I was kind of annoyed that nobody told me but I really hate the idea of going to their new office. It will take an extra 25 minutes to get there.

After class I used to go home, to have lunch before my classes that started at lunchtime. Now with the change, I will have to spend an hour extra in the metro. One day of the week, I wont be able to go home because I wont have enough time between classes and the other day of the week, I will only be home for 45 mins.



I wrote an email to the company I worked for, telling her that the new location does not fit in my schedule and that I only took the class to begin with because of the location. She only replied back with the address of the new office.

There are 9 classes left. I could give the class in the afternoon but I dint think my students will be able to attend. I am not keen on the idea of going to their new office in the morning because I dint want to spend an hour extra in the metro. I dint like the idea of not being able to go home, once a week to have lunch, or rushing home for a short period of time.

Should I stay firm on not going there? On the one hand, there are only 9 classes left but I am pissed that they switched things around on me and I only took it because the class was close to my house.

Also not to be a AW (but I am 9 weeks pregnant) so I really use the time between classes to have a nap and eat. Even though there are days that I feel horrible, I have not missed a class yet.

Sorry!! I am a really responsible person and I feel guilty about these things.

So should I suck it up or grow a backbone?

[clickerish]

Guess it depends on how badly you need this job or want to continue with this organisation. If you don't see it having repercussions in the future and don't honestly care that much, why would you bother. Just write to them and let them know that you are pregnant, can't make it happen given their lack of prior notice.

Otherwise, if you see this as important, you would probably want to just deal

[allibally]

In my mind I would just finish up the 9 classes. It sucks but I would make due. But being in your 1st trimester and all that traveling I can see your point.

Congrats btw.

[elenetxu]

Wait - queeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!? Congratulations! I guess I missed something recently!

Can you live without the class money, especially given that there's essentially four weeks left in the school year and I'd doubt another class would come up? Two days a week must add up, even if you're working through someone. That being said, I would've been wicked pissed as well.

If I were in your situation, I probably would just suck it up and finish the year. In the private class world you never know where new classes are going to come from. Another thing: Why not break out on your own as an autonoma? I couldn't stand working for an agency...

[travelingturtle]

Congratulations on your pregnancy!! My mouth dropped, I wasn't expecting to hear that.

There is absolutely nothing I wanted more when I was pregnant than to sleep. Is this a company you want to continue to work with? I have no idea if you should stay or quit, but I think you should at least talk to them and explain that this really puts you out. See what they say and if it's worth it for you. I wouldn't want to have to be on public transport that long and that frequently.

[dulcemariamar]

Thanks for taking time to read my vent and giving my advice.

I am still on the fence about this. I think I am still angry to be able to think clearly about the whole situation but I will probably continue with the classes and ask to switch one of the classes to another day so I can come home and have a decent lunch.

I am not planning on working again this fall. However, since I am still in the first trimester, you never know and I want to keep my options open in case things dint work out as planned.

And also, I am a really responsible person so I always feel guilty when I dint do my best at work. I ha vent told anybody that I am pregnant (except DH, parents, and in-laws) and I was hoping to keep it that way for a few more weeks. But I might have to if I feel worse in the future.

Elenetxu: No, you didn't miss anything. I am a really private person almost to a fault. I wasn't going to say anything here until later but I thought it was important information for the story.
I actually work as an Autonoma. However, most places only hire teachers through agencies unless you know someone in HR at a company. It is really difficult.

[ninjatofu]

Congratulations!

[anna7602]

9 weeks pregnant?!? WEEEEEEEEEE! FELICIDADES! What awesome news.

On the work front, I would probably suck it up just because I am uber-conscientious about that kind of stuff, even to my detriment. A client of mine was a month late with something recently and I pushed everything aside just to meet our original deadline even though she totally effed up. I can't stand the thought of promising something and not delivering.

That said, I wish I stood up for myself more often. I don't think you need to tell these people you're pregnant if you back out. Just say it doesn't work for your schedule and you received too little notice to switch other things around.

[Deleted]

Congratulations dulce!!!

[crimsonandclover]

Congratulations!! Until I saw the other responses, I thought maybe I had just missed something! :-)

As for work, I probably would try to make it work out some out, but it's really difficult for me to quit something, even if I probably should. My advice to you would be to tell the company that they need to find someone to take your course and you can either teach on another day or find other jobs. Honestly, though, that's probably not what I would do myself. :-(

[lolo]

Yay! Congratulations! This is great news.

And privacy and openness is a personality trait, not necessarily a fault at all. It's okay to want to keep things to yourself (and to want to share them).

On the class, since you have only a month left, I would probably suck it up and make it happen. But I might ask for a pay raise to cover the additional metro cost and the cost of eating lunch out, depending on the dynamic at your work.

Is there a park nearby where you can take an afternoon nap? Some of my fondest memories in Spain involve naps in the sun...

[blushing]

Congrats on your pregnancy! Hope you have a happy and healthy 9 months!

[Deleted]

I would be pissed that they didn't call you to tell you that the location had changed, and you only found out by showing up and finding the doors locked!!!

If the new location doesn't work for you, then it doesn't work. I would see if there's any way to change your class times to accommodate your schedule, and if not, I would probably start looking for something else....

[popcorn]

I would finish up the classes you already have scheduled, but plan not to work for them again. On the other hand I would be so pissed that they moved their offices and didn't tell anyone that I might just quit that job on principle.

I doubt you would have to tell them, even if you do develop m/s. Though that depends on the severity. I got pregnant while giving a class twice a week at 8 am and going to school full-time. I only stopped giving the class when my finals came up (around 13 weeks pregnant) and no one noticed before the day I left that I was acting any different.

In the end I think it's more about the lack of respect the company has for its workers. You probably don't care about maintaining a great relationship with them because, well, they suck and you probably won't work for them again I'm guessing. And if you have other classes through other companies/people then I wouldn't care much about dropping this one since they were so rude.

Hmm, now I'm not sure. Maybe you should just cancel this class since it sounds like you have others and this will take a chunk of travel and stress out of your day. Good luck deciding!

[dulcemariamar]

Hello!!!

Thanks for the advice. To clarify a bit, I am a freelance teacher but I get my classes through different agencies. It is really difficult to get classes on your own, and most companies rather hire a teacher that is working with a agency in case there is a problem. It sucks because you make less but at least you have classes.

So I have several classes with this one agency. I didn't have problems with them in the past so I was surprised when I showed up the other day and saw that the office was closed.

However, after talking with my students it seems that we are going to meet at a different office. The office in the north is too far for one of my students. I am happy about it because I am only going to have to travel about 7 minutes more instead of 30.

So far, I have had a good experience with the agencies and I didn't want to burn bridges with them. Since you never know what could happen, I want to keep my options open.