Everything is topsy turvy during the pandemic. I’ve returned to working in a previous industry I hated, to make ends meet. I’m lucky because the money’s pretty good but the job is pitiful. I’m barely tolerating it ... for too many reasons to mention. The worst part is, I’m on a group text chat. Some of the communication is work related but most is just mindless chatter and emojis. Sometimes my phone blows up. I can’t silence text notifications because I’m a caregiver for my family and I need to be at the ready. And they keep asking me to pull extra shifts even though I’ve made it clear that I have other commitments to my elderly mother and other more suitable work I’ve been doing, now very part time (b/c of COVID.) Do I ignore? Continue nicely declining (which hasn’t seemed to give them the hint that I don’t want to be bothered on my “weekend” which is Monday and Tuesday)? Or do I need to use more direct language that the constant texting on my days off is very annoying? I understand it would be quite the hassle to send a separate text, just to me when there is group related info, but like I said, it’s mostly meaningless chatter. These are 20 somethings with no management experience and no respect for boundaries. It’s a low budget operation with very unprofessional teammates. I owe them nothing but my 20 hours of good work. How can I get my point across without being more of a curmudgeon than I already am? Oh, by the way, my “manager” has already started listening to Christmas music every day because “he just loves it”. The work I love and should be performing, using my masters’ degrees, has to do with equity and inclusion and conflict resolution. I know that shoving the Christmas experience down our clients’ throats is not inclusive and for some may be down right offensive. I hate dumbing myself down at work and ignoring the fact that this Christmas music is not welcomed by many ...but trying to make my point seems like an exercise in futility. I feel like I’m losing my mind.