Wearing And Tearing On My Nerves

Three days a week, I work at a satellite location — a different location than where I am assigned. It is considered direct report. This means that I leave from home, arrive at the satellite location, leave the location, and go home — no need to stop at my assigned workplace.

It’s a Monday morning and I have to be at work early on this day: six am, to be exact. Fifteen minutes after I arrive, a disgruntled coworker arrives to relieve a graveyard coworker. She is notorious for hating to come out to the satellite location which boggles me because I love it. There’s no one to breathe down your neck or micromanage you. As soon as I see her, I know it’s too early for this.

Disgruntled Employee: *Immediately after arriving* “Good morning. [Graveyard Coworker], I’m sorry I’m late. I had to drive my personal vehicle here. This is ridiculous. How can they make us do that?”

I just stay silent and listen.

Graveyard Coworker: “I don’t know, Ms. [Disgruntled Employee].”  

Disgruntled Employee: “I mean, they’re not going to pay for gas or wear and tear, right, [My Name]?”

Me: “Do they pay for that stuff for you to drive to work normally?”

Disgruntled Employee: *Pauses* “Well, I’m just saying, what if I get in a crash on the way? I won’t be covered.”

I have already lost all patience as this has been a long time coming.

Me: “Seriously? You aren’t ‘covered’ now! You drive every day from home to work, work to home. How is this any different? Maybe if you went to [Assigned Place] first and then here, then maybe that would matter. But this is direct report. Home, here; here, home. That’s it. It’s simple. Stop finding something to complain about or quit. It’s that simple. You don’t expect gas and incidentals to show up to the [Assigned Place], so why in the h*** would you expect them to cover that for a direct report? It’s no different from your daily commute.”

Both were silent at this point. To put things in perspective, our satellite location is literally right down the road from where we are assigned. It’s not far or out of the way.