5 ms·

I think it depends on the trade. I'm in the process of leaving a IT job that forces you to take a unpaid "lunch" but expects you to be available to them during

I think it depends on the trade. I'm in the process of leaving a IT job that forces you to take a unpaid "lunch" but expects you to be available to them during that time. Its a way to cheat and fill the schedule in some cases.

knz 10y ago
> a IT job that forces you to take a unpaid "lunch" but expects you to be available to them during that time. That's up there with "You can't work remotely but we expect you to VPN in after hours to fix any issues".
- sokoloff 10y ago
  The latter is perfectly reasonable in some (many?) circumstances. Break-fix work needing to be done on-call/24x7 while requiring in-office presence for design and new feature development (a fundamentally different type of work, typically requiring a higher level of collaboration) seems perfectly reasonable to me.
  - knz 10y ago
    > The latter is perfectly reasonable in some (many?) circumstances. I live in a northern climate and when it snows can either spend 1 hour stuck in traffic or just work from home (and possibly come in after traffic has cleared). My previous employer was adamant about being in the building from 0830 to 1700 even if it was a blizzard. My current employer lets the employees manage whether they need to come in or not (any day not just during bad weather). I'm sure you can guess which one has happier and more productive employees!
    - sokoloff 10y ago
      I'm facing a Nor'easter, 12+" of snow, etc, here tomorrow and will be working from home for the day. To me, that's perfectly natural and anything less flexible would be insanity/inanity. The key there is (almost) no one will be in the office because it's a synchronized event. OTOH, if everyone worked from home 2x/week at random, it would be chaos trying to plan whiteboard design sessions.
- alkonaut 10y ago
  That's fine, so long as that translates to a hefty salary, scheduled on/off-call weeks plus a good (8w plus) paid holiday.
  - knz 10y ago
    8 weeks?! I assume you are not on the North American continent!
    - alkonaut 10y ago
      Sweden. 5w is legal min, 6w is typical for large corporations or public employers. Sometimes more if you are older. If you have any kind of agreement on "unpaid OT" you typically have 1 more (so 6 or 7). Being on call would mean I'd want ar least another one or two.
alkonaut 10y ago
Either I'm working and then I'm paid and available. Or I'm not working e.g on lunch in which case I might be available if it's urgent. If I do tend to something on my lunch (being nice) then obviously I'm working again - so I'll just go home early instead. Obviously I'm only available on lunch if I can, and want to.

knz 10y ago

> a IT job that forces you to take a unpaid "lunch" but expects you to be available to them during that time. That's up there with "You can't work remotely but we expect you to VPN in after hours to fix any issues".

sokoloff 10y ago
The latter is perfectly reasonable in some (many?) circumstances. Break-fix work needing to be done on-call/24x7 while requiring in-office presence for design and new feature development (a fundamentally different type of work, typically requiring a higher level of collaboration) seems perfectly reasonable to me.
- knz 10y ago
  > The latter is perfectly reasonable in some (many?) circumstances. I live in a northern climate and when it snows can either spend 1 hour stuck in traffic or just work from home (and possibly come in after traffic has cleared). My previous employer was adamant about being in the building from 0830 to 1700 even if it was a blizzard. My current employer lets the employees manage whether they need to come in or not (any day not just during bad weather). I'm sure you can guess which one has happier and more productive employees!
  - sokoloff 10y ago
    I'm facing a Nor'easter, 12+" of snow, etc, here tomorrow and will be working from home for the day. To me, that's perfectly natural and anything less flexible would be insanity/inanity. The key there is (almost) no one will be in the office because it's a synchronized event. OTOH, if everyone worked from home 2x/week at random, it would be chaos trying to plan whiteboard design sessions.
alkonaut 10y ago
That's fine, so long as that translates to a hefty salary, scheduled on/off-call weeks plus a good (8w plus) paid holiday.
- knz 10y ago
  8 weeks?! I assume you are not on the North American continent!
  - alkonaut 10y ago
    Sweden. 5w is legal min, 6w is typical for large corporations or public employers. Sometimes more if you are older. If you have any kind of agreement on "unpaid OT" you typically have 1 more (so 6 or 7). Being on call would mean I'd want ar least another one or two.

alkonaut 10y ago

Either I'm working and then I'm paid and available. Or I'm not working e.g on lunch in which case I might be available if it's urgent. If I do tend to something on my lunch (being nice) then obviously I'm working again - so I'll just go home early instead. Obviously I'm only available on lunch if I can, and want to.