Where do I draw the line with my job?
LikeAnOcean
Posts: 7,718
10 months of year I enjoy my job, but being an internet based gift company, things get crazy for the holidays.
Basically my job is three different jobs rolled into one, but most importantly I am there for tech support for a production crew.
What is normally a 40 hr, M-F, work day for the workers goes to 24/7 during November and December. They hire temp workers to make up for a 10x increase in work.
Being we now are running equipment much more than it's used to, by temporary, not very well trained employees, things start to break more and more often, and the urgency to fix them right away is MUCH greater.
It was never asked of me to be on call 24/7, but it has pretty much become implied, since I am one of two people who can fix this equipment.
My complaint is my pay. I don't get paid a lot. It's really good work experience, but for being on call all the time, I don't think 37k is very much money.. Actually, I'm only getting paid $750 more a year than I was on my first day, over two years ago.
Also, I don't have a company phone. I have limited minutes, and have run out before because of work related stuff.
Am I being a baby, or should I just turn my phone off when I get home?
I'm grateful to have a job in this economy and I don't mind working extra hours, but should I be losing sleep over trying to please them?
There were points last year I was working my normal 9 to 5 hour shifts and then having to drive back to work twice in the same night, plus working weekends. I'm salary so I don't get paid by the hour or for my gas.
I need a beer right now. Maybe if they call tonight I can tell them I'm too drunk to drive back in. :?
Basically my job is three different jobs rolled into one, but most importantly I am there for tech support for a production crew.
What is normally a 40 hr, M-F, work day for the workers goes to 24/7 during November and December. They hire temp workers to make up for a 10x increase in work.
Being we now are running equipment much more than it's used to, by temporary, not very well trained employees, things start to break more and more often, and the urgency to fix them right away is MUCH greater.
It was never asked of me to be on call 24/7, but it has pretty much become implied, since I am one of two people who can fix this equipment.
My complaint is my pay. I don't get paid a lot. It's really good work experience, but for being on call all the time, I don't think 37k is very much money.. Actually, I'm only getting paid $750 more a year than I was on my first day, over two years ago.
Also, I don't have a company phone. I have limited minutes, and have run out before because of work related stuff.
Am I being a baby, or should I just turn my phone off when I get home?
I'm grateful to have a job in this economy and I don't mind working extra hours, but should I be losing sleep over trying to please them?
There were points last year I was working my normal 9 to 5 hour shifts and then having to drive back to work twice in the same night, plus working weekends. I'm salary so I don't get paid by the hour or for my gas.
I need a beer right now. Maybe if they call tonight I can tell them I'm too drunk to drive back in. :?
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Any possibility of a dialogue with your supervisor? Especially around the phone issues and the expectation that you have to come back to work off hours.
If they aren't positive in the response, can you just not answer the phone? (I think that might be kind of passive aggressive, but it would get the point across.) And then, when they ask you about it, say, "I've got to be careful about going over on my minutes so I shut the phone off when I'm not using it."
Maybe?
I seriously consider just turning my phone off when I get home. I don't really want a company phone because then they'll expect more out of me if they aren't already.
I guess what I'm just want to confirm is wether or not I should be complaining. I see these temp workers are willing to work their asses off for shitty pay, and I'm grateful I have a secure job.
My job is important to me. Would they fire me for not answering my phone? I would think not, but will this look bad when they go to give me my review? I already got a shit pay increase after working my ass off. They blamed it on the economy and gave every one a shit raise, even though the company made record profits.
I care about my job. I care about the people who work there and equipment they use, but at what point do I shut off my my phone to get 8 hrs of rest?
I agree, it's really hard to complain if you have a secure job in this economy. I've been going through something similar, I also am salaried and my role requires 24/7/365 call but there are four of us who share that burden and I've more recently gotten into the habit of signing my pager out as "not available" when I'm off weekends. (My leadership and coworkers can always call my mobile if something truly catastrophic happens.)
Sometimes I want to complain, but I'm mindful that a lot of people would do almost anything to have a job, any job. But at the same time, when find myself having to cancel my agility training classes, or miss my husband's birthday celebration because something has happened... I find myself wanting to walk away from it.
Is your boss sympathetic?
My direct boss is my child hood best friend. He doesn't blame me and actually turns his phone off. It's the people above him, and the other managers and workers freaking out when this stuff goes down. When the manager above him couldn't get a hold of him this morning, she had three different people call my cell until I woke up.. all this before 6 AM. The stress there is crazy this time of year. I'm surprised no one goes postal.
5 more weeks and this hell will be over.
I have to work 9 to 5 tomorrow. Did I mention they asked me to cover a night shift Saturday night? I actually said no to that. I can't be on call AND work someone elses, mind be it an hourly workers job. I have to be there tomorrow morning either way because an important printer part is getting delivered..
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He just complains less than I do. There's been times he started at 9 am and left work at 3 pm the next day. 30+ hrs straight.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
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I'm just going to lie from now on and tell them my phone isn't loud enough to wake me from my deep sleep.. Even though I'm a light sleeper and the ringer on my phone would wake the neighbors. That can't demote or fire me because I'm sleeping, right?
Your problem is the reason I left my corporate job. I burned out so many times that it affected my health and had serious stress and anxiety issues. That's when a job isn't worth it.
They may be able to hire and train someone for less money than you are making. Sounds crazy but people need jobs and no one is indispensable, that's the way many employers feel. Often that is why they are letting them go in the first place to rehire with much lower paid new employees, even part time so no benefits are required to pay out.
I think if it were me, I would just take back my freedom. Perform my job well so the company has no complaints but set in my mind my time and not let them intrude on it. Its also 2 months out of the year and they need me so I would consider that too, valuing my employment.
Shutting your phone off after you come home from work now, especially without having talked to your supervisors, is not a good idea as you've created an expectation that you will be on-call when you're needed.
What you need to do is bring up your concern to your boss' boss. Tell him that being on call 24/7 is taking a toll and that they either need to hire some additional people who can provide tech support or they need to give you a raise if they expect you to be on call all the time.
In my opinion you have a lot of leverage because it is unlikely that they could find a person to replace you in time for the holiday season (which is upon us). So your company risks having their servers not working for potentially extended periods of time during the most profitable time of the year. The possibility of you leaving because you're not being paid enough or you're being worked to hard should work to your advantage.
It's up to you though. You know how "rare" your skills are and how replaceable you are.
Also if they are willing to compensate you more, make sure it's through a higher salary and not a bonus (as bonuses are one time).
Alright, those are my 2 cents! Follow what I said at your own risk (i.e. if you get fired, don't hunt me down!)
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Such as:
"If I had a company telephone you would be always able to reach me. Since I'm always there for the company it would insure the machinery would always be up and running."
I think you should address the issue directly, in a logical way, not a complaining way. Ask to meet with whoever can make things better so he has time to hear you and you're not reacting out of emotion from being called in. And then explain the situation, why it's problematic, and what they can do to rectify it.
It seems to me like you have three problems:
1. You don't get paid enough for all the hours you're working. Do the math and see what you're really getting paid per hour. If it's REALLY low, maybe they'll be able to see the point. But they might just say it's only for two months per year and you should suck it up, which is why the next problem is probably the most important one.
2. You just can't possibly be expected to work this way. It's not healthy or reasonable to really expect someone to be on call 24/7. There have been studies about this. It's not safe. Look at the duty hours rules for other professions, like doctors, pilots, etc. These jobs may not seem comparable since you don't have anyone's life in your hands - except, if you think about it, you do. You have to consider your life and the lives of the other people on the road when you're driving around sleep-deprived. Also, they have to expect you to be able to have some kind of personal time to shower, pay your bills, etc. Resident physicians can't work more than 80 hours/week averaged over 4 weeks, can't work more than 30 hours in a row, and must have 10 hours off between shifts. That's a national requirement. Are they working you more than that? If so, I'd say you definitely have a case. Regardless, at least ask them to more clearly define what time you can expect to be your own, to go out of town for the weekend, get drunk, take your mother out for her birthday, whatever.
3. It's costing you lots of money in phone bills. They should be able to understand that you can't be expected to pay for this. At the very least, they should reimburse you for any overages.
Anyway, I would just try to be very direct, but not upset, and approach it from a "this is what I think would make more sense" and a "I would like to clarify the boundaries" and a "when you do this, these are the consequences it has on my life" kind of way. And I think it would be ideal if you and the other guy and maybe your friend/boss could present a united front about it.
After 8 years of turning off my phone, being upset, and hating my job, I finally had this conversation with my boss recently and it seems to have really worked.
Good luck!