Overtime / work outside your normal work pattern

Even worse when you consider some will probably have long (30-60 min) commutes either end.

3 Likes

When I worked in schools, I did 55 hour weeks minimum and I still got nothing done and what I did was shit.

Since moving up here, I do a few hours a week outside of work, but I’m allowed 7 hours of off-site working so I often leave early or take long breaks. It is much better.

i pretty much got away with it tbh. my mum was reading a report card out to me the other day and one of the comments was along the lines of ‘profk’s homework assignments often are not completed, perhaps because they are never noted down in his diary in the first place’ etc.

just don’t acknowledge its existence in the first place and you’re golden.

The hours of my life I’ve wasted, scraping around for enough cardboard to make a junk model robot or whatever.

1 Like

At my last job I was putting in around three or four hours of unpaid overtime a day. I’d start at 7am and finish around 7-8pm. It was an absolute shit job. Total stress and it figuratively nearly killed me.

So glad I’ve left. I do overtime at my new place but at least I get paid for it and it’s far less stressful.

I reckon my workload is c. 75% more than it was 5-6 years ago (when my current line manager was in the role). I reckon I could work a 60 hour week and still not feel like I’d completed everything :confused:

Yeah, I did the same too. In my leaving book my form tutor put something similar to that :slight_smile:

We didn’t have it in primary and in high school I submitted maybe 5 pieces, 4 were copied out of someone else’ book in about 40 seconds in the morning so were totally illegible and the other was probably something in the first week and it still had some novelty to it. Remarkably only ever had one detention despite refusing to do it.

But I just wonder if it’s changed now, and if there’s more pressure to do it, or if it’s more important to be able to keep up with the curriculum.

1 Like

Flexitime - so if I ha why I work over I get it back
If I have to do extra actual days I get overtime
As I think it should be really

Although this will annoy me I don’t mind that sort of thing as it’s more of an activity that we could do at the weekends but once they have to do maths or essays or that nonsense then aaahm oot, and so is she.

I absolutely despise setting it and have to make kids do it at break etc, really tells me nothing about what they can / can’t do, adds a load of stress and isn’t necessary to keep up with the curriculum.
Unfortunately it’s completely standard even in KS1, think most teachers would just be happy with reading and sharing stories tbh

1 Like

It’s all insidious bollocks this isn’t it? I spent some of my life getting pulled into it. I’m convinced people who are conscientious at school get suckered into this by exploitative employers who prey on people who want to do well or are seeking approval.

I had a boss who told me i was expected to work 9-8 and asked why my team were never around after 6:30pm. Their contracted hours were 9-5:30. Total bullshit. I just didn’t do it, protected my team from him and it was fine because we got the work done in the time available.

There are countless studies demonstrating that anything over 45 hrs per week does not result in improved output (not productivity, actual output). Its all a game.

Tech is one of the worst for this, possibly because of the US Calvinist ethos.

Thankfully things are changing a bit and tech is starting to organise. The employers who demand loyalty and kid on that it’s all a big family will not hesitate to fire everyone when the chips are down. Winds me up no end.

The regular homework is just some kind of crappy worksheet. And then a list of spellings. I guess we pay lipservice to it whilst ensuring it takes up the minimum amount of their time (maybe half an hour before tea on a Friday, then it’s out of the way for the weekend). I wish I was as ballsy as you and @profk.

We’ve drawn the line in our house at SATs booster lessons (i.e. making six year olds spend an extra hour a week in school to prep them for a stupid test).

4 Likes

It remember doing some booster sessions in year six after school, was only game for it because we got chips from the chippy afterwards.

Seems absurd for six-year-olds, as does testing them in the first place.

2 Likes

My contract hours are 8.45 to 5.15 with an hour for lunch but in practice it’s “don’t take the piss”. I’m usually (read: always) in late but never take an hour for lunch and it’s rare that I’m out the door by 5.15 so it balances out.

The only times I’ll work on weekends is if I really need to - either I’ve got a load of holidays coming up and there aren’t going to be enough hours in the day to clear my desk in time (my job is extremely deadline driven), or I’ve got a hearing coming up and the prep time for that is enormously time consuming.

At my last review my boss said, essentially, to work less, because if we’re not budgeted for extra heads then the business needs to understand that we have a finite capacity to get through work. This is a world away from private practice, where you break your back until your client’s work is done. No ifs, no buts.

Fuck that!

the german office in the company I worked for was great for making sure no one worked overtime. to the extent that overrunning conference calls would be cut short because they had to go home.

5 Likes

The managing partner at my old firm used to tut when he saw admin stuff heading out the door bang on five. “tssk, bloody part timers!” MATE YOU PERSONALLY PROFIT OFF THE WORK THAT GETS DONE, THEY GET PAID THEIR HOURS. HOW DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND BASIC INCENTIVES.

The worst part is he’s an active Labour party member ffs. He should get this.

1 Like

you should report him to the party.

3 Likes

Big John McD shows up and says “have a word with yourself, for fuck’s sake.”

5 Likes

jezza and johnny

6 Likes

Hated it in my old workplace. Hours were 8-5 with half hour lunch break, didn’t mind that as it meant a bit of extra money from otherwise dead time.

What was ridiculous was the pressure to work more when deadlines were slipping. Got pulled aside with another girl in my department once questioning our commitment for not coming in at half six like some of the lads were. If i went in early lile that I couldn’t get my usual lift in, so would have to get two buses and would be up at like 4am to do that. Yeah, that is really going to help you get more work out of me.