I had a parent of one person contracted in to assist me call about the schedule being excessive. I told the parent I would fix it on the spot. I stopped hiring their child. Called him that night, thanked him for the work he'd done, and as his parents were concerned he now had his calendar free, effective immediately.

I know this shouldn't surprise me, but oh, my. I can remember at my jobs in high school, sometimes I would BEG my mom to call me in sick, and she'd be all, "Nope. You're a big girl. Deal with the situation yourself."

Mom said she didn't think it was right to fire him. I replied that I dont have time to waste on discussions like this and I will have a new assistant with the same skills within one hour and I hung up.

Hardcore and totally appropriate. Exactly what I have done in similar situations. Coddling the coddled is nobody's friend.

eta:

Coddling the coddled is nobody's friend.

Is that even grammatically correct? Does nobody actually have any friends?

Not talking to my parents every day is the whole reason I went away to college! Early, even!

But the whole trend is both noticeable and disturbing -- I see kids every day who get out of class by the time they're out of the building, they're on the phone with their moms talking about whether their lunch was a balanced meal or some such incredibly everyday thing. I would not want to be their mothers! I'd be telling them within a week that they're 18 now and I'm done with picking out their menu every day!

There was a fascinating article in the Chronicle of Higher Ed (which is unfortunately paywalled all to heck) a few weeks back about mumblemumble university library hiring an anthropologist to study the student population and advise them on how to improve reference services. The main thing they found (aside from the unsurprising fact that students access to every imaginable service 4 am) was that the first and main person students go to for help on papers is Mom. Not the professors, the librarians, their classmates, or trying to start their research topic on their own, but straight to "Mom, what should I write my sociology paper about?"... At which point Mom really ought to be saying, "you know, hon, I'm not a sociologist, but you have a university at your disposal...."

Yeah. This was a kid who had just finisee grad school.

This was a kid who had just finisee grad school.

You. are. KIDDING!

I imagined a pre-undergrad on the verge of college. How sad is that?

I admit. I talk to my mom a lot...like every other day, but it's usually logistical stuff. And, I occassionally call dad in between classes at school, if one went poorly...so I can vent about it, and move on and get to my next class.

Here's the thing, it WAS a hard schedule. We were workin into the middle of the night quite a bit. In my line of work thats just part of the job. Just like heavy lifting is part of working most construction jobs. Also, I have been told I am a damned good boss to work for and that with new folks I happily spend as much time teaching and training as I possibly can. However I do no abide by my time being wasted and I have also learned to act quickly and decisively when it comes to potential employee problems. An overactive parent or even spouse would fall into that camp for me.

However I do no abide by my time being wasted and I have also learned to act quickly and decisively when it comes to potential employee problems. An overactive parent or even spouse would fall into that camp for me.

exactly. And rest assured, the first time you cave, they expect you to do it forever.

I would have been mortified if my mother called anyone about my "excessive work load" during undergrad, let alone grad school!

When I was doing my Masters, I got up around 6, interned all day at a middle school, tutored an insanely hyper ADHD 6th grader after school (this was my only income during that year), grabbed a sandwich on the drive up to grad school, and took classes all evening from about 6-10. Then I drove home, did whatever homework I needed for the next day, and tried to squeeze in 4-5 hours of sleep. I had another class from 9-3 on Saturdays, so I spent Saturday evening and all day Sunday catching up on remaining reading/papers for grad classes.

It sucked, but it was hardly unique. Just the reality of grad work while also working in a hands-on field (much like theatre, actually). I am trying to imagine either of my parents having the audacity to call to complain to someone about that schedule, but I really just can't. It's beyond any realm of possibility in any alternate universe. And thank the gods, because I really can't think of anything more humiliating.

SlimFast:

Could someone please pick me up in a helicopter, fly me home over the LA rush hour, make me a yummy meal, and tuck me into bed? I'm so drained right now.