A "fair" sized piece of my mind

“It’s not FAIR!!!!!” As a mother, how many times have I heard THAT indignant cry?! I expect homework to come before television… and I’m not FAIR. I expect a clean room before video games… and I’m not FAIR. I expect a consistent bedtime whether you’re 4 or 14… and I’m not FAIR. Well, imagine my surprise when I heard myself screech, at a rather loud level for a Monday morning, “I’m so freakin’ fed up!! This is not FAIR!” Juvenile as that seems, I did manage to suppress the urge to stomp my feet or pitch a fit. The object of my frustration was work (I know – big surprise). One of my current contracts finds me sharing a weekday assignment with two other people. I’m very careful when working on a joint project. I work within the timeframe I’ve been allotted. I am mindful that there’s only so much work to go around. I offer the highest-quality service at all times to (hopefully) benefit “the team.” I expect others to do the same. Hi! I’m stupid. On a regular basis, I sign on to work, only to find that the previous contractor has claimed the majority of it, sailing along past the end of her day right through the start of mine. Has anyone told this chick that a day only has 24 hours?! I’ve tried to bring this up for attention on a number of occasions, providing concrete and documented examples, and I’ve been told “she needs the money so I guess she over-did it.” Last time I checked, my last name wasn’t Gates or Rockefeller. The day I work for the sheer joy of working, please smack me upside the head and send me off to enjoy some real quality time with my family. Newsflash! We ALL need the money. Anyone who works as an independent knows that it can be hard to earn a consistent living. We get some great projects and we get some duds. The common ground is that most of us would like to be earning more than we do. I refuse to earn my "extra" by taking it away from others. Call me naïve or call me spineless – I prefer the term “professional.” I readily accept the competitiveness of the I.C. playing field. I believe if you’re the best one for the job, you should get it. I know how it feels to hear about a plum assignment and hope like hell that no one else finds out before I’ve had a chance to submit my resumé. I know that most folks will never pass on a “tip” or a “lead” before they’ve had a go at it themselves. That’s called self-preservation and we all have to do it. Bottom line, it’s a small world. The internet makes it smaller every day. It allows us to work with people across states, provinces and countries. My advice is that you better work fair. In theory, yes, you’re an independent. You’re alone in your home office, your bedroom or at your dining room table, systematically grabbing all the work you can grab to pad your checks. You tell yourself you’re looking out for number one. Survival of the fittest! All’s fair in love and war! But here’s the catch… this ain’t love and you damn well better NOT start a war. You might think you’ll never cross paths with the same folks again. Trust me when I say you will – and they will remember. Please do justice to the work at home world. Treat it with exacting ethics and respect. I do. In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, “It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself.”