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I am a self-employed WAHM-MT. I do not have a degree MT, was trained 10 years ago by the same client I am contracted with now. They had 4 phys. when I started and it was myself and an in-house MT. I had 1 child then, who napped 3-4 hours a day, so I worked before she woke up, during her naps, and after she went to bed. 10 years later and several children later, they now have 6 drs. and 3 np's, who all dictate. They no longer have an in-house MT, just myself and another WAH MT. There is more than double the work, and less workers, but unfortunately they can't do the math and figure that out. They refuse to let me subcontract someone to help me. They refuse to hire someone else. They used to demand 24 hr turnaround, but now thank goodness they have at least realized that they can't have that anymore. However, after 2-3 days they are complaining and calling me on the phone wanting notes typed and faxed. They refuse to telecommute, so I am still picking up tapes every day. I have a set amount of hours I work a day, because I have a family to care for and there is only so much work I can do in a day. That is why I work at home. However, they don't get that and they seem to forget that I am supposed to be self-employed. I have been working my normal M-F hrs, but I am so backed up that I still have 2-3 days worth of typing left on my desk by the end of the day. It is a vicious cycle, because for every 2-3 tapes I get done in a day, they give me 3-4 the next day. If I am still backed up on Fridays, they expect me to work on Sat and Sun, or on holidays, to get caught up. If I did this, I would be working 7 days a week. I told them I would like to avoid working on my days off. I don't see them coming into the office on their days off or on their holidays. Apparently the other at-home MT does this for them, or at least they think she does, because they used that bit of information to try to manipulate me into working this weekend. I really am at a loss of what to do. I need the job, but at the same time, I have children who need me. I don't understand why people assume that because we work from home we have all of the time in the world to work, and that we are expected to work 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Does anyone else out there have this problem or feel this way? They will call me and want me to stop fixing my children's lunch or taking care of a boo boo, or other mommy duties and search a tape, find a note, type it, and fax it, all within a matter of minutes. It is like they want me to neglect my children, which I cannot and will not do. In the past, I have looked at finding another client, but most in my area want someone with a degree. If I don't have enough time to get all of this work done, I certainly don't have time to go back to school. My husband is looking for a better job making more $ so I can either quit and find another line of work, but nothing has turned up so far. Does anybody out there charge extra for working over a certain amount of hours, or a certain amount of lines? Any advice? Well, I don't know that there is a solution. Thanks for letting me vent.  |
