Working late culture

[Santino]

Sounds like her boss is trying to get your partner forced out.

Let me guess: she's also been given the "here's a list of (deliberately impossible to acheive) duties I want done by 5:00pm" treatemnt? Maybe she's approached the union (if there is one) about it, but they're not returning her calls - or are always "just on my way off to a meeting" if she does get through - and generally give the impression of not given much of a fuck about the issue?

If your guess is wrong do you promise to shut up about it?

 

[oryx]

If I were a manager looking to promote someone, at it was between someone who was sending emails regularly late at night, and someone who came to me and said 'You know, I can't finish this project within a week, but I can get it done really well in two weeks' or 'I can get this project done in time if we get a temp for the data entry' I'd know who was showing more management nous of those two!

You should manage people. You seem to have both the people skills & strategic overview!

 

[oryx]

There's a theme coming through here, which is that - for all the motivational crap - those workplaces where there is some kind of pressure on people to work late seem to be exhibiting a great lack of trust in the capacity of their staff to make their own decisions and manage their own workloads.

It's no more and no less than infantilising the workforce.

And one thing I know happens when you do that: treat the staff like kids, and they'll behave like kids.

My partner's going through some unpleasantness at the moment which isn't so much about working late, but is a similarly infantilising process of having to justify pretty much every hour of her working day to her boss. Not just document...but justify: "So, can you tell me why it takes an hour for you to write up a set of assessment notes?"...always wrapped up in "we have no problem with your professional competence".

Some managers should be taken out and shot. Lots of managers, maybe.

I think a lot of 'infantilisation' of staff goes on in workplaces - the classic (beloved of my employers) is trying to buy staff off with cakes, sweets, etc. at meetings.

Re. long hours - there is a kind of macho culture about that. Like managers saying 'I was here till 8.30 last night....!'.

I believe you are meant to think 'Wow! You must be really dedicated! I must work till 8.30 too, to emulate you!'

Like any sane person, I think 'You sad, sad, sad, sad, fucker. Don't you have any life outside work, and while we're at it, why don't you learn to delegate or manage your time properly?'

I've worked with a few excellent managers up until recently - all worked 9 - 5-ish type hours and managed their time and staff perfectly well.

 

[8ball]

I think a lot of 'infantilisation' of staff goes on in workplaces - the classic (beloved of my employers) is trying to buy staff off with cakes, sweets, etc. at meetings.

At our place they'll try to repay you for doing a whole load of overtime with a couple of cinema tickets. I like to point out how much cinema tickets cost and how much my hourly rate is when they try this shit.

 

[oryx]

At our place they'll try to repay you for doing a whole load of overtime with a couple of cinema tickets. I like to point out how much cinema tickets cost and how much my hourly rate is when they try this shit.

nice one - what's their response?!

 

[8ball]

nice one - what's their response?!

They bizarrely conclude that I'm one of these people which is motivated only by money. I've tried explaining that money can be easily converted into cinema tickets at a much more favourable rate but they seem naive in the byzantine ways of capitalism.