I’m home today because my eight-year-old son has the flu.
At eight o’clock this morning my wife and I concurred and it was decided she would go to work. We are self-employed and one of us had to sacrifice a day’s pay. My sudden free (well not really free) time prompted me to create these questions:
- What if you received a phone call on Sunday saying that your work for the next two weeks had been cancelled. As a result, you’ll have to scramble to fill that time to possibly make a quarter of your expected pay?
- What if you had to visit your place of work one night each week to give an estimate on how much your employment would cost for the following week?
- What if you had to estimate the cost of supplies needed for your employment?
- What if you had to buy those supplies on your way to work on Monday and be reimbursed on your pay cheque?
- What if your boss asked if he could pay you in installments over the month – after the job is finished – and this includes supplies you purchased?
- What if your manager asked you to work for four or five dollars less per hour for the next few weeks? They offer to pay you cash for this, and you think about the $1,200 in supplies. How do I explain that at tax time?
- What if you always give receipts because you are honest and the price you quote is the best you can do to buy groceries?
- What if your employer informed you that they went ahead and completed your work themselves and are sorry they forgot to let you know until the day before?
- What if you are sick?
- What if your work contract is a simple statement…’Work and get paid, don’t work and don’t get paid.’
- What if you had a grievance and the mirror was where you would file your complaint?
- What if you volunteer to help with your child’s school trip and cannot call it a sick day?
- What if you sprained your ankle? Broke your arm?
- What if purchasing disability insurance was too expensive after all the other bills?
- What if you went to the dentist and paid full price?
- What if you had to buy medication at full price?
- What if it is a ‘snow day’ and your kids are home and you can’t get to your job? Another day without pay?
- What if it’s raining and your job is outdoors and you are using electrical equipment? Another day off without pay?
- What if everyone thought you had loads of free time because you are self-employed?
- What if your boss understood that you needed to work five days each week to make ends meet?
- What if you agree that you made the choice to run a small contracting business but would like people to understand that they all will eventually use yours, or another contractor’s services?
Photo Credit
Image from The Microsoft Office Clipart Collection
Guest Author Bio
Jeffrey Griffiths
Jeffrey Griffiths lives in Hamilton Ontario with his wife and two amazing children.
Jeffrey’s short fiction has appeared in The Nashwaak Review, Qwerty, Front and Centre, Hammered Out, The Danforth Review and The Puritan. He received the Arts Hamilton short fiction award in 2007 and 2008. He instructs Creative Writing 1 & 2 and Dynamics of Prose for Mohawk College’s Writing for Publication program.
Click here to see Jeffrey’s previous essays at Life as a Human.
Blog / Website: TVAFFECTS
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