Working late. Is it the norm now ? How sad.

[Oblomov]

I posted on two threads yesterday about dh's who work later than their contracted hours.
Barney2 's dh works "(7am) and not home until late (gone 7pm" - so thats a 12 hr day then. And he always says yes to another extra job, if asked. Fillyfonk said "the company won't go into liquidation", if he says no. I agree with Fillyfonk.
Rabsters dh works "9 - 5.30, yet he seems to work 8.30 - 6 most days" so thats an extra hour every day.7 hours a week. A DAY A WEEK. That he does. FOR NOTHING.
Cod said "stop naggin". McDreamy,heifer, HonoriaGlossop, all basically / pretty much said that it was the norm thesedays.
And everyone is saying, this is the norm. REALLY ?
What I am asking, is not what time your dh gets home. Because everyone's is different, they work different hours, have diffrerent length commutes.
I am asking why people think it is o.k. to regularly do more than your contracted hours. I.e do an extra DAY for free, every week.
Last week, there was a post about a lady who had been made redundant, after giving so much. Aloha posted that "But I say never, ever consider yourself as working for anyone else, whether you work full time or part time, always put yourself and your own interests above those of your company. Because you can bet that the company will NEVER put your interests above their financial ones." I agree with her.
No company gives a sh*t about any employee. So if Aloha's argument is right ( and I beleive it is), why give ONE day PER WEEK, extra, for nothing.
If you think that this is the norm these days, for people to do extra hours, I think it is VERY SAD.
My dh has a new job as an Operations Manager. He doesn't take a full lunch. He regularly gives extra 1/2, 3/4 , 1 and 1/2 hrs extra. His men get paid overtime. But he doesn't. He says it is expected. I think, he thinks, that I am naieve. I am not naieve, I know people do it. I just think, that the work / life balance has become totally out-of-proportion. And I think its WRONG.
Maybe its just me, then ?

Where I used to work we worked on a system called annualised hours.

we had a set number of minimum hours per year which we had to work (based on Mon-Fri 9-5) then we had a set number of reserve hours per year which we were expected to work during busy periods. Only if we exceeded our reserve hours were we paid extra. During quiet times we could occasionally leave early. It did work out well for some as it meant that a cooeague with a young child (I didn't have any then) could hava paid time off work for a sick child but make up the time in busy periods.

twinset - of those hours, how many are face time in the classroom, how many are marking and how many are admin?

Sounds terrible... hope things get better very soon

FioFio - that's not nice!!

its true

Why is it wrong to be sad that people (mothers AND fathers) are working all the hours and do not see their family?

FWIW, I only do extra hours at month end (accounts) but I get paid my hours. In the last four years I have nearly doubled my starting salary, so it is not like I'm poorly paid.

My husband works LONG hours but this is due to the fact that he was on salary at his place and worked std hours, then they totally screwed him over and put him in a different role, hourly paid, less pay etc. (I did have a thread in employement issues) To get the same amount of money, he has to work extra hours. Do I moan at him? No. I bitch about his boss, that's for sure, and I find it sad when he gets home after DD's bedtime, but I do appreciate what he does.

my dh works leaves the house 6.30am and back at 7.30pm - and is out with clients at least twice a week til midnight - but its his job, and these things have to be done.

cx

yes elf but you dont moan at your husband. Lots of women on here do. They moan at them, they moan about their situation and they just make matters worse for themselves by moaning about it. It is a horrible to make someone feel worse for a situation they have no control over.

If you need to earn money, you need to earn money. Yes, companies do take the piss, but they can do that unluckily.

if you want to get on in some jobs you need to be prepared to work significant unpaid extra hours. In my organisation if you earn over £40k then you are expected to work more than 37 hours a week and you would be told that at interview.

i think that sucks BTW

Fio, no control over? Everyone has a choice. People choose to stay past their contracted hours.

Its the same where my dh works I drasmofdaleks. I think its pretty normal everywhere

Its the same where my dh works I drasmofdaleks. I think its pretty normal everywhere

people have a choice whther they want to be sidestepped aswell, it is a choice

sidestepped. My dh can not be promoted.

well good for your dh oblomov, not surw what you want me to say to that

I don't mean it like that. I mean his boss are the two directors. So that doesn't apply.

I know that where I used to work everyone did overtime and I was frowned upon because I didnt. I got my work done during the day because I didnt stand about chatting by the coffee machine or take ciggy breaks

I just wonder how many of these large companies who expect their workers to do extra hours for no extra pay would be happy to supply their products or services for nothing. If the work cant be done during the working day by the existing staff then they need more employees dont they.

luckily my dh has got a new job, but the company he works for now send him abroad for weeks on end and pay him no extra-one of the reasons he has been actively looking for something else. No, it isnt fair but its not nice not having a job either

I just think alot of the time you have to shut up and put up. Even if its short term

I made a decision yesterday. I am going to shut my mouth. And stop whining. He likes his job. That is the main thing.
Maybe after christmas, I could just gently encourgae coming home on time.

In order to stand up for your principles your dh may very well pay a personal price in his career and I think this is reality. I would not put pressure on him to reduce his hours unless both of you are happy to take the chance that his career may be adversely affected as a result.

If more people did stand up for their principles on this then the norm would eventually shift - provided of course that enough people are dissatisfied with the status quo.

What gets me in my job is that I've been handed a 25% pay cut (which I'm appealing with management support) at the same time as having my boss's job dumped on me as well as my own.

Anna8888 this year I teach part time and I actuallt stand in fronr of a class for 13 hours a week

Next year although I gp full time I have taken on a management post so my contact time goes down proportionally so I anticipate about 14hours contact time a week.

I don;t think it is that terrible as I ahve fantastic holidays.

Thankfully. Let's hope it improves for all.