I am sorry to hear that you are struggling. I would just explain to your boss what you said about stretching out the 5 hours of work to last 6. No boss wants to pay someone extra money to do the same amount of work. If you approach it like you feel bad because you feel like your being given more hours to do the same amount of work and that you have other obligations as well, maybe your boss will be glad to go back to 25 hours and grateful you were honest that you were not doing anymore work than you were before. Good luck.

@mom2girlies I don't think that approach will work, just because it is so unpredictable. I feel like on some level she just wants me to be available to work the register in case a horde of people walk in. The problem is that if there isn't enough non-register work and no people come in she won't let me leave early. She comes up with pointless tasks for me to do. For example, going through old scripts to make sure they had addresses written in, even though that should always be checked when initially filling a script, or similar busy work. So to her there is enough work to fill 6 hours. I guess I don't find that work particularly necessary or fulfilling.

So I'd say she's trying to help you. Looks to me like she's keeping you back so that you will get paid 30 hrs a week instead of 25.

Which is really sweet of her.

Your job isn't really to find what she asks you to do necessary or fulfilling. Your job is to do it often enough to realise why it's important. It is important. Okay? Just not to you personally. But your job is important to you even though you think it's not a priority, because without it you wouldn't be able to study.

So it's a necessary evil for you. and you do have to prioritise it.

I have to ask why one extra hour a day is impacting so severely on your ability to do this other study. And if it is - then you need to front up to your boss and explain that you are studying, and you need to see if she will allow you (be obedient and respectful) to reduce hours at all, to accommodate that study. Press upon her the fact that if she truly needs you doing those 6 hrs you will of course do them, no question. But if she might be able to see her way clear to reducing them at all, that would be very much appreciated.

Also maybe there's some compromise. a longer lunch break in the middle? Studying at your desk when there are no customers? Don't ask, don't get.

I'm confused as to what you mean by studying...?

I do find my job important and fulfilling, I just don't find the busy work of flipping through old scripts to find semantic errors that it's too late to fix anyway important or fulfilling.

Where I am from, for part time especially, your place of work schedules you based on your availability. I could easily switch to a different department of the grocery store and do 25 hours, but I really do enjoy the pharmacy and feel that 25 hours (the amount agreed upon when I started) should be sufficient.

Did I mention she never even asked if she could increase my hours? Honestly, she has no respect for anyone else's time in general, including customers. It's infuriating.

I am sorry you are struggling. If your boss seems insensitive to your personal life and you anticipate she would not be sympathetic to your writing project, perhaps it would be better to limit details as you try to negotiate. What about approaching your request to return to a maximum 25 hours per week in terms of a "temporary" arrangement? You could say something like, "I currently have some personal commitments which must be a priority; these issues are not optional. But I really enjoy working for you, and I want to maintain my job while I handle these issues. I have thought this through and realized that if I could limit my hours to 25 hours/week for the time being, I think I can continue to give 100% at work, while handling these outside priorities." Then, you could see how it goes, and revisit the decision if your boss asks when you can work more hours. By that time, you may already be published; if not, then perhaps you need to figure out if the job is worth it. I advise young people to really go for it! Follow your dreams and take the necessary risks. Work will be there, in some shape or form. That's my two cents worth. I wish you luck.

It's hard to say why she wants the 6 hours. The best thing to do is to approach her like you would hope an employee would you in the reverse situation. You can politely explain that although you're not sure there is enough work to warrant the additional hour, maybe she has something else you can do to help around there. Tell her you don't feel right taking the extra pay when you can't justify the extra time so you would understand if she wanted to move it back to 5 hours. You can respectfully explain that you're grateful for the job there although you hope that she will work with you in terms of the volunteer position and other longterm goals. If this does not suit her you won't have any choice but to look for a more flexible position elsewhere. But either way, don't burn any bridges because a positive reference can go a long way. Best wishes in your endeavors!