Would you say this is exploitation at work? Just want Thoughts

[randomshenans]

This. I don't understand people whose aim is to 'not get fired' instead of actually trying to get further ahead.

Maybe it's because i'm on a fixed term contract instead of a full time type, but I doubt my attitude would change because of it. Where's the fun in just doing what you're doing, without any change, for the rest of your life?

You honestly think he'd get a pay rise or more than a sales adminy job promotion after he's completed the work they want him to? I sincerely doubt it in this case.

I'm all for not waiting for responsibility to be given, I go out and get what I want and do above and beyond, but it's calculated at the same time. I won't work my backside off on trivial things that won't get me anywhere. Bigger picture, I can work hard on trivial things for customers, which on the outset get me nothing but they do get me great feedback which is very visible.

In this case though, I would wager anything that this would not further him in any way. Exploitation of cheap labour having found out the OP is over qualified for the job and took it out of desperation and the boss thinks he can get more out of it without paying for it. I bet career progression was not something discussed with him at interview at all.

 

[Egon]

I think some are missing the point here. There is a difference, a fine line I guess, between a) going that extra mile because you're a hard worker and want the recognition, and b) exploitation. But I'm sorry in this instance, it is clearly exploitation. I mean how can "Offer his family technical support" be anything other than that.

I agree wholeheartedly with working your butt off to better yourself if there is potential for better pay and terms, but based on what the OP has said (and that's only 1 side of the story I might add), it doesn't sound like that would ever happen, the employer sounds like an ass.

 

[Hagar]

Going above and beyond should be the default attitude for anyone who intends to make a success in life.

I'm not suggesting that employees should accept long hours withour reimbursement but as a long time salaryman, I have often worked 18 hour days including travel without extra payment.

If the tasks vary from the short statement of the job description but provide an intellectual or interesting change or challenge, why not do it.

Your time contracted by your employer should be to assist with the business and perform all and any reasonable tasks set.

So in my opinion do the job asked but if you are not getting satisfaction through conditions or reinbursement, look for something else meantime.

 

[Haggisman]

This boils down very simply to:

During your contracted hours you have a job working X hours for £6.91/hour.

You can spend those X hours doing boring shop work.
OR
You can spend those X hours doing IT work.

Which do you prefer?

Either way you're still going to be spending X hours doing the work, and you're still going to be getting £6.91/hour for doing it.

If you have a problem with it, you have 2 choices:

A) Kick up a fuss, which will result in (in order of probability):

- Lose your job
OR
- Spend those X hours doing boring shop work for the same pay.
OR
- Get a small pay rise

B) Get a new job.

The "out of hours" work fixing family PCs I agree is a bit of a ****-take, and I would be charging standard rate of £35-40/hour for any of that.

 

[Musty Pie]

so you suggest he just does shop work, and then at his it interview explain why he past up the chance to do IT work? don't think a future employer would be too keen hearing that.

This is a pretty stupid statement really.

The next interviewer is going to have no idea what he got asked to do "out of contract" by his previous employer. Or what chances he passed up? He is hardily going to say "well my previous boss expected me to DO I.T things that were not part of my contract so I told him to go **** himself".

Therefor when they ask what he has been doing to keep his IT skills current he could use a whole other vast amount of examples. Such as fixing friends and family equipment, and building knowledge on web design in my personal time. etc.

 

[Musty Pie]

I'm firmly in the "above and beyond normal duties" camp, and it's definitely paid off so far in my current company.

So far in the 2 years I've been here I've had:

• 25% pay rise for implementing improvements to various systems off my own back.
• Had a meal out at a fancy restaurant for me and my partner paid for on the company credit card, for helping move furniture etc. for an office move.
• Got a free week for the whole family in the MD's holiday home by the beach next summer for sorting out her kid's laptop.
• Just been moved from IT support to a developer role (along with associated payrise etc.) for showing that I could do it (rather than responding with "its not my job").

While I can understand that it's not the same in every company, maybe that's an indication that you need to find a better employer, rather than deciding to work strictly to your job description.

you have to look at each persons case with different spectacles though.

In your situation improving work processes etc. (which kind of has a direct improvement on your hired functions and thus improving the business for you and everyone else) would be considered going above and beyond in a worthwhile way. I ALWAYS look for ways to improve my job functions, be in in or outside of work time. This is a great work ethic and I agree with that 100%

However the OP's situation is nothing like this. What if, for example (and similar to the OP) you were hired to build websites and were paid to do so. Yet your boss/line manager asked you to mop his floor to his office, or polish his shoes?

would you do that then in an attempt to improve your career?

This has no direct improvement to his hired job functions and is a great example of an employee being taken for granted.

Its horses for courses.

 

[Deleted member 77746]

It's exploiting your skills. The question is what are you going to do about it?

Quoted for the truth.

1) Leave.
2) Tell him that £6.91 for doing what you do isn't acceptable.
3) Don't do what you do outside of your job description.
4) Ask to go on training courses to improve yourself and the company.

 

[~>Dg<~]

its standard.

happens to everyone who lets it happen to them.

one place i worked for they knew what time i finished and my set workload but because i was efficient and did my work to time i would always be on time so they would always try and add extra job / work each day.

i wouldn't do it and would just wait outside after a short period of time they stopped asking for the extra little addons.

if you don't stand up or say its not on they'll just keep on adding extras because they know you'll do it.

 

[pitchfork]

Your time contracted by your employer should be to assist with the business and perform all and any reasonable tasks set.

Reasonable being the operative word, if I'm being paid a **** shoveler's wage I won't be compiling your budget reports, I'll be shoveling the **** out back.

If you ask me to shovel the chicken feed instead, that's reasonable, but to ask someone to do a job which demands a huge payrise just because they are capable isn't reasonable at all.

 

[Haggisman]

would you do that then in an attempt to improve your career?

This has no direct improvement to his hired job functions and is a great example of an employee being taken for granted.

Its horses for courses.

Given that the OP has a history of work in IT, and is actively looking for jobs (I would assume in IT, given it's his area of experience), I would say that "improving his career" is exactly what doing additional IT work will do. Certainly a hell of a lot more than shop work.

Reasonable being the operative word, if I'm being paid a **** shoveler's wage I won't be compiling your budget reports, I'll be shoveling the **** out back.

You'd rather shovel **** in the cold and wet than sit in a warm clean office working on a PC? Even if you were looking for a job that involved compiling budget reports?

 

[Musty Pie]

Given that the OP has a history of work in IT, and is actively looking for jobs (I would assume in IT, given it's his area of experience), I would say that "improving his career" is exactly what doing additional IT work will do. Certainly a hell of a lot more than shop work.

If you really think fixing your bosses families laptops and PC's, and making a crappy website for him for free is "improving his career" than so be it.

Personally I don't see it as so. I am pretty sure (and maybe the OP can confirm) that his previous job in actual IT was probably a bit more skilled than the said work he is currently being asked to do. And that he has more chance/hope of improving his IT skills in better ways outside of his shop work in his personal time.

 

[Caged]

You'd rather shovel **** in the cold and wet than sit in a warm clean office working on a PC? Even if you were looking for a job that involved compiling budget reports?

This idea that someone capable of compiling budget reports has fallen on hard times and has a job shovelling crap around outside should then jump at the chance to do their skilled job for the same wage simply because it's inside and painting it as bettering themselves somehow is laughable. It's only bettering the employer.

If they get asked then by all means use that as a chance to negotiate the pay. Doing for example a £40k job for £20k screws over everybody else who has to follow you at that organisation.

 

[glenimp617]

If you really think fixing your bosses families laptops and PC's, and making a crappy website for him for free is "improving his career" than so be it.

That's a little snobby, and demeaning to those in a 1st line or field engineering role.

any type of IT work helps anyone increase their IT skills. Even if its a simple rebuild, you may get a 0x800....windows update error, driver error which may crop up in a future job. Experience is experience at the end of the day (and boy are there lots of people working in IT without any). Same with building websites, yeah you could make a rubbish one in dreamweaver, or code it yourself learning new stuff like CSS, HTML5 etc etc

rebuilding pcs sounds like a very basic job, but that helps massively if you ever start using SCCM for example

 

[Musty Pie]

That's a little snobby, and demeaning to those in a 1st line or field engineering role.

any type of IT work helps anyone increase their IT skills. Even if its a simple rebuild, you may get a 0x800....windows update error, driver error which may crop up in a future job. Experience is experience at the end of the day (and boy are there lots of people working in IT without any). Same with building websites, yeah you could make a rubbish one in dreamweaver, or code it yourself learning new stuff like CSS, HTML5 etc etc

Open your eyes bud. Yes he could do all of that. In his own time, or to line his own pockets.

Not to be expected in his current un-related "mop the floor" job role.

 

[PMKeates]

By that logic nuclear scientists should do their job for free/for minimum wage for an unknown period of time before they can actually find a person/employer that will pay them accordingly for their skills.

I think in that situation, the "real paid jobs" would disappear. Same reason why free workforce incentives for jobless people do not do any good for the economy.

If you possess a skill that can only be bought in the market for 30 pounds/hour, you should not do it for any less or capitalism dictates that it will soon be only available for whatever price the lowest person is offering it for. Good for the companies, not good for the workers.

If the nuclear scientist cannot find a job that will pay him £30/hr, then his current market value is not £30/hr. If someone can afford to utilise his skills for £15/hr, then that's his current market value. He can choose to earn £0/hr if he doesn't wish to be employed. Nobody owes him a job at £30/hr. He is free at any time to look for £30/hr jobs and take them.

 

[Musty Pie]

If the nuclear scientist cannot find a job that will pay him £30/hr, then his current market value is not £30/hr. If someone can afford to utilise his skills for £15/hr, then that's his current market value. He can choose to earn £0/hr if he doesn't wish to be employed. Nobody owes him a job at £30/hr.

Or he could do the job as advertised that's paying £15 an hour.

People are swaying WELL off topic here. The chap is working in a job role that is NOTHING to do with his previous job role.

He is being asked to provide the company skills that are not part of his current job role. Ones that are quite drastically different by the sounds of things.

How is that so hard to understand?

 

[PMKeates]

Or he could do the job as advertised that's paying £15 an hour.

People are swaying WELL off topic here. The chap is working in a job role that is NOTHING to do with his previous job role.

He is being asked to provide the company skills that are not part of his current job role. Ones that are quite drastically different by the sounds of things.

How is that so hard to understand?

How is it so hard to understand that he can leave if he has a problem with it?

 

[glenimp617]

Open your eyes bud. Yes he could do all of that. In his own time, or to line his own pockets.

Not to be expected in his current un-related "mop the floor" job role.

or he could do it in works time rather than boring shop work?

 

[Musty Pie]

How is it so hard to understand that he can leave if he has a problem with it?

He shouldn't feel forced to leave for refusing to do work that he is not paid to do.

it really is that simple.

I don't know what you do for a living but if my company (one of the largest IT manufacturers in the world) asked me to clean the toilets or wash the dishes as "part of my job role" they would get the same response everyone else in this office would give them:

"I'm not paid to do that"

@ glen8 he could do that, and then that would be his choice and he wouldn't have any issues. But judging by the fact he doesn't seem happy to do this on his wage I don't think that's the case.

 

[Evilsod]

This thread is great fun to read. glen8 seems to be an advocate for doing whatever is asked regardless of situation and whether it will actually help you out in any way, shape or form.

Every case is different. In the OPs situation, being asked to do a web designers role 'because he can' while being paid next to nothing when by all accounts, it sounds like the manager has no interest in giving him a bonus/pay rise and there are no promotion opportunities in his current job. Maybe he could draw upon it for an interview and make himself look good. Maybe the employer you tell that story to will sit there and think "we can push this guy around all day". Making a website isn't going to improve his job.

I'm at least competent with MSExcel and Visual Basic which is more than I can say for the majority of the people I work with. Is taking it upon myself to create a macro within MSExcel part of my job description? No. Will making said macro which turns a 30-40 minute task into a 5 minute task be a benefit for me and the rest of the team while also potentially working out favourably as far as my career goes? Yes. My example demonstrates a skillset and initiative. OPs example just shows he's been exploited.