Is it appropriate for work to call during a week off asking you to come in?

[Blackjack Davy]

Turn your phone off thats what I do, lol. If they ask apologise and say the battery ran out. Or something.

Turned it on once to check the calls and I'd had one at 6.30 a.m. the day before xmas. They must have been really short staffed.

Sorry but, no.

 

[Aldav]

Coming in when asked if on holiday, covering absent staff with 12 hour shifts etc means nothing if that person isn't actually that skilled at the job. Anyone who says this is enough to win promotion is lying. Returning a favour yes, promotion no.

I'm not sure if you are referring to my comment about promotion, but as I referred to that, I'll respond.

Being prepared to cover shifts isn't "enough' to win promotion, but the attitude it suggests is a factor, as is a "jobsworth" approach. As I said in my first post, it also varies from one type of company and job to another, but in my case, the kind of critical staff I might be seeking to cover emergency situations aren't going to be in the "isn't that skilled" category. If they are, they're very unlikely to be recruited in the first place, and won't last long in the job if they somehow got past screening

Promotion requires a series of attributes, but attitude is certainly one of them. Assuming all other attribute requirements are met, it's a big one. But this is at a professional level, not a supermarket, call centre, fast food joint, etc. level.

I would also stress that the converse is true. If an employer wants motivated staff, pay them well, treat them well and acknowledge effort and achievement. If you treat people like faceless cogs in the company machine, they're very likely to behave accordingly. We treat staff very well, because we can. It's a low-volume, high-skill business, with highly selective recruitment processes and an extremely low staff turnover rate. That suits me perfectly, as recruiting is not only time-consuming and expensive, but a considerable nuisance.

 

[jon86]

... We treat staff very well, because we can. It's a low-volume, high-skill business, with highly selective recruitment processes and an extremely low staff turnover rate. That suits me perfectly, as recruiting is not only time-consuming and expensive, but a considerable nuisance.

May I ask where you work and what your company specializes in? It sounds like a good company to work for.

 

[memyselfandi]

If I've just got some time off but nothing really planned then I don't mind to much being contacted to be asked a question ... normally though thats by one of my colleagues who has my non-work contact details rather than my boss. At the moment though I'm out of the country so whilst we have exchanged messages on a few matters, to make my life easier when I get back, mostly it's been that my boss wants to know if I can buy him something he wants.

 

[atpbx]

I think that's sort of implied by the act of scheduling leave.

Yes, the very act of being on holiday means, "I am on holiday, leave me the **** alone and don't call me".

 

[Aldav]

May I ask where you work and what your company specializes in? It sounds like a good company to work for.

I think it is a good company to work for, but then I would think that, as it's my company.

As for where, that's pretty much wherever the client needs us. I just might be deliberately misunderstanding the question, there.

The company is one it's extremely unlikely anyone's heard of. We're small, and highly focused. The speciality is something I don't want to go into, I'm afraid, not least because it's not relevant. I'm sorry if that's a bit opaque, but I don't even want to hint beyond what I've already said, and that it's not illegal, or immoral, so no, we're not tax consultants etc,.

Oh, and we recruit almost exclusively among people we already know of or about and aren't, I'm afraid, currently looking to do so.

Perhaps it might add context if I say that just about everybody here is pretty driven, pretty motivated. None of us are clockwatchers, and if you want to recruit and subsequently retain that type of character, it requires you to treat and reward people well. I want them feeling they're better off, and not just monetarily, right where they are. But there's a healthy portion of self-interest in there, because investing time, attention and money in staff is, in my experience, by far the best way to get and keep motivated self-achievers.

That's why I stressed "good reason" to not come in. For a start, I wouldn't be contacting people and asking unless the need was serious and urgent. Our workload tends to very much peak and trough. We plan for it as best we can, but sometimes events conspire, and it's all conceivably available hands manning the pumps. Given that we don't ask unless it's serious, a lack of being willing to jump in in an urgent situation, absent a good reason for not doing so, is a strong indication of someone not right for the team. A single instance might not raise eyebrows but a history of it risks causing resentment with everyone else.

Someone said earlier that they wouldn't want to work for me. That's fair enough. It rather implies I wouldn't want them anyway, so we're in agreement on that at least.

 

[holymonk]

I think it is a good company to work for, but then I would think that, as it's my company.

As for where, that's pretty much wherever the client needs us. I just might be deliberately misunderstanding the question, there.

The company is one it's extremely unlikely anyone's heard of. We're small, and highly focused. The speciality is something I don't want to go into, I'm afraid, not least because it's not relevant. I'm sorry if that's a bit opaque, but I don't even want to hint beyond what I've already said, and that it's not illegal, or immoral, so no, we're not tax consultants etc,.

Oh, and we recruit almost exclusively among people we already know of or about and aren't, I'm afraid, currently looking to do so.

Perhaps it might add context if I say that just about everybody here is pretty driven, pretty motivated. None of us are clockwatchers, and if you want to recruit and subsequently retain that type of character, it requires you to treat and reward people well. I want them feeling they're better off, and not just monetarily, right where they are. But there's a healthy portion of self-interest in there, because investing time, attention and money in staff is, in my experience, by far the best way to get and keep motivated self-achievers.

That's why I stressed "good reason" to not come in. For a start, I wouldn't be contacting people and asking unless the need was serious and urgent. Our workload tends to very much peak and trough. We plan for it as best we can, but sometimes events conspire, and it's all conceivably available hands manning the pumps. Given that we don't ask unless it's serious, a lack of being willing to jump in in an urgent situation, absent a good reason for not doing so, is a strong indication of someone not right for the team. A single instance might not raise eyebrows but a history of it risks causing resentment with everyone else.

Someone said earlier that they wouldn't want to work for me. That's fair enough. It rather implies I wouldn't want them anyway, so we're in agreement on that at least.

Yawn, #aggrandise selling daily issue?

 

[Jamesyboyjim]

In previous employment, as a team leader, I've been in a position where I've had driving shifts to fill or someone go sick last minute and I've had to call people I know are off.

I've always been apologetic and explained I wouldn't have asked unless I had to. Not just because I have to get that shift filled, but because when I go to the store manager above me I can say I've exhausted all options and called everyone.

Everyone has always been sympathetic, even if they could easily come in and just didn't want to. Which I hope was down to the way I've spoken to them at the time and treated them previously. I really believed respect was everything, I valued everyone who worked under me, the thought of anyone disliking me horrified me.

I suspect you are getting annoyed because you don't feel valued at work and are being asked in a poor way. Perhaps have a chat when you return to work one to one with your line manager.

 

[Aldav]

Yawn, #aggrandise selling daily issue?

For what? Running a small, reasonably successful company?

Or for giving an opinion from a different perspective?

There really is a stench of nasty intolerance in this forum, isn't there.

 

[platypus]

Unless it's specifically stated in your contract, then no, it's not appropriate. It's also not allowed.

They can direct when you take annual leave, but they can't contact you whilst you're on annual leave.