Hi, I have sisters wedding soon and I am going to india to attend. I work here i US ( fully remote) with a client X through a staffing company A. Now, X had some deadlines in dec, I was scared asking for any vacation .and asked only for 2.5 weeks but including weekends/holidays etc, it was just 13 days. Staffing company kind of negotiated with me talking about X's deadlines etc and asked me to work from India and cut short etc. I got scared with their pressure and agreed. I cut short trip by 2 days and said no to work from H because of short trip and lot of travelling. So I agreed for 2 weeks w/o much thinking. We booked tickets. My H wanted to stay longer with kid and we booked that way. Me coming back in 2 weeks. H joining us 1 week late and again coming back 1 week late so kid will stay 3 weeks total. Now we feel, all this is very complicated, me coming alone, in winter time, snow etc. and then me moving up and down in India, my place to his place after wedding, and then back to my place for US and here living alone. He is also worried. All this is getting very complicated and on top of that, H is worried if kid will live w/o me and he will not be able to take care of her. So he is asking me to extend the vacation and work from india for week. Means talking to X or A that I am staying for 1 more function so will have to extend the vacation or work for 1 week from home. Since it is not full time job, I should not be much worried and get bothered, it is purely business. About work, our team is remote at home and i work as contractor, so they will not much care. But I am kind of nervous and how to start this conversation and whom to talk to - client or staffing company. They already kind of threatened me with replacement. Like they might have to find replacement for 2 weeks etc. About work, When I joined, no one care about me. But I stick around because of remote job. So many times, requirements changed so guy who spearheaded work, left in frustation and all work came on to me. I asked knoweldge share so many times, but they said I do not have to bother about that end of work. Then suddenly, I was moved to all ends of work. I was cried deadlines deadlines, until day before yesterday, where in a meeting, all the work was trashed because requirements changed and new rework is starting...Anyways... Manager was concerned about my vacation and staffing cmppany tried to talk me out of it. I really do not want my wedding trip in hush hush. I will be so emotional and I am worried about my parents. They are much attached with sister and once gone, no one will be able to take care of them for some time. My parents are very sensitive. I will have to immediatly go back to ILs and can not just think of how will they live. I will go to India, get dresses etc stitched, then 1 night wedding done, I go to ILs, for 1 night and back to US. All places are are far so travelling takes 1 day for me. Please suggest how to tell client or staffing company to extend stay, not vacation period. My H is telling its not full time job and there is no visibility after Dec also so do not worry much. Project was planned for Dec and they did not tell if extended or not ( chances are it will, But I might not know until the end ) They are not going to hire me. So I will repent if i do not stay there which is true. Please advise, right way to talk to client as earlier I should have planned and then talked but i did not.
By reading ur post it seems that u r able to work efficiently under pressure. That ur company knows already. So due to ur efficiency u will be hired again for some other project as I feel. For this project u clearly tell them about the situation that its ur real sister marriage and u already have so much responsibility that u will not be able to handle the work pressure with that and leave this project as it is. If u try to do everything then nothing will be done correctly. The occasion is once a life time and the work will remain for lifetime. So u just enjoy the wedding and leave the project.
Monike, you misunderstood bit I am taking vacation ( unpaid since it is contract job) for 10 days for vacation. I work remote completely. There were problems/discussions for 10 days off and they kind asked if i can work from india but I said I will be travelling a lot in those 10 days. So we booked tickets. . 1. me and kid going to india, H coming week later. 2. Me coming back after wedding after 10 days and H staying with LO. 3. Me joins work here and H comes back after 1 week with LO. I will get no time in India and will be rushing from my parents to his parents to US. I will be so broken leaving my parents, sister and then kid also. So now, I plan to stay there for week extra and work from there and come back with H. Since I am completely remote, working from india should have no affect. Only thing is discussion and talking to staffing company is the hard part. My H tells me, tell them there is some other urgent ceremoney has come up and you need to attend that. So you do not have any option other than working from home from there. I am kind of scared. What is the right way to talk to client to ask for week of working from India? I do not know if I should ask directly from manager or middle staffing company. I know working without telling is completely wrong.
Yes, you should have planned better before talking about vacation with client and staffing company. What is done is done. What to do now is the question. The nature of the work, constantly changing deadlines and work being discarded, and overall chaotic work atmosphere are not related to your vacation situation. Their disorganization does not justify your bad planning. In a way your husband is right, keep it business like and it is not a fulltime job. But, you still have to be a little professional as it is a small world and for all you know you might continue with staffing company for longer. Bringing up the vacation extension and having to bring it up with both staffing and client company -- can be a pain and you will be at a disadvantage since vacation was already finalized. Given that you work remotely, at this point it would be better to postpone your tickets by a week, go to India, and then let company know that you have to delay your return due to a "sickness" in the family. Offer them the option of your working from home or no pay. It is not the most ideal approach, but given that they will not tell you about contract extension till late, and you work remotely, it is kind of OK. So, now husband agrees and worries that he cannot take care of child alone? You had a very hot thread on him wanting to take her alone to his parents' place.
You dont even know if your job would extend after Dec. Why so much scene and confusion ? Just take vacation and go . If contract extends come back, else continue vacation in India for 6 more months
Set your priorities straight. What you want to do, what is not important should not bother you. You want to hold everything, which is if not impossible, tough!! Dont be afraid of threatening from boss, do what you feel is right. If not this job, you have talent, willingness to work hard, you will surely land up in new opening or same. Likewise if you decide to come back, don't let thoughts of staying alone (come on, just a week) or kid staying with father should bother you. You can do it girl!!Again, your call...you need to decide what you want. Why you would do what we strangers who are unaware of complete picture, should take threads in our hands?.... Enjoy the wedding and family togetherness, rest all are petty issues!!
OP, As you are working remotely, why to think so much, you can anyway work from your parents place and support them emotionally as well.
In this situation I would suggest you be honest with them. something like this, this is what i would do. If you are hired as a contract, they will have to give you that time, I dont think they can legally break the contract. But anyway, if it comes to a point where they refuse and let you go, its a business decision, not a personal one against you. I hire contracts in my team at times and its often stressful when people call in at the last minute giving a reason why they cannot fulfil their side of the commitment. If you already know you will extend a week, honesty is more appreciated. They know you are faking. You know it right? i would be honest with them if I were you. shoot them an email... "Dear xyz. I am emailing with regards to the vacation request for the dates ...to .... After carefully considering my travel plans, it has became evident to me that I will not be able to return in 2 weeks time. I would like to place a request for an additional week of work from home. This will absolutely not impact any deadlines. I understand the deadlines of client X and I take my commitment very seriously. Whatever I will be doing from US is what i will be doing in India. To reiterate, my commitments will be met. Would appreciate if I can get approval for this" Thanks Sanju
I think you should extend your trip if you want and just let your staffing company know closer to your travel date that you had to extend due to some emergency and offer to work from India if you want. 3 weeks is too short of a time for them to find a replacement, train the replacement and get work done. And in December, most people are dealing with vacation etc. So I don't think you should worry about this too much, especially if you don't have visa issues and such things!
