Working During Holidays: Counting My joys And Pains (#268)

Some jobs are essential on holidays. Have you ever had to work on holidays? If not, have you ever done anything for someone who does?


Hello #ladiesofhives, compliments of the season. It’s yet another exciting time here, and I welcome you to my blog. I am happy to participate in this week's prompt and look forward to your feedback in the comment section.

Geralt
In my early career, I started my first working experience with a telecommunications company. I was onboarded to the contact centre, where I worked in the outbound, inbound, and the data centre on a rotational basis. Troubleshooting network error messages for customers and escalating unresolved network issues to the switch or core network departments.

Furthermore, working in a telecommunication required a 24/7 work schedule because of the sensitive nature of the work. Telecommunication is an essential service; as a result cannot afford a single node to shut down. It’s going to affect a whole lot of people. My job role as a customer service representative requires me to run a shift pattern and go off after my second night on a shift.

The amazing part of this job is putting smiles on the faces of people who call in with queries, giving them access to the value-added service that the telecoms have. Ensuring that they are assisted with the network customised phones they purchased, renewing their data, and resolving data challenges.

However, there are some days I wake up and do not feel to go to work, especially when my work schedule falls on a Sunday or Saturday, with nobody agreeing to a swap. Sometimes, too, you witness some unhappy customer waiting to pour their anger on you for no just cause. In some cases, I end up turning that negativity into positive vibes and making the customer happy, but some other times, the customer will just be unapproachable, leaving one with no choice but to plead till the end of the call.

Aleh Tsikhanau
During holidays like Easter and Christmas, we celebrate the days in the office and only come back to say happy Christmas and new year to our loved ones. Though it was painful, I kept managing the good, the bad, and the ugly side of the job until it was time for me to move on. At least, I have given my quota to humanity.

Surprisingly,I find myself working for the holidays again this year after several years of not doing that. We bought brand-new machines for the establishment of a rigid box factory. My MD pleaded that the management team assist with the coordination of the installation, training, and testing of the machines. The installation started on December 5, and we are now running the test production, which will run through the holidays till January 2026.

Last week I worked from Monday to Saturday, while some worked to Sunday. This is a sacrifice that we needed to make to get things sorted out for full production in February 2026. However, the safety department also provides health tips and guidance on what to do when fatigue sets in. We are also monitoring and rotating staff to prevent health issues at any point. But at the end of the day, it is a win-win balance between the company and the employees.

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