why in the world would they hire another worker if he is willingly doing all this?
We have talked about this, again this morning, and he knows that is true, at the same time he says they are not looking for and IT dept "at this time", not to say it can't change, but for now he feels he needs to get it done or that may be it for him.
You can be replaced very easily - especially in this economy where people with a MS or an MA are GLAD to work at Starbucks, Target, or Wal-Mart just to have a job.
Exactly, people fresh out of college and even some who aren't as recently out but havn't found work would love to have his job, Rochester's unemployment rate is 9.3% so there are for sure pleant of people would would step in and take these hours gladly. He's not going to do a thing to jeapordize it, he knows he's lucky to have it, even if it means working late, working weekends, or changing printer ink.
Hi MickeyMom! From talking to you on the no buy thread I know what an awesome mom and wife you are . It hurts to see your DH being worked to the bone.
I am a technical recruiter, and I can tell you that as much as I would like to overlook the college degree, many of the companies that I work with will not. So If I were your DH, as tough as it is, I would not leave a job in this economy. He should continue to look, but not leave until he actually has another job.
I would hesitate to even make too many waves- I like the idea above of keeping track of hours worked and projects accomplished and then talking to management about getting a part timer or intern to help out.
He is being taken advantage of, and it sucks. He is lucky to have you, and it sounds to me like you are lucky to have him. You guys can do this. Maybe he could get his degree online? Having it would open some doors.
Thank you, he won't be going anywhere and he won't say anything. I guess this thread got away from what I was asking. I wasn't asking if people thought he was overworked or if people thought he was wasting time, I was looking for what I could do to be supportive. We know he's letting them take advantage of him, I don't want to say he's OK with it, but he has accepted that he is very blessed to have a job at all, let alone one that provides well, so he's doing what he has to do right now and when and if something better somes along, he will take it but we aren't there now.
Well I can only speak from my personal experience but sometimes the top persons don't know everything that one person is doing especially in an organization of that size.
I had to record every minute of my work life for three months and turn in a proposal before another person was even considered in my section of work. After management saw that if I drop dead, they'd be up a creek without a back up and started the ball rolling for a part time person.
It doesn't hurt anything to submit a professional proposal that has every minute of work recorded as a way to educate the management about current work environment.
Well he says he has been logging his hours for some time, I didn't realize that because he said it doesn't matter. The things that need to be done need to be done and while none of it is hard, it is all time consuming. I wish he felt that he could push the issue but he does not.
I've just finished reading this entire thread and I really feel for you. This is a tough situation, and I hope you and your DH can figure out a way to work this out. It's obvious that you and DH are both committed to family and doing everything possible for each other. I think you've both almost gone overboard, though, with not wanting to rock the boat. You don't want to stress out DH any more than he already is, so you kill yourself to do what you can for him. He doesn't want to risk his job so he doesn't talk to his employers about his poor working conditions. They are blatantly taking advantage of him. I think you and DH need to have a heart to heart so he truly understands what his employer is doing to your family. You mentioned that you both grew up with absentee fathers; it's obvious you are doing everything you can to foster a relationship between your kids and their dad, but don't kid yourself: if he's working those crazy hours nonstop, he IS an absentee father. I grew up with a father who regularly worked 80 hour weeks. Take it from one who knows: their relationship with him WILL suffer.
This is what I would recommend. First, your DH needs to let his employers know exactly how much time he is logging in. The Facebook thing is NOT enough. He needs to start logging his hours and what he's doing, especially if it is a personal errand for the owners. Do this for 2-4 weeks so he sees exactly how much time he's working, then he can schedule a sit-down with his boss. If he's too scared to rock the boat to schedule the sit-down, have him log his hours until his next employee review. He is certainly justified in asking for a decrease in hours. Help him to come up with some suggestions he can give his employer to get this done. (Intern, PT employee, etc.)
In the meantime, you can help by doing some research on the labor laws in your area. Find out about the family leave act in relation to sick kids. Also, I thought that salaried employees had to get overtime pay or comp time. You don't mention how many hours he typically works, but he's obviously not getting any comp time. You might also search the internet for some tips on how to discuss touchy subjects with your boss. This might help him to figure out exactly how to say what he needs to say without rocking the boat.
Your DH's employers may love that he works so much and tell him that they appreciate him, but they obviously do not respect him. I firmly believe that people will only take advantage as much as you let them, and your DH has got to figure out where to draw the line. Good luck and keep us updated!
Well, I have to respectfully disagree with you. He is not by any means an absentee father. Not sure you saw where I said he has never missed a thing for the kids, he will go to everything, even out for the ice cream after, He isn't available during work hours, as many working parents aren't, but after hours he will work overnights to make up for not missing anything for the girls. A lot of the overtime he is doing is when they are asleep. Thankfully he can function on just a few hours for days at a time before it catches up with him. So no, he's not an absentee father. Any kid would be lucky to have a dad care as much as he does, I would have done anything for a dad like him as a kid.
And I feel that same way as a husband. Last month he had gotten me Bon Jovi tickets. I had wanted to go for 20 years and they were coming to Cleveland, 4 hours from here. He got tickets and had plans to go. Last minute he couldn't get vacation time (it was a Monday show.) So he went in early Monday, worked a full shift, drove to Cleveland, saw the show and drove home early the next morning to be in by non and worked a full day again. He would do anything for us. (On the flip side, last year he had tickets to see the Bills play "his" team with his best friend. The server crashed at then end of the day and that was it, he didn't go.)
I will agree that they don't truly appreeciate him, no question. He's doing the work of 2 employees for the pay of one and they like that, bottom line. I believe they like him as a person too and they might still like him and keep him if he demanded an assistant, but he's brought it up ion several occasions but doesn't feel he can push it. Oh, and the FB thing isn't meant to change things so much as just let it be a reminder. It is done in a lighthearted way, posting "I'm home" when he checks into work. He never did it thinking it was a profesional thing, he's a jokester and figured it would be taken as that but aslon would let them see wow, he really is putting in the hours.
This made me laugh, only because it is soooo true! When mine has had a bad week he just want to be pampered and have a lot of attention payed to him, but then he is a little needy.
I agree I wouldn't make waves unless your husband has a firm replacement job lined up. There are, surely, quite a few young people straight out of college, who have student loans, and need a job, who will be willing to do your husband's job, at his salary, and bring a degree to the table, to boot. It seems harsh, but it is true. Your husband must make a decent living if you are able to stay home.
...and on that note. It appears that your kids are in school full time, use that time to get some training or education so that you can help out financially, so that your husband will be free to look for a job that has less demanding hours.
...on time management.... it seems that a PP may have a point regarding time management. If you are bringing your kids to the job, or stopping in, or going for walks, whether you realize it or not you are taking time away from his work. It is a distraction.
I am pretty sure that you must apply for family leave act prior to taking it. It is not intended for those days where your child is sick with a cold of flu or something. I am pretty sure it is to care for a chronically ill family member. I had an employer, once, who said that a sick child was not an acceptable reason to call out. (of course, everyone lied and said that they were sick)
With salaried employees it really depends on your contract whether or not you are eligible for comp time or time and a half. If it is not written into your contract, you don't get it.
Well of course some of him time is being taken away, but he's rather work till 3am then 2 and get some awake time wit his kids. At no time did I say they wern't a distraction but on those days (more recently) he leaves and they are in bed and often he gets home and they are in bed, so an hour with them is a good distraction. Gives his eyes a break and gived them time together. As for the walks, I believe they are as importatn if not more then the time with kids. He has a condition similar to DVT. His blood is pooling in his legs. He has what looks like large (maybe 3 inch by inch and a half) dark bruises on his legs, they are not bruises, they are pooled blood under the skin. He had one surgery a few onths ago and will be having another soon. This is not something to be messed around with. He needs the walks because he needs to keep the blood flowing as best he can. He aslo needs the exercise because he sits for often 12 hours a day (getting up to take short walks, but IT is sitting.) So yeah, I have mentioned distractions but they are to not only improve the quality of his life be ot literally save it. So is he playing games, no, is he trying to take care of his physical and mental health, he is and those are needed distractions.
I also asked him this morning if he knew that he was supposed to get comp time. He said yes for over 50 hours. He said no one at work takes it though.
He did say that while they are demanding a lot, he really thinks well of them. A couple years ago our morgage was double paid and we bounced our checking account by hundreds of dollars. He was on the phone during lunch trying to deal with it when the ownder walked into his office. He heard and handed my DH $200 cash to help. DH declined saying we had savings we'd dip into but it was nice to know they are there for him in an emergency. He knows they would be there for him in any emergengy that he needed and he appreciates that.
Like I said, I do appreciate everyone taking the time to listen and offer their input. I wasn't asking if he should quit (not an option,) I wasn't asking if he was stupid for allowing this. I was really just asking what I can do to be supportive. I think I have gotten some help there so thank you.