Dd just started a new job, is this normal

[Weezyi]

Housekeeping. She worked 3 days then had 2 off and she just got her schedule and it says she is in for 9 days straight before her next 2 days off

Is that normal? I would be exhausted doing 9 days straight :(

She’s asking if it’s normal to work 9 days on the trot because it sounds exhausting.

Resilience is all well and good but when does it end? When she’s 30? When she’s 40? 50? 67? 85? Not everyone will rise up the ranks.

Back in the day, it was possible to work a bit more to get on the property ladder, have a nicer holiday, etc. Now it’s just expected and people can’t pay their rent even though they are working all the hours.

As a few people have said now, 9 days on the trot is normal in some sectors. Usually hospitality or healthcare where someone is always needed on shift.

I did it for years. OP's daughter might find it exhausting to start with, but she will get used to it. It is probably a shock right now because she is new.

Well, I’m glad I don’t have the misfortune to work in a sector like that then.

Its possible to get your mortgage paid off in your 40s and have a life without working excessive hours.

The 'excessive hours' and hard physical labour of housekeeping are the trade-off against it not requiring any qualifications, though.

An office job isn't in the same energy ball park as housekeeping, coming from someone that has done both. Besides working two jobs was your choice, being put on 9 days straight is not her choice and it's really shit.

the point I have been trying to make on this thread is that those hours are not standard for housekeeping unless they are very understaffed. The hard physical labour is part of the role.

It wasn't excessive hours at all. I worked 37.5 hours per week.

By this age I’d been working 2-3 jobs none stop from age 16 and had a very busy social life on top. I very rarely had a day I wasn’t at one job or another. I know things are very different these days in what is acceptable work wise but I think she will be fine. I’d be inclined to encourage her not to jump on the unhappy bandwagon wagon at work, encourage her not to be influenced by the others and to use her commute time to unwind. When I was younger I could loose myself in books, I could shut out the world, I read none stop when commuting. Maybe look at decent headphones/airpods that can cancel out noise and some decent unwinding apps or make sure she’s got her happy music/books on in the background.

Tell her the world is full of shit jobs we all have to do until something better comes along and everything, even bad jobs gives us experience.

I’m talking about the daughter working 9 days on the trot and people saying it’s normal.

Sounds normal for the industry yes. If her days off fall at the beginning of week #1 and then the end of week #2 then it's a long stretch in between time off. That's also ssuming she gets 2 days off in a row, a lot of the time it's hard to get because staff are needed all day every day. If she gets 2 days off separately then the work stretch becomes shorter but it could even be off, in, off then back to a long stretch.

It's a difficult industry because of the stupid hours and you're on your feet all the time but in your 20s if you're single with no kids it can be great fun.

I'm still in the industry and I really enjoy it but I no longer work crazy hours. I couldn't do those hours again at nearly 40 with a family.

So what if she's tired though? Being tired isn't a bad thing. In fact for a young person with mental health issues being physically tired isn't going to be very good for her!

Who said anything about poor conditions and high workloads?

You should read The Maid. The main character was clearly autistic (thought it never said so) and she enjoyed the job and doing every exactly right.

(I’m not saying doing the job isn’t bloody hard work, btw! But echoing what a PP said about the work.)

Typo being tired IS going to be good for her

Didn’t we all have jobs like this at that age? It will teach her good work ethic and do her the world of good. Don’t treat her like a baby “oh she will be exhausted”. She is 20! She’s got the energy for it. Stop indulging

Why would she be stuck I housekeeping forever? The point of early career is that you gain experience in the workplace, and that you move into something you want to do longer term.

I had a string of low paid, physical jobs from age 15 while studying for exams and then while deciding what I actually wanted to do. I worked full time while studying for a professional qualification, made possible by not having children and responsibilities so my energy could go into earning money and improving my employment opportunities.

How will she get a foot in the door if, at 20, she doesn’t work because she doesn’t need to? The perfect job isn’t just going to appear for her, and if it does is she really going to be employment ready and have the skills and knowledge to make a reasonable application? Early career jobs have always been hard work for not great pay, but that’s where you start not where you stay. It takes effort to build a life, to stand on your own two feet as an adult. It means doing jobs that aren’t your preference, developing a work ethic, and learning workplace rules and routines, and working towards what you do want to do.

If she were my child I’d be encouraging her to give it her best shot, helping her cope with her work pattern and helping her decide what she does want to do in the longer term. It’s a shame it took the job centre to insist she takes a job, I’d have been giving her that clear message long before she reached 20.

Sounds exhausting. With Christmas coming up there’ll be seasonal jobs in the likes of Tesco, M&S, John Lewis’s etc, get her to apply for those. Probably similar pay for much less effort!

Is she housekeeping in a care home? If so, then, unfortunately, yes it's standard practice, and they'll keep on giving her these totally ridiculous working hours until she says something.

9 days in a row is pretty common in 7 day a week industries. It tends to be to give a pattern of getting ever other Saturday and Sunday off which lots of people prefer to a rolling pattern. I don't know anyone in hotel housekeeping but it seems common in kitchens, care, and animal care all of which are physically tiring.

I think for your daughter's wellbeing and future prospects you should be positive and encouraging. She should give this role a fair shot, if she finds it hard or doesn't like it she can leave when she finds something better. It is easier to find a job with some work experience and it will help her decide what she wants from a job.

My eldest daughter sometimes works long weeks like this (I think by choice though) but she is taking big holidays off too so she works hard but also makes the most of her money and time off.

If your daughter has some goals such as travel or saving for a house I’d try to spin it positively. The best time to work hard is before you have commitments as the money is yours rather than going on bills or children.

Yes, and I said I worked 10 days on the trot, and in some industries, that was normal. I was working in the NHS.
I also said it is no excessive hours as it is still a 40 hour week.

I had every other weekend off. My shift pattern was 10 days on, 2 days off, 3 days on, 2 days off, 7 days on, 4 days off, 10 days on etc etc.

Every Mon-Sun was just 5 days in work, but the days off varied. It is called a 5 over 7 shift pattern and it is not illegal or unethical.

Yes, I was a hospital porter and our shifts were like this too. Every other weekend off, and sometimes 4 days off in a row which was nice.