People who are salaried and don't mind working over 40 hours. (degree, middle class)

[Ultrarunner]

Just last week I was called in to discuss an incident...

A critical delivery of medical supplies was delayed... the driver called me at home as I had been management... and still cover emergency alarms.

Driver said he wanted to know if anyone would be there to receive at 9 pm... it would take 20 minutes to deliver... tops (I live 10 minutes away)

I told the driver I would be there and please come... we had cases the next day and did not want to be caught short...

I went in and received the shipment and let the OR manager and Administrator know the order arrived... just as I had done for decades... remember taking care of the patient is first.

My Boss asked if I was trying to get her fired??? Which most definitely and categorically NO...

The right answer apparently would have been receiving is now closed and doesn't open until 8 am tomorrow...

The ironic part is that answer last year would have resulted in a reprimand...

Sometimes you can't win or no good deed goes unpunished...

I'm very proud of my record... in 26 years no case was ever cancelled because of a problem with facilities and if we needed a certain item I would get it... even if by courier of getting in my car to get it...

Lifetime habits die hard... it is now prohibited to source ANY supplies outside of the supply chain and we cannot borrow or loan items even within our own organization if it is at another site.

[iamweasel]

Originally Posted by Berteau

Right. It only "shows" you are committed. It's all for show as long as everything is done.

Not always.

There is different levels of "doing your job," you know? Some jobs you can do in 40-hours but doing it in that amount of time may only result in a "C" or "B" grade from your superiors. That would be good enough to remain employed and you could do that for your whole career.

With a little more time and effort, though, you may be able to make the results an "A" grade. That will open things up for future promotions, raises, etc.

[brownbagg]

my boss is salary and he doesnt mind working overtime for free, because he get paid very well. if he was on hours he never get close to his salary mark, so i guess its how much you make. or are you one of those that think there are entitled to every penny possible.

[bobspez]

1. If working an extra half hour can make the next day easier and more relaxed, it can be worth it.
2. Depending on rush hour congestion, you might leave a half hour later and get a more enjoyable commute.
3. It depends how invested you are in your job, and in performing better than others.

[Ringo1]

I used to work overtime all the time and didn't mind it. I loved my job and I had a lot of company staying late at the office; we were all young and just getting started. We would order Pizza and just make a fun night of it.


NOW . . after 30 years have passed and I'm on the way down instead of on the way up - it's not nearly as much fun. I resent it lots of times.


But . . if I don't put some week-end hours in - I can barely survive!

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by Berteau

Well I wasn't taking about situations where you have to make up for lost productivity that is your fault. I'm talking about jobs where the standard hours are greater than 40 and the people who don't want to go home and don't mind or like working more. I thought I was clear on that.

Some of us thrive on work. I always have.
It paid off for me. In fact I was drawn to sales because there was no one to clock me in or out.

Long hours; travel; it all worked for me.
I'm retired now.

[Pragmaticus]

I am a manager for highly technical team that does advanced applied research work, 70% of the staff I oversee have PhD the rest masters. I consider myself a lead not a manager per se as I am equally qualified as the staff I oversee and enjoy our collaborative work. I am not sure how much hours I actually put in per week, never bothered to figure that out even. Why should I? I love what I do. I do a lot of additional works for my intellectual satisfaction and to keep up with the state of the science not because I am required to from my job. This usually are writing scientific papers based on the work for my company.

Several years ago, lots of my friends/college mates were asking me why I put so much "work" which is not in my job description. But I do love what I do. After doing enough time and putting my name in many scientific journals, now my name pop up whenever someone search about the topic in my area of specialization and I get free invitation to give talks in many places, where I take my family and use it as vacation and just enjoy the place, family vacation paid for. Those extra hours I put earlier in my career actually paid off big time. Upper management saw this and rewarded me with promotion. I have now the most flexible work/schedule for me and my talented staff. We get the work done. Nobody bothers at what time we get in or leave office as we can do work from remote too. Boy, that flexibility is priceless!

My staff do the same. I don't micro manage them and they come up with a lot of good ideas on how we do work for our company. Some of them put way more than 40 hours per week. I don't insists at all. They just do as they love what they do. I just try to make the working environment pleasant. We save our company a demonstrated millions of dollar and they appreciate that and they give us the flexibility and our freedom on what we do. So far, it is working great. I wouldn't change a thing. Sure, I could ask for more money or go somewhere that pays me more but money can only get you so much. I value a satisfying working environment and making a real difference in people life through our work a lot more than the money I get paid for a job I love.

[Ultrarunner]

Corporate Culture is what it comes down to...

In some your are rewarded for out of the box thinking and in others, penalized.

I should have known what was coming when the new team led off with the Compliance Officer from legal...

Who knows... they could be much smarter than I ever will... the organization has 100,000 employees.

That said, they did not have a job description anywhere in the organization even close to what I do... which should have been another clue...

Having worked both sides I would go back to management in a second... some people chafe against the God of time Kronos... our time clock system.

The entire staff now uses timers on the smart phones for breaks... some just go outside and and walk leaving whatever they were doing to wait and it stresses them a lot.

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by macroy

Okay. So basically anyone who actually enjoy their career is brainless and manipulated. Pretty myopic and sad way to go through life.

I appreciate that many people don't have the luxury of a career they actually chose and work they actually enjoy. The money aspect wasn't the driving one so there was no need to be miserly with time. If money was the motivation I could have done something else. I was lucky to have spent just about all of my career doing something I really cared about. Working over that magic minimal hour mark in a week or month sometimes didn't matter in the long run. Often there wasn't any control over when something just had to happen. In return someone else usually ended up cutting me some slack when I needed it. There was satisfaction knowing something important had been accomplished.

So now when I look back on all those years of work I don't see dollar signs, a ledger book of gains or losses, or stinging self-righteous cynicism, I see accomplishment, a sense of self worth, and knowing dedication to something larger than myself was worth the effort.

[Ultrarunner]

^^^ Great Post