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Subject:Re: Average Hours Worked From:Andrew Plato <gilliankitty -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 2 Aug 2002 00:00:52 -0700 (PDT)
""Damien Braniff""
<DBraniff -at- amphion -dot- com> wrote
> A though for those working long hours. If you're
> earning $80k/year and regularly work 50 hr/week
> (instead of a standard 40) then you are
> essentially 'donating' 25% of your time to the
> company for free - in effect you're giving the
> company $20k/year. I don't think I'm that
generous.
No you're not. You agreed to do the job for a salary.
If it takes you 50 hours per week to do the job, then
that's what it takes. If you skip out the door and
don't get the work done, then you should be fired and
replaced.
Your job is a contract with an employer. They have
work to be done and they compensate you for your
labor. If you want more time, find ways to get the
work done in less time or find an employer who more
appropriately matches your time/salary requirements.
You are not some hapless cog in a wheel that has no
human rights and must kneel to your corporate
overlords. Most firms - even the scummy ones - just
want the work done. So do the job right and get the
hell out of there. Its when you cast the entire
employee/employer relationship as a struggle that
problems arise. Moreover, you have the freedom to go
elsewhere and work at a place that suits your needs.
It never ceases to amaze me how much people love
bitching about their jobs - but then they don't do
squat to improve it. If you want to work 20 hours a
week - get a job that suits that. But don't expect to
make the same money or get the same respect. There is
a trade-off between the value of your skills and what
organizations are willing to pay for that labor. If
you truly, deeply, madly want to only work 20 hours a
week, then go acquire a skill that is so tremendously
valuable, that you can live comfortably off a mere 20
hours of work per week.
Andrew Plato
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