Do YOU stay later at work unpaid?

Zirax · 11 Jul 2010 at 11:33

I used to work longer hours and make sure everything was done. Then I realised that I was getting no reward and was generally being taken advantage of. The way I see it is that it works both ways. There needs to be flexibility on both sides.

Our place seem to think that people will just give up their weekends for nothing and then deny them time off at every opportunity. For some reason people just accept this and allow themselves to be walked over.

Surfer · 11 Jul 2010 at 11:36

dmpoole said:
Doing what?
I deal with Clinical Negligence claims now in Clinical Governance, Audit & Risk.

Librarian so pretty much on the periphery of services..though our service is having to fight for its existence at the moment due to the shocking deficit facing NHS Scotland.

So were you involved in any way with this?

Risk Assessment?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8606032.stm

SexyGreyFox · 11 Jul 2010 at 11:39

Surfer said:
Librarian

What does that involve? - Health Records?

Surfer said:
So were you involved in any way with this? Risk Assessment?

Not me guv, only been there 2 months.

AtreuS · 11 Jul 2010 at 11:39

M0T said:
On wednesday at around 5:30 when I had around 3hrs work left to do (so finishing at midday thursday - well in advance of my deadline) she demanded I stay and finish it because she was planning to work until 10:30pm on it so she could bank that time and use it on friday afternoon.

"sorry love, got an appointment at the hospital... must dash ... bye!"

That would be my answer, if the silly mare had asked you earlier in the week then there would be no issue.

As for me im self employed so i do what im paid to do and love to work overtime! more money

I did once work for threshers ( the off license chain ) and you were paid till the end of your shift, but then you had to take the till off ( timed so it cannot be done before the shift ends ) and count it up and enter it all manually into a ledger! this could take at least 20mins sometimes and you HAD to do it so you could enter the figures back into the till to be send back to head office that night. If you added it up it accounted for at least 3 or 4 hours most weeks.

You could do all your cleaning and stuff earlier on, as long as it was done there was no problem, but sometimes if they were single staffed and very busy you could not get ANYTHING done, stocking up etc.

Then the depty manager who was a tosspot would be phoning me up at 7am ( when he gets in ) moaning on about how the shelves were bare etc.. it was his bloody fault for having us single staffed! you cant operate a till AND do jobs when there was literally no stop to the flow of customers..

steve-h · 11 Jul 2010 at 11:46

If you're enjoying what you're doing or want to stay... stay, else... don't.

Surfer · 11 Jul 2010 at 11:50

dmpoole said:
What does that involve? - Health Records?

Nah just usual library services that you'd get in any library. Anytime you'd need training, research or information on something we'd probably be involved at some level. As jobs go its pretty laid-back/chilled

Bear · 11 Jul 2010 at 11:58

I used to every now and then when there was an urgent job that needed to be shipped but now I'm a contractor so I get paid by the hour.

Kenai · 11 Jul 2010 at 11:58

dmpoole said:
I suppose I learned the lesson that going above & beyond doesn't get you anywhere.

I would have thought a better lesson to have learnt is to try and recognise the sort of people who will or won't reward the extra commitment, rather than assume no one does.

SexyGreyFox · 11 Jul 2010 at 12:14

Kenai said:
I would have thought a better lesson to have learnt is to try and recognise the sort of people who will or won't reward the extra commitment, rather than assume no one does.

Not easy when there are smiling Managers faces thanking you all the time.
I suppose my commitment was acknowledged at least.

Fuzzyheid · 11 Jul 2010 at 12:15

No, I never stay past my finishing time. If my shift has ended, I'm going home

However, due to the lack of parking at work (NHS hospital) I usually arrive 1hr early in the morning to be sure of a space, and will normally just start working, not that anyone notices or cares, just nothing else to do

No1newts · 11 Jul 2010 at 12:17

I do work overtime (unpaid as I am salary) but I generally balance things out. If I work longer one day I will certainly leave early the next, if I work 6 days one week then I will be working 4 the week after.

Whilst my employer probably gets the better end of the stick in regards to the extra hours I put in I am generally happy to do so and if I need a favour from them I certainly let them know about the extra graft I put in.

Sone · 11 Jul 2010 at 12:23

I always did more hours, in the end did it do me any good; NO!

Judgeneo · 11 Jul 2010 at 12:37

Depends on the job to be honest, I'd be happy to stay later in my current job, but I'm already ahead of schedule working standard hours so I see no need. Back when I worked in hospitality though.. no way

gambitt · 11 Jul 2010 at 13:01

All you guys who work 10-12 hour days, I'd be interested to know how the rest of your day breaks down.

I'll use my case as an example. I need 8 hours of sleep. I know some people get away with 5 or 6 - good for you. I've tried less but I cannot function properly on less than 8, it's just the way I'm built (and I don't rely on caffine!). So that leaves 16 waking hours. I need 45 minutes to shower, have breakfast, prepare lunch etc. which is probably quicker than most. The commute to work is around 35 minutes each way (lucky I don't live in London where the average commute is 55 mins each way I believe).

That leaves about 14 hours. I work 7.5 hours but at the office for 8.5 including lunch. Some days I go to the gym which luckily is in the building but for most people this is an after work activity. Let's assume I go after work instead with 5.5 hours remaining. Getting to the gym (or other sporting activity place), doing the workout and showering would take 1.5 hours if I'm quick.

I'll switch to 2nd person narrative. You get home with 4 hours left before you have to sleep. You still have to prepare a meal, perhaps do some laundry, cleaning or other chore. So you have 2.5 hours left to enjoy your evening (or 4 hours if you skipped the gym) with your wife, kids or internet porn.

So what happens when you suddenly start working 10 hour days? No time left in the evening to live your life. 12 hours days? Kiss goodbye to your sleep time. Then you wake up in a bad mood, lethargic and unable to perform your job properly.

In conclusion life for most people, especially those with a family, is a careful balance so no amount of "having a sense of duty for your work" should not take precedence over anything else in life. 8 hours is an acceptable amount of time for one to dedicate to their working day.

atpbx · 11 Jul 2010 at 13:03

I used to but dont now, under any circumstances, I have been burnt before by it, the same as doing any thing else of your own back or going beyond the call of duty, its soon forgotten.

atpbx · 11 Jul 2010 at 13:05

gambitt said:
All you guys who work 10-12 hour days, I'd be interested to know how the rest of your day breaks down.

.

0515- wake up
0630- set off for work.
0700- clock on.
1800- clock off and set off home.
1815-1830- arrive home.
2200- bed.

Surfer · 11 Jul 2010 at 13:14

its interesting seeing the different attitudes held by people here...

Putting on my raving loony hat now....

but i am of the mind that there are disturbing remnants of slavery(master-slave see Hegel) still EMBEDDED within the manager/boss - employee relationship of contemporary western societies today. (to greater and lesser extents but i will say the boundaries are more blurred/intangible)

Heres a wee article, some of which is interesting and i agree with. (and some of which is not)

http://naturyl.humanists.net/work.html

_TubbZ_ · 11 Jul 2010 at 13:54

I am but an underpaid placement student so I try not to, but I do find if i leave dot on 5 then i don't get somewhere to park my car and end up leaving about 10 minutes past ish. I also am supposed to start at 8:30 but start at 8:50 - 9:00 and have a shorter lunch + extra 10. But thats what most people do in the office.

GTanny · 11 Jul 2010 at 14:43

i do 12 hours but depending on workload i can occationally get finished any time between 5-7 and if its not busy i dont always have to start bang on 7am but its very rare im not in by 8.

i normally get up at 5:50 and im out the door by 6:30 after shower and breakfast (i try listen to the cheesy song as im getting in the car on weekdays unless chris moyles is on holiday then its cd's) work 7-7 on a normal day i fit dinner around the job so some days i dont get any some days i get a few hours. get home at 7:30ish normally play with the daughter for a but before bathing her and putting her to bed then i normally have some tea that most nights the wife had preferred ready. so by 9ish im normally free to watch a film, catch up on TV or play a game. bedtime is normally midnight - 1am. yes i am one of them annoying people that can function on 4-5 hours a night but that comes as doing nights for a few years.

on a night shift its a case of get home once the work is done which varies massivly from not needing to go in at all to having to go in for an hour or so and sometimes a full 12 hours with no or very little breaks and unless its been a full 12 hours i normally manage on what sleep i can get on the couch before the daughter gets up around 8:30-9

i have no problem working like this as we dont have a set work rota and we are only rota'd into doing 2/3 nights every 10 days so i can manage on little sleep and as its only manned up as required you get enough days off to cope.

it does help that i really enjoy the freedom my job has and the job itself is also fun and i still find it interesting due to the varaity it offers

elh_2009 · 11 Jul 2010 at 14:45

gambitt said:
All you guys who work 10-12 hour days, I'd be interested to know how the rest of your day breaks down.

I'll use my case as an example. I need 8 hours of sleep. I know some people get away with 5 or 6 - good for you. I've tried less but I cannot function properly on less than 8, it's just the way I'm built (and I don't rely on caffine!). So that leaves 16 waking hours. I need 45 minutes to shower, have breakfast, prepare lunch etc. which is probably quicker than most. The commute to work is around 35 minutes each way (lucky I don't live in London where the average commute is 55 mins each way I believe).

That leaves about 14 hours. I work 7.5 hours but at the office for 8.5 including lunch. Some days I go to the gym which luckily is in the building but for most people this is an after work activity. Let's assume I go after work instead with 5.5 hours remaining. Getting to the gym (or other sporting activity place), doing the workout and showering would take 1.5 hours if I'm quick.

I'll switch to 2nd person narrative. You get home with 4 hours left before you have to sleep. You still have to prepare a meal, perhaps do some laundry, cleaning or other chore. So you have 2.5 hours left to enjoy your evening (or 4 hours if you skipped the gym) with your wife, kids or internet porn.

So what happens when you suddenly start working 10 hour days? No time left in the evening to live your life. 12 hours days? Kiss goodbye to your sleep time. Then you wake up in a bad mood, lethargic and unable to perform your job properly.

In conclusion life for most people, especially those with a family, is a careful balance so no amount of "having a sense of duty for your work" should not take precedence over anything else in life. 8 hours is an acceptable amount of time for one to dedicate to their working day.

I agree with you on this, i get paid by the hour so if i do ot then i get paid, i generally dont do a lot, couple of hours a week. There are people where i work who do all the hours under the sun, 4hours+ almost everyday. Unless you are on the verge of bankruptcy i honestly cant see how you can do that, there must be no time for a life of your own. As for the ones on salery, well i wouldnt be doing anything over a hour here or there for free.