I just went back to 5 days a week this week.


w00t 25% pay increase

10/11/2009 11:52:10 AM

i hate working 6-7 days per week.

10/11/2009 12:58:05 PM

you don't exactly work in an office or do something you hate, though

10/11/2009 1:01:48 PM

I love my job, one thing about it is if you work over you get credit and you can take time off in the future. I work long days so it does not take long to get the credit. Since where I work there is no family, I usually take a week off every month and a half or so to come back and visit NC.

[Edited on October 11, 2009 at 1:38 PM. Reason : w]

10/11/2009 1:35:46 PM

lol, we're expected to work 10 hour days at least.. nothing extra for it.

hell, they almost put in a policy that instead of paying us for fridays when they added it back they were going to do the extra vacation thing instead..but only if they approved us working each friday and pre-approved when we could use it..which would basically be never.

oh well, we raised hell and they didnt bother trying that bullshit.

10/11/2009 3:09:11 PM

IF YOU HATE WHAT YOU DO, THEN MAKE A CAREER CHANGE/GO BACK TO SCHOOL

10/11/2009 7:53:52 PM

^you must be new to the 'old school' area

10/11/2009 8:00:05 PM

Far from new

10/11/2009 8:49:18 PM

Our schedule is set to work 37.5 hours per week.

In the past, you picked:
8am - 4:15pm or 8:45 - 5pm

Teams of 3, always need phone coverage from 8-5.

Now we have some alternative options.

1) Work one of the 2 old shifts.
2) New 7-3:15 shift.
3) Work 7 - 4:15pm or 7:45 - 5pm. Get 1 day off every 2 weeks.
4) Work 7:15 - 4:30pm or 7:45 - 5pm and get 1/2 day off each week.

I opted for the 1/2 day every Friday. I like the schedule. Do not like my job though (insurance adjuster).

10/11/2009 9:20:40 PM

Quote :

"you don't exactly work in an office or do something you hate, though"

That's true, and absolutely valid to an extent...

but I am 100% convinced that anything you do for a living becomes laborious.

Especially when it's go, go, go, go, go all the time.

10/12/2009 1:11:27 AM

I loved the hours on my last project (which I was on for over a year). I was on 4 10s, M-Th, every week. Now I'm on a different project and back to the normal company schedule, which is still nice:

Week 1: M-Th: 9 hour days, Friday: 8 hour day
Week 2: M-Th: 9 hour days, Friday: off

Basically our "Week 2" as far as pay is concerned starts at hour 5 on Week 1's Friday. So when you look at the hrs/week on the time sheet it is listed as Week 1: 40 hours, Week 2: 40 hours even though we actually alternate 44 and 36. Not as good as the last project, but I still like the schedule a lot.

12/18/2009 10:16:16 AM

I started a new job about a month ago and I have to earn full time

right now I can only work for 20h/wk, but I'm there (just not clocked in) for usually an extra 10h/wk

12/18/2009 4:10:10 PM

now up to 28h/wk!

hopefully by the end of february I'll be full time.

1/24/2010 7:12:13 PM

What do you do?

1/24/2010 10:07:40 PM

i really need to win the lottery or at least find another line of work. i've grown to fucking hate my job.

1/24/2010 10:18:07 PM

^^personal trainer

1/24/2010 10:25:33 PM

I too hate my job. We are required 10 hr days for five days a week, even though the union works four 10 hr days/week. The real slap is that I am never out in 10hrs, my typical work week is 57 hrs no overtime.

1/24/2010 11:11:14 PM

^

1/25/2010 7:44:42 AM

Quote :

"IF YOU HATE WHAT YOU DO, THEN MAKE A CAREER CHANGE/GO BACK TO SCHOOL "

This is my mentality.

Look, most people spend 8 hours a day working at their job. That's 1/3rd of the time you're going to be alive for the next thirty to forty years. You can't ever get that back. If you don't enjoy it, why are you doing it?

1/25/2010 8:49:42 AM

So I can really enjoy the other 2/3

1/25/2010 10:19:04 AM

Well, you're sleeping for half of that.

And in a normal week day, you've really only got about 6 hours of "free time," less if you take your work home. That's 5 out of the 7 days in a work week.

This is sort of like the story of the businessman and the fisherman, you see.

Would you rather work 60 hour weeks for $60,000/year or 20 hour weeks for $20,000/year?

And let's say you work hard, get lots of money, and you relax on Saturday, do your chores, clean up, on Sunday, then back to work.

You do this for 35-40 years. You've finally achieved your wealth. Now you can enjoy life..... except now you're old, probably with high-blood pressure and out of shape due to working so hard. You can't really do any exciting things, might break a hip in your old age. What's the point of having all that money again?

[Edited on January 25, 2010 at 11:05 AM. Reason : ]

1/25/2010 11:03:03 AM

Even still, I have about 30 days off a year in addition to weekends. I'd rather work at a job I liked less so I could travel and do other fun things during my time off vs sitting at home in a crappy apt playing solitaire.

1/25/2010 11:33:04 AM

Id rather have my cake and eat it to. If you're smart and work at it, its achievable. Accepting anything less is one of the most sad things I can think of.

1/25/2010 11:55:00 AM

Whelp, I guess that's the difference between me and you. If I'm spending more than half of the time I'm alive doing something that makes me miserable, then I'm wasting my life.

[Edited on January 25, 2010 at 11:58 AM. Reason : ]

1/25/2010 11:57:28 AM

I never said I was miserable. I just don't really enjoy going to work.

1/25/2010 1:12:28 PM

I understand.

But I guess the thought of "I don't really want to be here, and when I lose this hour, I am never getting it back no matter how much money I make" doesn't seem to bother you as much as it does me.

I mean, even if I got paid $500,000 a year, if I had to put in 80 hours a week it wouldn't be worth it. I'd be too exhausted to enjoy any of that money.

1/25/2010 1:14:01 PM

Yeah, it's a balance. I could probably work longer hours and make more, but why put in 25% more time just to make slightly more money.

1/25/2010 1:24:05 PM

Quote :

"I mean, even if I got paid $500,000 a year, if I had to put in 80 hours a week it wouldn't be worth it. I'd be too exhausted to enjoy any of that money."

Fuck that. id hit that up for half a decade or so, invest properly, and be set.

1/25/2010 1:43:29 PM

Well, yeah. I probably would too.

But I'm just thinking about people who work from 20 until 60, have virtually no life outside of a few hours on the weekends, and then retire as a decrepit tired old man with lots of money. What's the point of dying as a millionaire?

1/25/2010 1:44:35 PM

There are multiple levels of this argument really (ignoring pay at first).

A) Things I/you have a passion for, but followed as as career path have a low probability enough income to support a family comfortably, even a reserved-spending family.

B) The "If I have to work a 40hr/wk office job, this is one I don't mind too much" job

C) Career path you hate and have very little interest in outside of receiving a paycheck. Often times significantly more than 40hrs/wk


In my eyes B becomes synonymous with C if the job you don't mind starts turning into 60-70+ hrs/week on a regular basis.

I think a lot of people are really in B, but still complain because lets face it, we are humans and we like to complain. (We'd complain even if everyone existed in scenario A). I'm definitely in the B category. I have a lot of things I would rather do if I had complete control (write, do the band full time, etc.), but weighed the pros and cons and settled for a scenario B at a company that is solid to work for.

The luckiest people are obviously the As who simultaneously make a comfortable salary, and B isn't too bad either depending on the pay. And then you have plenty of people who are ok with the C scenario if the paycheck is large enough.

I do totally agree with God that a good balance is needed, but I also feel that most people can live a very comfortable life in the B category if they don't overspend and live within their means. The ideal is A, the one I would never do is C, and therefore B is the most logical option supported by our society for most people.

[Edited on January 25, 2010 at 2:03 PM. Reason : ]

1/25/2010 2:00:34 PM

spring and fall kill me sometimes, we're slower now so I'm only working 5 days a week.... but in spring and fall I man our farmers market operation in addition to running the construction crews during the week. this fall I worked 7 days a week for 7 weeks likely to do it again in the spring... don't really want to but in this economy got to get that $

1/25/2010 7:49:49 PM

Quote :

"If you don't enjoy it, why are you doing it?"

because we don't live in a fairy tale land.

Something tells me that you are a classic malcontent. It doesn't matter what you do, you will find a reason to be miserable.

Conversely, there are a lot of people who are able to find a way to be happy with what they are doing.

Point is, being gainfully employed doing something that you would otherwise do just for fun is about as likely as winning the lottery. Your mentality is far too common in this country and there are billions of Asians who are willing to work twice as long and hard for half of what you make if only given the opportunity. It's the same hunger that made America what it is/was a couple hundred years ago, but now we've become fat and lazy and bitch about work not being fun enough.

No one who can rise before dawn 360 days a year fails to make his family rich - old chinese proverb

1/26/2010 12:09:47 PM

True, but I mean most of us are middle-class citizens who attended college. We had the opportunity to pursue our interests, be they science or art or music. And in all of those one could get a profitable and enjoyable job.

I just think a lot of people end up settling. They waffle around in college and get a lame degree. And then they get a full-time job "somewhere" just to pay the bills. They work this job for the next 15 years, moving up to middle-management. And then they retire, dreams unfulfilled.

You're probably right about me being a classic malcontent.

Truthfully, I should be happy that I have a guaranteed income in "these times," but... well, I'm not.

1/26/2010 12:50:50 PM

My degree, CSC, isn't lame. I'd just prefer to sleep in and do other things opposed to engineering software 40+ hours a week.

1/26/2010 1:25:22 PM

Almost all my friends who majored in what they love have worthless degrees and are forced to work at
Starbucks, Blockbuster, Barnes and Noble, etc. People need to realize life isn't about having fun 24/7.

1/26/2010 1:29:37 PM

^ very true. the 'omg i love history so i'm going to study it' line of thinking is short sighted at best

1/26/2010 1:48:24 PM

Well in college there's always the decision of

-Major in a quantitative or useful degree like Business Management or CSC
-Major in what I love or enjoy and try to get a job in that field

or if you're lucky both of those merge into one degree, like people who just LOVE accounting

1/26/2010 1:53:41 PM

When I used to lifeguard at this one place, I worked 12 hour days four days a week. I thought it would suck but got accustomed to the 12 hour day (8am-8pm) and loved the 3 day weekend every week. Oh yeah, and I got 8 hrs overtime weekly too, so that was nice.

1/26/2010 3:10:05 PM

This seemed relevant here:

http://www.molleindustria.org/everydaythesamedream/everydaythesamedream.html

1/31/2010 9:28:16 PM

given the choice, i'd much rather load up on hours over a few days and have more days off than spread it out.

but, I don't really get that choice in my line of work.

2/1/2010 9:27:57 AM

Quote :

"like people who just LOVE accounting"

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT??

2/1/2010 10:06:56 AM

Nothing, if you love doing it.

2/1/2010 2:34:50 PM

9/80 anyone?

2/1/2010 9:26:45 PM

fuck me, dude...i worked 11 hours today, and it felt like a short day after the last 2 weeks. this is starting to wear me out and cause me to fall behind in getting everyday stuff done.

i need to get on that 40-hour/week schedule somehow, at least now while i'm home. there will be plenty of 85 hour weeks on this upcoming deployment.

2/1/2010 11:12:16 PM

1st world problems ITT

2/2/2010 12:43:03 AM

Quote :

"In Utah, state workers work 10 hour days 4 days a week. They really like it. Of course, there is also the 12 shift."

I don't know about other departments. But the NC Dept of Corrections has been doing this for like 5 years or so now.

2/8/2010 12:31:06 AM

I love working 7 days a week.

2/17/2010 12:56:29 AM

I work 5 days a week, 9-10 hours a day already. I wouldn't mind if we cut that back to 4 days a week.

2/17/2010 2:26:34 AM

Quote :

"If you don't enjoy it, why are you doing it"

Supporting a family + looking out for our future. However, you don't stay "stuck" doing something you don't enjoy, you look for opportunity to move onto something better. But, in the meanwhile, you do have to grit your teeth and bear it if you have responsibilities to other folks than yourself.

Quote :

"except now you're old, probably with high-blood pressure and out of shape due to working so hard. You can't really do any exciting things ... I just think a lot of people end up settling ... And then they retire, dreams unfulfilled."

I think that speaks to a larger problem of somebody wanting something out of life and not taking progressive steps to achieve it. Has very little to do with career/job choice.



Anyways, back to topic on hand. I enjoyed working 4*(10-12) hour days at some past jobs I had, with three days off, but I understand that can't be done where I'm at now. Still, was a nice option.

[Edited on February 17, 2010 at 7:33 PM. Reason : .]

2/17/2010 7:27:44 PM

four days a week, ten hours a day. 3 days off. yesssssss

3/10/2010 8:19:05 PM