Are you a salaried employee?

[HM]

I am a salaried employee.
I only work the number of hours I am paid for (our staff works 7.5 and I'm part-time at 6.5 hours a day). Some days I may leave early and some days I may leave late. I account for all my time on a time sheet. Even though I am salaried, if I work more than my time in a month, I get to add the extra hours to vacation.

 

[Took]

IMHO, I think it just depends on the company you work for. I've worked at companies in the past where we were expected to work more than 40 hours a week, and it was basically for appearances. The company I'm at now, just cares if you meet your deadlines. If you can get it all done in 40 hours, then great. If you need to stay a little extra here and there to get things done, that's what we do. Of course, that was something I specifically looked for when I started with my current company. It's a smaller company, where the principals' philosophies include a "work to live" mantra, not "live to work."

Although I'm salaried, I work until the "project" is done, not by a clock. I sometimes work under 40 hours per week (much of it at home) and sometimes work much more. I can set many of my own hours. I have to say that a job where I was expected to sit and a desk 7:00am-5:30pm would be very unpleasant. I feel for those who feel this is what the employer expects.

I agree that many folks I've known have lost jobs even if they worked 12 hour days for 8 hour pay, so I'm not convinced that's the best route to go. My perception is that when the money for a salary just isn't in the "the plan" then the worker is laid off, not matter how hard he or she worked.

 

[ajk912]

My DH is salaried right now. He is expected to work at least 45 hours a week. Because of his workload, he works a LOT more than that (because of layoffs and cutbacks).

When I was salaried, 2 years ago- my salary was based on the expectation that I would work about 50 hours a week. (Five ten hour days).

 

[jimmalru80]

Salaried and work 9-5, M-F.

 

[DisneyKing82]

How is that even possible....assuming you worked a 5 day week that is 20 hours a day.

If you worked EVERY day of the week, and I wouldnt that most Investment Bankers would need to do that....that would be 14 1/2 hour days and would not even include any time for lunch or commute times to work?

I'll buy 50-60 hour weeks, but don't see how a person could work a 100 hour week....at least not on a regular basis.

They work Saturdays as well, and sometimes Sundays when necessary.

 

[Darcy03231]

I'm a salaried employee and while there are weeks that I work a 40 hour week, there are also weeks that I work a 60+ hour week (including early mornings, late nights and weekends). It all depends on what's going on in the office.

 

[jessily]

I'm technically salaried... but every hour we work gets recorded and anything over 40 hrs is banked. We can either use it as time off (although this rarely happens because there's always too much work to take extra vacation) or quarterly we are given the option to get paid out for some of it at our "hourly" rate (basically just our salary divided by the hours we work in the year).

Last year we were encouraged to work at least 45 hrs a week and many of us were working 60-70 hrs/week to get jobs out the door. Right now, business is slow and we've been restricted to 40 hrs/week to make sure the work we do have is distributed to everyone (to avoid layoffs). I feel very lucky that my company recognizes our overtime work.

 

[frndshpcptn]

How is that even possible....assuming you worked a 5 day week that is 20 hours a day.

If you worked EVERY day of the week, and I wouldnt that most Investment Bankers would need to do that....that would be 14 1/2 hour days and would not even include any time for lunch or commute times to work?

I'll buy 50-60 hour weeks, but don't see how a person could work a 100 hour week....at least not on a regular basis.

Well, most bankers at Goldman (and other similar firms) do work that the first few years.

They get in between 5 and 6 AM, work til midnight (or later - I've had friends work until 2 or 3 am and then have to be back before 8) and work weekends. Every week. For 2-5 years.

The firms provide dinner each night for the bankers, takes care of dry cleaning, people send thier laundry out to get done, they order in lunch each day, etc.

Sometimes, people can escape for dinner for an hour if its a very special occasion. That's not often.

But they make a BOATLOAD of money, pay off thier loans, but property and (hopefully) set themselves up to do well in the future.

 

[Hoodie]

How is that even possible....assuming you worked a 5 day week that is 20 hours a day.

If you worked EVERY day of the week, and I wouldnt that most Investment Bankers would need to do that....that would be 14 1/2 hour days and would not even include any time for lunch or commute times to work?

I'll buy 50-60 hour weeks, but don't see how a person could work a 100 hour week....at least not on a regular basis.

When I worked with investment bankers, it wasn't unusual to see them log well over 80 hours a week. The Market is always open in some portion of the world.

We used to log 60+ hours a week at quarter and year end and we were the back end. Nothing like printing auditors reports at 9:30pm New Year's Eve.

For the OP - I'm salaried and work 7:30-4:15, technically, 7:30-5:30 more realistically. Some times with a lunch, most usually without a lunch.

 

[GeorgiaPeach8]

I'm salary. For teachers it is probably the only way. I co-taught my first year and the other teacher drove me insane because it took her twice as long to do things like daily report sheets than I took. I'm a really slow at grading essays...so teachers just seem to be able to whip through them. So, hourly would never work for this profession.

The upside--it seems to be rain or drought with work. In August, September and October...I can't work enough hours in the day. I almost take home work on the weekends. In April and May--it settles down a bit. Some weeks I probably work a little less than 40 hours.

HUGE down side--administrators use the salary thing to get more and more work from teachers. For example, last year we were asked to take tickets and supervise one ballgame (about 4 unpaid hours). This year it was changed to 2 games (basically now totally a whole work day) without any explanation. Much of the explanation we get is a snarky--"Well, you should want to do this for the kids."

I'm sure this is similar in the coporate world. We also get the snotty comments about leaving right at 4:00 (or whatever time school is out). It really irritiates me because people don't know how efficiently someone works, if they took a short lunch or if they are taking work home.

 

[Quiksilvr]

How is that even possible....assuming you worked a 5 day week that is 20 hours a day.

If you worked EVERY day of the week, and I wouldnt that most Investment Bankers would need to do that....that would be 14 1/2 hour days and would not even include any time for lunch or commute times to work?

I'll buy 50-60 hour weeks, but don't see how a person could work a 100 hour week....at least not on a regular basis.

This isn't a ridiculous claim. I know bankers who routinely work 90-100 hours per week. That's why the burnout rate is so high at investment banking firms. My cousin worked at a decent-size firm in Chicago and only lasted about two years. That's just how it goes. It's also why I opted not to become an investment banker.

Of course, along with the hours comes big paychecks. I know people who will work the 90 hour weeks for a year, and then they get a bonus of $2m-$3m (bonuses for newer bankers are smaller; I'm talking about mid-levels and more senior people). Things are a little different now in this economy, but this was pretty routine until 2008.

I'm a lawyer at a big DC firm. I'm salaried. My practice is a little more laidback because I'm in tax, but I am still generally here from 9am-8pm with a little more work at home. Yay, Biglaw.

 

[DWGal210]

I have a base salary but also earn commissions. I work from 7:30-4:30 but I never come in right at 7:30, I'm always in here 10 minutes early at least. I don't watch the clock to leave right at 4:30 - it depends on the projects going on. When it's busy, I work later - but right now, when we are kind of not so busy, I usually leave at 4:30.

However, I *might* be moving to a different position within our company and then, I know my hours will be less structured and most likely more than 40 hours per week and not working the same hours each day. But I will enjoy that position a lot and so it won't bother me to put in more hours.

 

[mill4023]

I'm a senior software developer.
I usually get to work about 7:45 and leave sometime between 4:30 and 6:00.
But I'm officially on call every 5th week and unofficially on call all the time.
So there are times when I'm working from home, fixing an issue at 9pm or 3am.

I probably average 45 to 50 hours a week, but for about a month before a new implementation, I was working 60 to 70 hour weeks. And in the first week after the implementation, I put in well over 100 hours, starting with a 20 hour day, followed by 4 hours of sleep and another 20 hour day.

Management here doesn't seem too worried about it, as long as we are getting things done and we are available after hours. I'm sure that if someone always came in late and left early, that would be a problem. But I figure since I arrive before my boss every day, it's ok if I sometimes leave before she does.

Lots of people say they have to work until the tasks are done. The problem with my line of work is that the list of tasks that need to be done add up to thousands of hours. So It's really just a matter of how many hours you are going to spend on them each day.

 

[Ohiodislover]

How is that even possible....assuming you worked a 5 day week that is 20 hours a day.

If you worked EVERY day of the week, and I wouldnt that most Investment Bankers would need to do that....that would be 14 1/2 hour days and would not even include any time for lunch or commute times to work?

I'll buy 50-60 hour weeks, but don't see how a person could work a 100 hour week....at least not on a regular basis.

I'm a nurse manager, there are several stretches during the year when we are required to work 7 days/ week. Usually 7 am till 8 or 9 pm. That's getting pretty close to 100. Add in my drive time, and I'm gone from 6:15 am, till close to 10 pm.

Luckily this is only for a few months each year. I couldn't do it any longer. It's a killer. I know I couldn't do it routinely.

 

[DMickey28]

My DH is a sales director in the high-tech world. He gets to work by about 7:45AM and leaves most days now around 5:30-6pm. He used to be lucky to get out at 6:30PM when we lived in Florida. Since his heart episode he is try to work less. He leaves at 2:00PM on Fridays to drive home though ... he often works on the weekends and at night and his blackberry isn't too far from him at any given point. It all depends on what projects are going on.

 

[Veronica Lodge]

I am salaried and work 80 hours each 2-week pay period (we do a compressed schedule, working 8 days @9 hours, 1 @ 8 hours, and one day off). If I work more than the 80 hours, they must either give me compensatory time off or pay me for overtime, either of which ahs to be pre-approved.

 

[claudia]

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?

there is definitely the unspoken rule of don't watch the clock. My DH is salaried and will put in hours as necessary....sometimes more, sometimes less. My advice would be to take this meeting as a "heads up" and vary the hours to arrive early and leave late.....taking his full lunch would probably help to leave him with more work. I wouldn't ignore the comment.
DH has a 2 hour commute each way and will leave 5 AM and get home at 7 PM....it's going to get much worse for him when the Freedom Tower takes off.....

 

[ead79]

I am a salaried employee, and I work the hours that my company has established for my position (8:30 - 5:00). In fact, one of the main reasons I left my last job was that the company expected salaried employees to work overtime just for the sake of it--whether or not they had work to do. Some of the employees would shut their office doors and take long naps in the middle of the day, then stay late just so the boss would think they were hard workers. That just seemed crazy to me.

Personally, work/life balance is extremely important to me. My current company (a church), expects employees not to work overtime on a regular basis. They actually encourage people to leave on time and spend time with their families. On the occasions when I do need to work overtime (like for special events), we are told to take "comp time" equivalent to how many hours of overtime we worked. Having an employer that values spending time with your family as much as I do is wonderful.

 

[DebbieB]

I am a trainer for an insurance company and am salaried. When I have to travel, I frequently have to fly out on Sunday and don't come home until Friday night. The class is 8 hours but we have to get there early and stay after the class leaves, so probably closer to a 10 hour day. For a 4 week span in April and May, I did that every week, only having Saturday to get stuff done at home. When I am in the office, if there's something that needs done I will stay late but that is not usually the case. If I have to leave early for something, I figure I've earned the time.

 

[JodiR]

One last thing...I am confused though on people who say they are salaried and yet talk of OT. It was my understanding that salaried people don't get OT, that what hourly people make and was the whole point of being salaried??

It has to do if you are an exempt or non exempt employee. There was a law in 2004 that governed who received overtime pay. It also has to do with the duties of the employee. These are exempt (not elgible) from overtime pay:

executive, administrative, learned professional, creative professional, outside sales, and computer professional.

But the above could still get overtime if they are paid less than what the "salary level test" says.