Not like a sports game but actual grunt work.

Last two years my work laid off a bunch of workers which meant when things got busy again those kept on had to work harder to keep up with the same demands we had when we had a group of 40 now a group of 8. At first we weren't compensated for OT but now under new management we are (most times). We've pretty much been going full tilt since the summer. I think there was a month or two I worked every day.

You would think 'you must be rolling in the dough' but here you are taxed 40% on your earnings over and above what you make so technically every hour I work OT I'm actually getting less per hour. It's also taking an enormous strain on my physical and mental well being and what I have left of a personal life. Our group has been sick so much the past 6 months we just keep trading germs. My friends are getting annoyed with me always working or not doing anything because when I am home I just want to relax.

We were just offered unlimited OT for the foreseeable future as we are now helping other areas. I just booked two holidays so the money is going to be helpful, but when does punishment outweigh the reward?

You need a break, IM

This is yet another reason why I'm starting to think more and more often that unions, despite all their issues, maybe had the right approach to labor after all.

Feb 9, 2018 4:22:37 GMT Mistress said:

You need a break, IM

I didn't leave my house for 11 days during Christmas break. It was awesome. I came back feeling glorious, but it was short lived. The flu bug Made it's rounds and in January I worked 28 of 31 days. I need another 11 days off. :lol:


#firstworldproblems

Sounds rough IM! I think it's really important to look after yourself, problems work-life balance can be something that we just accept and roll with but sometimes you need to put your foot down - no one else is going to do it for you.

I now know first hand about how problems at work can bleed over into other aspects of your life and effect the way you interact with people that you care about. I always kinda assumed that I had the personality/makeup that would make me immune to something like that because I'm a positive, easy going person, but when I had a bad relationship with my boss in my previous job it made me not such a great person to be around - luckily I had some people who noticed that something was up and merely by them asking me if I was ok, made me realise what was happening, and that I needed to do something about it.

Feb 9, 2018 4:26:18 GMT 🤯 said:

This is yet another reason why I'm starting to think more and more often that unions, despite all their issues, maybe had the right approach to labor after all.

My last two jobs have been union. The previous one seemed pointless because it was a grocery store and we started at minimum wage, so after dues (it was mandatory) you could actually make less than say Walmart down the street. But at the same time all the bad stuff you heard about Walmart and basically everything they cried about in that anti-union video on Youtube did not factor into my job. I worked in produce and that's where I stayed. I didn't get pulled to stock in frozen because they were short handed and then had management get mad at me because produce wasn't finished before the end of my shift lol.

My current job is union and paying dues is an option, so you can choose to join or not. Supposedly they have to represent you whether you pay or not, but I opted to join as I figure what they do for you is probably on the same level as sending food back at a restaurant if you aren't a member. Never had to call on them or file a grievance, but it's like insurance.

Oh wait, this was a thread about overtime...

My job has a "list" of those who want overtime that they go through every quarter. Basically if it's needed they go by the list of who said yes and if they still need more people only then do they force people to stay. It's more work a day off than it is stay late or come in early, although that does happen. A lot of people work 6 days most of the year. I say fuck that. Now granted I'm not doing anything productive on my off days or going on lavish vacations or anything, but time is something you can never get back. If I'm gonna waste my life I at least wanna waste it doing something for me.

That and I'm of the mindset of the more you make the more they take. The few times I did get ot... the check was never worth it. Having more was nice, but after taxes and considering I was stuck at work it just didn't seem desirable. Oh yeah... remember how Walmart isn't union and they're just a waste of time and money? Overtime disproves that theory. At Walmart if they're running behind and they want you to stay for overtime... you don't actually get to "keep" the overtime. They force you to cut it by taking longer lunches later in the week so you don't go over 40 hrs. And if you refuse they'll write you up for productivity for not finishing your work on time.

I don't get paid OT. My contract states 40 hours, anything extra is all on me. Well then there is this 20 hours per year clause in there to where I do get paid for stuff like bus duty or chaperone a school dance or some bull shit with the football team. Really any activity outside the classroom they can assign you which is annoying as all hell. Oh I get to chaperone a freshmen/sophmore dance you say...yeah what a great way to spend my friday night. Really the dances are fine but get stuck with a weeks worth of bus duty and your ready to kill yourself by the end of it. Horrible. It usually rotates around and hits you twice per year and it's literally the worst. Kids are at their absolute worst when they can see the finish line for the day. When I first started though I would easily be working 50-60 hour work weeks and that was fine because I was just starting out and was wanting to impress and get more experience but there is a breaking point when not getting paid for your efforts becomes to much to hack and you just start to not care as much. I work over time when it's absolutely required of me but i'm no longer doing after school projects and I limit my tutoring schedule to my lunch break and one hour one day a week after school.

I think simply, you need a change.

As much as we bitch and moan about work, to some extent we all enjoy what we do. However, if nothing else, we tolerate it, and the people we work with. When that changes it's time to move on. If you're frustrated now, burnt out, mentally and emotionally drained.. if you think it's bad now, it will be worse if something doesn't change. Whether it's the physical exhaustion that can lead to any number of health issues or simply good old fashion stress. It will sneak up on ya. 

As for your friends and family. Success is not often about what you're wanting to gain, it's about what you're willing to sacrifice. Early starts, late nights, long days, weekends, working holidays, your social life is often the collateral damage when you're trying to achieve something more, bigger, better than a ho-hum kind of existence. Remove any visions of this 'millionaire mindset' here, it's simply about getting ahead and becoming comfortable. 

9 years ago, I started a new job. I worked almost every weekend for the next 3 years, most of my time off came mid-week, because that's what the business needed from me. My social life vanished quickly, and in a lot of ways, any real connections and friendships stalled. But it was an opportunity. It lead to a better position. 2 years in that role, I was offered an opportunity at another site, it meant travel every day. My already long days, suddenly became 2 hours longer. 2 years in that role, it lead to another opportunity and since then a number of advances or promotions. 

My job previously, 9 years ago, came with great hours but became largely a ho-hum sort of a life. I became frustrated in the leadership and direction and easily could have towed the company line and stayed, as the hours were fantastic, yet the money wasn't great - this lead to additional stress. However, the jump to a different organization didn't necessarily solve all my problems. Today I'm financially comfortable, I'm able to do things like travel and buy new cars without depleting my savings, and lately and most importantly, built a financially stable future for myself and family - but if I didn't make those sacrifices early on, I could easily be working another ho-hum sort of a job worrying about money - like so many people I know. 

I've done this, with the goal to someday reduce my work commitments when my wife and I begin having children. While I will remain working full-time, and having a savings base, time will be more valuable to me than anything else. 

I hear you IM, in life you get money or time, but not both.
I have my own company and I work at least 70 hours per week, but I can make some decent money, which helps with two kids and a new house with a mortgage. I don't get overtime though, I pay myself a salary with dividends from profit at the end of the year.

The trick is to take a breath when you need to, but even if overtime is taxed nearly 40% it's still a lot of extra money if you get penalty rates. When I was on the tools many years ago I got 1.5 my hourly rate for the first 2hrs then double time after that.

I know a few people who went to work in the mines and made a fortune working big hours on big money but it made them so stir crazy that they spent all their money on toys and holidays.

Feb 15, 2018 9:42:25 GMT iNCY said:

I hear you IM, in life you get money or time, but not both.
I have my own company and I work at least 70 hours per week, but I can make some decent money, which helps with two kids and a new house with a mortgage. I don't get overtime though, I pay myself a salary with dividends from profit at the end of the year.

The trick is to take a breath when you need to, but even if overtime is taxed nearly 40% it's still a lot of extra money if you get penalty rates. When I was on the tools many years ago I got 1.5 my hourly rate for the first 2hrs then double time after that.

I know a few people who went to work in the mines and made a fortune working big hours on big money but it made them so stir crazy that they spent all their money on toys and holidays.

Witnessed the same exact thing when working in mining.

You bring up a very interesting notion to me... When you own your own company, as far as your own compensation goes: 1) how does one generally determine one's own salary? 2) how do dividend payouts work, presuming you're a private company and have 100% ownership? Is the dividend simply any profit that you decide not to put back into growing the business?

Hearing bits and pieces about your work life over the years across two boards, I feel like you'd make for an absolutely fascinating and probably very educational PW AMA.

Feb 15, 2018 14:23:56 GMT 🤯 said:

Feb 15, 2018 9:42:25 GMT iNCY said:

I hear you IM, in life you get money or time, but not both.
I have my own company and I work at least 70 hours per week, but I can make some decent money, which helps with two kids and a new house with a mortgage. I don't get overtime though, I pay myself a salary with dividends from profit at the end of the year.

The trick is to take a breath when you need to, but even if overtime is taxed nearly 40% it's still a lot of extra money if you get penalty rates. When I was on the tools many years ago I got 1.5 my hourly rate for the first 2hrs then double time after that.

I know a few people who went to work in the mines and made a fortune working big hours on big money but it made them so stir crazy that they spent all their money on toys and holidays.

Witnessed the same exact thing when working in mining.

You bring up a very interesting notion to me... When you own your own company, as far as your own compensation goes: 1) how does one generally determine one's own salary? 2) how do dividend payouts work, presuming you're a private company and have 100% ownership? Is the dividend simply any profit that you decide not to put back into growing the business?

Hearing bits and pieces about your work life over the years across two boards, I feel like you'd make for an absolutely fascinating and probably very educational PW AMA.

Thanks for the interest PI, but it's probably not that fascinating to anyone else.
I basically work out how much we need to live comfortably and that wage is paid to my wife and I. The benefit of splitting your income between two people in Australia is that it lowers your overall tax burden.i haven't done the actual sums but it's like two people making 150k between them is what one person making 200+k per year would get after tax.

At the end of the year I pay company tax on whatever profit us left over which is 30%. As personal tax rates are 47% for this sort of income, I don't pay it to myself. The dividend goes to a separate company we own in our family trust. That money is for rainy days and investments, but currently we are lending it to ourselves to put in our offset account to eliminate the interest on the mortgage on our new place... Houses are way expensive here.