How Refreshing

For those of you who don't know, at the airport we have a system we call Buddy Bidding. It is our version of "job share." Here's how it works. My schedule is 6pm-10pm with Monday/Tuesday off. Your schedule is 2pm-6pm with Monday/Tuesday off. I work your Saturday. My Saturday schedule is now 2pm-10pm and you have the day off. In exchange for me working your Saturday, you work my Wednesday. Now your schedule is 2pm-10pm on Wednesday and I have Wednesday off. We still work the same number of hours, but get an extra day off.

I was VERY excited when I heard about this system. It is the biggest reason I have been able to work a full time job with "bankers" hours, and at the airport, ESPECIALLY now that I am full-time at the airport as well.

Basically, I work people's weekends or evenings in exchange for them working my weekdays, especially during my other work day.

This current bid I got EXTREMELY lucky. I found a woman who is part-time in the mornings, but willing to work my full-time shift during the week in exchange for getting her weekends off. It has been a GREAT bid because of this. It is SO MUCH LESS STRESSFUL when I know that my shifts are covered and I just have to worry about working, and no so much about finding someone to work for me.

I got a message from her the other day that her family situation has changed and she can't work my weekday shifts starting in February. DAMN. We start a new schedule in March, so I will be able to find someone new then, but people pretty much have their schedules worked out by now.

I am used to bending over backwards to help my coworkers, but I am not so used to them bending over backwards for me. This particular lady felt so bad about leaving me in a lurch that she has found people to pick up my shifts AFTER putting them on her schedule. This means SHE is taking the hit for getting rid of the shift instead of me.

I have assured her a number of times this isn't necessary and that I will work it out. She insists that she wants to because she feels bad about putting me in that situation.

I don't think she has any idea how much I appreciate what she is doing. She knows SO many more people than I do, and she knows people that work during the week. I really only know people that work on the weekends.

She is also giving me the peace of mind that I can work the 2 jobs around each other, and don't have to quit the job at the airport.

It means so much to me that she is willing to do this. Especially when you consider I didn't know her before someone else introduced us because we were both looking to buddy bid. I have talked to her numerous times but only met her face to face once.

It is nice to know that I am not the only person willing to go the extra mile for a coworker.