To be cross that DH's been asked to work long hours for "appearances"?

[marenmj]

DH leads a team at work and they have been doing very well and therefore have NO extra work and have been going home at 6pm.

DH's boss has just asked him and his team to put in extra hours for the next month "so that everyone else doesn't get jealous". This means that DH won't get home until after 10pm each night. He is sad about it as this is after DD has gone to sleep so he will only see her at weekends.

DH and his team have decided that they will put together a preview for a potential project that hasn't even been approved just to have something to do as there is no stuff coming down the pipe for their department (well, no more than they can handle during regular hours). Making up work for appearances sake FFS!

I think DH's boss is being terribly unreasonable and I suspect that the other depts would resent staying late at work just to make DH's team feel better were the situations reversed. Not that DH has ever asked this, even when the rest of the office took off for a two-week break while he was working 90+ hours per week!

marenmj - this is utterly appaling. I worked 90 hour weeks for a time and it is absolutley not possible to sustain it.

Your DH may be young enough and healthy enough to do it and even enjoy it as I did but it cannot be sustained. It goes completely against common sense never mind the Working Time Directive.

It is absolutley wrong, he cannot get enough sleep, eat properly, wash or see his family.

Right now it's only about 60 hours/week and he doesn't have to work weekends. It sucks, but we've done much worse. Last time he was in crunch I took off for three weeks so he wouldn't feel bad about leaving me home alone. His producer set up a mattress in his office and DH worked 3-4 days at a time straight through (there's a shower at the office and the company was providing meals).

this is the story that got California to crack down on unpaid overtime. It was a big controversy in the industry. The UK has no such protections AFIK except for the clause that all employers make you opt out of in your contract.

It's the nature of software development, and games development is particularly bad because there's always a glut of people wanting to get in. If you aren't willing to work the long hours there are literally hundreds of people who are - free markets at their finest

We knew what it was and always have. Our goal is to get to a position where he has carved a big enough niche that he can leave the slave-driver companies behind for good and either become his own slave-driver or join one of the ~3 companies who don't crunch

It doesn't make his boss any less insane for adding hours when there is no work.

Move to NZ and work for Weta Workshop.

lol, been there, done that (and we even have some t-shirts)

NZ is lovely. DH wanted to go back to work on Avatar but he was looking for a permanent position and they only offer temporary contracts.

Sony was the same way (no employees, just contractors), but Weta treats their contractors well while Sony treats them as second-class citizens.

Meant to ask, this boss that is asking your DH to work late.... Does HE work late?

Yes. The boss is always there, always on. DH frequently gets emails from him after midnight. (on blackberry, but still - I know better than anyone that if someone's on the berry they are on the clock, no matter where they are)

Could it be more about plans you had made for xmas?

Yes, a bit. On top of being bad management his boss knows he will get free use of him in just a few weeks' time! In fact, DH will likely spend all his time at the office so he doesn't come home to an empty house!

Yes, it burns me up that his boss is making him stay late enough that he can't spend time with DD in the weeks running up to us leaving for a month-and-a-half apart

I would be SO much more accepting of this if it was to handle actual crunch.

Seriously, if you are due to be away, and the Boss gets 'free-use' of your DH, then I truly think that DH has to say something.

Like: You are asking us to stay behind for no reason, and doing that means I don't see my family. In a few short weeks they will be away. I will be able to stay behind and mark time in the office for the extra hours you want then. But not before. There is NO NEED for me to do so. It is an unreasonable expectation.

I just feel so sorry for you, it's just so pointless!