I've learned the hard way that its not a good idea to befriend your boss. Its a better idea to keep a somewhat professional distance from one another. Sure these things aren't always possible, but in this case, it was probably the best way to go.

I am a medical transcriptionist, I started a year and a half ago. I got the job through a friend. It seemed like a great idea at the time, I got my training free through my boss. I get to work from home and best of all, I got to be home with my kids more. Ideal right? Well since I don't know any other MT's aside from a couple of the women that work for my boss, I don't have a clue how things are normally done in the MT world. I work 50+ hours a week just to make halfway decent money. I get up at 4 am and work for a couple hours, get the kids off to school, maybe take a short nap and then start working again from 10 until about 6:30. Now if my boss had her way, I would be working from 4 am until 8:30 p.m. when the office closes, because that is what she does. I'm sorry, but I have kids that need me. I LIKE spending time with my children and I cherish the time I have with them, although there are times when I want to scream until my throat is raw because of the fighting they do with one another, but hey, they're my kids and I love them. 

Some people feel that working at home as an MT is not a real job. I've encountered this many times since I started doing this line of work, but it really is. I've actually developed anxiety since starting this job. I'm in charge of certain accounts, the doctors upload a LOT of work sometimes and you have 3 hours to get the work done and sent in. Now 3 hours sounds like a good bit of time and for the most part it is, unless you start getting stats or the doctor igoes on and on for 10 minutes or more. 

For the most part I like my boss, but she tries to manipulate you. She gives you guilt trips and I'm a sucker and sometimes let myself get drawn into her pity party and wind up working more. Sometimes I don't mind because I need the money, but its not fair of her to use tactics like that. I once told her I was going to take a break and she her response was "well I guess I'll stop what I'm doing and do your job so you can go take a break since everyone else is gone at the moment". Now how am I supposed to take a comment like that? Just recently she was telling me that we needed more work to come in so she can get her bills paid. She pays us so much and since we're doing all the work she's not making enough to live. Ok, now I was pretty swamped with work when she was going on about that and of course I tried to suggest her taking some of my work, but oh no she has all these other things she needs to do.  

Other times she wants me to go to her house and hang out with her. She was having a party once and I ended up getting sick early in the morning and told her I probably wouldn't make it to her party and she got really mad, "well I was expecting you and I bought all this stuff and now you tell me you can't make it?"

I really don't want to look for another job, I would like to continue doing what I am doing since I DO get to work from home, but I don't know how much longer I can deal with the manipulations. I have looked at other positions in this field and they want you to do at least 1000 lines a day, I can do that no problem. Some days I do well over that amount. Another problem I have is I have not been formally trained in school and I have not been an MT long enough. Most places want at the very least 2 years experience, while many others want at least 5. So I guess I either just suck it up and try to stay impersonal or I quit and get a job out of the home. 

I probably rambled just a bit. I do that often. ;(