To think she probably wasn’t joking?

[Lolaa123]

I currently work two jobs, one of which is lunch cover in a nursery so the rooms remain in ratio.. I have been here for about 5 months. I was off home earlier and my colleague said ‘get yourself off’ ‘yeah, we will carry on with our hard work, you go and enjoy yourself’. I know it might sound jokey but her tone was very serious, she looked a bit stern and she wasn’t smiling or laughing. I just sort of laughed and she just carried on going at it and not laughing along. The ‘hard work’ comment made me feel like they just think I have it easy and that I’m not really a member of the team. I often feel a bit excluded from conversations that the practitioners are having. I just feel a bit like a ‘spare part’ and that comment today just made me feel like they think I’m lazy or something for only working a few hours per day and that they’re picking up all the slack.

They're jealous. Which is stupid.

Because they get paid more than you. You could point that out next time they say something.**

Rude bitch. It's her, not you.

Some people are stupid. I wouldn’t worry about it.

I am part time and i absolutely hate it when my early twenties colleagues comment that I'm going home already... yet I do more work in a few hours than they do all day and they go home to do nothing while I have my kids to look after, so no advice but I get how annoying it is

Thanks everyone for your replies. Yes, same @1984Winston I do the school run an hour after I finish. I do this job 3 days a week and another 2 days of the week

Yeah, there’s always some idiot who likes to comment. They seem to miss the fact that part time work gets part time pay! If you weren’t there, they wouldn’t get a lunch break, I can’t imagine they would enjoy that.

Yep- happens all the time when you're part time. Rude isn't.

That's pretty typical of comments you get from colleagues when you're part time in my experience 🙄 you just have to develop a thick skin and get on with it. Or you can point out to them that you actually work 2 jobs and look after your kids so you're no slacker!

Got that all the time, worked 3 days and when I was leaving on Wednesday one particular woman would constantly say well for you. I'd reply every week with the same comment, why don't you go part time too. No answer. Ignore her, she is jealous x

Yeah, it just sounds like jealousy. Like it's very immature. But sometimes I used to joke with colleagues, 'lucky git, wish I wasn't stuck here' kind of banter. But it was meant and taken as just that.
You're not contracted to work any more hours so just take it as something to be ignored/ or as lighthearted. Unless they really are nasty to you in other ways.
If you were leaving early repeatedly before your shift was over then of course they might have the hump. But you're simply doing your hours then leaving.
You should just jokingly say 'well, I'd love to stay and work for free, but hey..'

Try not to let it bother you. Think of this as a part-time opportunity, just a small portion of your week. Your colleagues are just that—colleagues, nothing more. It seems like their behavior stems from frustration and jealousy, which isn’t fair to you. While it might be challenging to feel fully integrated into the team, try to reframe your interactions with them in your mind. This way, it might not hurt your feelings as much.

What do they expect you to do? Hang around and work for nothing just so they don't get the hump? If they want to go part time I'm sure they can request it otherwise I'd be telling them to zip it!

get yourself off’ ‘yeah, we will carry on with our hard work, you go and enjoy yourself’.

I would stay - but I wouldn't get paid unlike you. Unless you are volunteering to share your wages?

Nursery staff are vile, OP. They are mostly underpaid school leavers who are frustrated in their job so take it out on part time or agency staff or even worse, the poor kids.

Is it because you're part time, or because she thinks it's "easier" over lunchtime than other points of the day? EG the dc are occupied with lunch then napping, so there's no pressure on what-shall-we-do-now or whatever her problem is.

Either way your colleague was spectacularly unprofessional and rude. If she has a problem, she should address it properly. I guess your options are (a) ignore her stupid comments, (b) ask her to explain what the problem is, or (c) speak to manager. Tempting to just tell her you work part time hours for part time wages but also have another role and caring responsibilities - but really that's none of her business.

She's rude, and thick.

You work fewer hours, so you might get to leave earlier, but you also get paid less. That's how it works!

I don't know what you can say to someone this stupid, but maybe a jokey remark about how you'd happily stay longer if you were paid to do so?

Just laugh next time and say I don’t work for free!!

She's a dickhead and thinks she is above you.

This

For this role, I am term time only also and I just thought that she does like to make a point of the fact she works all year round. It came up in conversation the other day and she kind of said it in a way that said 'I'm much more hard working than you'

I do also work over time, for example I cover staff sickness or annual leave too so I will do longer hours on the days I'm in if needed, so I'm not sure what her problem is with the hours I do

Tell her if she thinks you’re not a hard worker you won’t come in tomorrow and she can skip her lunch, such a grafter is she! She won’t be long shutting up.

Tell her that you're willing to switch jobs with her, but then she must take the salary that goes with it.

What a twat to be an arse to the person who's covering your break! There's some pretty obvious natural consequences available right there...

I used to get this as a part time teacher. "Enjoy your 4 day weekend..." Not sure why they thought it was a relevant comment? I used to point out the obvious fact that I wasn't actually paid for the two days I wasn't working!