Ignoring work texts

[dish rag]

18 hours a day 7 days a week would net someone probably 4 hours of sleep a night or less. Not possible for long.

True, it's not. But it's done.

 

[dish rag]

"Better" is subjective.

My last employer had a habit of firing employees who were close to retirement......as an at-will company no reason has to be given but you know it's pretty suspect that an employee who has worked for you for 25,35+ years and is within a few months of retirement gets fired-and it wasn't just one or two employees they did that too (ETA: it was worse when we had 13 months of a hiring and promotion freeze). They also weeded out the older employees as far as age goes because they could hire younger employees for less money who could do more work for less money too.

You're assuming the companies doing the cutbacks are always doing them with respects to performance and whatnot however that isn't always the case.

As far as a merger, it's normal that a company eliminates duplicate work if they can. It's less money for them. There are times that they can shift employees from one position to another but they usually can't keep everyone.

I would not want to live a life where others decided my future for me. I never liked to count on others, only my self.

 

[Nancyg56]

Could be why you were laid off ! Attitude!

Well that is kind of mean spirited. In my experience, people get laid off as management addresses any overage. You say you have never "had a merger" so I am not sure you really understand how these managerial decisions are made. When two companies merge there are generally positions that also merged. You see, most companies do not need two people doing the same job in may areas of operations, so in each division, one employee is redundant. Out one goes. The person who gets to say is not the "lazy" one, but the one from the dominant company.

My husband's company was bought out last year, so not a "merge" really. The process of weeding out the extra employees is the same though. So if I were you, I woudl not make assumptions about who gets laid off based on your observations. Unless you sit in on those managerial meetings, and participate in the decision making process, you are just guesssing.

 

[Nancyg56]

True, it's not. But it's done.

I could be wrong, but whole it may be done, I believe it is illegal.

I would not want to live a life where others decided my future for me. I never liked to count on others, only my self.

It is a lovely sentiment, but for most employed people, it is not the reality. For at least some time in our lives, our future depends on working for a company that is financially viable, and whose prospects include enough work to supply us with a job.

 

[SaintsManiac]

The thing is, if it suited the management, your husband would be laid off just as your management did to you.

I have no idea what you're talking about. My point was his job is very different than mine. He has no issues doing what they need him to do. It's a career, not a retail job.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Could be why you were laid off ! Attitude!

Nope actually I worked way more than I should have and got laid off anyway. One company went under no matter how much we tried to save it. The other moved.

Thanks for playing though. You're super nice.

 

[justussix]

I would not want to live a life where others decided my future for me. I never liked to count on others, only my self.

Unless you're independently wealthy, others will decide your future for you. Your clients, customers, and competitors all have a say in your future.

 

[Pixiedustaway]

RIGHT. See this? Exactly my experience with some bosses.

I was kind of on the fence before I found out this was a retail/mattress outlet job. This guy probably gets texts from the supervisor on all the major holidays. Because other people fake sickness or the boss doesn't schedule enough people to be begin with.

The OP is just judgy. Sometimes people who have 6 jobs in four years have that kind of turnover in retail because of bosses and coworkers that this guy has. It's not laid back. It's unprofessional and probably toxic. Your coworker should not know whether you answered a call like this or not.

And I think it's pretty telling the OP hasn't actually said what the job entails. I'd bet it's no office job at all. It's straight up retail.

No. You have no idea what you are talking about. Retail can be done in an office. I don't get why that's a hard concept to grasp.

 

[DaisyJ]

What kind of a job lets you work that kind of time without a day off? Coz if you are in the medical profession, I wouldn't want you taking care of my loved ones.

He runs an ac/heating business.

 

[Westcoastwild]

No. You have no idea what you are talking about. Retail can be done in an office. I don't get why that's a hard concept to grasp.

Ok. Then describe your job. You work for a mattress retailer that had a Memorial Day sale, and has variable shifts. That's all I know. If you worked "back of the house", those jobs have always had set hours at every place I've worked. You've gone out of your way to avoid explaining what this guy actually does and how his absence would hurt your team. So explain.

 

[Gracie09]

Could be why you were laid off ! Attitude!

Or it could be an unreasonable employer. Dh worked hours much like you described for a few years. In fact he often slept in his car or the floor of his office because it wasn't not worth driving home. They'd actually invented a shift from 4am to 6pm so he could work both days and nights. And when he later attempted to assign someone else to that shift his boss told him no, that it was inhumane to have someone work those hours, even though DH did it for 6 months. He often was in the office 24+ straight hours. In fact the day he was let go, he had worked 24 straight hours. But he had the nerve to take 3 hours off the week before to go see a doctor. An appt he needs every 4 months to get medication. He even came back to work after the procedure. His boss was not happy that he took the time and fired him a week later. The excuse was he wasn't dedicated to his job. 6-7 days a week. 18-20 hours a day. Never saw his family. Had stress related health issues. But because he took an afternoon to get necessary medical treatment, he wasn't dedicated. Every review was stellar. He was the youngest project manger in the history of his company. But he wasn't dedicated.
It ended up being the best thing for him. He had 3 job offers in a week. (As soon as people heard he was available they called him.) He is at a place where he can take time off for his family. If he works weekends, he get paid OT or comp time even though he is salaried and exempt and they don't have to do that. He can work from home if he wants. They reschedule meetings around his doctors appts because they understand the importance of taking care of your health. He has moved steadily up the career ladder. Is now in charge of his own unit, and is running multi-billion dollar bids.
His old company, can't keep staff on long enough to staff jobs. They all jump ship as soon as they can. Has cash flow issues because they are not able to meet their deadlines due to staffing issues. They are perpetually close to bankruptcy.
So working your employees to death is not the approach to take if you want long-term growth. We actually looked at suing his former employer for discrimination because there were no issues with his performance until he needed time for a medical appointment. Our attorney thought we had an excellent case but because DH got employed at a salary above his old salary so quickly, it was simply not worth the money for us to pursue the case.

 

[cabanafrau]

True, it's not. But it's done.

I would not want to live a life where others decided my future for me. I never liked to count on others, only my self.

Working excessive hours to the point of jeopardizing one's health should be by choice of the individual making the sacrifice. It's quite a different thing to make the sacrifice knowing you will reap an uptick in reward generated by your sacrifice, which is entirely possible when one is only counting on themselves and controlling the compensation. All too frequently those are one in the same with those who inevitably fail to reward the others who made the sacrifices along with them.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I wonder if the surgeon who screwed up my gallbladder surgery had been working 18 hours straight...

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

No. You have no idea what you are talking about. Retail can be done in an office. I don't get why that's a hard concept to grasp.

Um with all due respect earlier on I had asked and others had asked what the job entailed..you decided to give up on the thread. From the beginning you've been a bit cryptic about it all.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I would not want to live a life where others decided my future for me. I never liked to count on others, only my self.

I don't really have a non-sarcastic reply to that so we'll just leave it as that.

 

[dish rag]

Unless you're independently wealthy, others will decide your future for you. Your clients, customers, and competitors all have a say in your future.

I understand that more than you know. I think you know what I meant though.

 

[Hrhpd]

It's interesting to read some of this. I've worked many times for months and months 7 days a week. I know some specialists that work 18 hrs a day for days at a time. My own father did that 7 days for weeks at a time. To not answer a txt or not want to work on a day off is just lazy to many of us.

Rude much?

I actually knew a coworker that in 2 1/2 years time was laid off from 2 jobs...the reason why was downsizing in the company for one and a merger for the second where they eliminated duplicate jobs.

Poor Art. His posts just break my heart. The life he has just described sounds absolutely horrible. His father never available when he was growing up and himself with no social life, no hobbies, nothing but work. (You can't have much social life or a hobby if you are at work 7 days a week for months and months at a time.) No wonder he is so bitter.

That you find peace in your life. I would suggest some counseling so you can find yourself and not be defined by working 7 days a week for months and months at a time. Your self worth should not be based on being proud of working 7 days a week for months and months at a time.

Most research shows that people who have a balance in life are the healthiest, both mentally and physically healthy.

 

[Hrhpd]

I would not want to live a life where others decided my future for me. I never liked to count on others, only my self.

Of course you don't like to count on others . You have posted about your extravagant lifestyle before, I remember your posts about your 5 figure Rolex you purchased. So, it is not that you need to work 7 days a week to put food on the table. And you are not making the extreme sacrifice to leave your family to serve your country. So, why is this such a point of pride?

 

[Kaytie]

No. You have no idea what you are talking about. Retail can be done in an office. I don't get why that's a hard concept to grasp.

So I searched for retail office jobs. I found a lot of not applicable openings. I found one for (typical) office help in a retail business. But I didn't find anything that indicated doing retail in an office environment. Unless you mean inbound phone sales?

So, for about the fortieth time in this thread: what, exactly, is the work for which this employee was needed desperately enough to text him but not enough to previously schedule him?

 

[Southernmiss]

So I searched for retail office jobs. I found a lot of not applicable openings. I found one for (typical) office help in a retail business. But I didn't find anything that indicated doing retail in an office environment. Unless you mean inbound phone sales?

So, for about the fortieth time in this thread: what, exactly, is the work for which this employee was needed desperately enough to text him but not enough to previously schedule him?

I've wondered if it was the finance office of the mattress store. When I've bought furniture, there's been financing available and a little window with "office" type stuff and people there to run credit checks and do paperwork.