Working at a place with a skeleton crew is hell.
I'm not exaggerating when I say my coworkers call off once a week each, and it's part time work, and half of them are kids, and I'm not blaming them at all. Anyone who has been hired who is an adult is flaky as heck too. The job is retail and it sucks and doesn't pay enough.
But I'm also not exaggerating that when I get called in on my days off or asked to stay later, which happens 2-3 times a week these past 3 months, and I say no...
Someone's family member has died. Or someone suddenly has a medical emergency. Or Someone is getting a divorce. Or cps took their kid. Or their dog got run over.
So when I say no, simply because I don't want to, I look and feel like am asshole. But like, it's ALWAYS something crazy, not even just a cold or something. It's constant drama, constant crazy life shit, and I'm the opposite. I have nothing going on, no crazy shit, I keep to myself.
I just don't want to do it. I don't want to be there. I can't handle how much I've had to be around people and work lately. But how do I protect my own mental health when the one who will have to cover (the boss) has an objectively more stressful, crazy, drama filled existence?
I feel like I've got a five percent battery and I'm telling someone on one percent that I can't help. How do I keep dealing with this?
Edit: I also feel like it's really eroding my ability to care, because they're all having so much happening and I can't even make my face look the right way it's supposed to let alone express any real sadness. Someone's pet dies and I can't even muster an 'I'm sorry for your loss' and I just want to walk away and have them leave me out of it.
And I can't stop eating. These past two weeks I keep waking up wih rot gut from stuffing my face so much.