Your Job

[Bazile]

What type of job do you have

1. Fixed hours - do your tasks and finish for the day/night

2. Job where you are "expected " to work ' all ' hours
Arrive home from work - jump on the computer for X amount if hours
Putting hours in over the weekend

[eleanor2]

Fixed 4 hours,a day.

[AuntPollyGrey]

Bazille yes I'm self-employed. We live on a sheep farm in the Dales.

[Bazile]

Ok - I can see if it's your own business and given the type of business

However if you are working for someone else and you are
' expected ' to work however many hours it takes to get this done , without any extra remuneration

[wolf63]

I haven't worked since 2003, just after my 40th birthday. I worked for the same employer since 1980.
I worked a 37 hour week on a flexi-time basis.

For most of this period, I was unwell and it all came to a head on 31/10/2003 and I went 'off sick' and never went back.

These days I volunteer in a charity shop one or two half-days per week, but I bring things home to work on here.

[Buenchico]

>>> Anyone have a job where you can't shut off after a fixed amount of hours each day otherwise you wouldn't get tasks completed / projects completed that's on going . . . . You don't get paid any extra . Your salary is a fixed amount irrespective of how many hours you work.

I had a job like that for 15 years, where I never worked fewer than 60 hours per week and sometimes exceeded 80 hours. It was also a job where I was sometimes expected to attend courses, with no extra pay, in my own time. It was secondary school teaching! ((I was fortunate though, I had to work far less hard than many of my friends in primary teaching did).

In one case I was told that, because my colleague was on maternity leave, I'd have to change my holiday plans, and attend a training course in the Easter holidays without pay, so that I could qualify as the school's mathematics assessor for the exam board. (Otherwise there would have been nobody able to award a GCSE-equivalent pass grade to some of our less able students).

When I kicked up a fuss that there were no qualified first-aiders in our school, I was 'encouraged' to attend weekly evening first aid classes (i.e. in my own time) to gain a qualification. I was then billed £200 (which was a lot of money around 1980!) for the privilege of doing so. I eventually managed to get my employer to foot the bill but I was then placed in charge of first aid in the school, with a lot more responsibility but with no extra pay, for the next decade. However I wasn't given a budget for first aid supplies, so I ended up buying loads of sticking plasters, bandages, etc out of my own pocket.

[Caran]

I was salaries manager for a holiday company, I was responsible for all the flexi part timers when I started I had about 350 to do each month. The numbers grew and grew, I was working up to 12 hours a day and weekends. When it reached 1500 I complained. They eventually got some in to do half. We just about managed. I retired when I found it too much 18 years ago. Best days work I ever did retiring. It's a wonderful life!

[SIRandyraven]

Retired now , but prior to retirement in 2016 for final 10 years of career I did work 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday ,but I was expected to take responsibility for events that occurred outside of those hours and basically on call. With level of role and salary (I was earning enough to pay tax at 45% rate with bonuses etc) came a level of responsibility and ownership. At the same time I wasn’t working more an average of 40 to 45 hours a week. Having a burnt out employee is no use to anybody.
I also opted to work 3 to 4 days a week from home.

[jno]

it is nice, isn't it, Caran.

[grumpy01]

Work 21.5 hours as Supermarket Assistant and I love it.

[Buenchico]

^^^ A supermarket assistant, who isn't afraid to be called 'Grumpy?

You must be the one who's always on the checkout whenever I go through ;-)

[MynameisLuca]

I'd love a flexible job, I'd hate to be self employed. I haven't worked in over a year now due to Covid, even though it's a crap job, I miss the social part of it.

[grumpy01]

I’m always happy on the checkout Buenchico it’s when I have to watch rubbish on TV or get poor service,or read about noses in the trough,that’s when I’m Grumpy.

[Buenchico]

>>> it’s when I have to watch rubbish on TV

Is there anything else?

[grumpy01]

There are some good programmes and films but I agree a lot is rubbish.

[Maydup]

I had a full time job that involved working evenings and weekends and found it very difficult to switch off. As a result I would check emails at home, compose reports and write endless lists in the early hours. I'm an night owl but it got ridiculous and I was only keeping up by doing the additional hours.

I think I enjoyed it in a way and was a workaholic, probably only had myself to blame; but I had a lucky break when Covid came along I was furloughed and decided not to go back.

Now I do some freelance work and some volunteering and although I am not obliged, I still sit up late at night doing it. Is it therefore in some people's nature to work like this and not necessarily the expectations of the employer?