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They probably do. How much is their skill worth to them? To the company?
Break it down:
52wks x 40hrs @$Xper =2080 RT hours
48wks x 10hrs @$1.5Xper =720 OT hours
Combined... that comes out to 2800 hours
vs the $50,000 "salary" it extends down to $17.86 per hour
Do you think they would agree they're $17/hr people?
Probably not.
The question remains is why do they continue to tolerate that?
Maybe the reality is that they're really $12/hr people and have hit the jackpot.
Haters are going to hate.
I am not going to claim we have nothing but perfect employees. I would be lying if I did. Sure, some are slackers who I wish would produce more, but to claim that all employees are universally worth $12 is erroneous, uses flawed logic, and is insulting.
Let's take your math. I stated 45 hour work weeks, you did your calculations based on 50 hour weeks.
Right there the actual average wage, compensating for 5 hours of OT weekly for 48 weeks changes the effective wage to $20.48/hour.
Your next error was in assuming that all employees earned exactly $50k. I was referring to people who earn OVER $50k. The bulk of these people earn $60-75, with a few of us earning more. With $65 k being more typical, that comes to a calculated hourly rate of $26.64.
Next you need to take benefits into account. Generous vacation, health and retirement plans attract people and one needs to put a value on that too. If I want to be conservative I will assign a $2/hour differential to benefits, because our benefits probably cost $5000/year more than private sector. Now we have a typupical, OT adjusted hourly rate of $28.64.
I earn almost 6figures working in IT as an Engineer and I have no degree. Am I the exception, maybe...but when I compare myself to my wife who has a MS and makes about 1/3 the salary I do I simply throw my hands up in disbelief and succumb to the fact that "Life is not fair."
Remember when you were a child and you heard your mom tell you "Life is not fair." This is what she meant.
You need to level the playing field, get the odds in your favor, get one up on the competition. If there is a will, there is a way...trust me!
I simply tell my managers I refuse to work 40hrs a week if it has to get to that point. Then they proceed to try and get me fired but it doesn't work, because after all employers really only care if you work 3hours a day in my experiences.
Now if your pay is performance based, I could see how one would want to work extra. I have had those jobs as well, and I have always received GREAT financial rewards. Heck at my last company I managed to earn myself a 20% pay raise at the 1 year mark, a 10% performance increase and an extra 10% for a promotion...I was promoted from the exact same title, to the exact same title...but my paycheck changed
Another thing I learned early, "It never hurts to ask."
To further show how unfair life is, at the last job I had...the same one where I earned a 20% raise, I had asked 3different superiors if I could use the designated company money for some seminars and further education. Three times I was denied, but yet I was still rewarded in the form of this 20% raise.... Life is truly unfair.
Now fast forward to my government job, here they want to pay me just to sit in the chair. If I don't sit in this chair, people get pissy so I make sure to sit in here no less than 39hrs/week but no more than 40hrs a week. After all, the government is only paying me to be here 40hrs/week like everyone else.
What is an "absurd amount" of education? Bachelor's degree? Master's? IMO, a Master's degree is pretty standard for a comfortable professional-level job these days. I would say going to school for longer than you would have to go for a Master's - say, a JD, MD, or Phd - just to find a good 40 hr/week job, would be my definition of "absurd." It would also be foolish, since lawyers, doctors, and academics typically work MUCH longer than 40 hrs and are at the pinnacle of professions where work concerns consume social/family/home life (my partner has a PhD, I know what I'm talking about).
Personally, I got a Master's degree and then landed a government job paying ~$50k per year with my only experience being internships during grad school. Six years and a bumpy ride through the recession later, I'm earning in the $70s, with a benefit plan I would estimate to be worth another $40k or so (employer paid retirement and medical/dental/life premiums), plus guaranteed step increases and COLAs. For all that, I think about work from exactly 8:30 am to exactly 4:30 pm and that's it. I read novels on the train home while everyone else is checking emails and whatnot. Sometimes I have to stay late but I can always flex my schedule for that. The only downside is that I'm in a high COL area, but even in a low COL area I'd be making in the 50s by now.
How did you get that job and what do you do?
Usually Government jobs are hard to get unless you have connections. You can see by my location that I live in an area with MANY Government jobs. I have one friend who works for the Government and "claims" to goof off all the time. He says he leaves early all the time and only works hard 2 weeks out of each month. The rest of the time he just surfs the web, texts his friends gossips with co-workers. Only thing is I don't know exactly what he makes. Based on his lifestyle its probably in the 45k-55k range.
In the small company I work for I am the only one who can do my job so if I don't do it it doesn't get done and it has to get done or we go out of business. With this in mind sometimes I get very busy and end up working 50 to 60 hours a week but when it gets slow, like it is now, I might show up for 25 to 30 hours most of the time taking Friday off if I don't feel like bumming out around the office.
I don't punch a time clock or fill out time sheets. As far as I know my hours are not watched and wouldn't care if they were.
This is how I operate too. When I'm busy, I'm busy. I might work 80-90 hours a week for 5-6 weeks (not healthy I know, but unavoidable for me sometimes) but other times I'm quiet and make the most of it. It took me a good 6 or 7 years to make the most of the quiet periods though.
You can just turn up and work 40 hours a week. In my experience that's not going to progress you as fast or as far as someone who goes above and beyond. Now, there has to be a balance but I think you have to put the effort in to get rewarded.
Usually Government jobs are hard to get unless you have connections. You can see by my location that I live in an area with MANY Government jobs. I have one friend who works for the Government and "claims" to goof off all the time. He says he leaves early all the time and only works hard 2 weeks out of each month. The rest of the time he just surfs the web, texts his friends gossips with co-workers. Only thing is I don't know exactly what he makes. Based on his lifestyle its probably in the 45k-55k range.
Not directed at you, but I call BS on your friend's claim.
While there is always a possibility of a slacker and poor management control, this if true would be a product of poor management, not that it is a government job. This poor management can happen in the gov and the private sector, and at all levels. But I find it hard to believe this level of poor management is happening with your friend, and it really says something about your friend as well. What agency is this?
Not directed at you, but I call BS on your friend's claim.
While there is always a possibility of a slacker and poor management control, this if true would be a product of poor management, not that it is a government job. This poor management can happen in the gov and the private sector, and at all levels. But I find it hard to believe this level of poor management is happening with your friend, and it really says something about your friend as well. What agency is this?
We can fix this if you want.
he wasnt far off, some govt employees are worked very hard (a very small number), and many (the majority) dont have enough work. of course this happens in the private world, however, in the private world they have money in money out based on work, if the quality of work lacks or the employee is a slacker and doesnt produce they usually toss them to the curb, not so much with the govt, they will always have tax money coming in to pay payroll, so its a different story...govt has zero accountability, while private world does.
A good number of casino dealers and wait staff can make over 50K. Some can even crack six figures and dealers hardly ever work more than 40 hrs a week. Plus a forth or a third of your day is spent on break.
he wasnt far off, some govt employees are worked very hard (a very small number), and many (the majority) dont have enough work. of course this happens in the private world, however, in the private world they have money in money out based on work, if the quality of work lacks or the employee is a slacker and doesnt produce they usually toss them to the curb, not so much with the govt, they will always have tax money coming in to pay payroll, so its a different story...govt has zero accountability, while private world does.
There is a difference between goofing off and only working hard half the time, and a "rain dry cycle" of work whereas when there is work, there is a lot, and when there is not, there is not. Is the friend spinning it to seem cool? Sure maybe, if he is in the DC area, he is only a 7 or 9, so not much responsibility (which only I mention as the higher up someone goes, the more responsibility, thus more consistent work).
But the signing out early I think is a little BS, and if it is happening, needs ot be reported. While it is easy to do this because many places just have a sign in sheet, the managers should be aware and I do not see how any manager could miss someone constantly leaving early, yet signing like he is there. That is just poor management, not because it is a gov job.
When I say 24/7 I'm talking about jobs you have to constantly think about even when you're not physically at work. Checking emails, planning, studying, etc.
It seems the only jobs paying 50k or above where you work a standard 40 hour week and forget about work when you leave require absurd levels of education, talent, luck or connections to get.
Am I right or wrong?
Totally wrong.
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