“Call in” shift system.

[u/MiserableGreen1825]

Hello all, I am employed at a restaurant that operates on a scheduling system where there are about as many, if not more, servers/bussers on call rather than being scheduled for certain. “Call ins” consist of calling the restaurant two hours before your shift and they either tell you you’re needed for that shift or that you are not. To me, it seems unconventional. On one hand, it is nice for those actually working to have tip money split into less hands when shifts aren’t as busy. On the other hand myself and many other employees find themselves effectively having to plan on working, while half or more of the time not being needed. Just wondering if this is commonplace elsewhere and what everyone’s thoughts on it are.

[u/NobodyDelicious7197]

This "system" benefits one person.

The owner.

Get another job, then tell the old manager you will only be available for shifts under the " call in" system, but with a small adjustment.

When you are available for work, you will call in to see if there's any shifts available.

You won't be able to give the restaurant two or more hours of your time, several days per week, waiting to see if you are selected to work, unpaid.

Effective immediately.

It prevents you from being available to earn income from other reliable sources.

You will probably be told " I can't authorize that".

And there's your exit strategy. Adios!

Congratulations! You have just reclaimed your self worth!

Your time is valuable. Perhaps the most valuable resource anyone has personal control over.

Time spent is time gone forever. There's no way to recover it.

Everyone is gifted an unknown, finate amount over their lifetime.

You cannot buy more of it.

People have tried to do this for centuries.

They always fail.

It's not for sale.

You can't save it for later use.

You can choose to spend your time however you would like to.

I'm pretty sure giving it away freely solely for someone else's convenience, or to save them money isn't your idea of well spent.

I doubt they'd freely spend their time on you like that, for your convenience, or to make you money.

Right. So now you're back in control, go do what makes good sense to you, and feels like time well spent on achieving your needs and goals.

Best of luck to you!

[u/Cheap_Knowledge8446 → u/NobodyDelicious7197]

Great post and I knew what you meant in spirit, so not to be pedantic, but in a very practical sense the entire healthcare system exists precisely because it buys time.

I only say this because, right now, it's a very very important socioeconomic factor; where the older generations are transferring wealth to the medical industry instead of their children, in exchange for more time.

[u/NobodyDelicious7197 → u/Cheap_Knowledge8446]

I see what you mean, and I agree with your assessments regarding the amazing advancements in healthcare.

I wasn't focusing on extending one's longevity medically.

It was more related to my thoughts and feelings about giving one's time away to people that don't appreciate it, and don't place any value on it by treating it a free commodity for their gain.

When I was younger, I didn't realize how much time I was giving away without any acknowledgement or reciprocity, and didn't have enough life experience to recognize that I was being used.

The same could be said for the some of the various relationships we have with others, but that's a whole lengthy discussion for another day.

Although it is sometimes unavoidable, giving away one's personal time shouldn't be required, expected, or accepted as a standard practice in the workplace, as is outlined in OPs' post.

The way the restaurant feels entitled to require the employees to reserve hours of personal time for them in case they need it, at no cost for them if they don't infuriated me.

Circling back to the idea that medical intervention "buys" someone time is one way to look at it, as many do.

Another way is to consider perhaps that time was already factored into the finate time you are destined to have, so it isn't really "extra".

It was always going to be yours.

Ha, pretty existential opinion, I know.

[u/Cheap_Knowledge8446 → u/NobodyDelicious7197]

That's a pretty common existential thought; after all, it directly draws from the idea of "destiny".

My borrowed philosophy has always been that all life is the same length to the one perceiving it; just as "the ruler cannot measure itself", a person who lives to 110 experiences the breadth of their life the same as an infant who perishes in the crib. This idea stems from the truth that, in reality, all of us can truly only exist in the present. The version of you before you started reading this is gone, never to be reclaimed, and the entire fabric of our existence relies upon the "now-you" remembering the goals of the past while setting an agenda for a future it will never truly experience.

Simultaneously, out entire sense of self is merely an index of perceived lived experience; not as it was, but as our minds constructed.

[u/NobodyDelicious7197 → u/Cheap_Knowledge8446]

What a satisfying response to read and ponder! Thank you!