4 ms·

I work remotely as well and I observe that a lot of people are available outside their regular working hours. I think remote work is part of the problem: the ad

• pmoriarty 7y ago
  Overtime would be a lot easier to swallow if you were paid, say, time and a half for weekday overtime and double for weekends or holidays. But, no, most tech employees aren't paid anything extra for it, so management has no incentive to reduce the amount of overtime you actually work. I had one boss who acted very concerned and would keep telling me not to work so late. But at the same time he wanted the same amount of work done, which meant working overtime. When I finally did stop working as much overtime, he was disappointed that I wasn't getting as much work done, and my reviews suffered. Also, commuting time should be paid as work time. There are so many people with crazy commutes that don't get paid a dime for it. I seem to recall that some European country had in fact required companies to pay for their employees' commutes. The US should follow suit.
  • Mountain_Skies 7y ago
    Sounds like a way to make urban sprawl even worse.
    • deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
  • lotsofpulp 7y ago
    > Also, commuting time should be paid as work time. There are so many people with crazy commutes that don't get paid a dime for it. I seem to recall that some European country had in fact required companies to pay for their employees' commutes. The US should follow suit. Yes, we need more discrimination against poor people who can’t afford to live near job centers.
    • archgoon 7y ago
      This seems like it would have the opposite effect as it would allow for higher earners to work further out and decrease demand for in city housing.
      • lotsofpulp 7y ago
        If an employer has to pay someone more if they live further away, then someone who lives closer is a preferable candidate for the job. So a person who was born into a family that already lives near offices or city centers has an advantage over someone who was born further away (typically lower cost of living areas).
      • imtringued 7y ago
        Companies can't conjure money out of nothing. If they have to pay X dollars for your commute then they have X dollars less to pay you.
        • dredmorbius 7y ago
          Flipside: worker's noncompensated contributions to employment aren't free. Ulitmately, labour benefits the business, and surplus accrues to the business. Changing costs mean a shifting balance of inputs (labour, capital). But if your firm isn't profitable whilst paying a living and sustaining wage to its workers, then what exists isn't a profit-making enterprise, but a charity, on behalf of the owners, subsidised by the workers. There's no law that says a non-viable business has a right to continue operations.
  • CalRobert 7y ago
    I believe the case in question was about a pretty narrow situation - travel nurses whose last case of the day took them particularly far from home, or something like that. It's not as simple as clocking in when you leave for work. Also, how would you implement this in practice?
  • jodrellblank 7y ago
    > Also, commuting time should be paid as work time. I can earn more, without working more, simply by living somewhere cheaper and sitting down in a comfortable car for longer? And I don't have to be an Uber driver dealing with the general public? And if I drive slower, I "earn" more? Sign me up! (Preferably with a self-driving RV, where I can safely be in the back while it's moving, of course).
• Hermitian909 7y ago
  Very true, though the flip side of this as that some of us take advantage of remote work to have more flexible lives. For example, yesterday I had a block of deep work scheduled for the afternoon but wasn't really feeling it. So I went on a long hike instead, came home, and worked from 6-9. I'd need outrageous amounts of money (even for tech) to consider pager duty though, it sounds hellish.
  • kache_ 7y ago
    It really depends. In the last 6 months we only got two pages. For us, it's just the minor inconvenience of having your computer on you at all times.