British Work Ethic Condemned

chucknorris

THE_GHUOL_HUNTER wrote: »

So you expect to be paid more and promoted for doing a job you were by-and-large employed and paid to do in the first place.

Talk about a sense of entitlement.

I know what he means and it's not the way that you are portraying it.

For example in my profession (quantity surveying) sometimes to get the job done within the deadline you occasionally have to work longer hours (my longest hours were from 8am Thursday morning until 6pm Friday continually at the office). Obviously that is over and above what is expected but to make sure things are done in time it's worth putting an extra effort in, that extra effort usually gets recognised.

geneer

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

The people we promote are the ones that consistently deliver the best results.

Those people tend also to be the ones that eat, sleep, live and breathe their work 24/7.

At my level there are a dozen of us. We all have a number of managers working directly for us. They each have a number of managers working for them, and each of those managers has junior managers working for them, with hourly staff underneath that. Above me there are only a handful of directors, and then the CEO.

The only way to get promoted is to beat the results of all your peers at every level on the way up. And there's usually many of your colleagues and you for every one job above. It's corporate Darwinism in action.... The ultimate pyramid scheme.

Promotion, to a point, you can achieve through being smarter or more experienced than your colleagues. But after the first few management grades, the wheat has been sorted from the chaff, and anyone at that level is pretty much going to be as smart and as experienced as you are.

Once you get to that point, the only way to get promoted further is to work harder, be more committed, more driven and more able to do whatever it takes to deliver results.

A lot of people, particularly those with families, stay in the middle. They work hard when they're young, get to the level below me, or one below that, where they're making decent money, and then cruise along on 50 hour weeks relying on their experience to deliver acceptable results and expecting a better work life balance most of the time bar emergencies or the odd project deadline.

Nothing wrong with that, but they're probably not going to be the ones that get promoted any further. And if they turned into proper "37.5 hour clock-watchers", they'd probably struggle to deliver the results needed to keep the job and likely find themselves on a performance management plan pretty quick.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:Good old hamish. Eats, sleeps, lives and breaths his work eh.

I do hope his "work" is spamming internet chat rooms.

Anyone else unsurprised to hear just how brilliant and clever and senior good old hamish apparently is.

Not like you to blow your own trumpet fella!

michaels

50hr week with a family = a reasonable work/life balance? - not in my life. Some people must really love money.

shortchanged_2

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Those people tend also to be the ones that eat, sleep, live and breathe their work 24/7.

What a sad life these people live.

We only live once for gods sake.

I have never understood why for some people work is the be all and end all of life.

Cleaver

michaels wrote: »

50hr week with a family = a reasonable work/life balance? - not in my life. Some people must really love money.

Is a 50 hour week really that much to ask in a typical office job? Get to your desk at 8am and leave at 6pm. Some weeks you end up doing a bit more than this (maybe a stupidly late night) and sometimes a Saturday or Sunday getting stuff done. Some weeks it's less. I don't think this is a problem really, providing your employer offers you some flexibility too. A lot of people on this thread have a refered indirectly to the psychological contract you have with your employer, which is really the crux of the issue here (not salary). If I hated my job and my employer I'd probably rock up at 9 and be out the door by 5 of I could, as I'd be looking work elsewhere in all probability.

On a related note, I sometimes find that the odd late night in the office can be fun. We had a bit of an issue the other month where three of us ended up staying until just after midnight to finish a load of work required for the next day. Although tiring, we orderded pizza and actually had quite a good laugh. Not everyone's cup of tea, but beats working down a mine. And if you earn a good salary it's something you've just gotta do every now and again.

geneer

Cleaver wrote: »

Is a 50 hour week really that much to ask in a typical office job? Get to your desk at 8am and leave at 6pm.

You still seems to be short about 7.5 hours there.

Cleaver

geneer wrote: »

You still seems to be short about 7.5 hours there.

8am until 6pm is ten hours. Do this five times a week and you have 50 hours. You're not taking an hour-long lunch break are you? Lunch is for wimps.



In all seriousness, unless I'm meeting a mate or something for lunch (which isn't very often) I rarely have a designated lunch break. Normally just eat my sandwich or salad at my desk or whilst on the move. I'm sure everyone has their own personal routine, but if I'm in the office all day I normally pop out for a ten minute walk at around 3pm as my brain seems to start to struggle at that point of the day and I need a bit of fresh air.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Cleaver wrote: »

8am until 6pm is ten hours. Do this five times a week and you have 50 hours. You're not taking an hour-long lunch break are you? Lunch is for wimps..

Nah, they force him to take those breaks.

Gets a bit tiring being on your feet all day, asking people if they "want fries with that"...

Probably explains why he's pushing 40, still living with his mum, and has never been able to afford a house....:cool:

kabayiri

I've no objection to people working longer hours.

But, just suppose we made people work an extra 10 hours a week. Do you think it would turn UK industry around?

There is absolutely no proof that would have the desired impact.

Let's be honest, we have all seen the 'long hours martyr' at work. They take pride on boasting of their hours spent in work; they are the ones sending you an email timestamped at 10.50pm the previous evening. They don't usually strike me as any more effective an employee, they just like everyone to think they are.

kabayiri

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Nah, they force him to take those breaks.

Gets a bit tiring being on your feet all day, asking people if they "want fries with that"...

Probably explains why he's pushing 40, still living with his mum, and has never been able to afford a house....:cool:

Do you have to work at being obnoxious or does it come naturally? :mad:

The implication in your post is that someone is less worthy just because they work for McDonalds et al.

No wonder those in management are awarded the title 'arrogant t***ers'.