Expectancy of working past hours

craptakular · 30 Apr 2015 at 21:11

Participant said:
Which is fine, if nowhere is where they want to be. Not everyone would rather drive a 3 series back from work at 8pm and never see their kids than leave at 5:30, drive home in their Skoda, and give them a bath and some tea .

That said, I recommend insurance companies as places that pay well and play well .

How can a father look there kids in their eyes and be happy with not even trying at work?

Why do people not strive for more money to fund a better future?

Haggisman · 30 Apr 2015 at 21:14

craptakular said:
I work a lot of extra hours a week for "free". The benefit being is, I get keep getting showered with salary increases, a company car and now promotion so even more money.

The people that clock watch usually get absolutley nowhere.

Interesting, I rarely stay more than 5-10 minutes beyond finish time (unless its something critical) and in the 3 years i've been at the company I've been promoted twice (and will be again in 6 months) and am on 50% more than I was when I started (and will be getting another rise in 6 months), not to mention the annual bonus... Must be the fact that instead of working lots of extra hours, I make the hours when I'm supposed to be working actually count. Then again, it could also be because i don't work with a bunch of bankers...

craptakular said:
How can a father look there kids in their eyes and be happy with not even trying at work?

Why do people not strive for more money to fund a better future?

When you're on your deathbed, do you think your (grown up) kids are more likely to think " I wish dad had spent more time with me growing up" or "I wish dad had spent more time at work earning money to buy me stuff" ?

Moothead2 · 30 Apr 2015 at 21:19

craptakular said:
How can a father look there kids in their eyes and be happy with not even trying at work?

Why do people not strive for more money to fund a better future?

Jesus Christ :rolleyes:

Participant · 30 Apr 2015 at 21:20

craptakular said:
How can a father look there kids in their eyes and be happy with not even trying at work?

Why do people not strive for more money to fund a better future?

What I like is jobs with reasonable hours that pay well and provide plenty for my kids, while also allowing me to spent lots of time with them. They do exist.

craptakular · 30 Apr 2015 at 21:29

Haggisman said:
Interesting, I rarely stay more than 5-10 minutes beyond finish time (unless its something critical) and in the 3 years i've been at the company I've been promoted twice (and will be again in 6 months) and am on 50% more than I was when I started (and will be getting another rise in 6 months), not to mention the annual bonus... Must be the fact that instead of working lots of extra hours, I make the hours when I'm supposed to be working actually count. Then again, it could also be because i don't work with a bunch of bankers...

When you're on your deathbed, do you think your (grown up) kids are more likely to think " I wish dad had spent more time with me growing up" or "I wish dad had spent more time at work earning money to buy me stuff" ?

Money is used to save and pay mortgage so they will have something to when i die. Also I can play for holidays and experiences etc. Not just objects.

Also by working more I am productive during the normal day and extra productive because I work more.

Woden · 30 Apr 2015 at 21:33

craptakular said:
How can a father look there kids in their eyes and be happy with not even trying at work?

Why do people not strive for more money to fund a better future?

Much harder to look your kids in their eyes of they are always at work. Money can't buy you time to watch them grow up.

craptakular · 30 Apr 2015 at 21:36

Woden said:
Much harder to look your kids in their eyes of they are always at work. Money can't buy you time to watch them grow up.

I'm not always at work

DB_SamX · 30 Apr 2015 at 21:37

I was on 40h weeks in London and up to last year, I would do that every week on average at least. Since January, I was doing 45-50h (overtime unpaid but took some TOIL). But it got too much lately because I wasn't getting enough time to look after myself regularly so decided to quit. I realise it isn't a lot of hours but I always told myself I would never live to work unless absolutely necessary.

Ended up getting a job down South on similar pay but shorter working week and lower cost of living, so it worked out better for me after all.

phonemonkey · 30 Apr 2015 at 21:53

Some of the people in this thread remind me of this

quote-normal-is-getting-dressed-in-clothes-that-you-buy-for-work-and-driving-through-traffic-in-a-car-ellen-goodman-283296.jpg

SlyReaper · 30 Apr 2015 at 22:06

craptakular said:
How can a father look there kids in their eyes and be happy with not even trying at work?

Why do people not strive for more money to fund a better future?

Because some people, myself included, really do not care about money. If you earn enough to live comfortably on, and can afford a few luxuries and hobbies, anything extra is just gravy. If you're super career-oriented and work hard to climb the totem pole, then good on you. But not everyone has the same priorities.

[FnG]magnolia · 30 Apr 2015 at 22:13

I work for a bank and I certainly don't feel the need to jump through the 'get there early, leave late' hoops at this stage of my career. I've done that and don't need to do it now. I strongly encourage my team to get a balance which works for them and firmly believe that repetitive and long lasting requirements to work significant overtime is either my problem for not considering my team's capacity or my team's problem for not prioritising their workload effectively, or both.

Those who wear their inability to work a relatively normal working week as a badge of honour have personal issues and/or work for a company whose ethos is outdated.

dowie · 30 Apr 2015 at 22:13

SlyReaper said:
A bonus is the thing that happens once a year where everyone gets exactly the same amount of bonus money.

nah it is the bit where your manager has a pool of cash and he along with his boss decide how to divide it up amongst the team... everyone getting exactly the same is a very unlikely outcome

Career progression is that thing tryhards do.

probably sensible to be a tryhard in a bank, these banker types have quite a structured hierarchy from analyst to MD... if you're not progressing then you leave yourself quite vulnerable

dowie · 30 Apr 2015 at 22:18

Woden said:
Much harder to look your kids in their eyes of they are always at work. Money can't buy you time to watch them grow up.

point is - for people in these banks who are putting in the hours, by the time they're having kids they are able to take a step back as they'd have been made VP in their late 20s and could be ED or MD in their 30s..

or they end up at funds, technology vendors etc.. where the culture is more relaxed

it is the junior guys that really have to put in the hours normally and they're fresh out of uni...

pinkowl · 30 Apr 2015 at 23:04

I have a nice job. I can get there anytime I want between 8 - 9, I get full 1h for my lunch which I go enjoy outside the office and I leave on time. If I have to stay late I am asked to leave early on one of the other days to make up for it, usually friday as everyone likes to get home early then. Today I got in at 9 and left at 4 to use up some flexi.
I enjoy my work and look foward the next day but I also enjoy my free time. I dont think I would change for working unpaid overtime every day and 20min break enjoyed at the desk even if I got paid a lot more. But everyone is different.

Scythe · 30 Apr 2015 at 23:43

oldbag said:
IMO if you need to stay late because you actually have work that is on a deadline, stay. If not, go on time. If you're doing your contracted hours, screw them, they're fools for staying late and their bosses are laughing at them getting extra labour for free.

+1

I wouldn't work for a minute unpaid, unless it was for an urgent deadline and a one off. It certainly wouldn't be a regular thing.

Mr^B · 30 Apr 2015 at 23:45

I work 7:30 - 6:00 most days. I don't mind, I enjoy the work.

*shrugs*

A2Z · 30 Apr 2015 at 23:55

I would not stay a minute extra if I was not getting paid for it.

I have worked for tech support and if I was dealing with an issue that had to be fixed there and then, I would stay past my finish time just to fix it. But any other time I was out the door on the minute.

I feel very lucky that now I work 40 hrs a week, 8 hr shifts with 30 mins 'official' lunch break, but 90% of the time get an hour, and leave 30 mins early. Also at least another 30 min break during the day. Sometimes more.

Moothead2 · 1 May 2015 at 00:11

Mr^B said:
I work 7:30 - 6:00 most days. I don't mind, I enjoy the work.

*shrugs*

It's fine if you enjoy the work that much you don't mind. The problem is employers that expect you to do more hours than contracted and look down on you for not doing so. Especially if it's unpaid.

Nitefly · 1 May 2015 at 00:25

I work in a role that pays relatively well but demands long working hours due to being at the mercy commercially sensitive deadlines. In short, you'd simply fail if you didn't work those hours.

That said, my friend who works in a sales role works 9-5, earns a whopping six figure salary and a large 5 figure bonus, which makes me feel like a total chump.

Ultimately I'd rather be subject to long working hours than prolonged periods of intense stress.

Boycey0211 · 1 May 2015 at 02:41

every single day I go into work I don't know what time I'm leaving, I'm salaried so theres literally nothing to gain by working late its just mandatory, you stay till the work is done

Was in the work bar a month or so ago when a few of us heard one guy complaining because his working week had gone up to 34 hrs, at that time ours was 84 hrs, had to take one of the guys away from him as he saw red....