Stop being so dedicated…
… Or I’ll punch you in the junk.
Sorry, sorry. I’m a little on edge today and while I could easily go back and edit that out, I’d rather just leave it in because it makes me giggle inappropriately.
Whatever it takes to get through the day people. Anywho, this is supposed to be a blog post so I better get to it.
What do I mean stop being so dedicated? Well, I want you to stop acting like you owe the company something for hiring you. I want you to stop thinking that you are so critical to the functioning of the company that you can’t take time off. And most importantly, I want need you to stop working off the clock.
Sweet Wookie Jesus does that drive me crazy. Whenever I come across something like that I hear one of two excuses.
The first excuse: I don’t have enough time to get my work done and they won’t approve overtime. If the work isn’t getting done in a 40 hour work week and they won’t let you work overtime then the only correct response is to have a serious conversation with your manager about workloads, what you can handle, or the need for overtime. It’s a tough conversation to have, but necessary. And if they come back and still say no to overtime, then at the end of the day you leave, work done or not. If they are okay with that then you need to be too. And if they are not okay with work not getting done, you either have that conversation again or you find something else because clearly that is not the company for you.
The second excuse: But I want to show I’m a hard worker/don’t want to hurt productivity/I want to go above and beyond. Bullshit. Working for no pay is not how you show dedication to a company. Doing a good job, being responsible, and protecting the company from risk is how you truly show dedication. And you know what working off the clock does? It puts the company in serious risk.
It is illegal for a company to have employees working off the clock. It doesn’t matter if your manager never told you to do it either, the company can still be liable and in serious trouble. We are talking paying back pay (sometimes over years), fines, legal fees, plus all that bad press.
And don’t say you’d never tell anyone about it. Concealing the truth doesn’t make it okay. And even if you never said anything, all it takes is one disgruntled employee or one anonymous tip and the lie is exposed.
So seriously, stop acting like the only way you can show your worth to a company is to work for free. You aren’t doing anyone any favors.
June 12th, 2012 saat: 3:40 pm
While I agree with you, at least in theory, there is a division between the exempt and non-exempt on this one. Once you reach a certain level (meaning exempt, usually), the 40 hour week goes out the window. Of course, being squeezed into a 9-5 box should as well. If you are a knowledge worker (whatever THAT means), your brain will be your guide to your productivity.
June 12th, 2012 saat: 7:01 pm
Dwane – I agree, this rant doesn’t apply to exempt employees. When you are exempt you are never just 40 hours per week, you are paid to get the job done.