I don’t remember ever being furloughed before. I’ve been laid off, promoted, demoted, fired, had good reviews, bad reviews, no reviews, good bosses, bad bosses, absolutely horrible bosses, but January 2, 2009 was the first time I’ve ever been furloughed.
Being furloughed for a day means you get to take the day off work, but you don’t get paid. We have been warned of layoffs coming by July, 2009 if not sooner, and that means hundreds of library staff will be gone. Cutbacks are happening everywhere in the government of course, but in the library it means less materials, less people, less hours open, and at least one furlough day. Another furlough before this fiscal year ends on June 30, 2009 wouldn’t surprise me because we keep being told things are worse than first suspected.
So how did I spend furlough day? I read a book.
January 6, 2009 at 10:35 pm
According to wikipedia,
“A furlough (IPA: /ˈfɝloʊ/) (from Dutch: “verlof”) is a temporary leave of absence, especially from duty in the armed services or from a prison term. In these cases, a furlough is a vacation. In some Commonwealth countries (such as Australia and New Zealand), furlough is an employee benefit known as long service leave.
A furlough may also be part of a work release program.
A furlough may be a long term lay-off from a railroad.
A furlough is sometimes involuntary because of work conditions. In this case, the furlough is more like a temporary layoff.
A furlough can also refer to a time off based on a company-planned schedule. For example, with a “work 3 weeks, off 1 week” schedule, a company’s workforce is divided into 4 groups. Each group, in turn, takes a week off while the remainder work).”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furlough
None of these definitions sound very promising.
Me? On my furlough day, I had my hair colored.
January 7, 2009 at 8:54 am
This is good. I especially like, “leave of absence from a prison term,” and, “part of a work release program,” (is it ever).