Work Advice Needed

[Ben Maxwell]

I need to know the next step here.

We are behind at work. 4 hours OT was called to be worked by end of day Friday. If we were not caught up by then, we'd have to work saturday to get ourselves current.

I worked my time Monday and Tuesday night. THen we get this email today:

"Well we need to finish the 4 hrs of overtime that has been called required by all.
We are far enough behind that we are calling 8 hours of mandatory overtime for Saturday.
XXX will be here at 6am we will work the 8hrs and get out of here."

So I replied with:

"Any chance we can work another 2-4 hours before week end to avoid spending so much time together on Saturday?"

And her reply to me was:

"My issue is that I’m seeing a lot of wasted time just in the hour that is being worked right now and people are not truly working……"

Da Fuq?

So I worked late two nights in a row and offer to work late the rest of the week but I am being punished and have to work 8 hours saturday because I work with a bunch of chatty cathies who don't actually work.

How do I respond to this?

 

[Finn]

Your reply may not have been clear enough for your supervisor. She may not realize how many hours you had logged in, especially if she supervises a lot of workers.

Also, check with company and/or union policy

 

[Scout101]

Gotta love management. At a basic level, this is HER fault, and the reaction reinforces that she's not really in control.

How did you fall behind (as a group)?
Why wasn't it acted on earlier?
Why no response if she's seeing people fucking around?

She's not managing the workforce, and then shocked at the results...

Either way, you're probably stuck with it, unless it's individual items instead of a group thing that you could chip in on. If your work is done, and you can't do theirs, you're set. Otherwise, you get to cover for co-workers (or a boss) that fucked you.

Do you at least get paid overtime, so there's compensation for coming in, vice a straight salary where you work until the work is done? That would be something, at least...

 

[Bisz]

Do you get paid OT?

If so, honestly... work it, then do something nice with the money. Unless you already have plans.

If you don't get paid for OT then seems like you already did 4 or the mandated 8hrs, so you just need to come in for 4 on Saturday.

This is a really difficult question to answer without knowing more about your work situation. Whats "normal" and what isn't for you guys, what is policy, what is the compensation, what is the culture, etc.

For me, as an engineer at a major auto manufacturer I typically work 60 to 70 hour weeks, peaking at 100 hrs, and no one asks me to work OT, its just what happens in the course of me getting my job done.

 

[Captain Shaw]

I hate it when the person in charge knows that someone is not pulling their weight yet refuses to do anything about it.

 

[Relayer1]

Can they really MAKE you work overtime ?

 

[Ben Maxwell]

I hate it when the person in charge knows that someone is not pulling their weight yet refuses to do anything about it.

I talked to her about it today.

Essentially we are so busy and we have too few people in the department adequately trained to cover all of the necessary functions. So she told me she can't risk upsetting the apple cart so close to year end on the horizon that we lose even a single person, and that all functions and people will be re-evaluated after the first of the year.

We'll see.

She's only been in the job 3 months. Maybe she'll learn.

 

[sojourner]

and that all functions and people will be re-evaluated after the first of the year.

This part sounds like a good opportunity for you. Make a good impression on her now and it may pay off.

 

[MacLeod]

It's rare that I actually only work my rota'd hours, and in the past I've done 60-70 hour weeks because they need to be done, and being on salary means I didn't get paid for those extra hours. But there was no other option availble but to work the extra hours.

So is is just a case that the company is busier than usual? The fact that all functions and people are going to be re-evaluated in the New Year means that perhaps a problem has been identified, but before measures can be put into place one first has to understand where they are hence the re-evalutions. It's hard to do re-evaluations when you are busy and can't even keep upto date with the tasks that you have.

The question is what does it say in your contract, can you be required to work mandatory overtime, if so do you have to begin a set period of notice?

 

[Storyteller]

I would say, Put in the overtime. Then, when it becomes obvious to the higher-ups that her management style isn't where it needs to be, have your resume ready to go and hand it in when a new management position opens up. Learn from her mistakes and you won't have this problem. Then you can put an end to the "chatty Cathies" who produce little and replace them with more productive people. Just remember that documentation is everything in this situation.

Either that, or keep your future employment options open and MAKE SURE you don't leave your current job on bad terms.

 

[Finn]

I can't help wonder if the OP's boss has her hands tied by company policy or higher ups. I had a stellar boss when I worked at a place with a lot of lazy coworkers. He couldn't do anything about it.

I suspected they(my old employer) didn't want educated workers with a good work ethic or there'd be a higher work turnover. I know it doesn't make sense really. But I always thought there was something hinky about my old company, a govt contractor, and their hiring practices as well as treatment of their workers. I don't know why my old boss put up with it. He was a cool guy who went by the book.