Are you a salaried employee?

[Aristomommy]

DH is a salaried employee at his company that is fortunately growing in this economy. They had a meeting today where management stressed that they hate to see employees routinely leave at 4:30pm (usual work day is 8-430pm) when the economy is what it is. They want employees who enjoy their work instead of looking at the clock for their day to end.

That made me wonder, if others who are salaried usually work an 8 hour day (or however long a regular work day is) or if there is some unspoken rule that you should stay longer routinely? DH is not a manager, but a highly specialized engineer that can get his stuff done in an 8 hour day. He doesn't come in late, takes a short lunch and will stay if needed. But why stick around just for the perception that you are a good employee? What do you think?

 

[Handbag Lady]

I am salaried.

My work day is 8:30 am to 6 pm. I stay late as needed and rarely leave early unless I'm going out of town for a long weekend or if there are doctor/dental appointments to attend.

I believe the company your DH works at is perhaps concerned with perception as well as maybe there are others not in your husband's field who can do more work by staying longer.

 

[Jordans_Mommie]

Unfortunately this is a pretty common unspoken rule. At my company salaried employees are expected to work an average of 48 hours a week. It is not a real company rule, but I am told that it has been mentioned during the performance reviews of a few or my co workers.

I usually end up working between 50-55 hours a week. Thankfully I have the capability to do a lot of it from home in the evenings.

 

[golfgal]

One would think that you could leave after 8 hours but most salaried employees I know do not. I don't think Dh has ever worked less then 10 hour days as a salaried employee. He typically works 50-60 hours/week. His very first job even stated that they were expected to work a minimum of 45 hours/week. I am not sure that is legal but that was a long time ago. Dh never stayed around to look like a good employee, he has always had jobs that kept him that busy and more. Right now he could work 20 hours/day and not get caught up-but then he is an owner in his company so his hours don't count any more .

I would wonder if that is a warning sign of things to come and it might be a good idea for your DH to put in the extra time, even if that means taking an hour lunch and staying until 5:00 instead of 4:30. Maybe they are testing which employees to keep .

 

[Aristomommy]

I think preception is the key word, you are correct. I have never been a salaried employee so I don't know what the norm is. DH is very family oriented and likes to be home in the evenings, but now he is concerned if he should start staying later.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Both dh and I are salaried. Although there are days that we leave on time, (more me than him), we both stay longer plenty of times. I only stay 1/2 - 1 hour more most of the time, but stay much later if need be. DH is more 1 - 1 1/2 hours over most days.

I was hired to replace someone who left right on time everyday and was let go.

 

[WDWBarb]

I'm a salaried employee and yes, it is expected that we work more than an 8-hour day.

I work 6:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. most days (but it's rare that I work weekends!!!).

 

[DVC-Don]

I was salaried when I was an insurance adjuster working for State Farm. Back then we worked mostly 60 hour weeks, but could set our own hours. The work day was 8 AM to 4:30 PM (with 45 minutes for a lunch break), but we'd often start at 6 or 7 in the morning and work till 6 or 7 in the evening. It was easier to get your work done when the phones were not open. Now I hear they are on the clock and sent out the door when they hit 40 or 38.75 hours, unless there is a catastrophy.

 

[Ohiodislover]

Can't really think of the last time I worked less than 48-50 hrs/week. Usually average more. For instance yesterday was 10.5, today was only 8, but the boss sent everyone home early. Tomorrow will be around 10. Th, and Fri will be at least 11 hours both days.

It is really expected to work at least that much. The only thing that bugs me is the policy that we are only allowed to write 8 hours on our time sheets. I realize that they are only paying us for 40/week, but I think I should be able to show those hours somewhere.

 

[OhMari]

My dh company is doing well too in this economic times.
To us it is scary, because everything else around us is closing.
He is salary. He starts at 6:00 a.m. and is usually home by 6:00 at nite.
My son and dd both work there and everyone is suppose to be done by 5:00 and they usually call me to pick them up.
My dh is the first one the security alarm system calls and also the gate guard. So he can be called back numerous times a nite.
Last week, corporate office hand exterior doors painted and the guard was told to lock everything down by 8:00 p.m. He went to shut the doors and he noticed cats roaming around inside the building.
I usually go along and it took us over 45 minutes to get the cats out of the building.

This past winter when it was sub zero out, some truck drivers left their dump truck running and went home for the day. He was called numerous times to go turn off trucks.
So his week is usually 55-60 hours a week. They also work Saturday mornings, which is a bummer when you want to start a home project.

 

[DalGal]

I am salaried (9am-4pm) but generally work 1 to 1.5 hours before that and an hour after that each day. Also, I have been known to do some work at home but I'm trying to break myself of that! (haven't managed to yet though)

 

[Robinrs]

I'm salaried. I work sometimes 12 hours a day and sometimes on weekends. My staff is hourly and can make MORE than I do with overtime!

 

[Aristomommy]

Wow, I'm surprised how much "over time" everyone works. I should say that when big projects are going on, DH works many nights in a row and goes in the office during the day as well for meetings to update managers. He also works from home when needed, but he doesn't usually stay at the office, which seems to be the issue discussed in the meeting today.

His company also allows working from home 1 day per week, but it seems that when someone takes advantage of it, people will send that person IMs all day long just to "check in" that they are not just logged on the network. DH tried working from home, but the IMs were annoying so he just goes in now. These mixed messages are confusing...

 

[JodiR]

DH is a salaried supervisor. His base pay is 45 hours a week. He does get overtime pay. I think it is double pay on Saturdays and triple on Sundays.

 

[Stacerita]

Im salaried and work close to 50 hours a week. More if I have extra meetings or projects I am working on. I tend to come in early, but generally leave on time since I don't want to be the last lone person in the building.

 

[Aimeedyan]

I honestly don't know any salaried employees who get to work a consistent 40 hour week. It's typically expected to work more than that - and often necessary, esp with the amt of layoffs some companies are having.

I am salary; I work until my job is done. Sometimes, that means an 80 hour week. Sometimes (though rare), just a 40 hour week. I am always "on call", check my email often nights/weekends, have a company cell phone, and take my laptop home daily to work on things. The upside to my job is my hours are flexible, so taking off for appts, having a long lunch, taking an afternoon off, etc are no problem as long as your job is done.

 

[GeorgeG]

I was salaried before I retired and it was generally expected we put in a 9-hour day. It was often more, but sometimes we could put in less. It still averaged out to at least 9 hours a day, though. The key is to negotiate your salary to cover the demands of the job. Annual bonuses often rewarded dedication, but towards the end the company became less loyal to loyal employees, which seems to be a trend all over in recent years. That's okay, though... I still get a paycheck everymonth from them for not working at all.

 

[luvsJack]

I am a salaried worker and no, we are not generally expected to work over our 8 hours a day. During the 3 times a year we have registration though, we are. During those days, we pretty much stay until the last student is seen.

 

[AKL_Megs]

I am salary, but I am at the mercy of my company as far as how many hours a month I work, but I make per diem on top of my salary, and an hourly pay on top of my guarantee if I work more hours than my guarantee. I am a flight attendant and am guaranteed pay for 75 hours a month (flight time), but usually work 40 hours (flight time) a month. Pay is great! 10 guaranteed days off a month, too.

Being salaried is great, but you work your butt off.

 

[kidzmom3]

I became salary this year and I work about 48-50 hours a week with 1/2 hour lunch break if I can take it. I also process my employees time clocks on Sunday evenings even when on vacation unless I am at a true "away" vacation (ex disney world). I am also on call mon-fri 24/7 except holidays. I am on call for 2 holidays per year.

i also have had to take 6 mandatory pto days and we are not getting our bonus or raises this year.