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Big companies usually have high billability goals, but are also the ones who have big city contracts where engineers get paid big salaries and some days they may have zilch to do. Because the work hours are predetermined when the contract is bid out.
Most private companies have a way of determining productivity versus pay.
But the truth is that 40 hours, 40 real hours of work, where you need attention to detail to mid or senior level analytical work is pretty darn difficult, and I don't think too many people can do that over the span of many years.
Our productivity (nursing home therapy) is calculated by how many billable hours you have vs hours on the clock. In an 8 hour day, 90% productivity means we must be able to bill Medicare, Medicaid or insurance for 452 minutes of direct patient care. Leaving only 48 minutes for doing daily, weekly progress notes, filling out insurance updates, talking to family members on the phone, going to get the patients and bring them to the gym, etc. it’s not nearly enough. We can see our productivity daily.
If it’s only 85% for a couple of days corporate will call our rehab director and warn us. So we end up punching out (on the computer), then staying an hour to finish paperwork. It means if I spend 10 minutes trying to find clothes in the unclaimed laundry for a new patient who doesn’t have clothes with them (cause they came from the hospital), that 10 minutes will be made up on my own time. It makes therapists feel they have to say “no” if a patient asks if we can get them something to drink when we bring them back, etc. I don’t say no, but I work a lot off the clock because of it. We also end up putting that we had an hour lunch when we really only had 30 minutes, because the day didn’t go smoothly (it rarely does in nursing homes) so our productivity won’t be too low.
A couple of weeks ago, a power outage from some piece of equipment blowing on the roof followed by a weird chemical smell led to us evacuating the entire building until the fire department could do a walk-through. It was quite harrowing for us and the residents, who had to sit outside in 95 degree heat in mid-day, some still in their hospital beds that we rolled outside, plus the AC off all day due to no power. We couldn’t do any of our documentation because the power never came on.
The next day, we came in having to do all our billing and notes from the day before as well as treat our regular caseload. And my boss had the nerve to tell me we still had to be 90% productive! I did draw the line at that and said no way was I making up the time off the clock for something we had no control over. But it makes a very stressful work environment. And it makes therapy less than ideal for patients, because the productivity requirements make it more an assembly line than therapy. It is night and day compared to when I started in the late 90’s. Productivity was like 70% then. But it’s become corporatized and only about money now.
I'd rather be busy than bored. The day goes faster if I am slammed. I enjoy being very busy, but only if I trust my boss to have my back if it becomes too much.
I agree with your post 100% and in fact I use the same phrase when my co-workers complain about the volume of work we process.
When I speak with my second level manager on occasion, he always interjects the conversation with comments like "I don't know how you do it" and our role would drive him crazy if he had to do it. I like it when management appreciates hard work (and no complaints about it).
I'm curious what sorts of people are attracted to this work environment. I'm currently working with a client where most employees seem like they are slammed all the time. Even with the work we're helping out on, there's no reasonable way to get everything done that they need in 40 hours or less. I suspect most people are putting in 50-60 hours a week just to stay afloat. I'm grateful that my hours are billable and they don't want us working OT as a result.
Some of the employees seem kind of burned out, while others seem to go with the flow. It's personally not for me. However, I'm intrigued by those who seem to thrive in this environment or, at the very least, put up with it. I wonder what keeps these types of employees so loyal when, in some cases, it's taking such a toll on them.
Depends upon the kind of work.
Big difference from when I was washing cars in my youth to now working on 7-8 figure deals on the daily and getting swamped means stress and error potential beyond a jammed coin dispenser lol.
Imagine someone with a truly important job like an ER person or other critical function and what understaffed starts to mean.
I'm curious what sorts of people are attracted to this work environment. I'm currently working with a client where most employees seem like they are slammed all the time. Even with the work we're helping out on, there's no reasonable way to get everything done that they need in 40 hours or less. I suspect most people are putting in 50-60 hours a week just to stay afloat. I'm grateful that my hours are billable and they don't want us working OT as a result.
Some of the employees seem kind of burned out, while others seem to go with the flow. It's personally not for me. However, I'm intrigued by those who seem to thrive in this environment or, at the very least, put up with it. I wonder what keeps these types of employees so loyal when, in some cases, it's taking such a toll on them.
Most (if not ALL) of the places I had worked at, consistently gave people more tasks/responsibilities that could be completed in their workday (much less completed properly, with good quality and no short-cuts, etc.) Not sure why, maybe the idea is to keep the employees "on their toes", maybe the higher-ups don't know how long in reality each such task takes, or simply trying to squeeze the best bang for their buck!
(Although I always thought it hurts them in the long run, whether because of high turn-over, and missed productivity when having to re-train new employees (with each subsequent "generation" seeming to lose a valuable piece of training, "lost in translation", as well as having less and less time allowed for training!)... or losing clients and customers because of "bad" service - which overworked employees either can not provide simply due to restrains on time, or the shortcomings of their insufficient training!
I am "loyal" and have "put up" with that simply because I always strive to provide my very best, no matter the environment! And I don't like job-hopping. But it certainly took its toll! Even more so on me than most others - precisely because I am responsible and always felt stressed for leaving ANY tasks undone! (Which there would have to be some, every day!) And/or doing something so-so, skipping steps, etc. just so that the "box will get ticked"!
Our productivity (nursing home therapy) is calculated by how many billable hours you have vs hours on the clock. In an 8 hour day, 90% productivity means we must be able to bill Medicare, Medicaid or insurance for 452 minutes of direct patient care. Leaving only 48 minutes for doing daily, weekly progress notes, filling out insurance updates, talking to family members on the phone, going to get the patients and bring them to the gym, etc. it’s not nearly enough. We can see our productivity daily.
If it’s only 85% for a couple of days corporate will call our rehab director and warn us. So we end up punching out (on the computer), then staying an hour to finish paperwork. It means if I spend 10 minutes trying to find clothes in the unclaimed laundry for a new patient who doesn’t have clothes with them (cause they came from the hospital), that 10 minutes will be made up on my own time. It makes therapists feel they have to say “no” if a patient asks if we can get them something to drink when we bring them back, etc. I don’t say no, but I work a lot off the clock because of it. We also end up putting that we had an hour lunch when we really only had 30 minutes, because the day didn’t go smoothly (it rarely does in nursing homes) so our productivity won’t be too low.
A couple of weeks ago, a power outage from some piece of equipment blowing on the roof followed by a weird chemical smell led to us evacuating the entire building until the fire department could do a walk-through. It was quite harrowing for us and the residents, who had to sit outside in 95 degree heat in mid-day, some still in their hospital beds that we rolled outside, plus the AC off all day due to no power. We couldn’t do any of our documentation because the power never came on.
The next day, we came in having to do all our billing and notes from the day before as well as treat our regular caseload. And my boss had the nerve to tell me we still had to be 90% productive! I did draw the line at that and said no way was I making up the time off the clock for something we had no control over. But it makes a very stressful work environment. And it makes therapy less than ideal for patients, because the productivity requirements make it more an assembly line than therapy. It is night and day compared to when I started in the late 90’s. Productivity was like 70% then. But it’s become corporatized and only about money now.
Yea, that's tough. 100% productivity on your feet is tough. I seriously considered being a therapist too.
I know healthcare is usually a tough grind too.
So many corporate mouths to feed. Hang in there...
Yea, that's tough. 100% productivity on your feet is tough. I seriously considered being a therapist too.
I know healthcare is usually a tough grind too.
So many corporate mouths to feed. Hang in there...
I know companies that will propose rates based on 110% to even 130% productivity. In reality anything over 80% rarely happens except for short term emergencies so they are knowingly signing contracts there is no way to meet.
I'm curious what sorts of people are attracted to this work environment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jobaba
But the truth is that 40 hours, 40 real hours of work, where you need attention to detail to mid or senior level analytical work is pretty darn difficult, and I don't think too many people can do that over the span of many years.
Just to answer OP's question more directly: I am very detail-oriented. I can't turn it off. Having a lot of detailed analytical work to focus on is the best way to keep my personality in check outside of work. If I spend a workday doing nothing, there's a pent up need to plan and structure and organize which I find is not helpful in my relationships with significant other/friends/family. I am much more low key and personable when I'm busy with work problems.
There are other possible outlets (puzzles, games, etc.) but I might as well be doing something of value to someone else for which I can be paid.
Yea, that's tough. 100% productivity on your feet is tough. I seriously considered being a therapist too.
I know healthcare is usually a tough grind too.
So many corporate mouths to feed. Hang in there...
Thank you! It’s really going through all of healthcare now. It is making healthcare much less personalized, you get rushed through the system like a cog in the wheel.
I know companies that will propose rates based on 110% to even 130% productivity. In reality anything over 80% rarely happens except for short term emergencies so they are knowingly signing contracts there is no way to meet.
We can’t have over 100%, because that would be insurance fraud. It would mean we were billing for two peoplein the same time period We can see two people at once sometimes, but we can’t bill them for the entire hour each gets billed for half the time.
There are always people in every workcenter that I have worked at who I have come to think of as “work martyrs”.
They walk around and look completely exhausted all the time, and they put in 18 hour days all the time. They thrive on sympathy from others. When someone says, you should take a break or an early departure, they pride themselves on saying no, I must stay and get such and such done,
These types of people don’t fool me in the least. I am a master at time management, and I can get more done in one hour then most of them can get done in a full shift.
When I arrive, I bring my “A” game every single day and I attack my work immediately. I fire off dozens of emails, coordinate projects, pour over spreadsheets to provide data for my taskers, and I’m usually always done before lunch time. The afternoons are spent maintaining my lead and I always go home on time everyday.
Meanwhile, the “work martyr” is spinning his/her wheels, not getting much done, wasting time talking about work related stuff with anyone they come in contact with, calling people on the phone to get answers they should already have, and basically succumbing to all the excess stress they have placed on themselves. Then finally, after everyone is gone, they start completing their work that could’ve been done at the beginning of the workday.
When somebody needs something done, they come to me. They don’t go to the work martyrs because they don’t want to wait all day and night for it to get done.
So yea, when I see someone in a lateral position to me working many hours more than I do, I just roll my eyes. What they don’t understand is that the people who are actually in charge of their sections can see right through them as easily as I can.
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Even more so on me than most others - precisely because I am responsible and always felt stressed for leaving ANY tasks undone! (Which there would have to be some, every day!) And/or doing something so-so, skipping steps, etc. just so that the "box will get ticked"!
