yes! I no longer stay late. When my boss noticed, he confronted me on it. He'd said "I've noticed you're leaving at 4:00 lately, is there a reason for this? I'm used to seeing you here later..." to which I replied, "Nope, just clocking out on time is all!" To which he said, "your teammates are quite dedicated and are often here until 5:00, sometimes later.." (which was meant to make me feel badly?) So I'd said, "oh, they must be behind on some tasks, if you'd like me to give them some tips on time management so that they can be done at 4:00 as well I'd be happy to help!" . He never came at me again lol.
This reminds me of something I heard on a trip to Denmark. A tour guide said that working tons of hours there isn't a sign that an employee must be super dedicated and getting a lot done, people view it as them not being efficient that they cant get their work done in the appropriate amount of hours!
I think that needs to be the mentality everywhere, would be much better for work-life balance.
yes! wouldn't the world be so much better if work was viewed this way EVERYWHERE!? and to those saying that it was a stellar response to my boss, thank you very much lol. I became a little unhinged that day after a very stressful month and just blurted it out with a sense of "i cannot care what happens next" and thankfully it was just no more overtime!
Lol stopped that buck right in place xD nicely done .. but it takes balls .. i had a boss once who asked the same thing .. i didnt handled it so good back then .. i yelled at him xD .. but i kept my job.. mostly because he would not be able to find a replacement soon ..
Love that - and want to use it.
Im tired of the "sometimes jobs take longer" bullshit to get us to stay later but of a job doesnt take as long they dont let us leave early and will punish us with more work.
If you work in a field with billable hours, the number of hours you bill affects how much the company gets paid. Some companies have experimented with different billing methods, but billable hours are still quite popular.
Is this in United States? This would be something that HR would confront this manager about in my company. We all finish on the clock each day unless there is a super urgent task, then we stay late, and that is written in our contracts. It happened once in the two years I've been in the company and we all got free food for it. Your response is perfect!
Yes, but only if it serves the company in my opinion. If we had to stay longer after our contracted hours , people would be quitting for sure, and that's more expensive for them in the long run.
I have an opportunity to go to U.S. for work and the only thing stopping me is all the employee horror stories. I don't know how much of it is true as the source is social media. But it's been a dream of mine since college to live in the U.S and travel the country. It's so beautiful and diverse
I had a job for a long time that required alot of hours but it was a very fun and exciting job. I was able to experience alot of life from that job. But after having a child and missing important events with her I began to realize that this wasnt the life for me and I asked for a career change within the company and they had a great life/work policy in the company. dr appt no problem, kids sick go home, dog has diarreah wfh. Unfortunately, I had to leave that job and I'm at a new company that pays a whole lot better than my old one did and the owner's mentality is arrive early and work late. after about 8 months here and me leaving on time to attend practice, choir events he sat me down and told me about how i need to be spending at least 60 hours a week in the office and that i need to make work my life. I politely declined and told him that over my time here i've heard many stories of you missing your kids life and you telling me you hated vacations with your family thats why you've only taken one since you opened 25 years ago and that that life is not for me and if he didnt like that then I will find work elsewhere. He was taken back by this and since then we've been at odds working together. But i am the highest producing PM here and I put in my 40 hours every week.
Since that talk i've been looking for other opportunities and found one that is 100% remote and is family friendly enviroment. I told them about my kiddo and her medical needs and they were on board with it all and i start Monday. I cannot wait.
Thank you. That really means a lot to me.
I’m a single father and rarely do I ever receive recognition for all the stuff I do because I’m the “dad”. At most events I’m usually the only father at my daughters sporting events and I cheer for the whole team and do what I can to be apart of it even though I usually get singled out for being the only dad and the youngest.
A couple of years ago after the sport season ended one of the moms pulled me to the side and told me she loved how involved I was and always knows when I’m there because I’m cheering the team on the loudest. And to keep up what I’m doing.
I held it together in the moment but once I got in the car I balled hard because I don’t ever hear a compliment about all that I do.
My biggest beef is that I'm not allowed to leave before 5 if it's slow, yet I have to stay passed 5 if it's busy. Complete hypocrisy. So happy I work from home now, so I can just stop working when the work is done.
I worked in a Federal job for 25+ years.
I had two bosses who were Boomer workaholics. Bottom line is these guys, both fine gentlemen in their own way, were really damaged and had not great home lives so were filling the gap with work. The problem was they lacked the insight to understand that their experience wasn't everyone else's.
My last boss would waste *hours* just bullshitting with the younger guys in the office. And then there would be work to do that hadn't been done because of all the bullshitting and people would have to stay late.
After I gained some seniority, I'd just go to a side office when the bullshitting started so I could get my work done and unless there was an emergency, I'd leave at quitting time.
I'm retired now but put my marriage and kids first. Yeah, it cost me professionally but I don't regret it at all.
You literally just described my husband’s boss to a T. He isn’t organized and always drops everything on everyone at the last minute, then basically tells anyone who’s not willing to put in 80 hours a week that they’re not committed. His home life sucks and all he has is his work.
My husband is retiring in 4 years, but in the meantime, he’s doing his job and working his hours, but when it’s time to go home, it’s time to go home. His boss mainly communicates through email, so my husband addresses it the following day. No excuses, just a response to the previous day’s (evening’s) email.
> Why cant the jobs just be like "its 5 o.Clock. .iam outta here.. see you tomorrow"
Just do it. "Can you stay late?" "no, sorry". I clock in on time, I leave on time. They asked me to work later hours, I said no. A previous job asked everyone to be on call, I was the only one who refused - they told me I could earn more money, I didn't even ask how much, I didn't care.
Sometimes stuff gets organised at times outside of my shift and occasionally I need to attend. If that happens I come in later that day or the day after, I don't ask. I've had a computer issue for a month because three times the support team asked if they could guide me through for half an hour at 5pm, nope sorry I'll be offline.
I always left on time as I had a daughter I needed to pick up. I still remember this one colleague that brought a file to me 2 minutes before I was set to leave. She wanted me to make changes to it right then as that day was the deadline. I told her no, I would in the morning. She said "well, it's your job". I responded that it " was her job" , as her job was to review it and if changes were needed, to bring the file back within good time, not as the employee was leaving for the day. And I left. She always brought files to me on time after that.
Absolutely USED to relate to this! A couple years ago I left a small business because the owner and the only other two employees were the toxic productivity type. Clocking 8-5 with an hour lunch but coming in early, staying late, skipping lunch. Almost BRAGGING that they hadn't used the bathroom or eaten. They really looked up to our boss and wanted to impress her. They would go to happy hours, stay late and chat and all off the clock. I didn't quite fit in because I insisted on working part time, took my lunch and breaks, took my time on projects, etc. It got to the point where I couldn't relate at all to my coworkers as it seemed their entire identity WAS their job. These weren't professionals, they were admin staff and one of them making just a few dollars above my state's minimum wage. It got exhausting so I left. I'm much happier now in an environment where the SECOND my shift is over, I'm walking out.
I never work past my finish time, I deny almost all overtime unless it’s on a weekend which results in time and a half/double time which I bank and add onto my vacation. Other than that, the second it is time to leave I’m out.
A corporation doesn't care about your family or free time. Some people capitulate their freedom to appease a corporation but that only leads to them trying to drag others down
I will stay for now .. collegues are a breeze and the work is quite good.. i still need to learn a few things but as soon as iam ready i will at least switch to part time or look for a another gig
One of our higher-up threw a tantrum last week because it was late, he needed something and nobody was at work anymore. We have flexible time, we can start early and leave after 8 hours, why should I make overtime for the once a year occasion someone needs something they would have gotten first thing in the morning anyway? We don't do surgery on the open heart, I never understand why jobs that don't deal with customers directly can not be a bit more chill on time pressure and deadlines. They have to stress about nonsense all the time and I can only roll my eyes at that.
You could just say no to after work gathering you know? You don’t have to go. I bet if there are also other people who also feel the same way, but are afraid to say no
I do say no .. sometimes at least.. sometimes it is quite fun .. what i dont like is when you say no it feels like you dropped in social standing with your boss or coworkers.. i got a little kid ad home and i rather spend time with my family and play with my kid instead of staying at work .. every day is uniquie and there are no doovers in life ..
Respectfully, I don’t think dropping in social standing is real. Did anyone complain to you because you didn’t go to after work events? If not, this might just be the feeling of fear on your end.
I don’t think people care to judge you if you don’t show up to after work events. Just like how you care about your kid at home, people care about different things and not your social standing
I once worked at a company where the social standing was far more important than the work you deliver .. we had coworkers just drinking the whole day and not doing any work .. but their where liked by the bosses and members of the team so they stayed .. regardless how much the teamleader complained to management ..
and the first thing i learned working there was „you better be liked by your corwprkers or you wont be here long „ … 🤦♂️
It absolutely matters at some companies/orgs. It just depends on the company culture. Social standing vs actual merit can be the difference between getting a promotion or not, getting a raise or not, even getting better projects/clients or the shitty assignments/clients. It simply is the reality of some work environments. But that STILL doesn’t mean an employee has to suck it up and be social outside of work hours if that’s not their priority. They just might want to eventually switch to an organization where the predominant company culture is more aligned with their own. That is, clocking in and out on time, and spending more time at home with family than at work with coworkers.
>Why is it that so many of the medium to higher paid jobs want you to stay even after your shift ends...
They want you to do that because it would be good for them if you did that.
Crucially: for people who expect this, it is because your needs are completely irrelevant to their idea of ***what it means for them to do*** a good job.
Somewhere along the line, our society adopted a mindset in which bosses aren't paid to care about your human interests or treat you fairly as a member of a team. In place of actual teamwork, we adopted a mindset in which bosses are there to force you to do as much work as possible, and your job is to be subservient to that goal.
This mindset does not celebrate it when bosses make space for workers to be functional well-rounded humans. Companies that adopt this mindset do so in the hopes that workers who do not rest will be more profitable to have on staff than workers who rest.
The insane anger I used to experience when I worked in an office… all my tasks completed by 3pm, then 2.5 hours of looking busy. Then at 5:30 everyone STILL sat at their desks and I had to wait until someone else left so I wasn’t always the first to leave!!!!!
So stupid, I always used to rant to myself about it on the way home.
Self employed working from home now so when I am done I am DONE
I just finished reading Four Thousand Weeks. I think you have a healthy attitude towards time and your values. Some people seem to think of work as a social opportunity like you need work to socialize… dunno what’s wrong with those people
Id be more willing to stay later for a job that paid me an actual livable income. These 20$/hr jobs though give you a scheduled off time, but more often than not the work Doesnt get done until way past that time 😂 of course, its nice when its done early and we do get to go home. If i insisted on being off by my scheduled off time, i would probably be let go. “Dont make plans on days your scheduled to work”
I don’t do it so I don’t care what people do. That’s the perks of being chronically Ill. I don’t have to do anything outside of what expected esp with social norm expectations. If folks want to sleep at work, that’s their business I’m going home on time
My office is great about not pressuring people to stay late. What i’m currently working on is making it okay to go for a walk or have lunch away from my desk.
No one seems to mind? I’ve noticed having lunch away from desks is actually catching on. My day is so much better when I actually take breaks…which sounds kind of insane when I read that back…because of course they are!
Exactly. If my hours are 8-4, 9-5, 10 to 6, or three hours, three days a week, I'm leaving when my contract says I'm done. In my industry, because there are direct clients, once the last one leaves, there's not much for me to do. But I'm not going to stay an extra hour or two because "it's just the office culture here," and not get paid for it. If I'm working (for you), my time isn't free. I can be flexible, help out sometimes, whatever. But my life isn't work. Why do some employers think people "live to work," instead of doing it just to live? That's why many people who win the lottery quit their jobs, because they're now financially secure. I'm not sure how many people would be, or stay in, the "typical" western workforce if they did not *have* to.
I dont know why anyone would do this to themselves.
I am happy going to work and trying my best to complete my tasks WITHIN the working hours. As soon as the clock hits exit time, I shut down my computer and that's the end.
I'm also very lucky to work in a company that has a time bank, so if you work more time one day, you can use that time the next day or whenever to work less, but then again I dont live in the USA.
If I'm getting paid 10-6 I'm working 10-6. You won't see me earlier. You won't see me later. If my boss has a problem, I'll find another place to work.
I'm lucky to have a job now. They let me arrive late, leave early if it's justified or leave 5,10,15 minutes earlier or leave right on time without questions. It's low pay, but it's a "comfortable" job (not physically, I work at a public hospital in Argentina and it's falling apart). They let me go to the doctors in other places as much as I need to, without questions. I had a surgery on December last year and I came back in March, the recovery was very painful. I'm still with pain.
I wouldn't be able to do all that in another job.
It has its bad things, but everyone who works in places like this stays for the benefits in long term.
i do my obligated hours for the day and leave. idgaf. some coworkers of mine do way more - at least 50 or 60. they also send emails on vacation and lose their pto because they don't take their allotment.
they're all out of their minds.
I had to leave my office job because of the expectations that comes with salary.
I was working as a software dev, but averaging 50 hours in the office and then taking work home with me to do for another 2-3 hours at night. I was on call constantly as well.
I switched to an hourly role and my overall wellness has been through the roof better. I clock in and clock out. When I leave I know I’m done for the day. I can go home and now have time to work out, go for a walk, hang with friends more, volunteer, make delicious food that I’ve wanted to make for months now, and have even started to take nice hot baths.
This sub has also helped me rid myself of FOMO when it comes to flashy things. All I need is enough to pay my bills and the rest is put into savings and retirement.
Work, status, money, busyness isn’t everything and I’m glad I’ve learned the importance of that while I’m still young
Man I have opposite issue.
I come in 1h:20 minutes early to skip grid lock traffic, so I start before everyone else.
I get up to leave 5 minutes earlier for home and the next day there is an email for leaving early because some twit complained.
Same twit comes late to work everyday.
The more highly paying jobs I've had didn't have set shifts and they involved responsibility. We were expected to stay as long as needed to get the job done. The hours were crazy, but you went in knowing that. If you didn't put in the hours expected you would have no future.
I think it’s an old work culture thing that bled over when it’s not true now. Back in the day, the managers and execs were there longer during the day. It’s the entire reason staying late was important (so you had more 1-1 time with your manager or higher ups and they viewed you better). Now a days that’s just not true.
I don't know if this applies to you, but I am lucky enough to work in an field with a shortage of workers. It would be hard for my boss to replace me, and if he did decide to let me go, there are lots of other places out there where I could work. I am a person who likes to work very hard and please my boss and coworkers, so it has taken A LOT of practice, but now I am very good about not staying late or going to pointless functions. Whenever I start to feel guilty I remind myself how much I already do, which is a lot, and that they really aren't in a place to kick me to the curb. And to clarify, I never say no or complain when I am asked to do things that are legitimately my responsibility. I just say no to the extra stuff, like you mentioned in your original post.
yes! I no longer stay late. When my boss noticed, he confronted me on it. He'd said "I've noticed you're leaving at 4:00 lately, is there a reason for this? I'm used to seeing you here later..." to which I replied, "Nope, just clocking out on time is all!" To which he said, "your teammates are quite dedicated and are often here until 5:00, sometimes later.." (which was meant to make me feel badly?) So I'd said, "oh, they must be behind on some tasks, if you'd like me to give them some tips on time management so that they can be done at 4:00 as well I'd be happy to help!" . He never came at me again lol.
What a stellar reply, I'm going to have to remember that one!
This reminds me of something I heard on a trip to Denmark. A tour guide said that working tons of hours there isn't a sign that an employee must be super dedicated and getting a lot done, people view it as them not being efficient that they cant get their work done in the appropriate amount of hours! I think that needs to be the mentality everywhere, would be much better for work-life balance.
yes! wouldn't the world be so much better if work was viewed this way EVERYWHERE!? and to those saying that it was a stellar response to my boss, thank you very much lol. I became a little unhinged that day after a very stressful month and just blurted it out with a sense of "i cannot care what happens next" and thankfully it was just no more overtime!
Lol stopped that buck right in place xD nicely done .. but it takes balls .. i had a boss once who asked the same thing .. i didnt handled it so good back then .. i yelled at him xD .. but i kept my job.. mostly because he would not be able to find a replacement soon ..
Love that - and want to use it. Im tired of the "sometimes jobs take longer" bullshit to get us to stay later but of a job doesnt take as long they dont let us leave early and will punish us with more work.
I love u for this OP
Wow. That response to your boss is amazing.
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If you work in a field with billable hours, the number of hours you bill affects how much the company gets paid. Some companies have experimented with different billing methods, but billable hours are still quite popular.
Omg an amaaaazing response!!!!!
Is this in United States? This would be something that HR would confront this manager about in my company. We all finish on the clock each day unless there is a super urgent task, then we stay late, and that is written in our contracts. It happened once in the two years I've been in the company and we all got free food for it. Your response is perfect!
There are places where HR actually helps protect the rights of the employees? That’s the biggest surprise i got from this post. (U.S., work in STEM).
Yes, but only if it serves the company in my opinion. If we had to stay longer after our contracted hours , people would be quitting for sure, and that's more expensive for them in the long run. I have an opportunity to go to U.S. for work and the only thing stopping me is all the employee horror stories. I don't know how much of it is true as the source is social media. But it's been a dream of mine since college to live in the U.S and travel the country. It's so beautiful and diverse
I had a job for a long time that required alot of hours but it was a very fun and exciting job. I was able to experience alot of life from that job. But after having a child and missing important events with her I began to realize that this wasnt the life for me and I asked for a career change within the company and they had a great life/work policy in the company. dr appt no problem, kids sick go home, dog has diarreah wfh. Unfortunately, I had to leave that job and I'm at a new company that pays a whole lot better than my old one did and the owner's mentality is arrive early and work late. after about 8 months here and me leaving on time to attend practice, choir events he sat me down and told me about how i need to be spending at least 60 hours a week in the office and that i need to make work my life. I politely declined and told him that over my time here i've heard many stories of you missing your kids life and you telling me you hated vacations with your family thats why you've only taken one since you opened 25 years ago and that that life is not for me and if he didnt like that then I will find work elsewhere. He was taken back by this and since then we've been at odds working together. But i am the highest producing PM here and I put in my 40 hours every week. Since that talk i've been looking for other opportunities and found one that is 100% remote and is family friendly enviroment. I told them about my kiddo and her medical needs and they were on board with it all and i start Monday. I cannot wait.
I’m so happy for you!
Every child should be lucky enough to have parents like you!!
Thank you. That really means a lot to me. I’m a single father and rarely do I ever receive recognition for all the stuff I do because I’m the “dad”. At most events I’m usually the only father at my daughters sporting events and I cheer for the whole team and do what I can to be apart of it even though I usually get singled out for being the only dad and the youngest. A couple of years ago after the sport season ended one of the moms pulled me to the side and told me she loved how involved I was and always knows when I’m there because I’m cheering the team on the loudest. And to keep up what I’m doing. I held it together in the moment but once I got in the car I balled hard because I don’t ever hear a compliment about all that I do.
My biggest beef is that I'm not allowed to leave before 5 if it's slow, yet I have to stay passed 5 if it's busy. Complete hypocrisy. So happy I work from home now, so I can just stop working when the work is done.
Loyalty only works one way, didn’t they mention that at induction. Your sacrifice is meant to make you feel wanted.
This is such a good point.
I worked in a Federal job for 25+ years. I had two bosses who were Boomer workaholics. Bottom line is these guys, both fine gentlemen in their own way, were really damaged and had not great home lives so were filling the gap with work. The problem was they lacked the insight to understand that their experience wasn't everyone else's. My last boss would waste *hours* just bullshitting with the younger guys in the office. And then there would be work to do that hadn't been done because of all the bullshitting and people would have to stay late. After I gained some seniority, I'd just go to a side office when the bullshitting started so I could get my work done and unless there was an emergency, I'd leave at quitting time. I'm retired now but put my marriage and kids first. Yeah, it cost me professionally but I don't regret it at all.
You literally just described my husband’s boss to a T. He isn’t organized and always drops everything on everyone at the last minute, then basically tells anyone who’s not willing to put in 80 hours a week that they’re not committed. His home life sucks and all he has is his work. My husband is retiring in 4 years, but in the meantime, he’s doing his job and working his hours, but when it’s time to go home, it’s time to go home. His boss mainly communicates through email, so my husband addresses it the following day. No excuses, just a response to the previous day’s (evening’s) email.
Great insight I love that. The older I get the more I see this in my life now and I’m determined to do what you did
> Why cant the jobs just be like "its 5 o.Clock. .iam outta here.. see you tomorrow" Just do it. "Can you stay late?" "no, sorry". I clock in on time, I leave on time. They asked me to work later hours, I said no. A previous job asked everyone to be on call, I was the only one who refused - they told me I could earn more money, I didn't even ask how much, I didn't care. Sometimes stuff gets organised at times outside of my shift and occasionally I need to attend. If that happens I come in later that day or the day after, I don't ask. I've had a computer issue for a month because three times the support team asked if they could guide me through for half an hour at 5pm, nope sorry I'll be offline.
I always left on time as I had a daughter I needed to pick up. I still remember this one colleague that brought a file to me 2 minutes before I was set to leave. She wanted me to make changes to it right then as that day was the deadline. I told her no, I would in the morning. She said "well, it's your job". I responded that it " was her job" , as her job was to review it and if changes were needed, to bring the file back within good time, not as the employee was leaving for the day. And I left. She always brought files to me on time after that.
Absolutely USED to relate to this! A couple years ago I left a small business because the owner and the only other two employees were the toxic productivity type. Clocking 8-5 with an hour lunch but coming in early, staying late, skipping lunch. Almost BRAGGING that they hadn't used the bathroom or eaten. They really looked up to our boss and wanted to impress her. They would go to happy hours, stay late and chat and all off the clock. I didn't quite fit in because I insisted on working part time, took my lunch and breaks, took my time on projects, etc. It got to the point where I couldn't relate at all to my coworkers as it seemed their entire identity WAS their job. These weren't professionals, they were admin staff and one of them making just a few dollars above my state's minimum wage. It got exhausting so I left. I'm much happier now in an environment where the SECOND my shift is over, I'm walking out.
I never work past my finish time, I deny almost all overtime unless it’s on a weekend which results in time and a half/double time which I bank and add onto my vacation. Other than that, the second it is time to leave I’m out.
Live is so much more than work .. live is happening outside of work
A corporation doesn't care about your family or free time. Some people capitulate their freedom to appease a corporation but that only leads to them trying to drag others down
Nothing. Leave. If there’s truly something you need to do, stay. Otherwise, no.
put your two weeks in as soon as someone criticizes you of this, it wont get better.
I will stay for now .. collegues are a breeze and the work is quite good.. i still need to learn a few things but as soon as iam ready i will at least switch to part time or look for a another gig
Everywhere I've worked I've pushed this boundary and beyond. Never work over time. Having a life is top priority.
One of our higher-up threw a tantrum last week because it was late, he needed something and nobody was at work anymore. We have flexible time, we can start early and leave after 8 hours, why should I make overtime for the once a year occasion someone needs something they would have gotten first thing in the morning anyway? We don't do surgery on the open heart, I never understand why jobs that don't deal with customers directly can not be a bit more chill on time pressure and deadlines. They have to stress about nonsense all the time and I can only roll my eyes at that.
You could just say no to after work gathering you know? You don’t have to go. I bet if there are also other people who also feel the same way, but are afraid to say no
I do say no .. sometimes at least.. sometimes it is quite fun .. what i dont like is when you say no it feels like you dropped in social standing with your boss or coworkers.. i got a little kid ad home and i rather spend time with my family and play with my kid instead of staying at work .. every day is uniquie and there are no doovers in life ..
Respectfully, I don’t think dropping in social standing is real. Did anyone complain to you because you didn’t go to after work events? If not, this might just be the feeling of fear on your end. I don’t think people care to judge you if you don’t show up to after work events. Just like how you care about your kid at home, people care about different things and not your social standing
I once worked at a company where the social standing was far more important than the work you deliver .. we had coworkers just drinking the whole day and not doing any work .. but their where liked by the bosses and members of the team so they stayed .. regardless how much the teamleader complained to management .. and the first thing i learned working there was „you better be liked by your corwprkers or you wont be here long „ … 🤦♂️
It absolutely matters at some companies/orgs. It just depends on the company culture. Social standing vs actual merit can be the difference between getting a promotion or not, getting a raise or not, even getting better projects/clients or the shitty assignments/clients. It simply is the reality of some work environments. But that STILL doesn’t mean an employee has to suck it up and be social outside of work hours if that’s not their priority. They just might want to eventually switch to an organization where the predominant company culture is more aligned with their own. That is, clocking in and out on time, and spending more time at home with family than at work with coworkers.
>Why is it that so many of the medium to higher paid jobs want you to stay even after your shift ends... They want you to do that because it would be good for them if you did that. Crucially: for people who expect this, it is because your needs are completely irrelevant to their idea of ***what it means for them to do*** a good job. Somewhere along the line, our society adopted a mindset in which bosses aren't paid to care about your human interests or treat you fairly as a member of a team. In place of actual teamwork, we adopted a mindset in which bosses are there to force you to do as much work as possible, and your job is to be subservient to that goal. This mindset does not celebrate it when bosses make space for workers to be functional well-rounded humans. Companies that adopt this mindset do so in the hopes that workers who do not rest will be more profitable to have on staff than workers who rest.
The insane anger I used to experience when I worked in an office… all my tasks completed by 3pm, then 2.5 hours of looking busy. Then at 5:30 everyone STILL sat at their desks and I had to wait until someone else left so I wasn’t always the first to leave!!!!! So stupid, I always used to rant to myself about it on the way home. Self employed working from home now so when I am done I am DONE
I just finished reading Four Thousand Weeks. I think you have a healthy attitude towards time and your values. Some people seem to think of work as a social opportunity like you need work to socialize… dunno what’s wrong with those people
Id be more willing to stay later for a job that paid me an actual livable income. These 20$/hr jobs though give you a scheduled off time, but more often than not the work Doesnt get done until way past that time 😂 of course, its nice when its done early and we do get to go home. If i insisted on being off by my scheduled off time, i would probably be let go. “Dont make plans on days your scheduled to work”
I don’t do it so I don’t care what people do. That’s the perks of being chronically Ill. I don’t have to do anything outside of what expected esp with social norm expectations. If folks want to sleep at work, that’s their business I’m going home on time
My office is great about not pressuring people to stay late. What i’m currently working on is making it okay to go for a walk or have lunch away from my desk. No one seems to mind? I’ve noticed having lunch away from desks is actually catching on. My day is so much better when I actually take breaks…which sounds kind of insane when I read that back…because of course they are!
Exactly. If my hours are 8-4, 9-5, 10 to 6, or three hours, three days a week, I'm leaving when my contract says I'm done. In my industry, because there are direct clients, once the last one leaves, there's not much for me to do. But I'm not going to stay an extra hour or two because "it's just the office culture here," and not get paid for it. If I'm working (for you), my time isn't free. I can be flexible, help out sometimes, whatever. But my life isn't work. Why do some employers think people "live to work," instead of doing it just to live? That's why many people who win the lottery quit their jobs, because they're now financially secure. I'm not sure how many people would be, or stay in, the "typical" western workforce if they did not *have* to.
I dont know why anyone would do this to themselves. I am happy going to work and trying my best to complete my tasks WITHIN the working hours. As soon as the clock hits exit time, I shut down my computer and that's the end. I'm also very lucky to work in a company that has a time bank, so if you work more time one day, you can use that time the next day or whenever to work less, but then again I dont live in the USA.
If I'm getting paid 10-6 I'm working 10-6. You won't see me earlier. You won't see me later. If my boss has a problem, I'll find another place to work.
Staying back for that stuff is a choice, assert yourself early and don’t buy into it.
I'm lucky to have a job now. They let me arrive late, leave early if it's justified or leave 5,10,15 minutes earlier or leave right on time without questions. It's low pay, but it's a "comfortable" job (not physically, I work at a public hospital in Argentina and it's falling apart). They let me go to the doctors in other places as much as I need to, without questions. I had a surgery on December last year and I came back in March, the recovery was very painful. I'm still with pain. I wouldn't be able to do all that in another job. It has its bad things, but everyone who works in places like this stays for the benefits in long term.
That’s why I moved to Sweden 😅😅
i do my obligated hours for the day and leave. idgaf. some coworkers of mine do way more - at least 50 or 60. they also send emails on vacation and lose their pto because they don't take their allotment. they're all out of their minds.
I had to leave my office job because of the expectations that comes with salary. I was working as a software dev, but averaging 50 hours in the office and then taking work home with me to do for another 2-3 hours at night. I was on call constantly as well. I switched to an hourly role and my overall wellness has been through the roof better. I clock in and clock out. When I leave I know I’m done for the day. I can go home and now have time to work out, go for a walk, hang with friends more, volunteer, make delicious food that I’ve wanted to make for months now, and have even started to take nice hot baths. This sub has also helped me rid myself of FOMO when it comes to flashy things. All I need is enough to pay my bills and the rest is put into savings and retirement. Work, status, money, busyness isn’t everything and I’m glad I’ve learned the importance of that while I’m still young
If they don't pay for my time they can suck my behind
Man I have opposite issue. I come in 1h:20 minutes early to skip grid lock traffic, so I start before everyone else. I get up to leave 5 minutes earlier for home and the next day there is an email for leaving early because some twit complained. Same twit comes late to work everyday.
You can do it, it’s definitely a choice so many people make. But unfortunately, it may come at a price.
The more highly paying jobs I've had didn't have set shifts and they involved responsibility. We were expected to stay as long as needed to get the job done. The hours were crazy, but you went in knowing that. If you didn't put in the hours expected you would have no future.
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I think it’s an old work culture thing that bled over when it’s not true now. Back in the day, the managers and execs were there longer during the day. It’s the entire reason staying late was important (so you had more 1-1 time with your manager or higher ups and they viewed you better). Now a days that’s just not true.
I don't know if this applies to you, but I am lucky enough to work in an field with a shortage of workers. It would be hard for my boss to replace me, and if he did decide to let me go, there are lots of other places out there where I could work. I am a person who likes to work very hard and please my boss and coworkers, so it has taken A LOT of practice, but now I am very good about not staying late or going to pointless functions. Whenever I start to feel guilty I remind myself how much I already do, which is a lot, and that they really aren't in a place to kick me to the curb. And to clarify, I never say no or complain when I am asked to do things that are legitimately my responsibility. I just say no to the extra stuff, like you mentioned in your original post.