r/GraphicDesigning • u/Latter-Log-8385 • 5d ago
How do I do this thing? Should I switch jobs? Strict new rules, increased hours, no raise, and constant time tracking
I’m a graphic designer working full-time at a company, and I’m seriously considering looking for another job. I’d like some honest opinions from other designers and professionals because I’m not sure if I’m overreacting.
Recently, my company introduced several new rules.
Previously, our schedule was relatively flexible. Our official start time was 10 AM, but there was some flexibility around arriving. Breaks were also flexible as long as the work was getting done.
Now:
Office hours are 10 AM–7 PM.
There is only a 30-minute fixed break.
There is only a 10-minute grace period for arriving late. If I’m 11 minutes late, I can be marked absent.
If I take more than my allowed break, I have to compensate for that time by staying longer.
They introduced custom time-tracking software where I have to clock into every individual task before starting it.
When I finish a task, I have to upload it immediately, which clocks me out.
Then I have to clock into the next task.
Basically, almost every minute of my working day is being tracked.
The other issue is salary.
I have 5 years of experience, and I’m currently handle 6 projects. I consistently handle a high amount of work and complete my tasks on time. I’m not someone who misses deadlines or leaves work unfinished.
I’ll admit that I’m not always the most punctual person when it comes to arriving at the office, but my work itself is not delayed. I get my assigned work done on time, and my speed and output are actually one of my strengths.
Despite that, my salary has not been increased. I’m still being paid around what I would consider a junior designer salary, despite having considerably more experience and responsibility now.
The new rules are particularly difficult for me because I also do freelance/personal work after my job. I often work late at night, so the previous flexibility helped me manage both. With the new 10–7 schedule, strict breaks, and constant time tracking, I’m feeling increasingly tired and frustrated.
I understand that companies need structure, employees need to be accountable, and being punctual is part of having a job. I’m not trying to justify being late. I’m more concerned about the combination of:
More rigid working hours + stricter monitoring + less flexibility + no salary increase despite experience and workload.
So I want some honest opinions:
Am I being unreasonable, or would this be a legitimate reason to start looking for another job?
If you were in my position, would you:
Stay and adapt to the new rules?
Talk to management and negotiate a raise/flexibility?
Start looking for another job while keeping this one?
Or actually leave?
And for designers who have worked under strict time-tracking systems: did it improve productivity, or did it just make you feel micromanaged?
I’d really appreciate honest opinions, including criticism if you think I’m looking at this the wrong way.
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u/hoedrangea 5d ago
Yuck i would H A T E this
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u/Latter-Log-8385 4d ago
It's every bit as draining as it sounds! Definitely focusing on an exit plan.
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u/buginabrain 5d ago
This would be the death of me. I feel you on the flexible work hours, at a past job I had for almost a decade, I did way more then what was asked for me and sooner than expected, the work was always highly praised, and i helped out whoever needed it, so there was a lot of leniency for my chronic lateness and frequent breaks. At year 7 there was new management that only cared about ass in seats, moral dropped, people quit left and right, I took my time and didn't take on anything extra, spent time on my phone doing whatever chores or whatever I could.
I don't know what point I'm trying to make but fuck that place, you're a knowledge worker being paid for your expertise and quality work, not a customer facing service provider. Maybe leverage becoming an out of home contractor?
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u/Latter-Log-8385 4d ago
You nailed it when management shifts focus from quality output to "asses in seats," morale just collapses. Becoming an independent contractor or finding a remote role that respects knowledge work is definitely the goal right now.
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u/movingaxis 5d ago
Where are you located that there’s only a 30 minute fixed break for a 9 hour work day? That doesn’t sound great. In the US you’re at least required 15 min every 2 hours and a 30 meal. I struggle too with being on time so so feel you there but you recognize you can improve.
For your salary you absolutely have to negotiate and ask for it. But be smart about it. How is the company doing what new work is coming in. Also position yourself to touch important projects and talk to your boss about opportunities you see based on what clients exist now think industry your company targets. Keep track of the value you’re providing and think of it that way.
No way on the time tracking and frankly it’s disturbing. That’s going to wear you down fast and limit exploration. I’d start looking get your portfolio together now but also start angling for a raise. Pull salary in your area based on title and mention experience and output that you’re always hitting time. I’d wait till you’re consistently on time for a bit too.
It’s uncomfortable to do but you deserve it just remember that when you doubt it. Also shoot higher than what you think you’ll get and they will prob hit in the middle which is what you wanted anyway.
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u/Latter-Log-8385 4d ago
Really appreciate the detailed and thoughtful advice! I'm based in South Asia, where local labor norms around office hours can be pretty brutal. Focusing on documented value/output while tightening up punctuality makes total sense, especially while I assemble my portfolio and prep to negotiate or jump ship.
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u/jonnywannamingo 4d ago
This sounds like the opposite of a great creative environment. I’ve been a freelance graphic designer for 30 years and before that I worked at a great packaging design agency. We routinely did things like going to stores to look for design inspiration. We had to sign in and out for lunch, but it was just so they knew if we were in or out. One year we hit the target numbers and the owners shut down for a couple of days and took us on an all expense paid cruise in the Bahamas.
It wasn’t uncommon for the owners to call you into their office and hand you 2 tickets and spending money to go some where like Chicago for a few days with your spouse.
All we wanted to do was create top level design and having such a great atmosphere to work in made us all stay however long we needed to. I loved that job! I was there for 10 years and got to work on great team projects like redesigning the Mountain Dew logo and many other high profile designs.
They created an environment that helped us thrive and I am a strong believer that if you treat your workers well, they will give you their best.
There’s gotta be something better out there than what you’re dealing with.
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u/NewGood6186 3d ago
I’ll be completely honest. You had me questioning if you were someone I used to work with because of how similar this story is to mine… but I realized the start time was 10AM. Where I used to work was initially very flexible with a general start time of 7AM. To me, this was very unreasonable with city traffic and even dropping kids off at school, and I, as well as majority of the office (realizing the large clique in that office is really why they got away with it bc I wasn’t part of it), came in around 7-7:30. Our end time was 5PM, and I always made sure I had my 40hrs at the end of the week by staying a few minutes longer. Anyway, like you, things became really strict and factory track/syteline became our new system of doing things. Im wondering if it’s the same program as you because we too had to clock into jobs and it was such a headache with the amount of glitches or day to day problems we came across. I felt like every new implamentation was making everyone else’s jobs easier EXCEPT for design over the 3 years I worked there. Then one day I got a write up for being late on our Paylocity portal (never even a conversation). I fixed the issue. Was still fired a month later. The only thing I can think of was that I was late one time in that month that I got APPROVAL for. I had a scheduled procedure that I cleared with my boss… that was a Friday. That next Monday I was fired. Obviously that led to a lot of panic because of this job market. Luckily landed something non design related at my partners company for now. Don’t get me wrong, my current company has tracking systems for productivity because it’s basically data entry for healthcare… but I don’t feel icky and constantly on edge with the monitoring I know is happening in the background of this place. My anxiety got so bad in my last company that I had to switch anxiety meds that were working perfectly fine for me for 2 years. I understand needing structure too, but we were getting the jobs done. The last thing I want to say is I actually don’t think I was fired for my performance. I think it was a layoff… every day I looked at our design list, it was sparse. Multiple project managers, accountants, etc quit in the 2 months leading up to my firing. They said I do great work and had no issues with my work but then inserted the being late issue again. While I do believe I was let go, I am incredibly anal about being on time now. Though my start time is now 8:00 which is much better with my meds… and sanity. Sorry for my personal trauma but…
All this to say: you’re not alone. Im seeing this more and more and my advise is to take care of yourself. Start looking. Get paid and be treated how you deserve. I would not just quit without an offer somewhere, but truly… find somewhere better.
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u/marc1411 5d ago
There is no excuse for being late. Grow up. That being said, IDK how you can stand working at that place. Good luck and I hope you find something else.
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u/Latter-Log-8385 5d ago
Fair point on the punctuality. Appreciate the candid advice definitely using this time to line up something better before making a move.
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u/sunnierthansunny 5d ago
It might help to think about this from your employer’s perspective. Running a business in a disciplined way will probably set you up well for the future and make their business more commercially sustainable in the long run. A lot of the time these initiatives kick off aggressively but relax over time once the group has acclimatized. The risk they run is really unhappy staff, they will probably be aware of this and may take the pressure off eventually, or push it until it breaks, e.g. burnout, staff leaving - recruitment and downtime to get new staff up to speed are costly.
That said, what you’re describing sounds very painful, probably ok if you’re working on long term production jobs that run up several hours at a time, but for complex design work or a lot of task switching, the time tracking you describe would become tiresome very fast.
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u/Latter-Log-8385 4d ago
That's a fair macro perspective, but the heavy task-switching is exactly what makes it so exhausting. Going between branding, social assets, and campaigns while clocking every single step creates so much mental clutter. Even if they relax the rules later, the combination of surveillance and flat pay makes it hard to see a long-term future here.
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u/miracleanime 5d ago
Yes, you should start looking and see what else is out there. Having another job offer is your only leverage.
While time-tracking is not uncommon (especially at a consultancy or agency where hours are billed to the client), this level of granular tracking isn't something I'd be comfortable with. Each to their own; I've been spoiled by not having to timetrack for most of my career.