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Best job in the world...except you have no life

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  • N Offline
    N Offline
    Not Active
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    I went to an interview yesterday, a full day of meeting people, lunch with the VP, tour of the facility, etc. This was after two phone interviews, about 1.5 hours each. After the phone interviews I was excited to see the place and talk with the people and all through the day I saw some place that could be a very interesting environment to work in with great people. The day ended with an HR person who explained the benefits and compensation arrangement. Everything sounded great, then the ball was dropped. Everyone here works 48 hours a week she says. It wasn't, we have a lot to do so everyone puts in some extra time, it was 48 hours per week is mandatory and the minimum acceptable for a salaried employee. When I said I couldn't work 48 hour weeks she asked, in a stunned voice "Why not?". I explained that I have a family and outside activities, including pursueing a higher degree (which would add value to me as an employee) that I would like to continue enjoying. She sat there for a moment and I could see the confused look of "How can one have a life outside the company" on her face. I also explained to her the I am currently working at a position with similar duties making the same pay and only working 40 hours a week. There was disbelif on her face that such a place exsisted. The final meeting of the day was with my potential boss and he asked what I thought about the position. I said I thought it was a great opportunity and beleived I could add real value to the company, however, I can't work 48 hour weeks. Again the questions was "Why not?". I explained to him also about family and having an outside life. He asked about my activities and began calculating the hours it took up each week, then said "I think you have a conflict." So my life is a conflict of work. I was really disappointed as this was a great company but just don't understand how they can seemingly be so out of touch with reality. The company is my life attitude vanished a long time ago. Given equal duties, pay, communting time, etc. why would anyone chose to work longer hours? Am I missing something?


    only two letters away from being an asset

    L N N C N 24 Replies Last reply
    0
    • N Not Active

      I went to an interview yesterday, a full day of meeting people, lunch with the VP, tour of the facility, etc. This was after two phone interviews, about 1.5 hours each. After the phone interviews I was excited to see the place and talk with the people and all through the day I saw some place that could be a very interesting environment to work in with great people. The day ended with an HR person who explained the benefits and compensation arrangement. Everything sounded great, then the ball was dropped. Everyone here works 48 hours a week she says. It wasn't, we have a lot to do so everyone puts in some extra time, it was 48 hours per week is mandatory and the minimum acceptable for a salaried employee. When I said I couldn't work 48 hour weeks she asked, in a stunned voice "Why not?". I explained that I have a family and outside activities, including pursueing a higher degree (which would add value to me as an employee) that I would like to continue enjoying. She sat there for a moment and I could see the confused look of "How can one have a life outside the company" on her face. I also explained to her the I am currently working at a position with similar duties making the same pay and only working 40 hours a week. There was disbelif on her face that such a place exsisted. The final meeting of the day was with my potential boss and he asked what I thought about the position. I said I thought it was a great opportunity and beleived I could add real value to the company, however, I can't work 48 hour weeks. Again the questions was "Why not?". I explained to him also about family and having an outside life. He asked about my activities and began calculating the hours it took up each week, then said "I think you have a conflict." So my life is a conflict of work. I was really disappointed as this was a great company but just don't understand how they can seemingly be so out of touch with reality. The company is my life attitude vanished a long time ago. Given equal duties, pay, communting time, etc. why would anyone chose to work longer hours? Am I missing something?


      only two letters away from being an asset

      N Offline
      N Offline
      Nemanja Trifunovic
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      This exempt[^] business makes no sense, IMHO. I talked to an electrical engineer that works at a construction company - they actually need a written permit to work overtime because they are paid hourly; in fact most of them like to have a few extra hours a week and a few extra dollars in their pockets. However, I've never met a "non-exempt" software engineer :~


      Programming Blog utf8-cpp

      C T L S 4 Replies Last reply
      0
      • N Not Active

        I went to an interview yesterday, a full day of meeting people, lunch with the VP, tour of the facility, etc. This was after two phone interviews, about 1.5 hours each. After the phone interviews I was excited to see the place and talk with the people and all through the day I saw some place that could be a very interesting environment to work in with great people. The day ended with an HR person who explained the benefits and compensation arrangement. Everything sounded great, then the ball was dropped. Everyone here works 48 hours a week she says. It wasn't, we have a lot to do so everyone puts in some extra time, it was 48 hours per week is mandatory and the minimum acceptable for a salaried employee. When I said I couldn't work 48 hour weeks she asked, in a stunned voice "Why not?". I explained that I have a family and outside activities, including pursueing a higher degree (which would add value to me as an employee) that I would like to continue enjoying. She sat there for a moment and I could see the confused look of "How can one have a life outside the company" on her face. I also explained to her the I am currently working at a position with similar duties making the same pay and only working 40 hours a week. There was disbelif on her face that such a place exsisted. The final meeting of the day was with my potential boss and he asked what I thought about the position. I said I thought it was a great opportunity and beleived I could add real value to the company, however, I can't work 48 hour weeks. Again the questions was "Why not?". I explained to him also about family and having an outside life. He asked about my activities and began calculating the hours it took up each week, then said "I think you have a conflict." So my life is a conflict of work. I was really disappointed as this was a great company but just don't understand how they can seemingly be so out of touch with reality. The company is my life attitude vanished a long time ago. Given equal duties, pay, communting time, etc. why would anyone chose to work longer hours? Am I missing something?


        only two letters away from being an asset

        L Offline
        L Offline
        leckey 0
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        I've seen lots of news reports about how Americans are working more and more each year, and take less and less vacation time each year. I also interviewed for a company that had mandatory Saturdays, but overall the atmosphere was bad. I think many people do it because they think they 'have to.' But if more people stand up I think we would see a change. Thankfully I work in a VERY flexible work environment. My husband calls it 'bank hours.' As long as I work 4 hours a day, I don't have to take vacation time if I want to take the afternoon off. My boss often leaves early if it's nice to go golfing, or takes long lunch breaks to go to the driving range. As long as the work gets done, that's the focus. Right now it's quarter end, so people are working over 40 hours. In the end, it balances out. The company went through downsizing several years ago, but many people here have worked over 10 and 15 years, and I see why.

        ______________________ stuff + cats = awesome

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        • N Not Active

          I went to an interview yesterday, a full day of meeting people, lunch with the VP, tour of the facility, etc. This was after two phone interviews, about 1.5 hours each. After the phone interviews I was excited to see the place and talk with the people and all through the day I saw some place that could be a very interesting environment to work in with great people. The day ended with an HR person who explained the benefits and compensation arrangement. Everything sounded great, then the ball was dropped. Everyone here works 48 hours a week she says. It wasn't, we have a lot to do so everyone puts in some extra time, it was 48 hours per week is mandatory and the minimum acceptable for a salaried employee. When I said I couldn't work 48 hour weeks she asked, in a stunned voice "Why not?". I explained that I have a family and outside activities, including pursueing a higher degree (which would add value to me as an employee) that I would like to continue enjoying. She sat there for a moment and I could see the confused look of "How can one have a life outside the company" on her face. I also explained to her the I am currently working at a position with similar duties making the same pay and only working 40 hours a week. There was disbelif on her face that such a place exsisted. The final meeting of the day was with my potential boss and he asked what I thought about the position. I said I thought it was a great opportunity and beleived I could add real value to the company, however, I can't work 48 hour weeks. Again the questions was "Why not?". I explained to him also about family and having an outside life. He asked about my activities and began calculating the hours it took up each week, then said "I think you have a conflict." So my life is a conflict of work. I was really disappointed as this was a great company but just don't understand how they can seemingly be so out of touch with reality. The company is my life attitude vanished a long time ago. Given equal duties, pay, communting time, etc. why would anyone chose to work longer hours? Am I missing something?


          only two letters away from being an asset

          N Offline
          N Offline
          Nish Nishant
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          6-day weeks (48 hours) were common in India till a few years ago. At my first job, not only did we have 6 day weeks, but we had to stay back later for an extra 3-4 hours when there was extra work (so everyone ended up doing 50-60 hr weeks). I am not sure if excessive work helped improved productivity though. Today Indian companies cannot afford to even think of doing this because of an astonishingly high attrition rate.

          Regards, Nish


          Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
          My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com link

          N V 2 Replies Last reply
          0
          • N Nemanja Trifunovic

            This exempt[^] business makes no sense, IMHO. I talked to an electrical engineer that works at a construction company - they actually need a written permit to work overtime because they are paid hourly; in fact most of them like to have a few extra hours a week and a few extra dollars in their pockets. However, I've never met a "non-exempt" software engineer :~


            Programming Blog utf8-cpp

            C Offline
            C Offline
            Chris Losinger
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            Nemanja Trifunovic wrote:

            I've never met a "non-exempt" software engineer

            they're called "contractors". kindof... that is, you can get hourly jobs as a contractor, instead of fixed-rate jobs. they can still ask you to work crazy hours, but they have to pay extra for it. so there's a disincentive for them to do so.

            image processing toolkits | batch image processing | blogging

            N 1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • N Nish Nishant

              6-day weeks (48 hours) were common in India till a few years ago. At my first job, not only did we have 6 day weeks, but we had to stay back later for an extra 3-4 hours when there was extra work (so everyone ended up doing 50-60 hr weeks). I am not sure if excessive work helped improved productivity though. Today Indian companies cannot afford to even think of doing this because of an astonishingly high attrition rate.

              Regards, Nish


              Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
              My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com link

              N Offline
              N Offline
              Not Active
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              Nishant Sivakumar wrote:

              I am not sure if excessive work helped improved productivity though.

              That's point. There are more reports of how productivity decreases the more hours your work rather than increases.


              only two letters away from being an asset

              V B 2 Replies Last reply
              0
              • N Not Active

                I went to an interview yesterday, a full day of meeting people, lunch with the VP, tour of the facility, etc. This was after two phone interviews, about 1.5 hours each. After the phone interviews I was excited to see the place and talk with the people and all through the day I saw some place that could be a very interesting environment to work in with great people. The day ended with an HR person who explained the benefits and compensation arrangement. Everything sounded great, then the ball was dropped. Everyone here works 48 hours a week she says. It wasn't, we have a lot to do so everyone puts in some extra time, it was 48 hours per week is mandatory and the minimum acceptable for a salaried employee. When I said I couldn't work 48 hour weeks she asked, in a stunned voice "Why not?". I explained that I have a family and outside activities, including pursueing a higher degree (which would add value to me as an employee) that I would like to continue enjoying. She sat there for a moment and I could see the confused look of "How can one have a life outside the company" on her face. I also explained to her the I am currently working at a position with similar duties making the same pay and only working 40 hours a week. There was disbelif on her face that such a place exsisted. The final meeting of the day was with my potential boss and he asked what I thought about the position. I said I thought it was a great opportunity and beleived I could add real value to the company, however, I can't work 48 hour weeks. Again the questions was "Why not?". I explained to him also about family and having an outside life. He asked about my activities and began calculating the hours it took up each week, then said "I think you have a conflict." So my life is a conflict of work. I was really disappointed as this was a great company but just don't understand how they can seemingly be so out of touch with reality. The company is my life attitude vanished a long time ago. Given equal duties, pay, communting time, etc. why would anyone chose to work longer hours? Am I missing something?


                only two letters away from being an asset

                C Offline
                C Offline
                Colin Angus Mackay
                wrote on last edited by
                #7

                Mark Nischalke wrote:

                Given equal duties, pay, communting time, etc. why would anyone chose to work longer hours? Am I missing something?

                I don't think you are missing anything. I have lots of outside activities that I would have to be compensated for if I moved jobs and they wanted me to work longer hours.


                Upcoming events: * Glasgow: Mock Objects, SQL Server CLR Integration, Reporting Services, db4o, Dependency Injection with Spring ... * Reading: Developer Day 5 Ready to Give up - Your help will be much appreciated. My website

                V 1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • C Chris Losinger

                  Nemanja Trifunovic wrote:

                  I've never met a "non-exempt" software engineer

                  they're called "contractors". kindof... that is, you can get hourly jobs as a contractor, instead of fixed-rate jobs. they can still ask you to work crazy hours, but they have to pay extra for it. so there's a disincentive for them to do so.

                  image processing toolkits | batch image processing | blogging

                  N Offline
                  N Offline
                  Nemanja Trifunovic
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #8

                  Chris Losinger wrote:

                  they're called "contractors".

                  :doh: Forgot about contractors - and I worked as one for a while.


                  Programming Blog utf8-cpp

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • N Nish Nishant

                    6-day weeks (48 hours) were common in India till a few years ago. At my first job, not only did we have 6 day weeks, but we had to stay back later for an extra 3-4 hours when there was extra work (so everyone ended up doing 50-60 hr weeks). I am not sure if excessive work helped improved productivity though. Today Indian companies cannot afford to even think of doing this because of an astonishingly high attrition rate.

                    Regards, Nish


                    Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
                    My latest book : C++/CLI in Action / Amazon.com link

                    V Offline
                    V Offline
                    Vasudevan Deepak Kumar
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #9

                    True Nish. I still remember putting a lot of continous non-stop 72 hours with only a couple of hours trip home for refreshments in my previous organization: http://deepakvasudevan.blogspot.com/2004/03/life-at-c-s-software-11-august-2001-to.html[^] I think the days have changed a lot now. Isn't it?

                    Vasudevan Deepak Kumar Personal Homepage Tech Gossips

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • N Not Active

                      I went to an interview yesterday, a full day of meeting people, lunch with the VP, tour of the facility, etc. This was after two phone interviews, about 1.5 hours each. After the phone interviews I was excited to see the place and talk with the people and all through the day I saw some place that could be a very interesting environment to work in with great people. The day ended with an HR person who explained the benefits and compensation arrangement. Everything sounded great, then the ball was dropped. Everyone here works 48 hours a week she says. It wasn't, we have a lot to do so everyone puts in some extra time, it was 48 hours per week is mandatory and the minimum acceptable for a salaried employee. When I said I couldn't work 48 hour weeks she asked, in a stunned voice "Why not?". I explained that I have a family and outside activities, including pursueing a higher degree (which would add value to me as an employee) that I would like to continue enjoying. She sat there for a moment and I could see the confused look of "How can one have a life outside the company" on her face. I also explained to her the I am currently working at a position with similar duties making the same pay and only working 40 hours a week. There was disbelif on her face that such a place exsisted. The final meeting of the day was with my potential boss and he asked what I thought about the position. I said I thought it was a great opportunity and beleived I could add real value to the company, however, I can't work 48 hour weeks. Again the questions was "Why not?". I explained to him also about family and having an outside life. He asked about my activities and began calculating the hours it took up each week, then said "I think you have a conflict." So my life is a conflict of work. I was really disappointed as this was a great company but just don't understand how they can seemingly be so out of touch with reality. The company is my life attitude vanished a long time ago. Given equal duties, pay, communting time, etc. why would anyone chose to work longer hours? Am I missing something?


                      only two letters away from being an asset

                      N Offline
                      N Offline
                      NormDroid
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #10

                      40 hours is the absolute maximum I would be prepared to work full time in a given week, Ok there are the odd occasions which require working the odd evening or weekend, but that should be few and far between and should be rewarded with a day in lieu or some finacial recompense.

                      Mark Nischalke wrote:

                      Am I missing something?

                      No but it looks like that company is!

                      P Think of the environment; please don't print this message unless you really need to.

                      L P K 3 Replies Last reply
                      0
                      • N Not Active

                        Nishant Sivakumar wrote:

                        I am not sure if excessive work helped improved productivity though.

                        That's point. There are more reports of how productivity decreases the more hours your work rather than increases.


                        only two letters away from being an asset

                        V Offline
                        V Offline
                        Vasudevan Deepak Kumar
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #11

                        Mark Nischalke wrote:

                        productivity decreases the more hours

                        The Break Even Analysis concept can be applied here to an extent: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Break_even_analysis[^]

                        Vasudevan Deepak Kumar Personal Homepage Tech Gossips

                        M 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • N Not Active

                          I went to an interview yesterday, a full day of meeting people, lunch with the VP, tour of the facility, etc. This was after two phone interviews, about 1.5 hours each. After the phone interviews I was excited to see the place and talk with the people and all through the day I saw some place that could be a very interesting environment to work in with great people. The day ended with an HR person who explained the benefits and compensation arrangement. Everything sounded great, then the ball was dropped. Everyone here works 48 hours a week she says. It wasn't, we have a lot to do so everyone puts in some extra time, it was 48 hours per week is mandatory and the minimum acceptable for a salaried employee. When I said I couldn't work 48 hour weeks she asked, in a stunned voice "Why not?". I explained that I have a family and outside activities, including pursueing a higher degree (which would add value to me as an employee) that I would like to continue enjoying. She sat there for a moment and I could see the confused look of "How can one have a life outside the company" on her face. I also explained to her the I am currently working at a position with similar duties making the same pay and only working 40 hours a week. There was disbelif on her face that such a place exsisted. The final meeting of the day was with my potential boss and he asked what I thought about the position. I said I thought it was a great opportunity and beleived I could add real value to the company, however, I can't work 48 hour weeks. Again the questions was "Why not?". I explained to him also about family and having an outside life. He asked about my activities and began calculating the hours it took up each week, then said "I think you have a conflict." So my life is a conflict of work. I was really disappointed as this was a great company but just don't understand how they can seemingly be so out of touch with reality. The company is my life attitude vanished a long time ago. Given equal duties, pay, communting time, etc. why would anyone chose to work longer hours? Am I missing something?


                          only two letters away from being an asset

                          D Offline
                          D Offline
                          da toolman
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #12

                          You aren't missing anything. I've been in a similar situation, after about a month of putting in 80+ hours a week because of someone else's mismanagement, the light came on and that stopped. It's simply not worth it to see the affect it has on family and friends, and it's not worth compromising one's character either. I got this in an email this morning, thought it fits FAMILY Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

                          N 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • C Colin Angus Mackay

                            Mark Nischalke wrote:

                            Given equal duties, pay, communting time, etc. why would anyone chose to work longer hours? Am I missing something?

                            I don't think you are missing anything. I have lots of outside activities that I would have to be compensated for if I moved jobs and they wanted me to work longer hours.


                            Upcoming events: * Glasgow: Mock Objects, SQL Server CLR Integration, Reporting Services, db4o, Dependency Injection with Spring ... * Reading: Developer Day 5 Ready to Give up - Your help will be much appreciated. My website

                            V Offline
                            V Offline
                            Vasudevan Deepak Kumar
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #13

                            Colin Angus Mackay wrote:

                            I have lots of outside activities that I would have to be compensated for if I moved jobs and they wanted me to work longer hours

                            Absolutely true. There must be a good healthy balance between personal chores and professional duties for healthy progressive mindset.

                            Vasudevan Deepak Kumar Personal Homepage Tech Gossips

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • D da toolman

                              You aren't missing anything. I've been in a similar situation, after about a month of putting in 80+ hours a week because of someone else's mismanagement, the light came on and that stopped. It's simply not worth it to see the affect it has on family and friends, and it's not worth compromising one's character either. I got this in an email this morning, thought it fits FAMILY Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

                              N Offline
                              N Offline
                              NormDroid
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #14

                              da-toolman wrote:

                              FAMILY Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

                              So very true, work for today and live for tomorrow.

                              P Think of the environment; please don't print this message unless you really need to.

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • N Not Active

                                I went to an interview yesterday, a full day of meeting people, lunch with the VP, tour of the facility, etc. This was after two phone interviews, about 1.5 hours each. After the phone interviews I was excited to see the place and talk with the people and all through the day I saw some place that could be a very interesting environment to work in with great people. The day ended with an HR person who explained the benefits and compensation arrangement. Everything sounded great, then the ball was dropped. Everyone here works 48 hours a week she says. It wasn't, we have a lot to do so everyone puts in some extra time, it was 48 hours per week is mandatory and the minimum acceptable for a salaried employee. When I said I couldn't work 48 hour weeks she asked, in a stunned voice "Why not?". I explained that I have a family and outside activities, including pursueing a higher degree (which would add value to me as an employee) that I would like to continue enjoying. She sat there for a moment and I could see the confused look of "How can one have a life outside the company" on her face. I also explained to her the I am currently working at a position with similar duties making the same pay and only working 40 hours a week. There was disbelif on her face that such a place exsisted. The final meeting of the day was with my potential boss and he asked what I thought about the position. I said I thought it was a great opportunity and beleived I could add real value to the company, however, I can't work 48 hour weeks. Again the questions was "Why not?". I explained to him also about family and having an outside life. He asked about my activities and began calculating the hours it took up each week, then said "I think you have a conflict." So my life is a conflict of work. I was really disappointed as this was a great company but just don't understand how they can seemingly be so out of touch with reality. The company is my life attitude vanished a long time ago. Given equal duties, pay, communting time, etc. why would anyone chose to work longer hours? Am I missing something?


                                only two letters away from being an asset

                                V Offline
                                V Offline
                                Vasudevan Deepak Kumar
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #15

                                In India and at least in Chennai, fresh graduates out of colleges are fleeced like anything. I have a narration here: http://viewsreviews.wordpress.com/2006/07/20/fate-of-freshers/[^]

                                Vasudevan Deepak Kumar Personal Homepage Tech Gossips

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • V Vasudevan Deepak Kumar

                                  Mark Nischalke wrote:

                                  productivity decreases the more hours

                                  The Break Even Analysis concept can be applied here to an extent: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Break_even_analysis[^]

                                  Vasudevan Deepak Kumar Personal Homepage Tech Gossips

                                  M Offline
                                  M Offline
                                  MidwestLimey
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #16

                                  From the productivity side, I would have thought the law of diminishing returns applies more to this situation. Economics 101 :) I believe some studies how been done into the maximum number of hours different positions can work before no additional output can be registered. Perhaps someone with more time today would like to google it? Meanwhile I have code to refactor ...


                                  I'm largely language agnostic


                                  After a while they all bug me :doh:


                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • N Not Active

                                    I went to an interview yesterday, a full day of meeting people, lunch with the VP, tour of the facility, etc. This was after two phone interviews, about 1.5 hours each. After the phone interviews I was excited to see the place and talk with the people and all through the day I saw some place that could be a very interesting environment to work in with great people. The day ended with an HR person who explained the benefits and compensation arrangement. Everything sounded great, then the ball was dropped. Everyone here works 48 hours a week she says. It wasn't, we have a lot to do so everyone puts in some extra time, it was 48 hours per week is mandatory and the minimum acceptable for a salaried employee. When I said I couldn't work 48 hour weeks she asked, in a stunned voice "Why not?". I explained that I have a family and outside activities, including pursueing a higher degree (which would add value to me as an employee) that I would like to continue enjoying. She sat there for a moment and I could see the confused look of "How can one have a life outside the company" on her face. I also explained to her the I am currently working at a position with similar duties making the same pay and only working 40 hours a week. There was disbelif on her face that such a place exsisted. The final meeting of the day was with my potential boss and he asked what I thought about the position. I said I thought it was a great opportunity and beleived I could add real value to the company, however, I can't work 48 hour weeks. Again the questions was "Why not?". I explained to him also about family and having an outside life. He asked about my activities and began calculating the hours it took up each week, then said "I think you have a conflict." So my life is a conflict of work. I was really disappointed as this was a great company but just don't understand how they can seemingly be so out of touch with reality. The company is my life attitude vanished a long time ago. Given equal duties, pay, communting time, etc. why would anyone chose to work longer hours? Am I missing something?


                                    only two letters away from being an asset

                                    A Offline
                                    A Offline
                                    Andy Brummer
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #17

                                    They told me my first day on the job that a 48 hour work week was mandatory at my current job. It only lasted a few months until a major project deadline was missed, but I think it also killed morale. Things are a lot more sane around here now with only a few times when long hours are expected. Though, I work from home and I'm watching my 10 month old son rake the carpet with a little plastic rake as I type this, so I really can't complain, so it ended up working out for me, but their attitude towards would scare me off. There's no way I would take a job like that in this job market right now.


                                    No, it's a man given right. Some things are cow given. Like milk. Milk doesn't kill, but is a much better calcium source than guns are. - Joergen Sigvardsson

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                                      I went to an interview yesterday, a full day of meeting people, lunch with the VP, tour of the facility, etc. This was after two phone interviews, about 1.5 hours each. After the phone interviews I was excited to see the place and talk with the people and all through the day I saw some place that could be a very interesting environment to work in with great people. The day ended with an HR person who explained the benefits and compensation arrangement. Everything sounded great, then the ball was dropped. Everyone here works 48 hours a week she says. It wasn't, we have a lot to do so everyone puts in some extra time, it was 48 hours per week is mandatory and the minimum acceptable for a salaried employee. When I said I couldn't work 48 hour weeks she asked, in a stunned voice "Why not?". I explained that I have a family and outside activities, including pursueing a higher degree (which would add value to me as an employee) that I would like to continue enjoying. She sat there for a moment and I could see the confused look of "How can one have a life outside the company" on her face. I also explained to her the I am currently working at a position with similar duties making the same pay and only working 40 hours a week. There was disbelif on her face that such a place exsisted. The final meeting of the day was with my potential boss and he asked what I thought about the position. I said I thought it was a great opportunity and beleived I could add real value to the company, however, I can't work 48 hour weeks. Again the questions was "Why not?". I explained to him also about family and having an outside life. He asked about my activities and began calculating the hours it took up each week, then said "I think you have a conflict." So my life is a conflict of work. I was really disappointed as this was a great company but just don't understand how they can seemingly be so out of touch with reality. The company is my life attitude vanished a long time ago. Given equal duties, pay, communting time, etc. why would anyone chose to work longer hours? Am I missing something?


                                      only two letters away from being an asset

                                      J Offline
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                                      jlwarlow
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #18

                                      I guess everyone at that company "lived to work", and couldn't understand someone could "work to live" :) I'll stick to my 37.5h a week thank you :-D

                                      Never argue with an imbecile; they bring you down to their level, and beat you with experience.

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                                      • N Not Active

                                        I went to an interview yesterday, a full day of meeting people, lunch with the VP, tour of the facility, etc. This was after two phone interviews, about 1.5 hours each. After the phone interviews I was excited to see the place and talk with the people and all through the day I saw some place that could be a very interesting environment to work in with great people. The day ended with an HR person who explained the benefits and compensation arrangement. Everything sounded great, then the ball was dropped. Everyone here works 48 hours a week she says. It wasn't, we have a lot to do so everyone puts in some extra time, it was 48 hours per week is mandatory and the minimum acceptable for a salaried employee. When I said I couldn't work 48 hour weeks she asked, in a stunned voice "Why not?". I explained that I have a family and outside activities, including pursueing a higher degree (which would add value to me as an employee) that I would like to continue enjoying. She sat there for a moment and I could see the confused look of "How can one have a life outside the company" on her face. I also explained to her the I am currently working at a position with similar duties making the same pay and only working 40 hours a week. There was disbelif on her face that such a place exsisted. The final meeting of the day was with my potential boss and he asked what I thought about the position. I said I thought it was a great opportunity and beleived I could add real value to the company, however, I can't work 48 hour weeks. Again the questions was "Why not?". I explained to him also about family and having an outside life. He asked about my activities and began calculating the hours it took up each week, then said "I think you have a conflict." So my life is a conflict of work. I was really disappointed as this was a great company but just don't understand how they can seemingly be so out of touch with reality. The company is my life attitude vanished a long time ago. Given equal duties, pay, communting time, etc. why would anyone chose to work longer hours? Am I missing something?


                                        only two letters away from being an asset

                                        M Offline
                                        M Offline
                                        Marc Clifton
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #19

                                        Mark Nischalke wrote:

                                        as this was a great company

                                        By that fact it is not a great company. I wish you had asked them why they do things so inefficiently that they require everyone to work an extra 8 hours a week. Marc

                                        Thyme In The Country
                                        Interacx
                                        My Blog

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                                          Nishant Sivakumar wrote:

                                          I am not sure if excessive work helped improved productivity though.

                                          That's point. There are more reports of how productivity decreases the more hours your work rather than increases.


                                          only two letters away from being an asset

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                                          Bijesh
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #20

                                          Mark Nischalke wrote:

                                          There are more reports of how productivity decreases the more hours your work rather than increases.

                                          Certainly true from my experience. People are prone to make more errors when they work crazy hours. A lot of time is then spent fixing those...

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