work hours

I've noticed that some of you are consistently turning in fewer hours than you've committed to working. I understand that sometimes there is a holiday, so you miss a day or two. I understand that sometimes you are ill, so you miss a day or two. I understand that sometimes you take a vacation. That is fine. What I'm talking about is a pattern of working too few hours over multiple pay periods. Please evaluate your work effort and determine if you are working the number of hours your agreed to work. If you are not sure, please come talk to me. I track the number of hours you submit each pay period.

There are a few of you who have come to me and said that for certain reasons you need to reduce your hours. In general, I have approved those requests. If I've told you that you may work 15 hours per week instead of 20, then I'm not worried that you're not working 20 hours per week.

If something in your life changes, and you need to reduce your hours or take some time off, then please come discuss it with me. This is a job, and you are all adults. You have committed to doing good work for a certain number of hours per week. You are responsible to fulfill this commitment. If you are unable to do so, because of school or personal reasons, please talk to me, and we will work something out. If you just decide that working for us does not matter enough for you to fulfill your commitment, then we can discuss ending the relationship. If you do not communicate with me, then I am left to assume that you don't want to work for the project anymore. That is fine.

For those of you who receive health insurance through the Bureau, you must maintain an average of over 24 work hours per week. This average includes vacations and sick days (which will reduce your average). Our grant administrator calculated that if you work 26 hours per week, you should be able to miss about two weeks of work per year and still maintain your eligibility for health insurance. If you drop below the 24+ hours per week, you will not immediately lose your health insurance. It will, however, jeopardize your eligibility for health insurance next year. If you have questions about your eligibility for health insurance, please let me know. I'm tracking whether you're maintaining the hours for eligibility, but I do not know if you receive health insurance from the Bureau. If you are not currently receiving health insurance, but would like to make sure you're eligible next year, please come talk to me, and we can figure out if you're working enough hours.

Please let me know if you have questions or concerns.