What do you do when you want to scream

pingu

katieclampet wrote: »

I agree with the above poster, start at 08.55 and finish at 17.35. Why all the unpaid overtime?

One thing I have found in my experience, sadly is that those who work the hardest ( long hours, stay late, start early, change shifts at the drop of a hat, go the extra mile) are rarely appreciated, and after a time it becomes expected.

I usually find a large glass of wine and a good moan to my friend helps me releive the stress, especially in the kind of situation you describe.

katie

PS - think what you said to the bosses wife was great! wish I could think so quickly on my feet.

sounds familiar wonder which company you work for;)

OP like other replies work to rule should do the trick:)

heretolearn_2

Forget the old bag. Sometimes 'hangers-on' like to throw their weight around to make themselves feel good. This may not be what your actual boss thinks at all and if he knew he might not be happy about her poking her oar in (not suggesting you go to tell him) so don't let it make you mad at the company overall. I think you came up with a great answer.

Do you feel your extra time is appreciated? If you are salaried it is pretty much taken as a given that you'll do some overtime, but this sounds like a lot. We have 2 people working for us that quite often go above and beyond, working very late or from home when we've got a big project, but we make sure they know we appreciate it. If they need a few hours random time off for kids/doctor/life or are a bit late, we don't fuss over it, and we pay them a bonus if it's been a really busy month. Give and take. It can't be all onesided, unless you are in the sort of career where putting in the hours now is par for the course and going to pay off with massive salary later, like a corporate law training placement for example.

delain

I would mention to the boss that 'Wife' said he was planning to dock your pay for being late... and is he? I would dress it up as an apology which would either open the way for a conversation with the boss about all the unpaid work you have been doing, or put the cat among the pigeons for the wife if she was just being a cow. I don't expect her husband would be happy if he's the reasonable type at work!

ETA: I'm not saying you 'should' do this, or that it's the right thing to do, but it's what I would do

GreenQueen

Some years ago, OH and his colleages were allowed to choose whether they worked 8-4 or 9-5. He chose 8-4. Most of the others chose 9-5, and when he left at 4, was subjected to a lot of comments like "part-timer", despite the fact that he'd put in a hour before they arrived.

A lot of folk are quick to judge, and forget that if you chose to be like that, you could find things about them to criticise.

Don't let it get to you - you responded brilliantly :T, and hopefully made her realise how small and petty she was being.

GQ

Lotus-eater

delain wrote: »

I would mention to the boss that 'Wife' said he was planning to dock your pay for being late... and is he? I would dress it up as an apology which would either open the way for a conversation with the boss about all the unpaid work you have been doing, or put the cat among the pigeons for the wife if she was just being a cow. I don't expect her husband would be happy if he's the reasonable type at work!

ETA: I'm not saying you 'should' do this, or that it's the right thing to do, but it's what I would do

I would do this. The bloke I used to work for wife was just like this. A cow who'd never worked a day in her life, but still thought she was better than anyone who worked for her husband.

She used to say things like this all the time and I would answer with come backs very similar to the OP's.

One day I rang up the office to find her there (one of the few hours she ever worked) told her I was going to be late for my 1st appointment by half an hour. She laid into me with a nasty sarcastic voice about Oh dear I was late we're going to have to dock your pay aren't we........
I said that's alright, I've only been on the road since 6am (unpaid) I'll start at the proper time tomorrow and get there at Midday.
That shut her up.

marisco_2

What is your boss like? He must be aware how dedicated you are to your role. That you are in most mornings half hour before you are paid to be and leave late, once your work is up to date. Even in this economic climate, not many employees could give that much of themselves, what with family commitments etc. The woman is stupid to speak so rudely and insensitively to such a valuable asset to her husbands company.

It sounds to me as if your workload is massive. Not many employees would be willing to do so much unpaid overtime. Realistically most peoples jobs can be filled ten times over at the moment. However whether they would ever find anyone who did the job as well as you do is very doubtful.

Well done for standing up for yourself calmly and assertively with your bosses wife. If I were you I would still speak with your boss though and apply some reverse psychology on him. Apologise for being late, he will no doubt have no issue with it, seeing as you do it so rarely. Then say you were taken aback by his wife telling you that should this happen again he would be docking your wages. Say that this concerns you greatly and that you need to clarify it with him. This puts the ball completely in his court, he becomes aware in a totally professional capacity as to how his wife has chosen to speak to and treat you. If I were him I would be horrified at such behaviour toward a member of staff. I hope he apologises on her behalf and puts your mind at rest.

I would also start getting your CV together and applying for positions where you are shown the respect you deserve and aren't put in the position of having to do so much unpaid overtime. It is always easier to find a job when you have one. You deserve so much better than this.

Gra76

I had the very same thing happen with my boss.

I'd often work through lunch and after my contracted working hours had finished to make sure things were done.

He always said he'd pay me for what I worked, but I had a 'swings and roundabouts' arrangement with him. As long as I worked all my hours in a week he didn't seem to mind when I did them, and at first it seemed to work that way. I suppose it was flexitime really.

After a while it started to become obvious that he expected it to be all 'swings' and no 'roundabouts'... :rotfl:

He'd conveniently forget the extra time I'd put in but then comment on it if I left 5 minutes early.

It got so bad that I decided to start logging (by the minute) everything I did during the day from the second I was at my desk till the second I turned my PC off for the night.

After a period of persistantly sarcastic comments about how I wasn't working my hours I presented him with the (by now quite long and extensive) list of everything I'd done over the last month or so.

When I asked him how many hours he thought I'd been working in a week he said he'd be surprised if I was doing 45 of my 50 hours. On average I'd been working just over 54 hours a week. That didn't include any missed lunchtimes. He didn't pay me those extra hours either. That wound me up.

I was so annoyed that I now start at 8am on the dot, and leave at 6pm on the dot, even if I'm halfway through something that has to be done that day. At 6pm and not a second later I leave what I'm doing and head for the door, making sure I say bye to my boss (he still always checks the clock).

Lunchtime is the same. At 12pm on the dot I stop what I'm doing and go for lunch. If I'm back before 1pm then I'll sit and twiddle my thumbs till 1pm rather than do anything.

I also don't take work home with me like I used to. That stopped instantly.

If your workload is too much to deal with then you need to be telling your boss and having some of it designated elsewhere, or if there's so much that another person could be employed to take it on, then suggest it.

You certainly shouldn't be made to feel bad about it.

Pthree

Thanks for all the replies everyone, re the wife, a little while after I posted she apologized and said she was having a bad day (I have no idea why, she is a "lady who lunches"!) I think he had a word as he knew I was angry.

With regards to the hours I "know" I have to put my foot down it's just we are a small company and last year a few people were made laid off and everyone was supposed to muck in to cover, of course that ended up being me, boss and other director (who happens to be his ex wife, hence present wife hanging around). I do think he appreciates the extra hours but as someone said he comes to expect it and forgets that not everyone works like he does, then again its his company he reaps the benefits!

I am defo going to start writing down my hours I need something to back my rather huge pay increase I will be asking for at my next review!

Thanks again for letting me vent!

P3

Mr_Toad

I have a friend who used to work long, unpaid hours, she thought she had one of the best jobs in the world. In reality they were simply taking advantage.

I persuaded her to log her hours then divide them into her salary to work out her hourly rate. It worked out at less than the minimum wage. She was somewhat shocked when I pointed out that if she worked the same hours at McDonald's she'd be earning a lot more money and not have any of the stress.

The trick isn't to simply stop as it attracts too much attention. Slowly reduce the hours until you're only working what you get paid for.

Alternatively if you could take this episode and use it to have a word with the boss. Tell him what you're working and see how they suggest you deal with it.

Don't just log your hours find a way that will allow you to prove you were there. Emails are good for this with their date and time stamp.

marisco_2

Firstly I am very pleased to hear that you were given an apology. It was a pretty lame excuse to blame her outburst on having a bad day though. She'd be having far more of them if you told her husband where to go and walked out. The lady who lunches would be living off beans and toast for a bit wouldn't she! Then there would be an excuse for all her hot air hey

I was wondering why you had to do so much unpaid overtime. So effectively people have been laid off, leaving those left at the company being expected to pick up their workload, with no supplement to their salaries. Any employee who is willing to do that should be valued. Not spoken to out of turn when someone is 'having a bad day'.

I bet xmas parties at your office are a blast what with ex wife etc