Do you work too much?



  • @dhromed said:

    @CodeNinja said:

    knowing full well that they'll stop paying me sometime around Tuesday when I hit 40 hours...
     

    So you stop working, obviously.

    But I like having a job. It lets me buy things!

    Also... still here. Whooo! Leaving in 5 to grab a few hours of sleep and a shower.



  •  So.... you're going to work the rets of the week for free, or am I sorely misunderstanding your arrangement?



  • @CodeNinja said:

    I like having a job.

    Sounds like the two-tier oppression at play. In spite of the massive leaps in life-improving technology, many people end up working longer hours for less money. Sure, they never say you should work late, but they might constantly criticise how awful something you built is because you didn't have the time you requested to make it work properly.

    I'd assert we can conclude on the article's title: It's very likely you work too much.



  • @dhromed said:

    So.... you're going to work the rets of the week for free, or am I sorely misunderstanding your arrangement?

    In the US if you are salaried it is rare to be paid for overtime. If you need to work the weekend to meet a deadline then you work the weekend (or choose to miss the deadline).



  • @locallunatic said:

    @dhromed said:
    So.... you're going to work the rets of the week for free, or am I sorely misunderstanding your arrangement?
    In the US if you are salaried it is rare to be paid for overtime. If you need to work the weekend to meet a deadline then you work the weekend (or choose to miss the deadline).
     

    In those +40 hours, even if you don't get 150% or 200% for those hours, you get the regular salary, right? You don't work for free.

    Right?

    Right?


  • ♿ (Parody)

    @dhromed said:

    In those +40 hours, even if you don't get 150% or 200% for those hours, you get the regular salary, right? You don't work for free.

    No, if you're salaried (technically, it's called exempt), you get paid a fixed amount per pay period. Presumably, you've accounted for the expected amount of extra hours in you salary negotiations.



  • @dhromed said:

    In those +40 hours, even if you don't get 150% or 200% for those hours, you get the regular salary, right? You don't work for free.
    Being salaried means you get paid $x per month. If you work 10 hours, you get paid $x (if you can keep you job working only 10 hours). If you work 40 hours, you get paid $x. If you work 100 hours, you get paid $x. Meeting or missing deadlines will naturally be a factor in bonuses (if any) and future salary changes, but hours worked doesn't matter at all to anybody (except you and your family).



  • @dhromed said:

    @locallunatic said:

    @dhromed said:
    So.... you're going to work the rets of the week for free, or am I sorely misunderstanding your arrangement?

    In the US if you are salaried it is rare to be paid for overtime. If you need to work the weekend to meet a deadline then you work the weekend (or choose to miss the deadline).
     

    In those +40 hours, even if you don't get 150% or 200% for those hours, you get the regular salary, right? You don't work for free.

    Right?

    Right?


    Nope. Work for free. Don't even get comped vacation hours for it, although I am going to see if I can get Friday off. If I don't work the days I'm supposed too, during core hours (9am to 4pm), and don't have permission to miss it, I get fired. The likelihood of getting permission for the rest of the week off at this point is nill. Also, if I did skip and got fired for it, I'd possibly be denied unemployment benefits because I'd skipped work, meaning I'd loose my house and end up living behind a WalMart in a cardboard box.

    I probably make it sound worse than it actually is, but that's because I'm tired and just got back from the dentist, so my freaking mouth hurts.


    @HardwareGeek said:
    @dhromed said:
    In those +40 hours, even if you don't get 150% or 200% for those hours, you get the regular salary, right? You don't work for free.
    Being salaried means you get paid $x per month. If you work 10 hours, you get paid $x (if you can keep you job working only 10 hours). If you work 40 hours, you get paid $x. If you work 100 hours, you get paid $x. Meeting or missing deadlines will naturally be a factor in bonuses (if any) and future salary changes, but hours worked doesn't matter at all to anybody (except you and your family).

    Pretty much this, except where I work is a government contractor with some weird rules. If I work less than 40, I get paid hourly for the hours I worked. If I work more than 40, I get paid for 40.



  • @CodeNinja said:

    If I work less than 40, I get paid hourly for the hours I worked. If I work more than 40, I get paid for 40.
    Cool. The worst of both worlds.



  • @dhromed said:

    @locallunatic said:
    @dhromed said:
    So.... you're going to work the rets of the week for free, or am I sorely misunderstanding your arrangement?

    In the US if you are salaried it is rare to be paid for overtime. If you need to work the weekend to meet a deadline then you work the weekend (or choose to miss the deadline).
    In those +40 hours, even if you don't get 150% or 200% for those hours, you get the regular salary, right? You don't work for free.

    Others have covered it for me (sorry for not paying attention to do so myself) but I'll bold the important bit. As they've pointed out when we talk salaried we mean a set amount of money per time period doesn't matter if you are at your desk for a month straight or do nothing for the month. Of course if they try to work you constantly you should take that into account when figuring how much to you are getting paid a week, month, whatever timescale. No one actually works people constantly at 80 hour weeks without paying for it (note if you aren't paying money for it you are paying in the kinds of people willing to be employed by you).



  • @CodeNinja said:

    Nope. Work for free. Don't even get comped vacation hours for it, although I am going to see if I can get Friday off. If I don't work the days I'm supposed too, during core hours (9am to 4pm), and don't have permission to miss it, I get fired. The likelihood of getting permission for the rest of the week off at this point is nill. Also, if I did skip and got fired for it, I'd possibly be denied unemployment benefits because I'd skipped work, meaning I'd loose my house and end up living behind a WalMart in a cardboard box.
     

    That sounds like completely dysfunctional relationship with your employer.

    I am salaried, as well,  but we don't usually do overtime, it's not always expected to do work more than 40 hours-- that is, it's expected that it can happen, and it's not a vile crime against humanity, but when bossman wants it, he asks if we can put in a few more hours, and log it in our timesheet application, so we can get paid for it. We usually say yes, because we're a group of humans working together, right? Sometimes we've got other engagements and it's a no go.

    I don't even know if the overtime rate is 100%, 125% or 150%, because for the few occasional hours this happens, it's really not important.

    If I consistently work less than 40 or productivity is low or whatever, I still get paid full, but it's going to show up of course, and then my supervisor's going to have a small chat with me to find out what's wrong.

    I'm basically getting a fairly employee-hostile vibe from the US, as if managers are this close to getting a company-issued whip. For whipping.



  • @dhromed said:

    That sounds like completely dysfunctional relationship with your employer.

    [snip]

    I'm basically getting a fairly employee-hostile vibe from the US, as if managers are this close to getting a company-issued whip. For whipping.


    Oh, no, no actual whipping, per se... Just let it be known that there are thousands of other people willing to do your job for less pay, so why do we keep you around, again?

    Pretty standard fare for this country, from my understanding. You get used to it.



  • @dhromed said:

    I'm basically getting a fairly employee-hostile vibe from the US
    People often observe that the US has turned into the home of the scared and the land of the fully supervised since September 2001, but it's been that way for a lot longer than that.



  • @HardwareGeek said:

    Cool. The worst of both worlds.

    Also, I'm almost certain, completely illegal. If you're exempt, you get no overtime, but you get paid for the day even if you only show up for a couple of hours. If you're hourly, then you get paid overtime.



  • @HardwareGeek said:

    @dhromed said:
    In those +40 hours, even if you don't get 150% or 200% for those hours, you get the regular salary, right? You don't work for free.
    Being salaried means you get paid $x per month. If you work 10 hours, you get paid $x (if you can keep you job working only 10 hours). If you work 40 hours, you get paid $x. If you work 100 hours, you get paid $x. Meeting or missing deadlines will naturally be a factor in bonuses (if any) and future salary changes, but hours worked doesn't matter at all to anybody (except you and your family).
     

     

    Not 100% accurate (At least not my experience - UK)
    I am contracted to do 37.5 hours a week I get paid £x for that time.
    If I work more than 37.5 hours a week, I log it and get paid for the extra time.

    Its more like the salary is the minimum that the company can pay you as long as you meet your contractual requirement with regards to the time...
    So if I work 37.5 hours Ill get paid by salary, If I work 45 Hours Ill get paid for 45 hours - If I work less than 37.5 hours then normally as long as there is a reason for it Ill get paid my normal amount (Depending on the reason of course - if I just dont turn up for a few daysI probably wouldnt be paid!)

    All in all the US seems quite a bad place to work? Or is it just a case of the small percentage who have bad employers shout the loudest making all employers seem bad?



  • @wonkoTheSane said:

    All in all the US seems quite a bad place to work? Or is it just a case of the small percentage who have bad employers shout the loudest making all employers seem bad?

    It depends. There is what the law says a firm must do and there is what a firm needs to do in order to retain talent. I mean it can be sucky if you don't have a skill set that is in demand where you are, but then you should be moving or picking up different skills.


  • Discourse touched me in a no-no place

    @wonkoTheSane said:

    All in all the US seems quite a bad place to work? Or is it just a case of the small percentage who have bad employers shout the loudest making all employers seem bad?
    Stuff like this (compare UK vs US) doesn't exactly attract me to move.



  • @Sir Twist said:

    Also, I'm almost certain, completely illegal.

    Nope, totally legal. Considering we're a government contractor, they audit us yearly, and they are fine with it. It's apparently how thing are. However, I think if the company looses it's 'small business' status, they loose the exemption. Probably explains why they are so dead-set against hiring more people.

    I would love to find a new job in a different state. Florida is not my cup of tea at all. I've been here almost 10 years and I'm dead freaking tired of it. Sadly, I bought a house at the exact wrong time, and my actual skill as an engineer is mediocre at best. Offers that would allow me to pull up stakes right now are non-existent. I could take a contractor position, but the thought of not having a guaranteed income is somewhat unsettling. Plus, I like my coworkers.


Log in to reply