Did I do this right? (work related)

[jinkies]

I just got a part-time job in my field that is a perfect fit for my experience, pays well, and has dream hours. (3 days/week, 9-3:30) I start after Labor day, and I am super excited.

The organization is going through some changes, and as a result, I definitely got the impression that many of the employees are working long hours, are expected to respond to emails nights and weekends, and are working during vacations. This worries me a little bit.

My work is deadline driven, and we did discuss me potentially working a few extra hours a week around deadlines, which is fine.

Today, my new boss called me and asked if I'd be willing to work an additional 5 or 6 hours each week from home on a different project.

I responded by telling her that I was open to it, but I was not comfortable committing to an extra 5-6 hours a week before I even started the job. I said that I would like to see how the hours work out with my regular responsibilities before committing to extra.

SO. What do you think? Was that a "not a team player" response, and I gave a bad impression to my future boss? Or was my response OK and the request was a red flag?

I have two young kids, and I was clear in the interview that the job appealed to me because it was part-time, which is a good work/life balance for me. I have a feeling that the original 20 hour commitment will realistically be more like 25 hours/week, so I don't want to add another 6 hours/week on top of that. I have run into trouble in the past when I said "yes" to everything, then got burnt out, so I want to avoid doing that before the job even starts.

[livinitup]

Saying yes when you mean no never ends well. Some part-timers would jump at extra hours. Not you. NBD he'll find someone else.

[ECB]

I think you handled it fine. You're not even there yet and they already want to increase your hours (by the way, does this come w/ more money?)

They JUST hired you. If they need someone for 32 hours a week, then they should have hired for that. but they didn't - they hired for 20 hours. YOu're allowed to set boundaries around that.

ANd I personally have no doubt that if you walk in there working 30 hours, those WILL BECOME your standard hours.

[GailGoldie]

is it hourly pay or salary? I would also assume that 30 would become your standard, etc... so if you agreed to less and are salary- then i'd be talking money with them before any agreements.

some people take part time jobs but really wish they could get full time, so would be thrilled with more hours/pay... but if you don't WANT to work more- then you need to let them know that.

I'm part time, and some stuff is expected of me beyond the typical days I work... but other than that, i do NOT work on days i'm not supposed to work- even though some other job shares at my company do... that's their deal - it's not expected and if you do it, you don't get paid more... I work part time so i HAVE more time with my kids. I don't screw with their time.

[jinkies]

Thanks for the responses-- especially since it validates what I already told them

I agree that if I go in there working 30 hours a week, even if it's as a favor, that those will quickly become my regular hours. If the job had been presented as 32 hours/week from the beginning, I probably wouldn't have taken it.

At least I am paid hourly, so if I do take on extra hours, I would be compensated. At my last job (also part-time), I ended up working nearly full time on a part-time salary. It sucked.

[jinkies]

Also, oddly, during the interview process they asked me to confirm several times that I was only looking for part-time, because they didn't want to hire someone who would continue looking for full time work and potentially leave when they found a full time job.

[ECB]

Aug 22, 2012 9:58:23 GMT -5 jinkies said:

Also, oddly, during the interview process they asked me to confirm several times that I was only looking for part-time, because they didn't want to hire someone who would continue looking for full time work and potentially leave when they found a full time job.

I'd have no problem reminding them of this.