Doing work email off the clock for no pay

[wheresmybacon]

I'm here working overtime putting in some new network equipment, and to test the new stuff I log on to my workstation. I open email and see my boss has been doing email on Saturday afternoon. He's not getting paid for working on Saturday.

I can't understand why he'd be doing email on his day off for no pay.

Does anyone else do this? Don't get me wrong, I like my work and have no problem working after hours or odd hours, but it's called work for a reason. I don't work for free. There are other things I'd rather be doing.

 

[IronWing]

Is he salaried? Some positions never sleep.

 

[lykaon78]

Its called getting ahead and being a good employee. It these economic times its pretty smart.

 

[sdifox]

Management don't get overtime. A lot of managers don't have time to sit there and do email work during business hours. There is a reason why a lot of management use Blackberry. They need it.

 

[Wheezer]

Originally posted by: lykaon78
Its called getting ahead and being a good employee. It these economic times its pretty smart.

exactly...it seems that people always want some kind of reward or acknowledgment for their work..EVERY FUCKING TIME they do something.

Here's a clue folks....it's not all about the money.....you are going to have to go above and beyond what you WANT to do in this climate to just keep your job.

Hell in any climate that is smart.

When budget cuts and department cuts come around....(and they will)...who do you think will be on the chopping block first?

The guy who is willing to sacrifice a few hours on Saturday to make sure that on Monday he has less to worry about, and who comes in just to get things done for the sake of getting them done without any kind of expectation?

Or the guy who never shows unless there is something in his paycheck or some kind of reward like a day off?

Is this a guarantee you will keep your job?...nope, but when you go to your next employer begging for a position you can show him your work ethic and if your intelligent you will have documented what you did on your "day off" so you can provide him proof and he does not think you are just blowing smoke up his ass.

 

[wheresmybacon]

Originally posted by: lykaon78
Its called getting ahead and being a good employee. It these economic times its pretty smart.

Working for free is smart? I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with you there.

 

[XZeroII]

I agree with above. Sometimes doing a little extra can go a long way in securing your job in the months/years ahead.

 

[wheresmybacon]

Originally posted by: sdifox
Management don't get overtime. A lot of managers don't have time to sit there and do email work during business hours. There is a reason why a lot of management use Blackberry. They need it.

OK I'll buy this one.

Well the switch has been installed so it's time for me to go home. And not do email.

 

[kranky]

For some people, work is simply trading an hour of being told what to do for an hourly wage. If they aren't physically at work, they do not expect to be paid, and they do not expect to have to do any work.

For others, the person is responsible for doing a job. That job comes with a salary. The person does the job however they see fit. Doing the job often means some tasks don't fit into a neat 8AM-5PM window. You have to get the job done even if that means doing email on the weekends or working extra hours.

You think he's not getting paid for doing email on the weekend, but he is. He just doesn't get paid an hourly wage to do it.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: kranky
For some people, work is simply trading an hour of being told what to do for an hourly wage. If they aren't physically at work, they do not expect to be paid, and they do not expect to have to do any work.

For others, the person is responsible for doing a job. That job comes with a salary. The person does the job however they see fit. Doing the job often means some tasks don't fit into a neat 8AM-5PM window. You have to get the job done even if that means doing email on the weekends or working extra hours.

You think he's not getting paid for doing email on the weekend, but he is. He just doesn't get paid an hourly wage to do it.

This. Fortunately for the OP, he'll never be a manager.

 

[txrandom]

I just started my internship. My boss gets to work at 5:30, which is when I wake up. I end up getting there around 7 and leave around 4 (to beat traffic). I've never seen my boss leave. When he told me about coming in at 5:30, I responded, "So when do you leave?" and he says, "I'm still working on that."

Also, I heard my father on the phone for several hours yesterday talking to other employees.

During this time, I'd be putting in as much time and effort as possible to help ensure I'm not the one who gets the can. Luckily, I'm an intern so there isn't much of a reason to stay there as long as my boss.

 

[theeedude]

If you are salaried, it's no big deal, really. If anything it's good to send a couple emails if you have some time to spare on a weekend, and make sure to cc your boss. It makes it look like you are working hard for the company, even if all you did is write some obvious email that you could have written on monday just as well.

 

[spidey07]

There's also the obvious reason - he's sending e-mails on a saturday giving the appearance of "working". Then when it comes raise time he brings up all the extra work he did on weekends and expects a promotion or big raise because he's putting in the extra effort.

You can stay logged in all saturday sending a few e-mails every now and then while you relax with a beer and watch basketball. But it looks like you're working.

 

[Codewiz]

I check my work throughout the weekend. I don't get paid. I will be honest, it makes my weeks easier. I don't come into work to a firestorm first thing on Mondays. Now if I am busy doing the weekend then I won't worry about it. However, if I am just on the couch watching a movie, I will check the email.

Also lets me know who to avoid early Monday morning.

 

[Koing]

tha why he is your boss. He gee beyond what he is paid to do. He probably gets paid more then you right? If you were an employer you want more wrk for your £££ right? I take it he is capable of his work also...

My bosses are hooked on email with their blackberrys

Koing

 

[RGN]

I'm tweaking SQL backups right now, its my day off and I won't be putting in for OT. Just part of the job. Being ahead of the game looks good and can simply make your life easier.

 

[Rumpltzer]

I'm salaried. We work at least 80 hours every 2 week. The 80 hours per 2 weeks is the minimum, but we're free to work more.

Our lab runs 24 hours a day and 7 days a week and the technicians are there even if the engineers are not. I checked my work email when I woke up yesterday and today, I was in the lab yesterday afternoon, and I checked my email again last night before goin to sleep. If I go into the office tonight, I'm sure my boss will be there and his boss will be there too. It's not out of the question for a meeting to be called for Sunday night.

We're a research lab and the work doesn't stop after we go home or when we're sleeping. It's kind of like I'm still in grad school, and I don't mind.

We're well compensated and the work can be interesting.




I've been watching Ninja Warrior and reviewing last night's electrical data this morning. Now I'm neffing on ATOT until Ninja Warrior ends.

 

[Orsorum]

I work every evening for at least 30 minutes, usually closer to 90 minutes. I send emails in the morning and on the weekend. The flip side? I have a great deal of flexibility in my schedule, get 25 days of PTO a year, and have never had anyone question my work ethic.

You work hard and demonstrate your commitment to seeing through your tasks and you can get those kind of perks. I take my job seriously and I take my commitment to my employer seriously. I can disconnect entirely when I need to but otherwise connectivity is just a fact of life.

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: hungfarover

Originally posted by: lykaon78
Its called getting ahead and being a good employee. It these economic times its pretty smart.

Working for free is smart? I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with you there.

Enjoy never making manager pay then.

 

[mAdMaLuDaWg]

Hah... I honestly can't remember a weekend where I didn't have to work. Every fing week its either hardware tests/software releases or me catching up on next week's work. This too after I average 10-12 hour workdays. The only great thing is that I work with an awesome bunch of people... that and I still have a job.

 

[DrPizza]

Plus, here's a little common sense you haven't learned to apply: by doing a little work on Saturday - answering emails, it makes Monday a hell of a lot less stressful by not having a shit ton of email to respond to that accumulated over the weekend.

Heck, on Friday I stopped by the place I used to work at to visit for a bit. I did about an hour of work for them that needed to be done. I didn't get paid for it and I didn't expect to get paid for it. (I got a free lunch out of it though.)

 

[Wheezer]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Plus, here's a little common sense you haven't learned to apply: by doing a little work on Saturday - answering emails, it makes Monday a hell of a lot less stressful by not having a shit ton of email to respond to that accumulated over the weekend.

Heck, on Friday I stopped by the place I used to work at to visit for a bit. I did about an hour of work for them that needed to be done. I didn't get paid for it and I didn't expect to get paid for it. (I got a free lunch out of it though.)

any time you can get ahead without having to deal with the daily bullshit from people constantly interrupting and needing something no matter how trivial is a good thing.

 

[Sasiki]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
Plus, here's a little common sense you haven't learned to apply: by doing a little work on Saturday - answering emails, it makes Monday a hell of a lot less stressful by not having a shit ton of email to respond to that accumulated over the weekend.

Heck, on Friday I stopped by the place I used to work at to visit for a bit. I did about an hour of work for them that needed to be done. I didn't get paid for it and I didn't expect to get paid for it. (I got a free lunch out of it though.)

Listen to this guy. It's nice to do trivial things on Saturday while watching TV. Doing product research for work, answering a couple e-mails, etc. It keeps the slate clean for Monday.

 

[mb]

I've spent extra hours at night, as well as worked on weekends and sometimes took things home with me to work on.

I don't know how much that alone has helped, but I've survived 5 rounds of layoffs over the last 14 months.

 

[idiotekniQues]

i work salary and i have a blackberry. i check the emails on the weekends and at night when it goes off. if something needs a response ill take care of it. it's just part of the gig.

there is a balance. if you let it start taking over your free time it's a problem vs if you just prioritize some responses on the weekend.