4 ms·

When the kids are at daycare, you'll get 8 hours a day at work to do your work. One of the hardest challenges I had to overcome after becoming a parent is lear

by swalsh 8y ago

When the kids are at daycare, you'll get 8 hours a day at work to do your work. One of the hardest challenges I had to overcome after becoming a parent is learning to get everything I need to get done actually done in those 8 hours. But it's going to be hard, you'll have less sleep. Sometimes I stare at the monitor and my head is so cloudy I have no idea what I need to get done. To add stress, your younger coworkers are going to be working 10-12 hrs a day, and will probably be more productive than you. You'll look bad, and you'll feel worse. At about 3 years of age, things start to get better. Of course that's when my second was born :(

cavanasm 8y ago
As someone who probably qualifies in the "younger coworker" category, I'd be irritated if there was any level of expectation that I worked 10-12 hours a day, unless I wasn't working 5 days a week.
- grawprog 8y ago
  I end up working ten hours a day some days, not every day, but I also work 6 days a week most weeks. My coworker with two kids works probably more overtime than me, usually 9 hours at least every week day then most Saturdays. His wife doesn't work or drive and his parents live with them and don't work or drive. He ends up spending just about all his free time running his family around to different appointments and things. I honestly don't know how he stays so cheerful all the time. He's only about 4 or 5 years older than me(I'm 30). But, that's what the culture's like where he's from though I suppose. He's been here for about ten years and spent just about all his time working to bring his family over and then support him. He impresses the hell out of me, though, i'm glad I don't have to do that.
  - Skunkleton 8y ago
    > I end up working ten hours a day some days, not every day, but I also work 6 days a week most weeks. Why? Do you like this?
    - grawprog 8y ago
      Sometimes I do, and the overtime pay definitely helps. There's a few reasons. We have a schedule to maintain. We have a certain number of jobs that need to be finished every day, if we can't finish everything we have to stay. Right now there's only me and two other people properly trained to do our jobs and each of us work in different sections. One of the jobs is manageable by one person, my job and the the other guy's job are two person jobs. Right now me and one guy have a couple new guys helping us who don't really know what to do and can't really be left to do a lot unsupervised. Each of us also relies on the person before us completing our jobs on time. I'm right in the middle of the process, so if I don't finish everything I need to the people that come after me have to work even harder to finish everything on time. If we're even a couple hours late for a job, customers complain, contractors cancel jobs and the boss is unhappy. I personally don't like burdening my coworkers more than I have to and honestly we do high quality work, I like knowing my work is well done. We're a small place, we all work together to get things done. The boss puts in his time with everyone he's probably the last one to leave at night treats his employees well. Anything we need anytime to get our jobs done he'll get it for us right away, if we've ever got problems in life or other things he's understanding and tries to accommodate or help out as best he can, they've taught me so many things since i've started here and everybody was patient while I learned and at this point the shop relies on me to be there to do my job. Oh and my boss is one of the few people I know I can honestly say is a hero. He rescued is family from genocide by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia in the 70's when he was in his 20's, escaped to China then brought them all to Canada and started his business with nothing. So the way I see it, I can't really complain to much about having to work hard or long hours, i've never had to deal with watching my friends and family get lined up and executed with an axe to the skull. And honestly, I just enjoy my job. I get to make things everyday, I program, I do physical work, operate and maintain giant machines, I get to be creative and i'm pretty much left to do whatever I want as long as i get my job done. Plus it's pretty cool to work making things from one of the earliest materials shaped by humans.
      - tssva 8y ago
        If your boss is regularly expecting you to do the work of two people and consistently work overtime to do so it doesn't sound like he is a good boss and looking out for you. The fact that he works longer hours than anyone else isn't justification for this. As the company owner his decision to do so is an option he has chosen and the benefit he gets from do so greatly exceeds the benefits you get from doing so.
- Scriptor 8y ago
  Agreed, and I've seen this elsewhere too. There's always this implicit assumption that people who don't have kids will naturally spend that extra time at work. Work/life balance is important for everyone.
- swalsh 8y ago
  Let me clarify, not everyone in the "younger" group will work 10-12 hours, but those that have the option probably don't have kids. Those in the "high performers" category almost certainly exercise that option and work extra hours. There are obviously exceptions, but I think it's just that. An exception to the rule. This is kind of the place where I'm at personally. I used to be the "high performer". I was always the go-to guy. I got there by working extra hours. Now that I can't work those hours, and I'm starting to meet my physical limits, I'm getting talked to about my performance.
gameswithgo 8y ago
>When the kids are at daycare If you can afford daycare

by swalsh 8y ago

cavanasm 8y ago

As someone who probably qualifies in the "younger coworker" category, I'd be irritated if there was any level of expectation that I worked 10-12 hours a day, unless I wasn't working 5 days a week.

grawprog 8y ago
I end up working ten hours a day some days, not every day, but I also work 6 days a week most weeks. My coworker with two kids works probably more overtime than me, usually 9 hours at least every week day then most Saturdays. His wife doesn't work or drive and his parents live with them and don't work or drive. He ends up spending just about all his free time running his family around to different appointments and things. I honestly don't know how he stays so cheerful all the time. He's only about 4 or 5 years older than me(I'm 30). But, that's what the culture's like where he's from though I suppose. He's been here for about ten years and spent just about all his time working to bring his family over and then support him. He impresses the hell out of me, though, i'm glad I don't have to do that.
- Skunkleton 8y ago
  > I end up working ten hours a day some days, not every day, but I also work 6 days a week most weeks. Why? Do you like this?
  - grawprog 8y ago
    Sometimes I do, and the overtime pay definitely helps. There's a few reasons. We have a schedule to maintain. We have a certain number of jobs that need to be finished every day, if we can't finish everything we have to stay. Right now there's only me and two other people properly trained to do our jobs and each of us work in different sections. One of the jobs is manageable by one person, my job and the the other guy's job are two person jobs. Right now me and one guy have a couple new guys helping us who don't really know what to do and can't really be left to do a lot unsupervised. Each of us also relies on the person before us completing our jobs on time. I'm right in the middle of the process, so if I don't finish everything I need to the people that come after me have to work even harder to finish everything on time. If we're even a couple hours late for a job, customers complain, contractors cancel jobs and the boss is unhappy. I personally don't like burdening my coworkers more than I have to and honestly we do high quality work, I like knowing my work is well done. We're a small place, we all work together to get things done. The boss puts in his time with everyone he's probably the last one to leave at night treats his employees well. Anything we need anytime to get our jobs done he'll get it for us right away, if we've ever got problems in life or other things he's understanding and tries to accommodate or help out as best he can, they've taught me so many things since i've started here and everybody was patient while I learned and at this point the shop relies on me to be there to do my job. Oh and my boss is one of the few people I know I can honestly say is a hero. He rescued is family from genocide by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia in the 70's when he was in his 20's, escaped to China then brought them all to Canada and started his business with nothing. So the way I see it, I can't really complain to much about having to work hard or long hours, i've never had to deal with watching my friends and family get lined up and executed with an axe to the skull. And honestly, I just enjoy my job. I get to make things everyday, I program, I do physical work, operate and maintain giant machines, I get to be creative and i'm pretty much left to do whatever I want as long as i get my job done. Plus it's pretty cool to work making things from one of the earliest materials shaped by humans.
    - tssva 8y ago
      If your boss is regularly expecting you to do the work of two people and consistently work overtime to do so it doesn't sound like he is a good boss and looking out for you. The fact that he works longer hours than anyone else isn't justification for this. As the company owner his decision to do so is an option he has chosen and the benefit he gets from do so greatly exceeds the benefits you get from doing so.
Scriptor 8y ago
Agreed, and I've seen this elsewhere too. There's always this implicit assumption that people who don't have kids will naturally spend that extra time at work. Work/life balance is important for everyone.
swalsh 8y ago
Let me clarify, not everyone in the "younger" group will work 10-12 hours, but those that have the option probably don't have kids. Those in the "high performers" category almost certainly exercise that option and work extra hours. There are obviously exceptions, but I think it's just that. An exception to the rule. This is kind of the place where I'm at personally. I used to be the "high performer". I was always the go-to guy. I got there by working extra hours. Now that I can't work those hours, and I'm starting to meet my physical limits, I'm getting talked to about my performance.

gameswithgo 8y ago

>When the kids are at daycare If you can afford daycare