Who Is Working United States Thanksgiving XI? (2023 Edition)

[jeffandnicole]

It's that time of year again where some turkey asks "Who is working Thanksgiving Day?" Lets see here, we have the Original (2013), II (2014), III (2015), IV (2016), V (2017), VI (2018), VII (2019), Coronavirus (2020), IX (2021), and X (2022). The original thread was created over a decade ago because people were complaining that "the retailers were open and making the retail workers WORK", not realizing that other people were also earning a paycheck during the United States Thanksgiving holiday. Plus, we have the following sports (All Times Eastern):

• 12:30 PM - NFL on FOX: Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions (and Dallas is hosting the following Thursday as well)
• 4:30 PM - NFL on CBS: Washington Commanders at Dallas Cowboys
• 8:20 PM - NFL on NBC: San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks (and Seattle plays the following Thursday as well)

The ironic thing about that image...it doesn't remind people that tens of thousands of people will be working to provide the entertainment listed above for those sitting at home saying that Thanksgiving is supposed to be a day off as we appreciate the sacrifices made by nurses, paramedics and police that have to work.

[kphoger]

The ironic thing about that image...it doesn't remind people that tens of thousands of people will be working to provide the entertainment listed above for those sitting at home saying that Thanksgiving is supposed to be a day off as we appreciate the sacrifices made by nurses, paramedics and police that have to work.

For my family, Thanksgiving entertainment means putting on a music playlist while cooking, playing games in the living room, stuff that requires nobody to be working that day.

[epzik8]

Me, for the third time in my life with three different employers.

[hbelkins]

Not unless it snows or there is some other sort of emergency that requires my presence (either in-person or virtually).

[algorerhythms]

I had Thanksgiving off last month.

[bulldog1979]

I have returned to retail this year after an absence of 13 years. I will not be working Thanksgiving though because Walmart is closing that day nationally this year. As for the day after, I'm scheduled in at 10 am.

[Road Hog]

My boss did me a solid this year. He gave me the Wednesday and the Friday off and I don't have to go in until close on Saturday.

Last year he had me closing on Wednesday and opening on Black Friday at 6 a.m. where I could not leave town. I bitched enough about it that he was good enough not to boof me again.

Christmas this year falls on a Monday, where I get boofed by my side hustle which is an all-day sucker on Tuesday. So short of an early shift Sunday, I might be stuck home eating Chinese again.

[Rothman]

"Side hustle" is such a euphemism.  It's interesting how nowadays it carries a positive connotation, whereas "Moonlighting" and other like terms from yesteryear implied one shouldn't have had to work two jobs to get by.

[Max Rockatansky]

I always refer to my wife's on-call job she does at the mental health clinic on weekends I work a "moonlighting gig."  Maybe that's my age showing that I call it that, I never thought to refer to it as a "side hustle."  She doesn't need that job to get by, she does more because she's bored and gets to talk to friends all day.  She does usually take Black Friday shifts. 

[kphoger]

I always thought of a 'side hustle' as more of an ad hoc sort of job—one that you just kind of came up with on your own, or for which you only interact with your boss by text message from another time zone, or that has you directly selling your product or service by word of mouth, or something like that.  I'm thrown off when people use the term in reference to a 'normal' second job.

[GaryV]

I always thought of a 'side hustle' as more of an ad hoc sort of job—one that you just kind of came up with on your own, or for which you only interact with your boss by text message from another time zone, or that has you directly selling your product or service by word of mouth, or something like that.  I'm thrown off when people use the term in reference to a 'normal' second job.

Or consulting. Anything that might be considered a 'gig'. Something you do from time to time, maybe only once, but not regular employment. Otherwise it's just a second job.

For me, moonlighting has the connotation that it is somewhat secret - it is done in the moonlight, not the broad daylight of daytime. Maybe something that if your primary employer knew about it, they wouldn't be supportive of you holding that 2nd position.

I retired, so has my 'side hustle' (scheduling soccer games) become my primary job? I don't consider it so. It's still just something I do for a little extra money.

[kphoger]

For me, moonlighting has the connotation that it is somewhat secret - it is done in the moonlight, not the broad daylight of daytime. Maybe something that if your primary employer knew about it, they wouldn't be supportive of you holding that 2nd position.

And see, I've always just thought of moonlighting as having a second, evening job.

[ZLoth]

(I'm) retired, so has my 'side hustle' (scheduling soccer games) become my primary job? I don't consider it so. It's still just something I do for a little extra money.

It depends. Is it nice to have a little extra spending money on something that you are enjoying to do anyways? When my mother worked as a product demonstrator for a warehouse club, she was surrounded by people who were in their 70s and 80s who had to work to make ends meet beyond their social security check.

[vegas1962]

In my work life, both in the automotive sector and as a paralegal, I have always had Thursday and Friday off as paid holidays.

My wife is a (now-retired) RN. Her employer (a major hospital) recognized six "official" holidays (New Year's Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas) and the rule was that everyone in patient care had to choose two holidays to work each year, and preferably not the same two every year so that others could have some variety.  Seniority mattered in the selection process, but managers knew who got what the previous year and took pains to ensure that certain people didn't monopolize certain holidays.

[ZLoth]

My wife is a (now-retired) RN. Her employer (a major hospital) recognized six "official" holidays (New Year's Day, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas) and the rule was that everyone in patient care had to choose two holidays to work each year, and preferably not the same two every year so that others could have some variety.

For holidays and weekends, there are two shifts that need one person each on my tiny-but-mightly support team: Morning (8 AM-2 PM) and Afternoon (2 PM-8 PM). There are two periods of holidays that a member of my team can volunteer for. The first period consists of Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Veteran's Day, and the second period is Thanksgiving, Day After Thanksgiving, Christmas, Day After Christmas, New Years, and MLK. With advanced planning (two months for the first period, four months for the second period), it is possible for a member of the team to take one holiday for each holiday period.

When I first started this thread back in 2013, I had just started what would end up being a six year stint on graveyard shift. The person who I was paired up with only worked his required hours and refused to work company holidays which meant that I got to work every holiday. (He was open to shift swaps to cover vacations). At that point, I was still working off the debt I had acquired while acquiring my degree, so working holidays on top of the shift differential allowed me to pay off that debt as well as put money aside in the 401(k) and some investments. Those investments would come in handy later when I moved to Texas and purchased my home. In 2017, the person I worked with left the company to pursue another position, and his replacement was more than open to working alternating holidays.

The stores and restaurants are only open holidays because the consumer demand is there. With the "Black Friday" sales having extended to include much of November, plus the price matching that is available online, the desire to get "malled" is nearly zero. I may go out on Black Friday. but shopping is at the bottom of the list. Also, if you don't want to work holidays and weekends, don't get a job that has you working holidays and weekends.

[achilles765]

Yeah. The last two years I worked at a restaurant bar in downtown Houston that was closed the whole week.

Now I've moved onto a position as a bartender at a fine dining restaurant and I actually have already offered to work the entire day on thanksgiving. Some of the best money I've ever made was on Thanksgiving. Like over 500 and even once over $700.

Growing up, my mom was a nurse so to me the possibility of working holidays was never really an odd or unusual prospect.

[JoePCool14]

As like last year, I won't be working. Honestly, unless my career suddenly tanks, I shouldn't need to work on Thanksgiving for the rest of my life. Thankful for that.

[jeffandnicole]

The ironic thing about that image...it doesn't remind people that tens of thousands of people will be working to provide the entertainment listed above for those sitting at home saying that Thanksgiving is supposed to be a day off as we appreciate the sacrifices made by nurses, paramedics and police that have to work.

For my family, Thanksgiving entertainment means putting on a music playlist while cooking, playing games in the living room, stuff that requires nobody to be working that day.

Hopefully the electric company monitors the power grid, and the gas company has someone on call for gas leaks.

There's plenty of jobs out there that people take for granted. 

[Henry]

I'll be off for all of next week, so I'm going home for Thanksgiving. In other words...

[ET21]

Not working Thursday and have Black Friday off

[MikeTheActuary]

I work on a Québec holiday schedule, so my Thanksgiving holiday was over a month ago.

I'm actually now telecommuting to the UK.  I have a 7am meeting on my calendar for US Thanksgiving morning.

[MATraveler128]

Not this year. I work retail at Target so my store is closed on Thanksgiving. However since I'm traveling this year, I have to convince them to let me have Black Friday weekend off.

[kphoger]

The ironic thing about that image...it doesn't remind people that tens of thousands of people will be working to provide the entertainment listed above for those sitting at home saying that Thanksgiving is supposed to be a day off as we appreciate the sacrifices made by nurses, paramedics and police that have to work.

For my family, Thanksgiving entertainment means putting on a music playlist while cooking, playing games in the living room, stuff that requires nobody to be working that day.

Hopefully the electric company monitors the power grid, and the gas company has someone on call for gas leaks.

There's plenty of jobs out there that people take for granted. 

Ironic that I did that, isn't it? considering that I personally work in the telecommunications industry, and the playlist I mentioned usually comes by way of virtual assistant connected to Wi-Fi. 

[epzik8]

Not this year. I work retail at Target so my store is closed on Thanksgiving. However since I'm traveling this year, I have to convince them to let me have Black Friday weekend off.

Sounds like you'd better hurry up and ask them...

[Rothman]

Not this year. I work retail at Target so my store is closed on Thanksgiving. However since I'm traveling this year, I have to convince them to let me have Black Friday weekend off.

Sounds like you'd better hurry up and ask them...

A bit late.  Since this is Target, if I were the manager, I'd talk about needing more lead time to approve time-off on such a big day.  If I still had to disapporve due to coverage at this late point and the person called in sick -- given this is Target -- I might consider trying to get someone more reliable, depending upon other recent hiring experiences.