Could there be any better reason to ER?

[USK Coastie]

Maybe Joe needs to read "Your Money or Your Life". My previous bos was much like Joe. Bragged he put in 60+ hrs/week. Staff thought he was an A** Hole for the most part. Guy was 39 when I went to work for him and had had a defib installed when he was 37. Some of the reason I'm sure was has "Style"

[Cut-Throat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by USK Coastie Maybe Joe needs to read "Your Money or Your Life". My previous bos was much like Joe. Bragged he put in 60+ hrs/week. Staff thought he was an A** Hole for the most part. Guy was 39 when I went to work for him and had had a defib installed when he was 37. Some of the reason I'm sure was has "Style"

Most of the Assholes I worked with are dying now. I have never killed a man, but I have read a few obituaries with a smile on my face!

[ADJ]

Has you boss ever heard of life-balance? What would he regret on his death bed that he didn't spend enough time at the office? Psssst.

[ERD50]

For all you know, Joe may be doing (or trying to do) you a favor.

Maybe his bosses said, 'Joe, if we don't improve the numbers they are going to outsource the whole dept'.

You can try discussing balance with him. Try to make the case that you can get more productive work done for the Dept by putting in time when needed, and taking it off when you need to address personal issues. Give examples. If it comes to it, remind him how much effort it would take to train your replacement (but, you better be ready to back that up).

The trouble with 'work until the job is done' is the job may expand to fill 60 hours no matter what you do.

If there is no relief in sight, and you can't take it, well, '3 Yrs to Go' said it - Free Labor Market - find another job.

-ERD50

[bssc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hydroman Yes that is clearly understood. So if an employee completes their job in 40, 50 or 60 hours over 4 days, why should the employee have to donate another 8 hours of PTO to the company. In fact using the "paid to do a job" rule, an employee can walk out after 20 hours and get a full weeks pay if "the job is done". That is the law too. By the way the crux of this topic is not really about the long hours but the expectation that you still need to charge your day off to PTO when you have already put in your hours and completed your job. It is pouring salt on an open wound.

Very true. Our megacorp has a 1-800 number plus an Ombudsperson who we can call for violations like this. They are into Work-Life balance, thank goodness. In December, we kicked one out the programmers out of the office since his leave balance totaled the same amount of working days left in the year. We are all "exempt"

So sounds like Joe is a schmuck.

[Meadbh]

Dear Joe:

Re: Culture of Entitlement

Thank you for your memo regarding the above. Unfortunately, you appear to have bought into the Culture of Entitlement yourself. You believe you are entitled to own my life. According to my job description and to statutes #XXXX this is not the case. As in the past, I shall be fulfilling my legal and ethical obligations to the company to the best of my ability. Should you have difficulty with this, please contact my lawyer at xxx.xxxx.

Sincerely

Hydroman

[Hydroman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 If there is no relief in sight, and you can't take it, well, '3 Yrs to Go' said it - Free Labor Market - find another job.

I have never been one for ultimatums. If the job or position no longer fits my financial/lifestyle/ethical requirements, I just hand in my resignation and move on without burning bridges. Never sell out by entertaining or accepting last minute counter-offers when my employers discover what they are loosing.

At this stage in my life I have the option of a better idea and that is ER. That was the original point of my post. I want to thank everyone for their support, but I do not need sympathy. I know my situation is not unique. Just wanted to share one of the biggest motivations to keep our eyes on the ER ball.

[Independent]

I see 46 replies, from about 20 people, in six hours. I think that indicates this topic hits a nerve.

I've been in a very similar situation. The most useful comment I can make is: "Fortunately, I was in a position to ER."

(a possibly unrelated tangent: I talked to one of my former co-workers today and he said "Would you be interested in a little consulting? We're a little short-handed and have a short project that fits your experience.")

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Independent I see 46 replies, from about 20 people, in six hours. I think that indicates this topic hits a nerve. I've been in a very similar situation. The most useful comment I can make is: "Fortunately, I was in a position to ER." (a possibly unrelated tangent: I talked to one of my former co-workers today and he said "Would you be interested in a little consulting? We're a little short-handed and have a short project that fits your experience.")

You bet it hits a nerve. Many of us have been in similar situations. Re: consulting, if you are interested, name the (high) hourly rate that your valuable time is worth to you. You are FI. If access to your expertise costs them a bundle, that's not your problem. They should have thought of that before treating their staff like sh*t.

[Eagle43]

Usually the culture facilitates this kind of crap. Begin looking for alternate employment now and if you haven't saved enough for ER, get on it now. Make sure you retain the email, just in case any court proceedings occur. This guy is a brown-nosing piece of ****.

Gawd, I've been there and done this. This post has annoyed me as much as any other. Why? It reminds me of cubicle land. Never again. What do you do all day, in ER, the cubicle rats ask? "It ain't what you do, it's what you don't do" that really counts. Move on as soon as you can.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hydroman ... Of course "Joes" philosphy is consistent with the new directive that your PTO bank needs to be burned down to 120 hours max by the end of the year.

Maybe I'm missing something, but, if you need to burn down your Personal Time Off or lose it, then... isn't it kind of a moot point?

Until next year - Joe may be gone by then.

Our mega-corp didn't really have a policy for personal time - it was all at the manager's discretion. That sucked, one dept would be lax, another real strict - no rhyme or reason. Tough on managers and workers. But also, we never got to 'bank' it, only vacation time could be banked, up to 120 hours, I think.

-ERD50

[Spanky]

It's amazing that companies think that working overtime for an extended period of time is productive. Putting extra hours may be counterproductive because of stress, fatigue and burnout.

[Gone4Good]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spanky It's amazing that companies think that working overtime for an extended period of time is productive. Putting extra hours may be counterproductive because of stress, fatigue and burnout.

Some employees thrive on it.

Some companies pay for it.

When you marry the two, it is very effective.

When you have the second, but not the first, its ER.

When you have neither, its time to look for another job.

[Average Joe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh Dear Joe: Re: Culture of Entitlement Thank you for your memo regarding the above. Unfortunately, you appear to have bought into the Culture of Entitlement yourself. You believe you are entitled to own my life.

Meadbh nailed it. Talk about an entitlement culture - what is your company fighting a war or something? When you joined up did you have to swear an oath to defend the companies charter against all competitors?

[crazy connie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Independent I see 46 replies, from about 20 people, in six hours. I think that indicates this topic hits a nerve. I've been in a very similar situation. The most useful comment I can make is: "Fortunately, I was in a position to ER." (a possibly unrelated tangent: I talked to one of my former co-workers today and he said "Would you be interested in a little consulting? We're a little short-handed and have a short project that fits your experience.")

Yes it hit the nerve in me. I did many 60 to 80 work weeks as both blue collar and management. I did not do it alone and usually felt appreciated. When it became standard to be giving all the time without a sincere thank-you...
That was when I felt under appreciated and pulled the ER plug.

I pity those with no options. If we had true portable/universal healthcare and could get comparable wage packages, then the nasty places to work with lack of employee respect would not be able to function.

[Goonie]

My current boss has started to be a schmuck toward my fellow inmates employees the last week or so. He hasn't been schmucky to me, since he finally realized that as of 3:30pm today, I no longer HAVE to show up on the job, or put up with his BS. Vacation, personal days, and comp-time can carry me through until my April parole FIRE date.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so this picture is for all the schmucks in the world!

[Helena]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hydroman I know you are all working long hours and giving it your all, but I need everyone on my team to help me change the entitlement culture at our company so we can be successful.

Coming to a third world near you.

At my company the women at the call center
have their bathroom break timed... they get
7 minutes of bathroom breaks per week...
Yes, you heard it right... PER WEEK !

If one takes more than 7 minutes total bathroom
time per week, it affects their paycheck.

Most of the women are young single mothers who put
up with this slavery because they really need the job.

[Cb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Helena Coming to a third world near you. At my company the women at the call center have their bathroom break timed... they get 7 minutes of bathroom breaks per week... Yes, you heard it right... PER WEEK ! If one takes more than 7 minutes total bathroom time per week, it affects their paycheck. Most of the women are young single mothers who put up with this slavery because they really need the job.

Helena, I think the responsible thing to do would be to call a newspaper or email them from a throwaway email account like Hotmail if you can substantiate that.

Cb

[Helena]

Also, those of us who punch a time clock... or
actually a computer time clock... get rounded
off to the nearest 15 minutes.... but the company
manipulates it so you can't round off the time to
benefit you... only to benefit them.

Also, the company plans business meetings
to interfere with break times... so many don't
get breaks.

Several times I tried to call the labor board to see
if any of this was legal... but everytime I called
I got a busy signal.

[laurence]

The VP that took over DW's department 2 years ago was of a similar kind. She drove out all the employees that she didn't bring with her, and half the ones she did! We didn't plan this, but DW left to take care of Tori and offered to consult part time from home. Ended up that as much as the VP HATES paying DW the good consulting rate ( it's good, but not outrageous) she can't get rid of her because she loses employees within months of hiring. It is working out well for us, but I'm shocked management doesn't put the pieces together (every employee gave HR an earful after they left, and the VP and her cronie underling manager are being "monitored" by HR to no avail). She'll probably find another company to jump over to before she can get fired. Meanwhile DW will take tasks and complete them from home for twice my hourly rate...