As a senior partner in a CPA firm. As "tax season" closes in, she becomes more stressed and unhappy every year.

I couldn't do her job just b/c I can't stand the desk and the numbers...

It's all fun and games when she's bringing down public figures for corruption in various audits, but she's growing ill...

I guess I'm looking at it from a skewed point of view... she makes UBER $TEXAS to wear out calculators... whereas I have to talk to ppl and fix shit...(under the same household) She works 9-10 hr. days whereas my dad and I work at least 12 hrs. per day to keep everything running...

My question is at what point for each of them does it b/c "not worth it anymore?"

Both are highly successful.

2/4/2006 1:00:07 AM

she needs to work her 8 hours per day and bounce

when 5 o clock comes just say "cya biatccccccch"

they can come back tomorrow

2/4/2006 1:20:24 AM

your whole family is stupid if they work more than 8 hours on average.

2/4/2006 1:43:03 AM

Tell your mom to stop being lazy, and suck it up. The Japanese put in more hours than that (although I heard they slack off a lot of those hours).

(just kidding about the lazy stuff... I don't really have anything to add to this topic)

2/4/2006 2:32:19 AM

^^Anyone who works more than 8 hours is stupid?

2/4/2006 2:53:11 AM

anyone who says things like that hasn't been to the real world

2/4/2006 3:07:57 AM

^please. if you have been working for a while and are still pulling long hours, it just means you are dumb. Only kids out of college get suckered into working for free.

If you aren't getting paid significant overtime, you are basically handing the company money. The fact that you even need to put in over time means that you are either not good at your job or that your company is poorly managed and has put itself into a situation where it needs to exploit its employees.

Furthermore, the company is doubly stupid if they think that they are getting quality work out of people who pull long hours. What actually happens is that workers who work long ours for a long period of time just start loafing more.

If not working long hours is a matter of losing your job, the same points apply -- the company is awful or you are awful and don't deserve the pay anyway.


* And before the stupid patrol chimes in, it's ok to work long hours once every few months to meet a deadline. Regular long hours, though, are problematic.

[Edited on February 4, 2006 at 3:28 AM. Reason : and I hope "uber $texas" is well north of six figures]

2/4/2006 3:23:28 AM

Quote :

"your whole family is stupid if they work more than 8 hours on average."

ahahahaha damn your career is gonna be awesome!!

2/4/2006 10:37:32 AM

the more you give the more you get, its pretty simple
and if you're going to meet the minimum requirements, minimal effort will net the minimal pay
i thank the underachievers for making me look good

2/4/2006 10:48:53 AM

if she can't deal with the stress and is unhappy then she's in the wrong profession

my mom makes a decent amount of money and is pretty lacksadasical a lot of the time because of the lack of stress her job generates

http://thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=329961

2/4/2006 11:17:56 AM

wtf don't be pointing people to that mug

2/4/2006 11:48:06 AM

Quote :

"she needs to work her 8 hours per day and bounce when 5 o clock comes just say "cya biatccccccch" they can come back tomorrow"

Quote :

"your whole family is stupid if they work more than 8 hours on average."

Wow. Simply wow.

2/4/2006 12:17:56 PM

haha really old picture - the one at my graduation dec 04 is more recent

2/4/2006 12:19:19 PM

while they put it a crappy way they are right...and it answers your question of when is too much.

if you are extremely unhappy and the extra money isnt worth it to you, cut back on hours or try a new job in the same profession. it is all trade offs you know.

i know my dad works a ton doing fda consulting (especially around deadlines), but he does it so he can just not do anything a few years and not worry about it. trade offs.

[Edited on February 4, 2006 at 12:26 PM. Reason : .]

2/4/2006 12:25:20 PM

Quote :

" Wow. Simply wow."

No. Work is a means to an end and that's it. She's an ACCOUNTANT. The demand for her is HUGE. She can dictate her own hours for the most part. She should close up shop at 8 hours and guess what? Those fools waiting will just come back tomorrow.

Seriously there's no need to work longer unless she's making bank in overtime or if it's a seasonal thing (i.e. she works 6 hours/day in the non-tax season). There's too many good paying jobs that understand "8 hours/day" to get into one paying you salary and expected 60 hours a week.

2/4/2006 12:28:18 PM

^exactly. It becomes a poor paying or for people who can do math. If your company doesn't suck, raises are not a problem if you work regular hours.

[Edited on February 4, 2006 at 12:41 PM. Reason : Even if you like the work, working for free is bad.]

2/4/2006 12:40:07 PM

Some of you folks apparently have never worked in the real world.

2/4/2006 12:42:15 PM

I won't go quite that far, but it speaks volumes about the level of responsibility.

As responsibility goes up, time invested generally goes up as well.

2/4/2006 12:45:30 PM

Some of you folks apparently have never worked in the real world. at shitty companies

2/4/2006 12:45:36 PM

^ Exactly. Decent companies understand you may have something reffered to as "a life". I can understand DURING the tax-season she may work a bit more, but I would not do it unless I would work less in the months to come to compensate.

I understand a CEO works more than 8 hours per day. He/She also makes MILLIONS per year to do it. If you're making +/-15% the average for your particular position, working for free overtime is just making your pay more and more worthless.

Just f*cking leave. If they really need you they won't fire you. Maybe that's extreme but seriously you folks are idiots if you consistently work for free.

2/4/2006 12:53:02 PM

This thread is stupid....

2/4/2006 12:53:59 PM

As long as I keep getting promotions, WELL WELL above average raises, and a host of many additional perks that I have been granted (been there less than 3 years on top of that), I'll keep putting in over 40 hours a week. If you're too stupid to realize hard work actually gets rewarded in some companies, and it isn't just about how much you make per hour, then you'll be destined to work for me.

2/4/2006 1:00:37 PM

^you do realize that at places that don't suck, they will promote you to management without asking you to kill yourself? We're getting those same promotions without working stupid hours, buddy.

2/4/2006 1:04:53 PM

That was clearly the only reasonable reply you could come back with, and its authenticity is questioned. I never said anything about killing myself either. You were the one that limited the day to a strict 8 hrs, then eventually retreated into saying occasionally a deadline has to be met, now you are going to tell me a little over 8 is acceptable?

2/4/2006 1:07:45 PM

AT LEAST YOU DONT WORK AT CISCO

2/4/2006 1:07:57 PM

It's ok my sis is a CPA as well and those weeks before tax season really do suck, but they after it at her firm they all take like a week and a half of paid vacation that doesnt even go on the books as vacation for all the overtime. Plus these people who work for minimal hours and minmal pay will be working at walmart when they retire, while your mom is paying people to cut her grass and riding around in a bmw.

2/4/2006 2:23:35 PM

^now that is definitely someone who doesn't work in the real world

2/4/2006 2:37:56 PM

Quote :

"Plus these people who work for minimal hours"

That would be suggesting someone who's working like 10 hours a week part-time somewhere and expecting to live off of it. Someone working salary and working their 40/week is a completely different story.

[Edited on February 4, 2006 at 3:13 PM. Reason : .]

2/4/2006 3:12:57 PM

I doubt she or my dad would both own successful businesses if they'd started out work 8 hours a day. You don't get to the top like that... But I'm thinking they've made it, now it's time to back off a little.

2/4/2006 3:56:57 PM

Most highly successful people pull more than 8 hours a day. What kind of moron thinks only new workers get those hours?

Welcome to the corporate world. CFO, President, VP, CEO, all going to work more than 40 hour weeks. Not to mention even the mid-level managers that will be pulling 50 or more hours a week down.

Also, please introduce yourself to a highly compensated doctor/surgeon and you will find them putting in MANY MORE than 40 hours at the office/operating room all the way up until partial retirement, when they cut to 35-45 hours.

2/4/2006 3:59:32 PM

Right, and it becomes a little more important when you actually PWN the company.

2/4/2006 4:09:57 PM

All of you guys who think that a salaried employee who works 40+ hrs/week is "working for free" are out of your fucking minds! That's the whole point of a salaried position. You get medical insurance, 401k, paid vacation, paid sick days, marginally more job security, more authority, etc. etc. etc.

And when you sign the employment contract to receive all of those perks, it is also written into the contract that in return, you will work overtime if necessary. That is not working for free. It is part of the original bargain.

If you guys can't get your heads out of an "hourly wage" mindset, then god have mercy on your careers. Because that's probably all you'll ever achieve.

2/5/2006 10:31:43 AM

I ought to move this thread over to my section and have the real corporate crowd analyze this one.

I guarantee the majority responses will be much different.

[Edited on February 5, 2006 at 10:40 AM. Reason : save for Excoriator]

2/5/2006 10:40:05 AM

w00t

i'm in the "my mom is a CPA" club too.

2/5/2006 2:02:18 PM

^don't you kinda miss her this time of year.

^^Where's "your section" Mav? I thought the lounge was as serious as it got.

2/5/2006 3:46:32 PM

Quote :

"please. if you have been working for a while and are still pulling long hours, it just means you are dumb."

I am on call to the top two executives for the company I work for. I'd love for one of them to call me and I'd say "Oh, its past 5pm, I can't help you, sorry". skokiann, please stop derailing this thread and let it get back on topic.

Beardawg, IMHO, It becomes not worth doing it when the job no longer interests you and/or it takes away a significant portion of your personal life. I personally say save up and get out if it reaches a point where personal life > $$$. Until then, if $$$ > personal life, deal with the long hours ... just make sure your health doesn't suffer.

2/5/2006 5:50:28 PM

man, i wish i could get a day to last less than 12

2/5/2006 5:57:27 PM

i need to print out this thread for everyone that keeps bugging me to get my cpa

im happy as hell just being a staff accountant and working half days.

2/5/2006 5:58:28 PM

^haha... I think it's 6 of one half a dozen of the other.

2/5/2006 10:43:40 PM

Quote :

"^don't you kinda miss her this time of year. "

i'll tell ya what, before the CPA exam my entire family was kind of missing our mom. There was a piece of paper taped to the bedroom that said "X months until exam" and we didn't see her much. I was kind of young and only partially understood at the time, but yeah, apparently it was pretty rough.

She still complains about people who are incopetent with taxes and depend on her.

2/5/2006 10:59:31 PM

The price of money.

2/5/2006 11:38:46 PM