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the commuter problem
15 Jan 2021 12:24 pmI was really excited about this work practice and when I set it up, I was under the impression that it was easy to get there by bus - so much so that I didn't even realize I had forgotten to check. I only found out when I was already committed to going there for an interview that the bus connections are spotty.
There IS an occasional one, and it happens to line up at certain times of day into a trip that takes ~50 min. with ~5-8 min of transfer time between two bus trips, for a trip that takes ~25 min. by car. (This is the best-case scenario, and the way I've been getting home: I do not yet have the energy reserves to walk the 2.2 km AFTER the day's 6 hours mostly on my feet.) HOWEVER, more frequently the schedules of the two buses don't line up at all, and in order to get there at or around the hour in the mornings, the choice is between a 2.2-km walk and one 20-min bus ride OR a commute that lasts more like an hour and a half to two hours, because you have to take a bus right through the destination town all the way to Turku (which makes the first trip 40 minutes rather than 20) to change buses and return to the destination town.
The problem is my hours, I guess. Like, I could take the two-bus solution to arrive at 10:20 or at 9:10 (but at this stage I have to get there after the store opens at 10)... but my schedule is supposed to be 6 hours a day, and finishing at 4:20 pm instead of at 4 o'clock would make me miss the afternoon bus by about 15 minutes. Alternatively, there's another one after 5 o'clock, but it's not on the hour either.
In the morning, the 2.2-km walk is fine, even pleasant, if the weather is pleasant, but if the weather is bad enough it becomes difficult to impossible. This Monday the snow plows weren't done with the foot/bike paths yet and I had to wade through a lot of near-knee-high snow and walk against a wind that was driving wet snowflakes constantly into my face, so the walk took 3x as long as before and I arrived sweaty and with my scarf, hat and mask sodden from the snow. (And driving rain and wind could cause the same sort of problem, or worse.)
It's all highly inconvenient at the moment and if I'd checked it out in advance, I probably would have eliminated this place from my search. But on the other hand, they were actually interested here and this seems like a good place so far. I think in a couple more weeks I can probably discuss with the boss moving my schedule to arrive 20 minutes later in the morning (or earlier) so that I'll have the option of taking the bus in bad weather in future. Or if worst comes to worst I can go to the grocery store first to fill the extra 40 minutes in the afternoon.
They don't use timeclocks though and I'm not getting paid for this work practice (by the company, that is) anyway, so the original schedule (that is, the amount of hours) was set to my and my career counselor's request, and they aren't strict about timing there regardless. I'm in charge of my breaks and they don't really mind if I need more of them than the official allowance for employees, who are given flexibility under their own responsibility anyway. (They'll just intervene 'if it becomes a problem, so don't like leave for hours or spend the whole day on breaks'.) So given all that, they probably wouldn't really mind if I just shaved the twenty morning minutes off the work day whenever necessary anyway perhaps, although I think I should still mention it to the boss to make sure.
There IS an occasional one, and it happens to line up at certain times of day into a trip that takes ~50 min. with ~5-8 min of transfer time between two bus trips, for a trip that takes ~25 min. by car. (This is the best-case scenario, and the way I've been getting home: I do not yet have the energy reserves to walk the 2.2 km AFTER the day's 6 hours mostly on my feet.) HOWEVER, more frequently the schedules of the two buses don't line up at all, and in order to get there at or around the hour in the mornings, the choice is between a 2.2-km walk and one 20-min bus ride OR a commute that lasts more like an hour and a half to two hours, because you have to take a bus right through the destination town all the way to Turku (which makes the first trip 40 minutes rather than 20) to change buses and return to the destination town.
The problem is my hours, I guess. Like, I could take the two-bus solution to arrive at 10:20 or at 9:10 (but at this stage I have to get there after the store opens at 10)... but my schedule is supposed to be 6 hours a day, and finishing at 4:20 pm instead of at 4 o'clock would make me miss the afternoon bus by about 15 minutes. Alternatively, there's another one after 5 o'clock, but it's not on the hour either.
In the morning, the 2.2-km walk is fine, even pleasant, if the weather is pleasant, but if the weather is bad enough it becomes difficult to impossible. This Monday the snow plows weren't done with the foot/bike paths yet and I had to wade through a lot of near-knee-high snow and walk against a wind that was driving wet snowflakes constantly into my face, so the walk took 3x as long as before and I arrived sweaty and with my scarf, hat and mask sodden from the snow. (And driving rain and wind could cause the same sort of problem, or worse.)
It's all highly inconvenient at the moment and if I'd checked it out in advance, I probably would have eliminated this place from my search. But on the other hand, they were actually interested here and this seems like a good place so far. I think in a couple more weeks I can probably discuss with the boss moving my schedule to arrive 20 minutes later in the morning (or earlier) so that I'll have the option of taking the bus in bad weather in future. Or if worst comes to worst I can go to the grocery store first to fill the extra 40 minutes in the afternoon.
They don't use timeclocks though and I'm not getting paid for this work practice (by the company, that is) anyway, so the original schedule (that is, the amount of hours) was set to my and my career counselor's request, and they aren't strict about timing there regardless. I'm in charge of my breaks and they don't really mind if I need more of them than the official allowance for employees, who are given flexibility under their own responsibility anyway. (They'll just intervene 'if it becomes a problem, so don't like leave for hours or spend the whole day on breaks'.) So given all that, they probably wouldn't really mind if I just shaved the twenty morning minutes off the work day whenever necessary anyway perhaps, although I think I should still mention it to the boss to make sure.
