My boss expects me too work 80-100 hours a week, because she does.
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Start sending your resume out, this job is not going to workout in the long haul might as well cut it short.
It always amazes me there are people that exist to work and not think about their rate. I had to remind a colleague this and he was too stubborn. His idea is that the harder he works eventually it will pay off and lead to higher salary. I can give him many examples of people who work less and get higher pay through leverage rather than through tugging along.
He sounds like a former co-worker of mine who would simply never LEAVE. Even after his shift had ended and his guys (he was a supervisor) would go home , he would still be out there doing projects and watching the machines. I had to step in multiple times when he tried to direct my staff and I told the maintenance manager to get him out of there when he finished with his shift.
When the company closed, this guy couldn't understand WHY he was laid off like the rest of us who worked normal hours and who had regular lives.
The changes that you are proposing, however reasonable that they may be, are going to take a while to implement. Delegating is great in theory, assuming you delegate the right things to the right people and supervise them properly. Same with changing manager behavior on dealing with issues. However, the point is, you don't get to just flip a switch and its working perfectly. You will have to deal with the transition, and up until that point you're probably going to have to put in the heavy hours.
Also, I have a feeling its going to be difficult to change the mindset of your boss...unless she is completely not the norm in the environment there, even with things running great.
I think it really depends on the people underneath you. If you know they handle the duty it's one thing but if you are not familiar with them (working just 3 week in the job) it could set you up for headache.
The problem with this situation is if the boss expect 80-100 hour a week and something goes wrong , whether it's ones fault or not, the blame is going to be due to lack of work ethic.
In my new role, I have a massively flexible schedule and a big staff. I have 2 layers of managers beneath me and a large hourly staff.
My boss, in so many ways, hinted about me working the same numbers of hours as she did when she was in the position. Although I'm not required to work like that, she thinks that what it takes to do that job. (it doesn't)
My assessment is, she's not very efficient with her time nor are the managers and staff being fully utilized.
I've been on the gig for 3 weeks and there is no need to work 80-100 hours doing this job. This job can be done, easily in 40 hours and I plan to do it in 40 hours. I'm going to rebalanace the hourly staff duties and delegate more duties to all of my subordinate management staff. In addition, I'm going to require the managers to manage not "jump in and get their hands dirty".....unless there is a EXTREME case. Otherwise managers need to manage, follow -up, and oversee the work flow is being completed.
Any who, I got off on track a little.......all that to say, working 100 hour weeks is unhealthy for me. I need to eat good home cooked meals, work out and have down time.
My boss is out of shape, eats crap for lunch and smokes. 100 work weeks will do that to you. No thank you.
Rocco,
Based on what you've said, I agree with your assessment on the situation, and I think ultimately what you intend to do is what you should do.
However, I would advice taking a slightly different approach. While it seems that you could probably do the work in 40 hours, I don't think you should start making these huge changes after being in this position in just three weeks. If you start making these changes so quickly and it works, you will make her look terribly bad. She would also feel threatened by you. Your relationship with her would most likely be forever damaged. It sounds that she is either senior or executive management... So she is mostly here to stay. She probably has seniority. Being that she is still your boss, that is not in the position you would want to be, and you don't want to inadvertently burn any bridges. You do not want to have your boss as an enemy.
I think you should should be smart about the transition by introducing small changes that would gradually decrease that 80+ hours a week. If possible, make her part of those changes even if it means you guide her into coming up with the idea for those changes. It would be a whole lot easier to implement these changes with her at your side. Doing it this way is not only smart and would most likely be more productive, it is also professional courtesy. The people under you will not take these changes lightly, so having her on your side is a big plus.
A 100 hour work week is working 14-hour days 7 days a week, or 20-hour days 5 days a week. Nobody does that. (Except your boss. She's nuts.)
Seriously. How do these people wash their underwear? Does she brush her teeth at night?
I put in a solid 40-45. I'm VERY productive. I'm quick with my work, and truly focus while I'm there. I have a work phone and I can bring my laptop home. I check my e-mail on my cell after I go to the gym (around 5:30-7:00). I may respond to an e-mail or two quick, but that's only so I'm not overwhelmed by the inbox in the morning. It takes me about 5 minutes. Helps me start fresh.
If something needs to be done, I will work late, but this is very rare. I have a boss who believes in balance (for example, if I want to fly home for a week and work from home, he allows this) and making the most of your time.
No amount of money is worth consistently working 80 hours a week. Exceptions happen, deadlines need to be met, customers need tending to. Unless someone is going to die (I'm not a healthcare provider, so nope!), I'm not dedicating my life to the office. If they need someone working 60 hours, hire me another part time assistant, or another full timer to get even MORE done. I am not functional after working several 15 hour days. I value my exercise and sleep. I get migraines when I'm tired.
I can see how people put in long hours if they have a PASSION for their work, like if you own your own family business and you balance your job with fun. However, for the most part, I notice small businesses around me have very limited hours, and always close on time.
Unless your work makes you jump for joy, not worth it. You only have one life, enjoy it. Your health and time is precious.
I have worked with two people who worked 80-100 hours a week regularly. I don't mean that they worked these hours under deadlines and special circumstances, but that 80-100 hours a week was a normal work week for them.
The first one was unbelievably, painfully, agonizingly slow. I mean s-l-o-w. His 80 hour work week consisted of 20 hours of work. He required an 80 hour work week to accomplish what a normal, efficient human being would accomplish in 20 hours. Of course, he constantly complained about how HUGE his workload was and how stressed out he was. He wore his "80 hour work week" like some kind of merit badge and always wanted to whine about his long hours.
The second one had OCD. He wasn't slow like the first one, but he did things over and over and over and over and over again. So in the end, he also completed 20 hours of work over 80-100 hours. It was just that he had redone the work 6-8 times at lightning speed during that long work week. Of course, he too constantly complained about how overloaded and stressed out he was. He ended up with heart problems before he even turned 30, but he also wore the "I worked more hours than you" merit badge very proudly.
So whenever someone quantifies their work in hours instead of actual accomplishments, I really take it with a grain of salt. It's usually intentional, because they want to be able to state, "I work 80 to 100 hours a week!" to everyone within range, rather than an actual requirement of the job. In the end, it usually indicates that they can't manage time very well, or that there's some kind of mental imbalance at work.
My wife experienced the opposite of this a few years back.
She was working a salaried position, and the expectation was that she would usually work 40 hours a week, though occasionally a few more hours would be needed, like if a special project or event was happening.
The reality was that the position had way too many duties, and it was impossible to complete in 40 hours a week. My wife is not lazy or a slow worker either. The fact was that the woman who had held the job before her was single and had no kids...she was an older woman, and the job was her life. She would happily take on any duties thrown her way.
My wife ended up taking a new job after a year, and her employers acknowledged that the job and compensation would have to be re-evaluated after she left.
Working 80-100 hours a week? That is insanity and a great recipe for poor health and early death. No thanks.
That's what just happened to me. Started a new job and found out after I started they expected me to work 60+ hours/week. There were far too many duties that couldn't be done in a 40 hour, or even 50 hour work week. Others goofed off half the time and would put in 12 hours for the OT, they loved that. I've never worked that way. I go to work to work, not goof off, gossip or anything else. They made sure to make life miserable the 8 weeks I was there until finally I became so frustrated with the whole thing I quit. They needed to hire another person or 2, but of course they wouldn't.
I have worked with two people who worked 80-100 hours a week regularly. I don't mean that they worked these hours under deadlines and special circumstances, but that 80-100 hours a week was a normal work week for them.
The first one was unbelievably, painfully, agonizingly slow. I mean s-l-o-w. His 80 hour work week consisted of 20 hours of work. He required an 80 hour work week to accomplish what a normal, efficient human being would accomplish in 20 hours. Of course, he constantly complained about how HUGE his workload was and how stressed out he was. He wore his "80 hour work week" like some kind of merit badge and always wanted to whine about his long hours.
The second one had OCD. He wasn't slow like the first one, but he did things over and over and over and over and over again. So in the end, he also completed 20 hours of work over 80-100 hours. It was just that he had redone the work 6-8 times at lightning speed during that long work week. Of course, he too constantly complained about how overloaded and stressed out he was. He ended up with heart problems before he even turned 30, but he also wore the "I worked more hours than you" merit badge very proudly.
So whenever someone quantifies their work in hours instead of actual accomplishments, I really take it with a grain of salt. It's usually intentional, because they want to be able to state, "I work 80 to 100 hours a week!" to everyone within range, rather than an actual requirement of the job. In the end, it usually indicates that they can't manage time very well, or that there's some kind of mental imbalance at work.
There are definitely those type of people, but there are jobs that 60-80 hours is well... normal for a portion or more of the year.
When you're at those types of jobs, you don't have much of a choice, you work the hours or find something else.
as far as how you do other things like laundry etc.... its difficult. I have been married for most of the time I had those types of hours, she did the laundry, most of the cleaning etc. Dry cleaning I could drop off or pick up on the way to work, you don't worry about food much, you order at work. You have a hard time seeing friends and family, it sucks. Always tired and run down etc.
My ex sociopathic boss used to work 60+ hours a week. She wasn't married and wore her rings on her right hand (married to her job). She never took lunch and always scheduled meets during lunch so I'd either have to eat at 11:00AM or 2:00 PM. She was pissed that I didn't put in the same hours as her. Yeah that job didn't last long...
Whatever her problem is, don't make it become your problem. You're absolutely right that she's living a very unhealthy lifestyle. At the end of the day, if you don't have your health, you won't have anything. If that's how she chooses to live her life, that's her business. As long as you're getting the work done, don't stress yourself out because she feels you should be working longer hours. That's insane. You'll probably out live her. That wasn't nice. But you know what I mean.
Ignore her little comments and if it really comes down to it, ask her if there's something that's not getting done.
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