I had to start an hour early today. Boss says “Make sure to quit an hour early.” I didn’t believe it for a second.
At 4pm, boss gives me stuff to do. I kind of look at him, like I gotta go.
Boss says “You gotta go. But. . .” It’s got to get done, he wants me to stay. OK. It takes me almost another two hours to get out of there.
It’s like this all the time. In this economy, I’m glad I have a job – but man, this whole feast/famine thing gets hard when it’s just feast, feast, feast. Every now and then we’ll crank it up a notch and put in six long days in a week, instead of 5.5.
I don’t typically take time off. I don’t vacation, take trips, go camping. I just work. My idea of a break is to get Saturday morning off, but right now I’m happy not to work past noon on Saturday, having already put in at least 45 hours that week.
I can’t help myself. I’m hoping that work slows down.
Replies
I usually get abiout 65 hours a week, if I go home with less than 11 in one day, its been a slow day 5 am to 5:30pm everyday
All right, that's what I need. Perspective! Let me contemplate your toil during every minute of Overtime.
If you want perspective, go look for Boss Hog's thread in the tavern.
wuss ;0
"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking." — Sherlock Holmes, 1896
I just searched this thread out to say what you just said, but I won't say it 'cause you beat me to it.http://www.quittintime.com/ View Image
I'm humbled..........feel like shlt for Ron.
I was a bit optomistic a few weeks ago with the uptick in the market and seeing a bit more traffic in the yards and such. Past couple of weeks though, I'm not so sure. It's friggin tough out there.
"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking." — Sherlock Holmes, 1896
Hey Biff
maybe you'd like my job only work half days
6am to 6pm
"we're all in the same sinking boat so don't stop bailing"
zeeya
View Image
Bring it. Let me know what a whiner I am.
whine flu disese has been going around
If dalton hears your bitching hes shure to put a tax on you
there never was a tax a liberal couldent love
I'm happy not to work past noon on Saturday, having already put in at least 45 hours that week.
Be glad you're not self employed, that isn't even 4 days work.
Joe H
Joe said it clear.
Be thankful you didn't go on your own.
If the works there, you work even after you quit for the day.
If it's not there, you gotta work so the next morning it'll be there.
But hey, you're not on salary, no?
A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Better stay employed then...........
Working for myself was usually a 5 AM to 5 or 6 pm 5 day a week gig...................plus at least 6 hours on Saturday.
I'm sure you know this but you gotta live your life, not just work.
Have a good day
Cliffy
PS Camping is great fun
Biff, I forget, do you get paid time and a half for overtime?
Either way, don't listen to the other guys. Set up some time away for yourself. You're a great employee so your boss is taking advantage of that. Plan every other weekend away, or to work on your house, or to play video games, whatever. It's your boss's job to schedule work that at least comes close to a normal workweek. There's nothing wrong with working hard and putting in a little extra effort now and then, but it's up to you to set your own boundaries.
Now if I could just learn to follow my own advice....
I don't follow these threads alll that carefully, but were you not in another thread whining about cleaning a truck? Holy chit!!!
Edited 6/10/2009 9:15 pm ET by jayzog
Man is your life rough! Hour early huh? Clean truck? Couple hours over? What a tough deal.
Personally I miss the bankers hours I had when self employed. 6AM to 7pm generally speaking but only till noon or so on Saturday.
Now? The corporate gravy train. 6AM till 5PM most days. A few hours over occasionaly. Last week? Saturday 7 hours and a few times in the last couple months I just stayed over since it is and hour drive each way and I had to cover the night shift. All salary so no such thing as OT.
I know I know. You think I got it made. Well read Boss' thread. Tell me again how bad you got it. DAnT
wow 45 hours... never ever become self employed because you will look back on those 45 hour weeks with nostalgia. As for vacations.... why the heck wouldnt you take them? Just schedule it and give boss dude the heads up so he can work around it.
I've been self employed for over 3o years. I think the # of long vacations I've had (a week or more) is below 6 in that time. I made a decision some years back that I was going to work only 5 days a week if I could. Most of the time I can do that, sometimes I can't.
We are a work oriented society and very driven. It's a main goal for most people to get up and go to work every day. Generally people work more so that they can gain more so that they can have more. Or they work harder in order to keep up the lifestyle that they have lived all their lives or that they strive to have. Whether they realize it or not, they can cut back with what they own, have & do, and work less. They could have a lot more free time if they were more frugal and made other decisions.
Then there are those who rise to the responsibility that is upon them for whatever reason. ie. single parents, handicapped partner or child, elderly dependent etc., and they work their fingers to the bone in order to do the right thing. Yeah....they have a choice. If they chose not to work or work the extra time, then it would have dire consequences for others.
Then there are the jobs & careers that don't make as much money and folks have to put in the 45 + hours a week in order to "bring home the bacon".
Then there are others who love their work and are married to it, and they really don't do it so much for the money, (even though that may be necessary), as they do for the love of the job. If it's not affecting others in a bad way, (people at home), then they are the lucky ones.
If you don't need the extra work (money), then choose not to do it. Be ok with that choice and don't complain. People are hearing you complain here and it really sets them off because they have had to work extra....maybe all their lives. That may be their choice. Or it may not be their choice if they ultimately want to keep their jobs, and they may be feeling like you that they don't want to work all those long extra hours, but they do anyways. They learn to live with what they have and who they are.
You have to make a decision. No, you don't have to work the extra time, but what would that mean, and how are you going to deal with any consequences of that decision? What would you do with the time you would be working those extra hours if you chose not to? There is a price to pay for every decision we make ultimately.
Of course you could learn to live with it, flip it over in your head and do some things with yourself as far as what work means to you. Goals? What are they and what do they mean, now and in the future?
I can see by your profile that you're relatively young and that's really great. You have more time to change things if needs be.
Personally I think we are driven by the almighty buck way too much and also think we are caught by it. I will be the first to admit to that. It starts from the top. Capitalism has its good sides and some awful dark sides.
But if you look at it, most of it is a choice we individuals make. I think we do ultimately work too much for our own gain and end up forcing ourselves to smell a flower or lay in the fields and watch the clouds, or do for others in need.
Excellent commentary. It is almost always about our own personal choices.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
After growing up on a dairy farm I found a regular job to have many less hours and much more free time.
I have been laid off since January.
Wanna trade?
I'll even wash the truck.
Edit to add:
If you are being paid for your extra time every week, and if you still don't like working over 40 hours... then you have to make a decision.
If you are an hourly employee, and you are putting in time and not being paid for it... well, lo and behold, there is a decision.
If you are paid salary, and fit the definitions of an exempt employee (supervises others, etc)... darnit, another decision. Maybe you are worth more than what you asked for.
If you are paid salary, and do not fit the definition of an exempt employee... there is that decision again.
I have yet to find the "perfect boss" or "perfect employer".
I have tried both sides of the spectrum, and the middle. Do nothing extra... do everything I can or give a little/take a little... in the end, the result has been the same for me... searching for another employer... yet, I know others that consistently come in late, leave early, take a long lunch, do as little as possible... that are still employed.
I guess, at some point, you will have to decide <<< there it is again :) where the line is between you and your boss. Where does the reasonable definition of "being a good employee" end and where does "being taken advantage of" start? That line is something that only you can draw, and then deal with the consequences of doing something... or of doing nothing.
$.02
Edited 6/12/2009 7:13 am ET by danski0224
I hear ya bro. Getting wore down myself. I want to take two weeks in a row and get myself readjusted. Probably only going to get a week though.
For the record I love being an employee though. I just have to make it happen. I don't have to stress over finding something to make happen, or billing after I make it happen. I can just go home shower my cares away and do a couple laps in the pool with my huge noodle.
New tagline almost ready.
probably just a small pool.
It's all in the angle you take the picture from.
New tagline almost ready.
...or the temperature of the water.
Yeah, but my camera's only good down to 3 meters.
I used to rent a small house on a dairy farm, one man operation. Mr. Ballard was up at 4:30AM, out in the barn by 5:00 to do the milking. He stayed out there for about two and a half...three hours, then began maintenance work around the farm or planting crops or running the manure spreader or getting hay or whatever needed tending to.
I'd often see the blue glow of the arc welder out there, day or night. Ballard had old equipment that needed regular repairs and he did it all himself.
He had lunch at noon then he usually went back to work again. Maybe one afternoon a week he'd go shopping with his wife for an hour or two.
Late in the afternoon he'd go get the cows back into the barn and begin milking again. He'd generally get done about 7:00PM, then wash up and have supper with his wife. Sometimes he'd have to go back to the barn to tend to a sick cow or calf or to stand watch with a cow that was about to drop a calf.
He followed that schedule, six days a week, fifty-two weeks a year. On Sunday he'd get up at the same time, do the milking then get cleaned up and go to church with his family. After church they'd usually spend the day together, until milking time.
So let's see, that's a minimum of thirteen hours a day, six days a week, plus five-six hours on Sundays. This isn't the entire work picture either, just the physical part. Lots of paperwork and phone business too.
He was able to cut back on the hours during the winter, to between eight and ten a day, for a few months. He told me that he loved his farm and the work but that if he didn't have the slow time in the winter to recouperate, he'd didn't believe that he could do it.
I never imagined that I could do what he did, no matter how much I loved it.
I've worked on difficult union jobs which went for ten hours a day, six days a week. I've done a few long hard days on my own jobs too, over twelve hours.
Like those older men who taught me, I learned to pace myself, keeping my mind at rest and my attention on guarding my energy, by relaxing the tension in my shoulders and keeping a smile on my face. It's like being slightly buzzed, without the loss of sensory awareness.
Edited 6/11/2009 7:38 pm by Hudson Valley Carpenter
It was probably rare that you heard him complain...
Thats a real hero. The type that takes care of everything for their family but doesn't care for themselves, and then one day they're gone. My uncles were like that. Miss them.
It was probably rare that you heard him complain...
I don't recall ever hearing a complaint from him about his life, though he did have strong opinions about one thing or the other. That went along with his independent ways and his strength of purpose.
He always had a smile for me whenever I walked into the barn during evening milking, which I did fairly often. There was a lot to be learned, being around him. He was patient about the rent too, whenever work was hard to find.
Very glad to have had his friendship.
Edited 6/12/2009 1:49 pm by Hudson Valley Carpenter
My parents had a dairy farm and during the summer we spent 8 hours each day milking cows. In addition we usually put up about 300 tons of hay. We liked going to school because it meant our morning was cut short from 3:30 AM to about 6:15 AM because we caught the bus at 6:40 AM. The evenings were usually from 3:30 to 8:00 or 8:30. If calves were being born that often meant we had to get up in the middle of the night to help. I attribute a lot of my success as a result of knowing that I will get through the times when times are tough and demanding. There were many times that I was tired but somehow I still seemed to get good grades. In addition I learned a lot about machinery and tools. That sort of thing will keep any kid out of trouble. There is not any time to get ion trouble.Looking back it is much like medicine. It tastes terrible but you are glad for it.
Edited 6/12/2009 12:47 pm by gb93433
thats like I hate my job, been doing it for 25 years, 4 months, seven day and about eight hours. but I am really good at it. I have never like my job, never had any intrest in it. people at work start talking about work, I start thinking of jeeps, motorcycle houses etc, anything but work.Only problem, I hate that other guy job more than mine.
Yeah but sometimes the grass really is greener elsewhere.
Lots of people use difficult times and long hours as their main motivation to learn and grow...get beyond that to something that's closer to their own aims, not their parents' or their boss's idea of what they should be doing.
And some of us struggle, no matter which way we go.
Since my name was brought up I figured I'd comment. I've also had times in my life where I wish everyone would get off my back and I could have a few days off. And during those times I'm sure there were others around me who didn't have jobs and wish they had one. Life isn't always fair. I'm not at all upset because you're busy and I'm not. That's just the way things go.I suppose you should be thankful that you're busy, and I should be thankful that I'm getting a break from the stress. But you know how it is - The grass is always greener....
I understand that well. Certainly not paying our bills and the trouble it would bring would not be very nice.
Brownbagg - your post just brought me up short. Knowing how experienced and skilled you are at your trade, I somehow assumed it was a passion for you - or that you at least enjoyed it. There are all sorts of reasons to do jobs you don't like and probably the majority of people working today don't like their job, but those people generally don't get very good at them. You have just gone up in my estimation.
Biff,
I'm with Mike Maines on this one -
It didn't sound to me like you were complaining - just wondering how to respond to a boss who you feel is taking advantage of you. My two cents is to take the bits of perspective that make sense to you that some folks offered here. And disregard the criticism. Just because someone works ten, eleven, twelve hours a day six days a week doesn't make them any wiser - or better - than you.
If you're working hard, feel good about that - and sure, feel grateful for the job. But don't let folks here pummel you into feeling shamed for not wanting to be taken advantage of. Like other folks said - self preservation is a choice...I'd say if you're contemplating it, what it means and how to do it, then you're probably in a good place.
It might be worth having a conversation with your boss, though. Tell him you're grateful for the work, but that you'd appreciate being given the opportunity to finish up when he says you'll be able to. Like any good boss knows, his success - and the success of his company - depends on your success. Successful here might mean productive, efficient, and being highly motivated. If you're a solid, hard-working employee, part of his job is to make sure those things can happen for you.
Chris
Ok everyone - I had my knickers in a knot because the boss, in the morning, insisted that I should take off an hour early because I started early, then went back on it. I ended up missing dinner with my wife's family. That kind of thing happens a lot.I work for an outfit that pretty much assumes you'll be there when needed. "I have to be somewhere" doesn't cut much ice. And who am I? Am the supervisor, am I the guy in charge? Do I have a vested interest? No - I'm a laborer. When I was hired, I was told "We work one or two Saturdays a month," when the reality is way, way off.All this normally isn't an issue, but I had a moment when everything looked dark and stormy.I'm a complainer. I'll admit it. If you look at my family, I come from a long tradition of complainers. But I have a rental property that needs maintenance, my house needs a lot of attention, I'm in the middle of moving my laundry room and of course all my friends and family want a piece of me because I'm "handy."Quitting time is not 'Miller time' for me, and I don't care how some of you take care of your extra-curricular responsibilities. There have been weeks when I'm at my rental until 10 pm every day to keep the place in order. If I worked 12 hours a day, I'd sell all my tools and buy a condo.Bite me.
I literally grew up on a jobsight and have listened to
the old timers mouth off like this the whole time. Up hill both ways in a snowstorm- yada yada yada... screw em. You work to live not live to work.
So, if the job is messing up your "real" life
you have every right to bitch. It's a hell of a lot more justified then then all
the petty infighting and political bitching that goes on
around here.
Hey, Biff-
just consider all the advise you've gotten to be worth what you've paid for it LOL
Hey Biff, try this.
Work your butt off, plan you life accordingly.
or
plan your life, bring it to the boss's attention and then work your butt off. If he lets you go over it, take it like a well planned man.
There is a place for you in the whole scheme of things. Figure it out and do it. You're not the only one in a pinch. The answer is somewhere in the middle.
this from an old guy.
and a dumb carpenter.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Sheesh, Cal
if yer a dumb carpenter, that must make a lot of us morons. <G>
I would never think that.
I'm old.
You pick things up.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Somehow, I can't think of you as just a dumb carpenter. I don't think you are now, or ever were.
And as far as picking things up? Like you, I work by myself. Who else is gonna pick things up <G>
I worked around a mason the other day.
His ''boy'' was doing what ''boys'' do.
Except for driving around and having to listen to him blab, looked like a nice added touch.
Especially at the end of the day.
He won the paint chips in the garden tho.
Me-0
Mason-thousands.
His boy ain't gonna be happy with that one.A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
There's times when I still think it'd be nice to have a helper again. Like when its the end of the day, and I have to schlep all the tools I spent all day carrying up to the second (or third) floor jobsite back down to my van.
<G>
Took me two hours to clean up friday. One of those all of the tools out of the truck days, plus owners coming in for the w/e pick up the dropcloths, super cleanup plus the driveway and garage.
Then I got home and discovered that I forgot to leave them an invoice.
"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking." — Sherlock Holmes, 1896
and of course all my friends and family want a piece of me because I'm "handy."
This is a problem for everyone who has a marketable skill or a professional degree. If you can't give them a simple "NO", then explain your priorities to them as you have here. Tell them that you'll get to their job when you've finished all your own work. And tell them that you'll give them a good price because they had to wait.
Be ready to defend that decision because many people will tell you that their problem is much more pressing than anything else. I'd just tell them that if it's that important that they should be prepared to pay someone to take care of it. A good backup to that answer is having a few business cards of other tradespeople to hand them.
On another note: I've seen families who have a particular bad habit, like you said about complaining in your family. Some families are very critical, which is even worse, IMO. The only way to break that cycle is to make the decision to pay attention to what you think and say, stopping yourself from complaining, then using the energy that was headed in that direction to make fun of yourself or tell someone a joke.
It's all energy and you control the flow, so change it's direction to something opposite, something positive, something creative.
Best wishes, Peter
Funny how much our viewpoint is shaped by comparing our situation those around us.
A guy I knew who grew up in the Great Depression (not this one--the last one) said, "I didn't mind eating sow belly when everybody else was eating sow belly, but it started to bother me when some of them started to eat pork chops."
And then there are those who'd love to have a little sow belly once in a awile.
And then there are those who'd love to have a little sow belly once in a awile.
Sounds like the voice of experience there.
I'll trade ya for 3 months, after that we'll both want our jobs back.
I work a couple of days a week at my own business, then when I'm home the work never ends.
Today I'm running conduit and wiring for a security light and outlet in the back yard (to keep the critters out of our vegetables at night), helping my daughter review for her Biology and Geometry Finals, cook dinner and maybe get to watch the basketball game with DH before I pass out.
Wish I had a wife to take care of everything while I go out and work my 10 hrs, come home to a nice dinner and a couple hours of boob tube before it starts all over again.
Someone once said that if you sat around a table with a bunch of people and everyone put their problems on the table, you'd take your own back.
yeah..yeah everyone 's got their one-up them story..... BFDAnd we wonder why we don't get more people in the trades1. he's venting a little..and he seems willing to learn and take advice. That's half the battle right there2. he's an hourly employee...and we all know from experience ain't nobody cares about the company the owner does, if ya don't believe it ask the owner3. I'm thinking his boss needs to learn to schedule better so it's not always an emergency...or raise his prices4. we all need down time.Let's nurture the young fella till he gets in a little deeper. like the concrete up to his chest at least5. many of ya moaning about your hours wouldn't change it for anything...well maybe a winning lottery ticketnow about my sob ...er I mean..........I can top ya all. ;)
Barry E-Remodeler
Thank You!!!
Excellent response.
The best reward for a job well done is the opportunity to do another.
"now about my sob ...er I mean..........I can top ya all. "So long as one maintains a sense of humor about themselves the earth still spins and the sun also rises.
very true or unfortunately true? can't stop time :)
Barry E-Remodeler
Boss says.....
There's your problem. If you're working that hard do it for yourself, not for someone else who's basically a middle man.
I went that route in 1981 (now wait!!!, I temporarly blanked out. What was the economy like in '81?).
Best move I ever made.
Runnerguy
The people yelling at you here would be the same people to complain if a customer treated them the way your boss is treating you. You are not wrong. You are simply an employee, not a partner. You agreed to work set hours and your boss should know enough to schedule set hours. Working the occasional extra hour is fine, but when it becomes a habit it's too much. That type of job would wear someone down.
And just because you have work while other are unemployeed doesn't change a thing. I've been both an employee and a boss in the past and I certainly work longer and harder for myself than any company I've been a part of. That's because I was simply an employee and not a partner. I've been in your same situation and decided enough was enough. I stopped working the extra hours. I went back to our original agreement wether they liked it or not. Killing yourself for someone else just isn't worth it. Vic
Because of the way things are right now, just like the truck thread, you are going to get loaded down with stories about how bad other people have it. At the risk of seeming callous, that really doesn't have anything to do with your situation. Bad economic times are not an excuse for people top take advantage of you. What should you put up with? 70 hours? Why not 80? I also wonder if your boss is suffering, or is he doing quite well working you all those hours?
Comparing your situation to being self employed is also apples and oranges. The time people put into building their own businesses comes with the autonomy to make their own choices, control their own future and the potential for profit not wages.
I'm still troubled by your characterization in the truck thread of workers as eating at their employers table. An equally valid way to look at it is that your boss lives on the difference in the amount he charges for your work and what he pays you.
I'm already regretting jumping into this one. Mike maines had it right: Try and live a full balanced life now. I can't imagine you will spend much time in your old age regretting not having worked longer hours.
What should you put up with? 70 hours?Because the job got to get done, if you want it done right got do it yourself.Now it be nice if we had a government regulation that force company to work only 40 hours but then that be big government and stripping the capitalism system. which we cannot have. Also it be a force poverty.I bet Obama has thought about it
Biff,
as others have pointed out to you---it's about choices.
if you don't want to work 45-50 hours a week( hardly an excessive amount of work BTW)------ then find a different job---one that only needs you say 33 hours a week.
despite what others here may tell you----it's not your boss's responsibility to adjust HIS schedule to suit your envisioned lifestyle-- it's really not.
If you would be happier in another situation---then make it happen.
Remember when you tried to start up a handyman type business and couldn't quite make a go of it?--- Remember that you took this apprentice-type job to increase your skills and learn more about what it takes to run a business?--well--this is what it's about
If you want something different---well then it's up to YOU to make it happen--it's really nobody elses responsibility
BTW--- on a side note: company truck and plenty of reasonably paid work-----and you are unhappy?---- is it possible you are someone who isn't happy---unless he is "unhappy" ? ( I have 5 siblings like that!,LOL)
Best wishes to you-----and remember---it's YOUR responsibility to shape your life.
stephen
That's a wonderfully concise and brotherly expression of the facts. Thanks for showing us how reveal the truth, with love and respect.
Hudson valley carpenter,
I think Biff is probably a good guy- and I have a pretty high opinion of him--
I also think a particular job IS what that job IS if it's not a good fit for a particular individual--- then the individual should look for a better fit.
biffs' job--- sounds like what a lot of people would like to have----- if it's not the right one for him--- no value judgements--- but maybe the right one for HIM is somewhere else all in all it sounds like pretty standard fare for life in someone elses small businessInterestingly------ if I could have found a gig like that--when i was 18-19-- i would have been happy as a pig in mud--- and probably would have never started my own gig
At the time-- I wanted to find a guy like Mike Smith to work for----- couldn't find that situation-----and,well 30 years later---and 20/20 hinsd sight----- it's a good thing I didn't find Ohio's version of Mike Smith-- i have been able to do things for my family---that i don't think would have been possible in a regular employment situation with my limmited skill base biff will evolve into the right set up for HIM, eventuallystephen
Stephen,
On the other hand, and I say this because Biff reminds me a lot of myself, oh, five years ago, he may just need to learn to set his own boundaries.
I'm a bit of a workaholic, and when I was self employed I worked long hours for not enough pay. Eventually I realized that there were advantages to being an employee. Because I still wanted to get a lot done, prove myself, help out the team, etc., I worked anywhere from five to twenty hours of overtime each week, not charging for fixing my own mistakes or taking longer than I though I should have to complete a job.
It wasn't required, requested, and in retrospect, it actually wasn't appreciated. The culture at the company where I work is to have a balanced life, and people rarely work overtime. I didn't realize it, but I was seen, to some degree, as a sucker who kissed butt and/or cost the company money by working extra, and made the other employees look bad at the same time.
Now that I'm doing design and project management for the same company, I still get more stuff, and a wider range of stuff, dumped on my desk than my coworkers do. I still work more hours than I should because I can't let go of that feeling that if I don't get my projects done on time then there won't be work for the carpenters, and we'll all loose our jobs. Truth is though, work would still be there, people can wait, and it's ok to have a life. People who are willing to work hard and who can be relied on to do a variety of different things, like Biff, should be valued as employees, but some people will keep asking for more and it's up to the individual to say "I have a life, sorry." It doesn' necessarily mean that the company isn't the right one for them. I feel very fortunate to work where I do. It's really a life lesson, and Biff may be respected for it, to leave work at the agreed upon time.
all in all it sounds like pretty standard fare for life in someone elses small business
I'm in a agreement with you on every point, particularly this one. And I believe that's what most of those responding had in mind, jobs when the pressure to yield to the boss's needs make for some inner conflicts which were hard to live with or resolve.
One thing that helped me was learning what the state labor laws said about overtime. On one occasion, after a full eight hours of hard work, the boss ordered me to go with his son to take care of something that had come up.
I told him, in a respectful tone, that the state labor law required him to ask me if I was willing to work more than eight hours. That changed our relationship entirely and freed me up from the feeling of servitude that he was trying to impose on me.
Edited 6/12/2009 11:36 pm by Hudson Valley Carpenter
If an employee tends to think like an employer and what an employer would like it makes a lot of difference in an employee's attitude and viewpoint.
we have some co workers that think, gimme, gimme, gimme
My first thought was "He obviously doesn't work for himself if he gets off that easy."
Don
The Glass Masterworks
"If it scratches, I etch it!"
Maybe he's learned to bid, schedule and price himself better that all the proud "I work 100hours a week" guys? Vic
Anyone who consistently has to work excessive hours doesn't have a viable business. They are subsidizing something that doesn't work with their labor.
Edited 6/14/2009 7:24 pm ET by fingersandtoes
Exactly. The goal should be more money and less hours worked. I've also found most production is lost in the office and not in the field. Sometimes if you actually let the guys doing the work do the work, everyone gets to go home on time. Vic