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When I was a software developer in the IT world, it was management intimidation that forced many employees to put in as many hours as possible so that the company could get "their money's worth" out of each employee, since employees were not paid any more for overtime hours. The amount of hours that they wanted was not made clear. They just wanted more, more, and more.
Actually, at my last IT company that I worked in, they did make it clear in our company newsletter. Management wanted us to work 20 hours a day, Monday through Friday, for a total of 100 hours. But that still wasn't enough. On Saturdays we needed to work 12 more hours, and on Sundays 12 more hours still. That made it a total of 124 hours per week. I don't think that anyone in the company worked those hours. You would break down physically and mentally after a few weeks on that kind of schedule. But management wanted this fantasy and was enraged at us because we didn't follow that recommendation.
I just want to to get all the people who work more than 50 hours a week and understand a little more about what makes up their day, what causes them to work more than 50 hours a week - is it sheer volume of work, are you tied up in too many meetings so you can't do your "day jobs", or are you just under pressure by management to linger around? Are you a manager role, part of a team, or just an individual contributor? I figure a sales job you would put in a lot of time because you want to be available, or a manager because you may need to be available to go over things with your staff, but I'm not sure..
At my job, it's hard for me to fathom that type of environment...I tend to get in before 830 and don't stay past 5...maybe even 445...I have a pretty long commute (100 minutes door to door one way), so I don't want to get stuck late if I don't have to...I get my work done effectively, so no one cares. For me, I just about get 40 hours of time in the office a week. I do have a lot of meetings in general, but with two screens up, it's a lot easier to get other things done at the same time.
A lot of people at my office don't linger past 515 either..some stay til 6 but I noticed they come in past 9 or take long lunch breaks. I work pretty efficiently by eating at my desk. Occasionally I'll have to stay a half hour or so later because of some meeting that gets scheduled late and the client is due back something early the next day, but that's generally pretty rare. Other reasons I'm late is because of some silly thing that can easily wait until tomorrow, but it doesn't....
I could in theory leave at 6 or later, but then there's a good chance I'll be pretty bored the next day, browsing C-D, reddit, and news sites to kill time and that can make for a laggy day.
When I was a software developer in the IT world, it was management intimidation that forced many employees to put in as many hours as possible so that the company could get "their money's worth" out of each employee, since employees were not paid any more for overtime hours. The amount of hours that they wanted was not made clear. They just wanted more, more, and more.
Actually, at my last IT company that I worked in, they did make it clear in our company newsletter. Management wanted us to work 20 hours a day, Monday through Friday, for a total of 100 hours. But that still wasn't enough. On Saturdays we needed to work 12 more hours, and on Sundays 12 more hours still. That made it a total of 124 hours per week. I don't think that anyone in the company worked those hours. You would break down physically and mentally after a few weeks on that kind of schedule. But management wanted this fantasy and was enraged at us because we didn't follow that recommendation.
I work that much because there is that much work. There are 4 of us in my area that do what I do. I take on the most...I love it. So, I work, minimum, 48 hour weeks. Typically goes over 50.
The question was asked if I wanted another helper, and I said no - I like the work, I like the chaos, and I like getting OT on my checks..
I'm 65 now, so I've slowed my business down considerably. However, up to a year or so ago, 50 hours per week was NOTHING. I think it's different when you work for yourself. I remember back during the RE boom from 2000 - 2007 I was doing from 5-7 appraisals A DAY. Then I would write them at night and on the weekend. I didn't sleep more then 4-5 hours a night for YEARS. However, I was well paid for my effort.
I did because it was required if i go to slavery ( salaried). Lesson learn, always go to hourly for better results. Owner wanted alot of hours out of his managers and treated us like slaves. I left the job shortly have his demands and not moving to hourly.
Before I retired I worked for a Japanese auto manufacturer. The Japanese culture severely looks down on those who “quit on time”. As an American it puts a lot of pressure on you to stay as long as the Japanese do, as they tend to work 2-3 hours past the normal quitting time.
An 11-12 hour day was considered normal for me, and that did not include additional time at home working on reports or projects. Many, many days I’ve spent in one meeting after another for a solid 8 hours, barely breaking for a quick 15 minute “lunch”.
These were the expectations and you either go along or get out. The pay and benefits were outstanding, but the sacrifices I made in neglecting my family were far greater than the compensation. I still remember my wife and children asking why I was always on my laptop when we were supposed to be on a family vacation.
So now that I’m retired I’m doing all I can to make it up to them.
I work from home and joined my company when it was still a startup running on a shoestring. I have a certain emotional investment in seeing it do well. And I work pretty slowly - nature of my ADD brain. The company accommodates my slapdash style as long as I get my work done. I have the life I want because of this job, so I'll put in the time to do my job well even if I'm working more than 40 hours a week.
I work in IT supporting the various business units of a financial institution. Our business hours are from 8 AM to 8 PM daily. We have to be there to support the business during those hours. An off-shore team takes over from 8 PM to 8 AM. We have to schedule our system changes (which are almost always daily) to be done after 5 PM so as not to affect the business during the peak hours. Major system changes, especially if they require an outage, are done on weekends or during holidays, again to minimize the impact on the business. We are required to be on call during non-work hours in case a problem arises.
The day starts with an 8:30 conference call (everyone must attend this) to review any issues or problems from the previous day. The day is spent dealing with problems, tons of emails, phone calls, conference calls, etc. There are many days when I work straight-though for 12 or more hours with nothing more than bathroom breaks as needed.
The biggest problem that I see right now is that everyone expects immediate responses to emails or phone calls, regardless of how many you may already be dealing with or what time of day or what day of the week it is. A few years back we had a new client based in the Philippines who demanded an immediate response to any email or phone call no matter what.
Most of my co-workers dread taking vacation time, knowing that they'll be coming back to thousands of emails, urgent escalations to senior management, and so on.
Yes I'm burning out. I have very little personal time. We all have weight problems and stress-related health problems.
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