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Do you work overtime?

Do you work overtime?

Do you work overtime?

(OP)
smile

So I have heard horror stories about some engineering jobs where you work 60+ hour weeks without overtime pay.  I work 40 hours a week.  No overtime at all.  If I do get overtime it's paid for.  If I were asked to do overtime, I would and I have in the past, but typically it isn't required of me .... at all.  It's pretty nice.  From stories I've heard from other engineers I would think that my situation is pretty rare.

So, basically I was just wondering how many of us engineers do work overtime, how much overtime they work, and if it's paid or unpaid.

If you have a second, everyone please post about your overtime requirements and habits at your job.

Thanks.

smile

RE: Do you work overtime?

I have worked up to 60 hours (in past jobs)- all unpaid overtime. Now I put in maybe 45, still unpaid overtime. As I become more experienced in this position, perhaps I'll work more if required.

www.engineerboards.com

RE: Do you work overtime?

I work overtime as necessary, all unpaid, I probably average 45 to 50 hours a week, and I work the occassional weekend. Especially when traveling to a site location I may travel on Sunday or come back on a Saturday. I also keep my cell phone on at all times and I take customer calls all hours of the day/night/or weekend.

However my employer allows me very flexible hours, and if I work a weekend it is not unusual for me to take a day off the next week to make up for it, if I spend a couple hours on the phone with a customer one evening, I sleep in and go to work late the next morning. I also work out of my home quite often, and I work a 980 schedule so I get every other Friday off. No one ever expects me to spend X number of hours at my desk in the office, I pretty come and go as necessary and as I please. So overall I can't complain.  

-The future's so bright I gotta wear shades!

RE: Do you work overtime?

As a contractor, that was one thing always specified - paid overtime.  When I took my current position, I was classified as salaried-exempt, but was not too concerned as there wasn't much need to work over forty hours.  After a couple of contractors were hired (when work picked up), I was given the opportunity to be reclassified as salaried-nonexempt.  Apparently my boss didn't want me to go back to contracting, and the increase in rates and opportunities were tempting.  I took advantage of the offer and am now a happy camper, averaging 10 hrs OT per week.

RE: Do you work overtime?

No overtime pay.

Usually 45-50 hour weeks except during plant startups where it can be up to 80-98 hour weeks (1-3 times a year for 3 weeks).  Often travel on weekends.

But, often given days off during the week without having to take vacation.  It's a decent trade-off.

______________________________________________________________________________
This is normally the space where people post something insightful.

RE: Do you work overtime?

I worked one job where we peaked at 110hrs/week. That lasted for six weeks, seven days a week, double shifting. We were paid at flat rate, no premium time. At the end of the six weeks I and the client's engineer put a stop to it because our six man team were beyond the point where our work was suffering. We were virtually fighting amongst ourselves because everyone was so tired and cranky.

Present position is notionally 0830 - 1700 Monday - Friday, but weekend working, early starts, late finishes, the occasional nightshift are all there too. We get no overtime pay, but have historically had a fairly fast and loose attitude to off-the-books lieu days and so on. It is part of the job, although sometimes it feels like we are doing the work of twice our number. That starts to cause distinctly mutinous feelings among the engineering staff from about halfway through our long turbine outage season.

I periodically toy with the idea of joining the industrial prostitutes contractors wink, or going over to either Operations with their cushy shift pattern or offshore where the money is good and the time off is better than present. That said, the power generation industry is one which is pretty secure at least for my lifetime - no chance of it being offshored to China - so there are some benefits in staying put. Right now we're halfway through outage season, so the pendulum is swinging toward going rather than staying.

----------------------------------
  I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy it...

RE: Do you work overtime?

In my earlier years as an engineer I worked some overtime, but I can honestly say that I have never worked a single hour of overtime that was necessary or productive. I will work my A off during the day to avoid it.

In our company we have not had a raise in years. However, the working conditions are excellent, the work is interesting, it is a short commute, and we don't have to work overtime. At my age now, the time is more valuable.

RE: Do you work overtime?

The first job I had paid time-and-a-half for the first three years I was there, then abruptly stopped paying any overtime.  At my annual review, I got a raise, and then was told there would be no more overtime pay.  So I actually got a pay cut that year.

The next job was straight salary, regardless of hours worked.  During one stretch, I was "donating" 20 to 30 hours a week to the company, hoping, I suppose, to get noticed.

I am at another place now.  Workload comes and goes.  I am in the middle of a crunch that is requiring 50+ hours a week, but anything over 40 hours is paid at straight time.  Extra time is neither encouraged nor discouraged, so long as the job gets done.  It's actually a pretty sweet deal.

RE: Do you work overtime?

I have not worked OT for several years. I always get my work done during work hours.
My new current job, maybe working OT in the future.

Chris
Systems Analyst, I.S.
SolidWorks 06 4.1/PDMWorks 06
AutoCAD 06
ctopher's home (updated 06-21-06)

RE: Do you work overtime?

Some years ago the company I worked for decided that it was unprofessional to be paid overtime (though not unprofessional for contractors to be paid it) and so stopped paying it and instead gave pay-rises of differing amounts to some people to compensate. Some, who worked overtime, didn't get a rise. Their argument for not paying overtime was that they wanted people to go home and be happy. Fair enough. Unfortunately they couldn't get the work done so they started paying a bonus at 'management's discretion'. The bonus was quickly calculated to be hours paid at single time. After a while they brought over time payment back. Too late, the company went broke.
In the present company, management decided that they'd paid overtime for a long time and it was time for a change, so they stopped paying it. Makes sense to me clown .Instead they brought in a system of 'time off in lieu' for extra hours worked. Fair enough. Now they don't have enough people to do the work as most are at the beach or are planning on retiring early with their banked hours. It makes you wonder.  

corus

RE: Do you work overtime?

In my current job, the "standard" work week is stated to be 45-50hrs.  There is no paid overtime.  It is not uncommon for people to put in 60hrs+ to get their work done.  Management tells us that we are running "lean" to avoid future cutbacks.

RE: Do you work overtime?

I generally work 40 hour weeks.  Occasionally I work overtime/weekends, but am paid for every hour I work (straight time).  There are actually no "salaried" full time employees in the engineering division of my company.  Everyone is considered a "flexible" employee and can be sent home at any time.  I've never been sent home or denied my 40 hours in two years.  We have plenty of "retired" engineers/designers who work on an as-needed basis.

RE: Do you work overtime?

At both my Eng jobs I worked more than the required hours most of the time.

Most of the time unpaid except for the last year or so at my last place when they knew I was leaving and we had loads to do, no one to do it.  Some of it was paid by a bonus some of it by time and half.

Also some flexibility in work hours most of the time, how much varied based on who my manager was etc.

RE: Do you work overtime?

First REAL engineering job paid straight time only and 40 to 70+ / week was the norm depending on product launches, problem equipment, etc.  My supervisor was pretty good about looking away when we called in sick or had appointments.  But the pay was lousy; in an area of the US where the living wage is just above the minimum wage.

Next job, I was shocked when they said I was being hired at the top job grade that allowed time and a half over 40/wk.  Then, the company announced carte blanc OT of 10/wk without approval and the approval for additional OT came with simple justification.  That went on for over a year.  Then cost cuts, lost OT, lay-offs, more cost cuts, then big bonuses for management for their clever fiscal prowess.

Current job does not pay OT but allows comp. time freely.  I'm told the 40/wk I work is unique to my department so I think I'll stay put.  winky smile

Frankly, I'd expect 45-55/wk to be the norm and don't mind working it if required to do the job.  But to just provide a presence in case needed?  Don't much like that.

RE: Do you work overtime?

I very seldom work overtime, but will if all heck breaks loose and I need to.  If I work overtime I get paid at the same rate as strait time.  There is no flexibility to come and go, so it's be here or on vacation.  

RE: Do you work overtime?

  In the states it is mandated by OSHA that for hourly and non-exempt salaried employees any time worked over 40 hours in one week be compensated at 1.5 x your rate of pay.  Many companies try to get around this by claiming their employees as "exempt salaried", which actually only covers certain positions, such as management and IT personel.  Microsoft got into trouble over this a few years ago and many other companies have been sued for money owed, but the practice still continues.
  If you feel that you are being taken advantage of, I suggest that you read up on the employment laws.  If necessary, question your HR department, and have them explain how they feel that they are exempt from paying time and a half.  It is important to document all of the hours you have worked over 40/wk.
  I worked for one small jet manufacturer for three years as a contractor getting overtime pay.  They then gave me a choice of becoming temporary/direct (without OT) or leaving.  As I wasn't yet ready to leave town, I accepted the position, but I sure didn't put more than 40 hours into any one week.  They let me go a year later.

RE: Do you work overtime?

When I used to work in a testing environment, the most productive times of the week were weekends - access to all the department's kit and no telephone disruption.  Plus of course, I was younger, single and had no kids.

These days I'd be burned at the stake if I even suggested weekend working, so it's no great issue that I've been recently been re-banded (this month) into a band that cannot claim ANY overtime (no additional perks mind you).

Just wait 'till I'm asked to work outside normal hours.
Methinks Rome may just have to burn - not my problem!

RE: Do you work overtime?

Once and awhile I'll come in on the weekened or evening (like SomptingGuy, I like it when I get all the equipment to myself) but I'll always adjust my work week accordingly so that I work 40 hrs.  I will work uncompensated overtime temporarily if a project demands it, but I would not be willing to put up with it as the norm.  And, actually, I wouldn't be willing to work overtime regularly even if it was compensated.

RE: Do you work overtime?

Am averaging 60 / wk right now, but all paid OT at 1.5X which is great... If it wasnt paid, i'd be looking for a new job.

Wes C.
------------------------------
When they broke open molecules, they found they were only stuffed with atoms. But when they broke open atoms, they found them stuffed with explosions...

RE: Do you work overtime?

I haven't actualy claimed for OT for a several years, as I flex time off to compensate. I'm supposed to do this by agreement with my manager or something or other. Since 'they' have no sensible way of logging what is happening I just keep a diary, and wander in and out of the building as I see fit.




Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

RE: Do you work overtime?

I used to work for a large consultant who actually required staff to work a certain portion of unpaid overtime on a weekly basis, particularly for staff at higher grades.  The company knew that people came into work early and left late, so for all intents and purposes the company got those hours for free.

The staff tried to get a flexitime system but the senior management refused on the grounds it was not 'right' for the company. They knew people would start taking notice of the extra hours they worked so they could go home early on friday so the company would lose all that free work.

My current employer is a lot better.  You work overtime, you get paid overtime albeit at your standard rate.

RE: Do you work overtime?

Hmm, Ivymike's post sounds familiar.  I'm in traditional manufacturing in the states, and we are moving to VERY lean manufacturing in order to keep up competition with Chinese firms.  Due to difficulty in getting operators at pay levels which are nowhere near competitive with the local automotive companies (UAW & USWA), our engineering staff spends a lot more time attempting to monkey proof things.  Our staff is varied.  Older guys tend to average 40/wk.  Ambitious lads like myself are on 50-70 hr weeks, weekends as needed, and are on call for the line 24/day.  If I'm in on an off-shift, that doesn't alot me comp time.  Anymore, I pretty much expect to come in at least once a week for a few hours on third shift to deal with problems.  If I want time off, I take vacation time (3 weeks isn't bad, but I wish they'd consider paying out vacation time).  

RE: Do you work overtime?

Ooops, forgot to add, no OT.  Straight exempt salary employee.  If I want more I need to earn a decent bonus (bumps have been 3% or less across the board for cost of living...while the CPI has just risen about 4.2%) which is not guaranteed and is at the discretion of mgt.   

RE: Do you work overtime?

My first engineering position I got overtime pay. From time to time I would work 50+ hours in a week, but generally only 40.

My second engr. job I did not get OT pay, sometimes got stuck working a few hours extra... that and some other issues led me to my current job.  

Now I get paid for OT, have worked 50 to 60 hours a week once or twice, but mostly in the range of 40 to 44.

RE: Do you work overtime?

In six jobs, OT pay was only available at one of them and even that was only with special pre-authorization that wasn't easy to get and was limited to a certain number of hours.

I generally put in 44 hours since I figure I waste 10% of my time doing things like Eng-Tips. I have, on occasion, worked 70+ hour weeks for a few weeks but not often.

I do travel and receive no additional compensation for the 14 hour flights to China nor the weekends and evenings that I work while I'm there.

I do have some flexibility in my schedule on the front- and back-end of the trips.

--------------------
How much do YOU owe?
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/
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RE: Do you work overtime?

I have always worked in a salaried position and have never been paid, nor expected, overtime pay.  When working for others, I would work as many hours as necessary to get the work done or make a considerable effort toward getting it done (the work was never done...that's why I put it that way!) I consider engineering a profession, not a trade, and as such, there are no limits to your work time!  Yes, sometimes my hourly rate of pay approached that of burger flipping in the early days of my career.  So what.  We were competitive, young engineers who worked a lot for experience and pride of profession.

I work on my own, typically for an hourly fee just as I did when I worked for other consulting firms.  I suppose I now get paid "overtime" since I bill for whatever time I spend and the fee comes to me; however, I still don't consider it "overtime" and don't embrace the concept.  

RE: Do you work overtime?

I put in 50-55 per week, get paid for 40, but consider myself blessed to be in a position to gripe about such things.

RE: Do you work overtime?

1st job- half day Saturday whether needed or not, usually because the boss came in to get away from his wife. We came in early and shot the bull all morning, then he came in at noontime and we would leave.

5th job- engineers slacked off all week, found that on Friday they needed emergency overtime, worked 12 hour days on the weekend and got paid for it.

Thus, my low opinion of overtime.

RE: Do you work overtime?

I only got paid for o/t in my first job out of apprenticeship / college back in the '80s' - 1 1/3T weekdays; 1 1/2T Saturday; 2T Sunday (pretty rare). All employment since then has been flat salary and with the clause "or as many hours as necessary..." tacked on to the job description to cover demands for o/t. The next couple of jobs I worked way too much o/t (unpaid) because I was keen and in the hope of being noticed / appreciated / rewarded. In general that didn't work, so now I do whatever I have to do to get the job done in standard time and reserve o/t for unavoidable essentials like travelling to site etc. If only I knew then what I know now ......!

RE: Do you work overtime?

Except for when on holiday or vacation.  Overtime is uncompensated unless it exceeds a set number of hours.  After that you gain "comp time", essentially additional time off that you need to use (or lose) within a couple of weeks of returning to a more standard routine.

Regards,

RE: Do you work overtime?

Read this like a Jeff Foxworthy "You might be a redneck if . . . "

You might be working too much overtime if . . .

You run out to lunch, find the restaurant closed, and it takes more than a moment to realize that it's Sunday.

You work 32 hours straight, go home to shower and sleep two hours, go back to work for 18 hours while the plant is evacuated for a hurricane, then drive through the hurricane to get to a airport that is not closed, arrive at the customers site, and find you are suffering from jet lag even though you didn't change time zones.

You realize at 3:00AM Sunday morning on a holiday weekend while at work that the unexpected fixed-deadline project your boss threw at you has been designed and built completely on unpaid overtime, and only the company will make money from it.

That you never knew about historical world-shaping events until months or years after the fact because you were working so many hours at that period that you never saw a TV or had time to read a paper.

All of the above has happened to me, and not by choices I would have made willingly. The hurricane story is true, and while at that customers site, the same hurricane passed over the area!

RE: Do you work overtime?

Comcokids post brings up an interesting corollary question. How many of your companies have a policy to limit hours on the job for safety reasons? Our standard policy is that after 16 hours you go home and you are not allowed back less than 8 hours later. So you are guarenteed 8 hours off every 24, none of this working 32 hours straight.

The last company I worked for also required that people as a minimum take 1 solid 24 hour period off every 14 days so the most you could work was 13 days straight without a day off.

I did a plant turnaround in France, day shift only, 35 hours a week, weekends off. It was really strange. In the US is would have been 16 hours a day, two overlapping shifts, 7 days a week for 6 weeks.

-The future's so bright I gotta wear shades!

RE: Do you work overtime?

I work an average of 2.5hrs of overtime a week.  This is because I like to get into the office early in the morning to go through email and other things before the crowds set-in and start hunting for me.

Some weeks it is more, but hardly ever exceeding 50hrs.  If you work overtime at my company it is a given that extra hours off are made available at a later date.  Just how much later is the problem.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."
Steven K. Roberts, Technomad
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

RE: Do you work overtime?

ewh, do you know the portion of the standard that discusses the 1.5 times multiplier?  I am aware that OSHA sets some work time limits for safety reasons, but I was not aware that they were involved in compensation for employees.

RE: Do you work overtime?

TDAA, I believe 1.5 times the multiplier for overtime is in the Fair Labor Standards Act by the U.S. Department of Labor.  It also establishes minimum wage, child labor standards, etc.

Some states may have modifications to the Federal Standards in favor of the employees.

I believe companies are required to post this information, typically found in lunch rooms...

RE: Do you work overtime?

Depending on your class of employment, you might not be covered by the 1.5x multiplier.  Most professions are not.

RE: Do you work overtime?

sms,

We don't have an actual policy limiting working hours for safety reasons so far as I'm aware, but I have been 'advised' to go home by the head of Engineering a couple of times after hitting the 20 hours on site threshold. I have had my car keys removed by the H&S manager and ordered to get a lift or a taxi home. My job frequently involves long hours and much of the time we are running on adrenaline. Once the task has finished the sense of deflation and tiredness sets in. If we must work those hours, then I am pleased that our management at least try to ensure our safety.

----------------------------------
  I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy it...

RE: Do you work overtime?

All professions are covered by the multiplier; it all depends on your classification.  Many professions do not hire hourly or non-exempt salaried employees, thus avoid having to address the issue.  If every employee is non-exempt salaried, then the company would not have to pay any overtime.  Microsoft got into trouble by trying to classify employees into a catagory that should not have applied to them.  Do a web search to find out how OSHA determines what is covered by each classification.

RE: Do you work overtime?

Scotty, I think you were advised to go home by taxi as you were breaking several UK (or european) working directives by working a 20 hour day. Should you have been in an accident you could have sued the company for damages. I believe there are limits on the number of hours you can work at night, the time off between shifts, and the amount of time required during the day for breaks etc.. I think your manager is not only concerned about your safety but also about how you will spend your compensation money sat in your wheelchair, and how he will find another job.

corus

RE: Do you work overtime?

Worse than that, over here, if you were in an accident driving home after a 20 hour day your insurance would not cover you.

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

RE: Do you work overtime?

That's interesting Greg. I'm not aware of anything in UK insurance policies which excludes driving while tired, although there has been research done which shows that sleep deprivation has a similar effect on driving ability as being drunk. Perhaps there is a broad-brush statement about being fit to drive which covers tiredness as well as drink, drugs, medical conditions, etc.

Corus - doesn't the EU legislation only look at average hours over a month? My limited understanding is that it allows a few long shifts provided you get some lieu time to bring the average back down? If you can cite any references for legislation I'd really appreciate it so I can discuss it with our management and HR.

The biggest problem I find is when I'm on call. The all-too-common outcome is I'll have worked a ten hour day, and then be called back to site on a breakdown a couple of hours later and spend all night there too. There should be a legal requirement for a minimum period of rest before being required to go back to work, similar to the regulations which limit the hours a truck driver can work before he is required to have a minimum period of rest.

----------------------------------
  I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy it...

RE: Do you work overtime?

In the US, if you're in a "professional position", that is, one requiring a college degree, and also all management positions, you're excempt from the federal labor laws that require time-and-a-half for anything over 40 hours.  

This is what the terms "excempt" and "non-excempt" refer to.

Your company can still choose to pay you additional for hours over some limit (say, 40 or 45), at either straight time or something more, but its a company decision, not one mandated by law.

In my case, after retiring from a career in the military over 10 years ago, I was employed by an engineering firm that paid for all hours worked with straight time.  This company was acquired by another firm.  Our OT policy remained for a year or two, and was then phased out.  OT is still possible, but is the exception rather than the rule (putting in more than 40 hours remains common).  

RE: Do you work overtime?

I don't think a degree has anything to do with it other than enabling you to get an exempt position.  I know of degreed engineers who are classified as non-exempt and are threrefore entitled to OT.

It works the other way also; you don't need a degree to have an exempt position.

When you start to refer to a job classification as a "professional position", you open another can of worms.  If I have spent 40 years of my life restoring antique automobiles to concourse condition, I would rightly be considered a professional in that field.  There are many walks of life which produce "professionals", and a degree has nothing to do with it.

RE: Do you work overtime?

Time in my firm is a roller-coaster.

i.e. We can work eight weeks of 40-45 hr/wk and then when a large projects comes up it can be 50-60 for six weeks, then 60-80 hr/wk for the final two, then back to 40-45 for a short period until the cycle recurs typically triannually.

Outside of the typical office hours, I have the luxury to regulate when I do overtime, either morning, night, weeknight, weekend, in office or at home.  All within reason of working as a team with the architects.  Bottom line, get the job done professionlly!

Another luxury I have is time & 1/2 over 40.

I am fortunate!

RE: Do you work overtime?

Re exempt,

At least in CA I thought it was pretty much at the employers discretion except that to be exempt you must be getting paid at least twice (I think) minimum wage.

It's probably on the labor board website if anyone cares.

My guess is all the posters here are well within that pay category so it's probably up to your employer.

RE: Do you work overtime?

Over the years, I've worked widely varying amounts of OT.  Anywhere from months at a time with zero to a month or two of up to 80 hour workweeks (or two or three consecutive 16+ hour days).  

The vast majority of it was paid at straight time rates.  But there was one stretch following a layoff and near-immediate recall where I was officially classified as non-exempt, meaning that any OT should have been paid at time-and-a-half (but wasn't).  The story has a semi-happy ending, but since I'm back working for essentially the same company (contract, with straight time for OT) I should probably leave it at that.

Most of the time, the basic 9 days/80 hour schedule I'm now working still feels like I'm on OT though.


Norm

RE: Do you work overtime?

overtime? what's this? hehe

I work from 3 to 10 hours overtime per week, unpaid. Just because there is heavy work load, not enough people to ensure the work, we're late on the projects or because, like it happened to me yesterday, the company software decided to bug and screwed up my last 3 hours of work that I need to do again now...

Guess professional life goes that way...

Cyril Guichard
Mechanical Engineer Consultant
France

RE: Do you work overtime?

I used to work quite a lot of unpaid overtime.  I'd happily stay late and not book the hours.  Now that I'm officially not allowed to book the hours, I'm far less inclined to do them.

RE: Do you work overtime?

4-5 hours per week unpaid, because
- the late hours are nice and quiet so my efficiency is much higher;
- it allows me, or at least makes it easier, to leave early/come in late whenever I need to (dentist, garage, stuff like that).
Never during the weekend though.

RE: Do you work overtime?

for sure, no work during weekend. I spend enough time for it during week.

Cyril Guichard
Mechanical Engineer Consultant
France

RE: Do you work overtime?

I work on billable hours.  If I'm not getting paid, I don't work. Being salaried or "professional" is no justification for a work schedule approaching indentured servitude.  Your education/skills are your product, they should be valued, priced, and respected accordingly.  The only times that I vary from this are for personal reasons (some clients I like more than others), strategic career reasons, or some other quid pro quo.
Regards,
RLS

RE: Do you work overtime?

If I were working hours for which I was not getting paid...I would be looking hard for a new job (and would keep looking until I found one).  I generally work my forty and not a minute more.  Occasionally, I put in a weekend or some long (12 hour) type days, but usually make up for it by taking a day off the following week.  I've never understood why people choose to work 50 or 60 or 70 hour weeks (and sometimes gloat over it).  Paid or unpaid...most of the people I know who work lots of overtime are generally in bad health (both mentally/physically), have disfunctional family life, and generally unpleasant to be around either at work or outside of work.  I always want to say: "Get a life!" to all the work-a-holics.  I will always encourage those who work under me to maintane a healthy balance of work/play/family, and would never work for someone who did not encourage a balanced lifestyle.     

RE: Do you work overtime?

CBS "60-Minutes" program this Sunday 7/23 had a segment on overtime in the US. I though it was interesting that although salary workers in the US are working more than any other country, that US productivity is lower than most other developed countries.

I know I spend a lot of time on meetings, procedures, and reporting unrelated to engineering functions.  So, are Americans working so much to make up for the inefficient work environment companies create?

RE: Do you work overtime?

I think the company I work for is probably quite typical.

We used to employ people with admin roles (publications, post, secretarial, drivers, etc).  Over the years these people have been elimated to save money.  What actually happens is their work now gets done by the engineers, who then have to find extra time to be as productive as they were before.

I keep suggesting to my manager that he set up job numbers so we can find out exactly how much money has been saved by having engineers do admin work.

RE: Do you work overtime?

How about the unofficial "training cost" involved when one has to learn on the spur of the moment how to un-jam the printer/copier so that the "real work" can proceed?  Or having to chase down the solutions to one's own HR-related issues when there is no HR representative on site?  Or pulling one's weight with respect to cleaning up the coffee machine/microwave/refrigerator cubie?

As an addendum to my previous post, I don't mind spending the occasional unbilled few minutes to bring some task to a more convenient stopping point rather than lose the train of thought.


Norm

RE: Do you work overtime?

Good luck SomptingGuy,

My last place did have a couple of 'slush funds', If I recall one was Admin and one was IT issues or something like that.

Trouble is at various times they actually told us not to book too much to those numbers!

Kind of defeats the object of the exercise no?

RE: Do you work overtime?

In addition to the professionalism of working unpaid overtime, let's not forget to be even more professional and not have pensions. We can show those dirty tradesmen that we are above all of those nasty benefits.

The benefits to the community of engineers working long hours are numerous: divorce lawyers prosper; volunteer positions are filled by others (unemployed/underemployed peers); children learn to occupy themselves; boats stay moored, leaving the waterways safer....

RE: Do you work overtime?

I've been working two years for a structural engineering firm.  I've been paid OT for a one month period of the two years.  The boss decided to give us straight time, probably realized how expensive it was, and promptly cut the OT off.

I work 40 hours a week when it's slow, and 50-60 hours a week when it's busy.  Right now is a little slow, but in general I'd say it's busy more than it's slow.

RE: Do you work overtime?

You're absolutely right, KENAT!  It makes me shake my head when I see a metric created to gather data and it evolves into something to be avoided.

I just LOVE working for the government!  sad

RE: Do you work overtime?

Hour-for-hour comp time here.  And all of the engineers are FLSA exempt.  There was a bit of debate about the EITs but I think they finally decided they were exempt too.  The inspectors are non-exempt.

Hg

Eng-Tips policies:  FAQ731-376

RE: Do you work overtime?

I've pretty much resisted working unpaid overtime as much as I can.

If my project and I can come to an agreement on comp time (future time off for unpaid overtime) then I'll work some but otherwise if it isn't paid I don't put in more than an hour or two every once in awhile.

My thoughts are that the company doesn't just go around handing out extra money to me for no reason so I don't feel a need to work a lot of extra hours for no reason.

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