Teleworking in the ATL taking off! (Atlanta: apartment, living in, move to)

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by samiwas1

Reading threads like this always reminds me of a discussion I had with a guy on another forum:

A: "I fired 2 employees for taking a meal break when I needed them to do something;"
B: "Did they have scheduled lunches or are they just supposed to fit it in somehow with working coming in? Just wondering."
A: "I didn't give meal breaks; they're not required by Del. law."
B: "Well...you realize that workers are human right?"
A: "US only: only 19 of the 50 states require meal breaks (and there are many exceptions found in those) .. federal law does not require a meal break at all (except certain federally regulated industries) .. the only federal regulation is that any breaks must be paid if the break lasts fewer than 20 minutes"
B: "Wow. I bet you're real fun to work for. How long do your employees have to work with no meal breaks?"
A: "They worked for as long as necessary; and i was running a business not a charity."

There are some truly terrible bosses out there. Ones who need to feel powerful by taking dumps on their employees.

Yeah, none of those employers would ever have my business for long at all.

[Forhall]

Originally Posted by samiwas1

Reading threads like this always reminds me of a discussion I had with a guy on another forum:

A: "I fired 2 employees for taking a meal break when I needed them to do something;"
B: "Did they have scheduled lunches or are they just supposed to fit it in somehow with working coming in? Just wondering."
A: "I didn't give meal breaks; they're not required by Del. law."
B: "Well...you realize that workers are human right?"
A: "US only: only 19 of the 50 states require meal breaks (and there are many exceptions found in those) .. federal law does not require a meal break at all (except certain federally regulated industries) .. the only federal regulation is that any breaks must be paid if the break lasts fewer than 20 minutes"
B: "Wow. I bet you're real fun to work for. How long do your employees have to work with no meal breaks?"
A: "They worked for as long as necessary; and i was running a business not a charity."

There are some truly terrible bosses out there. Ones who need to feel powerful by taking dumps on their employees.

This is why America sucks when it comes to working. Greedy, horrible managers/owners and a complete lack of federal laws protecting workers. No mandated breaks, no mandated vacation. Even our unions are being systemically dismantled by the anti-worker, pro-corporation politicians in control.

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by Forhall

This is why America sucks when it comes to working. Greedy, horrible managers/owners and a complete lack of federal laws protecting workers. No mandated breaks, no mandated vacation. Even our unions are being systemically dismantled by the anti-worker, pro-corporation politicians in control.

Spain is usually touted as the best place to work - vacation, benefits, etc.

Sounds great.

Oh, but in 40 years the unemployment rate has never been lower than 8%, it was close to 25% around the recession and is around 15% now. For 1 in 7 who don’t have work they would probably take less vacation but have an income...

With such a low unemployment rate in the US if you’re a horrible boss you will have huge turnover. The market decides quickly.

Compare that with France and Italy where you can have the worst employees but either can’t get rid of them or you pay through the nose to sever their employment.

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by samiwas1

Reading threads like this always reminds me of a discussion I had with a guy on another forum:

A: "I fired 2 employees for taking a meal break when I needed them to do something;"
B: "Did they have scheduled lunches or are they just supposed to fit it in somehow with working coming in? Just wondering."
A: "I didn't give meal breaks; they're not required by Del. law."
B: "Well...you realize that workers are human right?"
A: "US only: only 19 of the 50 states require meal breaks (and there are many exceptions found in those) .. federal law does not require a meal break at all (except certain federally regulated industries) .. the only federal regulation is that any breaks must be paid if the break lasts fewer than 20 minutes"
B: "Wow. I bet you're real fun to work for. How long do your employees have to work with no meal breaks?"
A: "They worked for as long as necessary; and i was running a business not a charity."

There are some truly terrible bosses out there. Ones who need to feel powerful by taking dumps on their employees.

It's the name of the game though. It's just that it's gotten worse for a lot of people. I saw workers' rights and human rights mentioned. This country was built on slavery and people don't realize how much it's (the mentality) still ingrained in our society. And something interesting I want to add to this. People abroad know just how crappy worker rights are here. I was once employed by an Irish man and I'm not b.s.ing you when I say he tried to get me to sign to a salary that would have been less than minimum wage after you did the math. There is good in this world but there are a lot of wicked people out there and they are the ones who have the power (and a system that supports it).

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by markjames68

Spain is usually touted as the best place to work - vacation, benefits, etc.

Sounds great.

Oh, but in 40 years the unemployment rate has never been lower than 8%, it was close to 25% around the recession and is around 15% now. For 1 in 7 who don’t have work they would probably take less vacation but have an income...

With such a low unemployment rate in the US if you’re a horrible boss you will have huge turnover. The market decides quickly.

Compare that with France and Italy where you can have the worst employees but either can’t get rid of them or you pay through the nose to sever their employment.

Yeah, but what about countries like Denmark, Norway, etc.? I hear Germany mentioned pretty often too. I worked for a...not fast food but casual place and I thought it was nice that they provided free lunch. I soon noticed why though. There was always too much work to do and we were pressured to come off our lunch early. The lunch break might have been paid but for someone not to get a proper break after working non-stop is inhumane. The work environment was so unsafe with workers almost working back to back (not enough room for the workers to move around) and I remember getting burned because of the close proximity of the equipment. It wasn't a bad burn but I could see how it could've been worse.

[JMatl]

Originally Posted by markjames68;55391146/

You are far enough away that you rarely, if ever, meet with people face-to-face, which is ok if you know them, not so much if you've never met. There can be a lack of relationship building.

This is my situation, our office is in San Diego. My team is scattered from Philly to Chicago to Salt Lake City to Colorado Springs to various West Coast cities. We only get together out there once a year. But you're right, we all know and like each other, and it makes a huge difference.

[ATLUTD]

Originally Posted by markjames68

The problem with a place like Cheyenne is that if you lose or leave your job you need to find another one, and the next company might not be as enlightened when it comes to remote work.

I have recruiters in my LinkedIn inbox offering me opportunities to interview for fully remote gigs constantly so not a huge issue. As long as Cheyenne has internet and an airport, I can get a new job pretty easily.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by Forhall

This is why America sucks when it comes to working. Greedy, horrible managers/owners and a complete lack of federal laws protecting workers. No mandated breaks, no mandated vacation. Even our unions are being systemically dismantled by the anti-worker, pro-corporation politicians in control.

Have to agree.

However, I have never had a paid vacation and think I would feel guilty about that. How can you expect to get paid when you are not working?

[Forhall]

Originally Posted by arjay57

Have to agree.

However, I have never had a paid vacation and think I would feel guilty about that. How can you expect to get paid when you are not working?

Because that's not how paid vacations work? Your "paid time off" is factored into your overall salary package and adjusted accordingly. In a way, you are paying for your time off every other day you work by having a slightly reduced salary. That's why I get so angry when people say they feel guilty using paid time off - YOU ALREADY PAID FOR IT! You might as well say you feel guilty taking your whole paycheck and leave a bit for the employer.

As an example, I was once offered two salaries by an employer, one for 4 weeks vacation and one for 6 weeks. The 4 week was obviously a higher salary, because that's 2 extra weeks I will be working during the year. I took the 6 week option, but it demonstrates how they account for your away time with your salary package.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by Forhall

Because that's not how paid vacations work? Your "paid time off" is factored into your overall salary package and adjusted accordingly. In a way, you are paying for your time off every other day you work by having a slightly reduced salary. That's why I get so angry when people say they feel guilty using paid time off - YOU ALREADY PAID FOR IT! You might as well say you feel guilty taking your whole paycheck and leave a bit for the employer.

As an example, I was once offered two salaries by an employer, one for 4 weeks vacation and one for 6 weeks. The 4 week was obviously a higher salary, because that's 2 extra weeks I will be working during the year. I took the 6 week option, but it demonstrates how they account for your away time with your salary package.

Okay, that makes sense.