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I've mentioned this on other threads, but if your employees routinely work late, one of three things is going on: They are underqualified for their jobs, they have personal problems and don't want to go home, or you're understaffed.
I would disagree with this. Blanket statements such as this are dangerous to make. Sometimes you are correct, but other times there are legitimate needs for employees to work late. If everyone took your advice, absolutely no high tech startups would exist, as one example.
Not every salaried position is based on "40 hours per week." I question why people seem to think that once a salaried person works more than 40 hours that they are somehow working for free.
In my experience, when people are hired for a salaried position (at least once they reach a certain level) - the bottom line is getting their job done properly and on-time, the actual hours do not matter, whether it takes 35 or 45 per week.
I also find there is more flexibility in terms of one's time. As I said before, I average about 45 hours per week (sometimes a bit more around certain deadlines). But at the same time, if I want to take a long lunch to run a few errands or if I need to take a few hours for a personal matter like a doctor's appointment, to get to a game or concert after work, or just to sleep in a bit, I can just do that - I don't have to punch a clock or get approval for "time off" (I may shoot my boss or our admin a quick e-mail to let them know I'll be in a few hours late or leaving a few hours early, but it is just an FYI, not a request). At the end of the day - as long as I get my job done right and on-time, no one worries about how many hours my butt is physically behind my desk.
I would much rather be in this type of position where I may work a bit longer than others, but have a lot more personal flexibility than a clock-puncher. But, as I've also said before, this kind of set-up works for me. If others have a different take on how they structure their work / life balance - totally cool. To each their own.
Or...possibly they work with clients acrossss the country or internationally and have to adjust for those time differences. Or many people at smaller start-up companies often put in a lot more hours because they are working to get that company off the ground so it can succeed. In short, there can be many reasons why some people put in longer hours - it is not always due to poor management (by the employee and / or the management).
And most people in high level positions (VP / CEO, etc) likely did not get to that level by always working only 8 hours per day, M-F.
This is true in my case...my Director works crazy hours because we have client business in Europe and APAC which requires her to be on certain calls (me too sometimes). I am levels below her and I work at least 45 hours per week, it's just expected of anyone in the management level to work whatever necessary to get the work done. I see her working at 1am and I don't want that for myself, ever. But if you want to move forward and earn a higher salary, it is almost certainly required.
I would disagree with this. Blanket statements such as this are dangerous to make. Sometimes you are correct, but other times there are legitimate needs for employees to work late. If everyone took your advice, absolutely no high tech startups would exist, as one example.
Keyword in my post: "routinely." Once in a while for a big project, sure. It can even be an occasion for team-building, with having food brought in and so on.
As for high-tech start-ups, they are notorious for being misery factories. Many start-ups are, regardless of field. I interviewed at one in New York, a company that was developing "health care solutions." It was like stepping into a morgue. It was a big bull pen where people were hunched over computers set up on lunch tables. No one talked. No one had any photos in their workspaces. No plants. The interviewer noted that people were working 60 hours per week, sometimes more, and had been doing so for over a year. She pointed to a tissue box on the table in the conference room where we spoke and said, "Sometimes there are tears."
From what I understand, that kind of environment is not uncommon.
My attitude about that is "Yeah, right. Thank you, drive through, find another wage slave."
If they don't have the funding to pay for adequate staffing, they shouldn't be starting up. That's why so many of them fail.
Keyword in my post: "routinely." Once in a while for a big project, sure. It can even be an occasion for team-building, with having food brought in and so on.
As for high-tech start-ups, they are notorious for being misery factories. Many start-ups are, regardless of field. I interviewed at one in New York, a company that was developing "health care solutions." It was like stepping into a morgue. It was a big bull pen where people were hunched over computers set up on lunch tables. No one talked. No one had any photos in their workspaces. No plants. The interviewer noted that people were working 60 hours per week, sometimes more, and had been doing so for over a year. She pointed to a tissue box on the table in the conference room where we spoke and said, "Sometimes there are tears."
From what I understand, that kind of environment is not uncommon.
My attitude about that is "Yeah, right. Thank you, drive through, find another wage slave."
If they don't have the funding to pay for adequate staffing, they shouldn't be starting up. That's why so many of them fail.
Again, I disagree. For your typical type-A personality, what you describe would be nothing short of miserable. There are types of people (me included) who would absolutely hate the idea of working 40 hours, punching a clock and going home. The kind of people who sign up for high tech startups have a blast at it. They work because they enjoy it and love creating something new.
If you want a job just to pay the bills, then you would be right. Working 60 hours/week would be miserable. But if you want something more than money from your job, it is far from a 'misery factory'.
Hell, I a few weeks ago I called in to work from vacation on a beach because I had three hours with nothing planned and I simply enjoy my job. Your view on things only holds water if you assume people hate what they do for a living.
I've never worked more than 40 hours per week regularly. I even had one job that was only 37 weekly.
Personally I think we should go down to a 35 hour. For my job, I could personally be just as productive in 30-35. The rest is all mind-numbing downtime. Such a waste of time.
I've never worked more than 40 hours per week regularly. I even had one job that was only 37 weekly.
Personally I think we should go down to a 35 hour. For my job, I could personally be just as productive in 30-35. The rest is all mind-numbing downtime. Such a waste of time.
So why don't you get it done in 30 hours and pick up 10 more hours of work? Do more than what your job is now?
Hell, I a few weeks ago I called in to work from vacation on a beach because I had three hours with nothing planned and I simply enjoy my job. Your view on things only holds water if you assume people hate what they do for a living.
Good for you, corporate donkey. Maybe they don't hate what they do, but they have many other things they'd rather be doing than work, esp on vacation.
So why don't you get it done in 30 hours and pick up 10 more hours of work? Do more than what your job is now?
I don't even have 30 hours worth of work to do which is why I am vigilantly looking for another job. I could honestly do this job in 10 hours a week.
Its been 18 months and I am tired of begging for more work and responsibility. They just don't have anything for me to do and I'm not interested in printing things, scanning things or mailing things for people who are actually busy. My job is a total dead-end.
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