Managing Fibro with 2 jobs

 

I just got another job at a hotel front desk and I am trying to manage the fibro and working 2 jobs. It is hard going from having 3 days off from my first job to suddenly having the other job on those days. I am schedule for both of my jobs on Saturday and I am worried about how I will handle it. I have a really great boss at both my jobs, so I am able to make accommodations for the fibro at work. The job I have for my first job is the front desk of some condominiums, and I sit down for it. I have to get the packages when they are delivered for the condo owners and give them to them when they come to pick them up but nothing else is really hard there. The second job is hotel front desk and I will need to stand, however my boss there has told me that I am able to go into the office behind the front desk and sit down for 5 or so minutes when needed if I am hurting or something so that is very helpful and if I am ready for my lunch break soon I can just let someone know, hey I will be ready to take my lunch in 20 minutes can you cover for me or have someone else come cover?

I also let my manager at the hotel job know that I would rather be able to have Saturdays free there if at all possible, but that I am available for a 7 to 3 shift if there's no way to avoid it. I explained to her that it would be really hard on me to have to work that day and really have no other days off and things like that and she said that would be fine once I finish the computer training, which I will be doing very soon, likely before this week is over. The new job also allows me to earn paid time off even as a part time employee, so that is fantastic, as well as paid holidays I believe. I am very glad that my manager there is so understanding about illness and injuries because so many others are not. I am very glad I can accommodate my fibromyalgia and everything at the job because otherwise I may not have been able to handle it or accept the position, and I really needed the money.

Another issue is that I have issues getting around. I don't drive yet and it has been difficult to get driving practice in due to either not having a car to use or lessons costing so much, as well as my chronic conditions making it hard for me to get out of the house at times. Sometimes it hurts so badly to move that I need to cancel appointments, or call off work, or cancel driving lessons or whatever else. I live in a 2nd floor apartment and sometimes I cannot get down the stairs to my front nor back doors. Stairs are one of the most painful things for me with my fibromyalgia, sometimes I can literally not lift my leg to step up or down from the pain. My back and knees do not handle stairs well even at the best of times, so doing them when in a bad flare is just not feasible. This is why I am glad I can earn paid time off at my hotel job because I can stay home and not lose money, the way I do at my condo job. It is also hard sometimes the way some jobs' breaks work and the way my illnesses are, like at one job I used to have my fibromyalgia, IBS, and asthma would make it necessary for me to take a break but their break times were such that I would have to sometimes wait until it was an emergency to leave my work area and sit down, use the bathroom or take my inhaler. There were times they just had to come cover my spot so I could go before I either fell down, used the bathroom on myself, fainted or whatever.

I sometimes worry a lot about handling 2 jobs with all this but I think I can do it. If not I can reduce hours, take days off if I need and even stop the condo job if I absolutely had to. Hope you stay tuned for the next post to see what's next!