Gripe of the day - What is yours?

[Littlepeahead]

Well after my long and quite stressful day yesterday I woke up at 3am with a migraine so texted my manager to say I'd be working from home. I've got loads done without having to suffer a 4 hour commute while feeling rubbish. To be fair, my manager is great, he knows the migraines are genuine, and that rather than call in sick I can take the heavy duty pills and work but a train journey on the pills is too much.

[Red Herring]

I think I was incredibly lucky to have had a career where for most of the time I would have happily paid to have done what I was doing, let alone be paid for doing it. Sure there were some long hours involved at times, I can remember 18 hour+ shifts back to back with four hours off between them (which were completely against all the regulations) but the team did them because we knew what a good thing we had and ultimately we all wanted the results the work bought. Unfortunately everything has changed over the past few years and politics rather than vocation started to call the shots, and I was lucky enough to be able to walk away completely. I know it's not so easy for those I left behind.

The best advice I can offer is it is far better to work hard and go home with your head held high, than it is to get away with doing as little as you can. It's not about impressing the boss, what you think about yourself is far more important. There is nothing in the world worth selling your personal values for. I also know how incredibly lucky I am to be able to hold that view.

[Bibio]

a wise man once told me.. if you work for nothing you will never be short of work.

like your job or not, you work to put food on your table and a roof over your head.

my feelings about people working extra hours for nothing, they are just taking a wage from someone who would have been working those hours.

if all the workers in the uk had the attitude of no pay no way then the bosses could not force unpaid overtime.

mind you, think its bad here Japan is stupid bad for it.

[Red Herring]

I guess that all rather depends on if you are happy to go home on time having done an "adequate" job, or a little late having done a good one. The boss will accept the adequate one so won't pay the overtime, the question is will you?

I agree with you RH but that's not a criticism of Bib.

One thing I would also say is that commercial demands mean that some times a "do what needs to be done" attitude will keep a company going, especially smallish ones. If I go home after 8 hours, I kind of feel that I've been slacking. Guess I've just got used to it after all these years.

[Red Herring]

I do appreciate not everybody has the luxury of choice. I was lucky to be in a profession where I wasn't subject to "commercial" demands although I frequently found myself having to prioritise what and how things got done. Not being given the opportunity to do a proper job and managers that were prepared to accept lower standards of professionalism was what eventually motivated me to leave. I just didn't want to be associated with what they were delivering.

[Matt-EUC]

Pork pies.

The pastry's barely cooked or soggy and there's no jelly in them anymore.

[Bibio]

there is no advantage to working for nothing, its your boss that makes the money not you and since your boss is making money from you working then you should as well.

public services or private business it makes no difference. if your mug enough to do it then the bosses will just keep on making people do it as its more money in their pocket.

job satisfaction has no relation to whether you should get paid or not, job satisfaction is up to the individual as in whether they like the job or not. if you get satisfaction from the job you do then all the better but doing unpaid overtime just makes it worse for those that dont like doing the job as then they have to do the same. their boss will just say so and so does it so you have to do it as well.

only time i would say contrary to this are slackers who dont finish their quota the same as everyone else, they should be made to do unpaid overtime till they have completed their job.. we would soon see how slack the were after that.

[kaivalagi]

It's why I'm on a daily rate.....that should work both ways in term of hours worked but rarely does....I'm a scummy contractor so I don't have a say

[maviczap]

Blimey I do seem to have kicked things off with my little moan

I'm too tired to give full written replies

Sir Trev, I agree, but it will take an accident & prosecution to change the current culture we're stuck with.

RH, I'm like you, I've had a great career so far & blessed with the work I'm involved in. I do hold my head up high, because I know my team do a good job, but also have fun at the same time.

Bib, there's a lot of 'Dead wood' in our mob, what's galling is they get paid the same if not more than I do. But they do not have an interesting & challenging job like I do, so I'm happy with my lot.I'd like to think I'm liked by a lot of my colleagues, and I always do my upmost to help and support anyone who needs it. Even if I not at work.

They are the ones I take on board their thanks and appreciation, because I know its for real and they mean it.