Needing Perspective, Annoyed with Mandatory Overtime at Work

Gosh, you've got it rough. A paying job with opportunities to work more and make more money. I can't even imagine ...

Well, they are paying you for the extra hours... My company is doing a layoff this week. Those folks would probably love to have your problem.

Try to use the extra money for something that you would not normally do. Extra special experiences with your family, a special Christmas...whatever...

My question is are you getting paid for this over time?? If you are getting paid for it...then count yourself lucky.

My husband is salaried and he works 11.5 hour days (office hours are 8 hours on paper), they still want him to do more and he does not get paid over time. They also have not had Christmas or summer bonuses for the past 3 years (which were promised as part of his employment incentive package). Oh, and forget a yearly raise not even cost of living increase.

So I thinking if you are working overtime and getting paid for it then be thankful. HUGS!!

I think you'll get a lot of "at least you get paid for it" comments, unfortunately. We're in a job market where to have a job at all is better than some people have. To be paid for extra work is a nice bonus. It sucks when you don't have a say in it, though.

If it makes you feel better to have some perspective, I used to work on a specialized team of 7 people. We were literally the only people in our company (which employs a few thousand people) to do what we do. Five of them, including my boss, were laid off at the end of last year. I had a lot of 20+ hour days over the summer working to meet a critical regulatory deadline. Things are getting better now (they hired someone to help me a few months ago and gave me a small raise recently) but it was pretty rough for a while.

If I recall correctly, you have some flexibility in your job (working from home at least part of the time), right? That alone would make me hang in there and accept the extra work for while. I figure we can all use extra money this time of year for heating costs and holiday spending, right? Then if it continues more than another month or two, I would reassess and see if it's time to seek something else. But for your sanity, do hire some help when you need it.

It sucks, but you have a job.

I was unemployed for over a year then took a job paying 40% less than what I used to make. I now work a 2nd job in order to keep a roof over my son's head and save my house from foreclosure. And I still make less than I did two and 1/2 years ago. So I work about 65-70 hours week now and I am a single parent to, thank God, a teenager. But he is on his own a lot now and he hates not having me home. But he likes the roof over his head. LOL

So take the extra wages and stash them in a savings account.
Count your blessings and wait it out. At least you are not salaried and being told to work more hours.

What would they do if you told them you cannot work overtime, because of your husbands job?

You just need to make a choice based on their answer.

Are you willing to work the overtime (you are being paid for these hours?)

Or you are not willing to work the overtime and they say they will need to replace you.

Or they will want you to stay and agree not to make you work the overtime.

I worked in retail for over 30 years. Overtime, is not even discussed it is just part of it. The stores stay open longer hours. Shipments arrive before the store hours and have to be stocked into the store.

Management is even worse and the salary they pay is not very much, but you sometimes have to be at the store every hour they are open. Having a child did not change this for me. So I had to figure it out.

Priorities.. Money to survive. Money to have security, Money to have extras.
Time as a family. Care for our child. Only you know what you and your family need and can survive.

Be honest with yourself and then no regrets.

Here's the problem: it is an employer's market. There are too few jobs for too many people. Anytime you have that situation, employers can do just about whatever they like, because if you don't like it, they can always replace you.

If you feel they are abusing you, and you can get another job, then go ahead and find another job. Otherwise, you might just have to put up with it, because my personal opinion is that the employment situation isn't going to get much better any time soon, because too many of our jobs have gone overseas, and probably won't come back any time soon, if ever.

Sorry to be a downer, and sorry about your situation.

You have a job...

Some people don't.

It stinks - my husband is on salary and his boss has required him to work every Saturday for the past two months. It's really cutting into our family time and taking a real toll on him. To top it off, he has to buy lunch for the crew working under him and then wait sometimes up to 2 weeks for reimbursement from the company. So not only does he not get paid extra for the OT, but his out of pocket expenses get deducted from our budget until corporate accounting gets around to paying us back.

BUT... we need the income, and the insurance. So he sucks it up, I do what I can to support him, and we hope that the economy turns around so that it is no longer an EMPLOYERS market and he has choices in where he goes to work. I think until the uncertainty with this economy is settled, the jobs are going to be hard to find.

People in your line of work (Collections) are going to be busy for a long time to come. People's debt is mounting. If you think you can afford to quit - go for it. Or look for another job and continue to work where you are.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. It's hard on the family when your job sucks the joy out of your life!

I know its tough but be thankful you have a job. Been out of work for a few months now its tough. Finally geting something and its for half what I was making. The market is crazy right now. There really are no jobs. Can't pick and choose anymore. Whatever you do find a new job before leaving that one. You can make quiet checking on the legality of overtime in your state. Waht they can and cant do.

Honestly, I would say wait until after the election and see if anything changes before you do anything.

Then if it continues just say you can't keep working the hours and if it continues you will have to find another job. Just be prepared that they will be just as honest and say start looking.

I think it matters how many you typically work and how many they're asking you to add...

Can you get into another line of work? Maybe you'll be paid better and not have to do overtime. (Or be a collection agent, LOL!)

If you are a mom, and your husband has to work long hours, it is really hard on the family to have both parents gone so much. If your husband could work fewer hours, he could pick up the slack (if he would.) But if he makes more money than you, it makes more sense for you to change jobs.

Dawn

One office in my company has been on mandatory OT for over a year. They consolidated three offices into one, lost a bunch of people, got slammed with work, and the trainees can't be trained quick enough to help out. In fact, my office was working voluntary OT on their work to help out. Our office also went to mandatory OT recently, but we were able to catch up enough to not have to anymore. I personally like having the OT since I've been able to bump my salary by about 10% since this summer.

Have you talked to your boss about the situation to see if there is any flexibility? Maybe you could work every other week OT or maybe work a whole Saturday? If you do decide to quit, make sure you have another job lined up.

I have a couple perspectives to share with you.

In my area, there is a very large company that is so backlogged right now that they've required 10 hours OT for the last 3 months. They are paying time + 1/2, and double time for everything over 10 hours OT. It is just a temporary situation due to complications that arose with new legislation, and they don't anticipate it lasting through the end of the year so it's not worth hiring more help over only to lay them off in 2 months.

Yes, it's an employer's market right now. But in some areas like ours it is not - we cannot find qualified people willing to work and hiring is tough. We get more 'throw-away' resumes from people trying to entend their UE benefits - 4 to 1 from what's come across my desk. (no, we just don't get it!) And for each 1, maybe 20% are actually qualified for the position.

My final perspective, which matches that of many of people who have responded, is that of my DH who has been working 10-14 hour days, every day of the week, since the beginning of the year. Including weekends and holidays. He's taken 2 days off and those were to volunteer with a local charity for a fundraising activity. He's been trying to start his own business. There were 2 people in the community who retired recently and he's been trying to take over the needs of their clients. Yes, you'd think the money would be rolling on in. But I'd be lying if I said we were close to breaking even so far. The good news is he's created or saved jobs for 6 people so far. And my income is sufficient to cover all of our expenses and then some. But we are hopeful that soon the hard work will pay off!

Bottom line in all of these situations, it's a personal choice. Any one of any of these people can quit at any time or seek other employment. Each have different motivations and hopes for what they are trying to do. At the end of the day, each has to be content that they are making the right decision. It kind of sounds like you are not happy with your choice to stay there. Try to make a compromise with your employer, and if that is not possible, be ready to look for greener pastures.

Let's put it this way. With my husband's last couple of employers, we would have been ecstatic to have received overtime like that. We would have grabbed it up and been grateful even if it appeared at the time that we didn't need it. That money would have been put into savings and the girls' college funds.

Family time is incredibly important, but so is establishing a cushion to keep that family secure for rainy days. Job security isn't guaranteed, and neither is overtime.

In collections it is VERY common.

I work 50-60 hours a week, every week. With the commute to work, gas prices and the lack of hours I would get by driving home just to sleep.. I don't see my family at all on the weekend, I stay with a friend. Depending on my schedule Im gone either Thursday or Friday until 12:30 am on Monday morning. I miss out on the weekends every weekend with my family due to me working 14/16/18 hours a day ( it depends on my schedule what one it is.. but its never less than 14 hrs a day)

But on the flip side of it, since most of my hours on the weekends I am able to be home 2 or 3 full days a week. Even though they are at school ( my two younger ones 1/2 days) I can see them off in the mornings and be here when they get home and have time to catch up the house/ laundry.

It all depends on your financial position. Personally if I could do without the money, I would not give up my family time for work, especially for a job that is not necessarily a career that will lead you anywhere....
Of course if you are hurting for money you have to do what you have to do, but as long as we could do without, I have never been one to tolerate that kind of BS. Between us DH have quit at least a couple of jobs that we weren't happy with and our lives have only changed for the better as a result.

If I was you I'd put my resume out there and look for something else. People, including employers, will treat you the way you let them treat you. If you let them walk all over you, they will! Sounds like you are in a good position, have great numbers at work...go look for a company that will treat you with more respect. They may be hard to find, but they do exist.
Good luck.