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I actually did do this once for a position and I was told this was the reason they didn't hire me... LOL
They told me that they often worked 60 hour weeks and needed a "team player" who wouldn't be upset with that... I basically told them I don't mind the occasional overtime but that constant overtime and "crunch" periods were a failure of management and their inability to coordinate the project and resources appropriately. I cited several studies done over the past 5 years detailing how overtime actually reduces productivity, lowers morale, and wastes money. In my defense, I told the hiring team I am extremely organized and thoughtful of my workload and have always managed to achieve great results and accomplish all my tasks in 40 hours a week or less.
They were not very impressed! The whole interview went south after that...
EDIT: This was for a position in the video game industry where overtime/crunch is super common, but I had been in the industry for 5 years at this point and knew there were studies out there not crunching and doing great, and frankly at this point I was tired of it and almost every case was because of poorly managed teams and projects. It was a bit disappointing to not get the job because this studio was one of the biggest in my region and they work on a big game series everyone knows, but it probably would have required overtime every week so they did me a favor.
Even though everything you said was true, it is, unfortunately, not what employers want to hear. If you already have a job and are looking for a new one, you can ask or answer questions that way to determine if the job is a good fit. But when you are unemployed and you need to put food on the table, you sometimes have to do things that you don't want to do.
Most "professional" fields do not have hourly jobs as an option.
In any case, you did not answer my question. The poster 7 Wishes says that the reason why there is no reform to stop the abuse of salaried professionals is because we keep voting against our best interests. But my point is that neither party even gives lip service to improving the quality of life for white collar, rank and file professionals. So, I asked 7 Wishes who he/she thinks we should be voting for. You did not answer that question, and just gave more useless advice.
The only answer I have in regards to that question is to either push back get as much as you can done in 40 hours and set boundaries.
For the most part Salaried employees are paid to get a job done like most people have said already
You can try and push back its always important to defend your personal time off I know I would and like many other people have mention it all depends on your boss and where you work at.
How you will be treated as a Salaried Employee.
But it Also all on you as well
Some people force themselves to be working overtime for no reason when there clearly is no need.
Thats your problem not anyone elses.
Plenty of jobs are hourly ( Nurses , Electrician , Help Desk , Repair Techs, Telecom Techs, network techs , plumbers etc)
A lot of professional jobs where I work have plenty of professional paid hourly unless your a Director Or manager.
A company I worked for installed pay caps on hourly employees to keep that from happening. At one time there were hourly employees who were there 20+ years making more than the supervisors, and that was base rate not overtime. It pretty much killed off the career hourly employee. Now you either move up into management or move on, because you can't make a decent buck as hourly anymore.
And technically can't you be disciplined or even fired for refusing overtime even if you'e hourly?
I remember an episode of ER where a nurse needed more money, so she kept working overtime. Her supervisor told her that wasn't allowed. They don't have the money to pay overtime. She needs to find another job if she wants to make more money. She continued punching in for OT, and did get fired.
FWIW, you can be fired for many small, petty, and trivial things. NPR did a podcast episode where they explained you could get fired for putting up a political sticker or even something not taboo by work standards, but still doesn't jive with them. I haven't listened to it yet, but that was in the title.
I don't know about hourly, but I'm going to guess yes? At the very least, you're getting extra pay. In some jurisdictions, they may be required to pay you at 1.5x the rate
Quote:
Originally Posted by CosmoStars
Don't work a Salaried job period.
Theres plenty of Hourly Work
Huh... I didn't know it was that bad. I've put in OT in salaried positions before, but that was because I felt I needed the extra time to get the work done, or it was inconvenient for me to go home or somewhere else, and then stop by an evening event, so may as well stay in for another hour (avoid traffic too!).
I've been averaging 40 hours a week in all of my positions.
Last edited by ackmondual; 09-22-2016 at 12:19 AM..
Unfortunately, if you answer that way, you won't get hired. You may not "want" to work for a particular company, but you do need to put food on the table.
Amongst those I heard this from, I was under the impression that they were "set". They could pass up on such jobs, but could find a suitable one in a timely manner, so this actually saved them hassle. Speaking of which....
Quote:
Originally Posted by CosmoStars
idk accepting a job with bad work life balance means Im going to be leaving that job as soon as I can seems like a waste of time for the employer
There's always unemployment benefits and welfare in the mean times
Companies need to treat people like humans not robots
.... yeah, you beat me to the reply. If you're NOT in a position to pass up the job, then take it. If it turns out you really can't manage it, then look for other work. If the employer is willing to go through the hiring process over and over again, then I guess they could try to find that perfect workaholic.
I've already seen numerous cases of this, so it's IMO, it's at best a roll of the dice if the employer comes out ahead...
1) I learned that a project manager who quit did so b/c she was putting in 50 to 60 hours a week. She has 2 young kids (4 to 6 IIRC), and wanted to spend more time with them, not to mention be around to more to contributing to raising them. I heard through my coworkers that she was doing well at her new job, and didn't have to put in so many hours
2) I've seen software developers have to solo or work in smaller than ideal teams. They really needed to hire 1 to 3 more people, but no luck. Those devs ended up finding other work in other companies, or different departments, so now, the newcomers they hire will have to learn off the documentation instead of also having someone to transfer knowledge from.
Hmmm this really seems like the employer's version of the "minimum wage complaint" where some suggest upping the MW is ridiculous b/c you weren't meant to live off of it. Brushing whether or not that 's true (I'll leave that for another thread), this is similar to a company overworking employees, especially where burnout is more prominent, and expecting things to be A-OK.
At my job, we're considered salaried exempt. This means that we must be at work for our 8 hours a day, must be on 24 hour call/email availability, must work "occasional" overtime for no additional pay, and must take PTO for any absence of any duration (down to the .25/hour). Meanwhile, hourly employees earn overtime, and often through the year earn more than their supervisors. The issue we're seeing now is that people are refusing promotions because they'd make less money, and lose the ability to refuse to stay after scheduled hours if they had a prior engagement.
My experience as well.
Two of my colleagues at a former job were promoted. We were previously salaried, but were converted to hourly at the start of the year. Several staff, including myself, left, and those guys who stuck it out were clearing $2000 or more a month in OT. They finally got promoted and it was an up or out deal, and will make less than they did on five hours a week of overtime with constant on call 24x7 responsibility
I remember an episode of ER where a nurse needed more money, so she kept working overtime. Her supervisor told her that wasn't allowed. They don't have the money to pay overtime. She needs to find another job if she wants to make more money. She continued punching in for OT, and did get fired.
FWIW, you can be fired for many small, petty, and trivial things. NPR did a podcast episode where they explained you could get fired for putting up a political sticker or even something not taboo by work standards, but still doesn't jive with them. I haven't listened to it yet, but that was in the title.
I don't know about hourly, but I'm going to guess yes? At the very least, you're getting extra pay. In some jurisdictions, they may be required to pay you at 1.5x the rate
Huh... I didn't know it was that bad. I've put in OT in salaried positions before, but that was because I felt I needed the extra time to get the work done, or it was inconvenient for me to go home or somewhere else, and then stop by an evening event, so may as well stay in for another hour (avoid traffic too!).
I've been averaging 40 hours a week in all of my positions.
STOP RIGHT THERE.......
Because you felt the need not because your boss told you to.
See that's another separate issue totally different then being told to.
As for the rest of the comment it seems to be the case that most Salaried workers are often required to work more than 40 hours a week (unpaid overtime) overall it will depend where you work at that will determine how you are treated as a salaried employee but I hear this is more the norm in the USA.
I know that for IT Salaried Professionals you are expected to be on call 24/7, and be working at least 50 to 60 hours a week in most places. And instead they give you comp time but I don't like comp time.
I will always choose hourly over salary over this reason I like to have a very predictable work schedule and be paid for every single hour I work.
Being an hourly IT tech, I only work 40 hours a week. No more no less. Because after that over time kicks in. ( can't work overtime without approval)
So I am force to go home
My schedule is inflexible but thats not a bad thing because my doctor and dentist is open on weekends.
So I always have weekends and nights off.
Plus I hate having a weekday off.
A lot or our technicians ( network techs, IT contractors, Telephone technician) make good money hourly and at times rape overtime.
One of our network techs pulled in 60 hours a week so you imagine how much big money he made when there was a network outage
Last edited by CosmoStars; 09-22-2016 at 09:07 AM..
Yep. I'm salary and on day one I was told I'm expected to be in the office for a minimum of 40 hours and asked which hours I'd like to work. I was a bit confused.
The only answer I have in regards to that question is to either push back get as much as you can done in 40 hours and set boundaries.
For the most part Salaried employees are paid to get a job done like most people have said already
You can try and push back its always important to defend your personal time off I know I would and like many other people have mention it all depends on your boss and where you work at.
How you will be treated as a Salaried Employee.
But it Also all on you as well
Some people force themselves to be working overtime for no reason when there clearly is no need.
Thats your problem not anyone elses.
That is all true, but still doesn't answer the question.
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The whole interview went south after that... 
this really seems like the employer's version of the "minimum wage complaint" where some suggest upping the MW is ridiculous b/c you weren't meant to live off of it. Brushing whether or not that 's true (I'll leave that for another thread), this is similar to a company overworking employees, especially where burnout is more prominent, and expecting things to be A-OK.
