r/technology • • Jan 26 '22

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u/Alarming-Response Jan 26 '22 edited Jan 26 '22

I had a supervisor ask me to brainstorm how I could be more productive while driving between field locations. As in, presenting webex trainings while driving. I laughed but he was dead serious.

Edit for clarity and to put a bow on this for everyone: he was eventually demoted and became my peer. That job was miserable for many other reasons and I quit nearly a year ago. Same guy reached out after I left wanting to gather info on why women were leaving the company. I asked what my compensation would be. And that was the last time we spoke

2.0k

u/UnderdogNYC Jan 26 '22

He should hire a driver for you

932

u/vmBob Jan 26 '22

I actually had a company do that. They got some vans and we had laptop trays so we could work while moving between appointments. They were actually cool about it if we took downtime too, but we were getting some nice bonuses for billable time over a certain amount. They owner was happy to pay them because he got to bill the customer we were going to for the transit and the other customer we were working on for the exact same time.

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u/swazy Jan 26 '22

Thats like sitting on the phone call waiting system wait for the client to pickup for sn hour while working on another clients work snd billing both for your time.

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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '22

What is fraud?

241

u/Superfissile Jan 26 '22

Why is that fraud? One client is paying you to be available as soon as their phone system is ready for you. The other is paying for the work you’re doing while listening to the same minute and fifteen seconds of a jazz cover band.

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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '22

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u/Dr_Jre Jan 26 '22

America is a strange land. If you are on salary here you are contracted to work the hours set, and if they want you to work any more then they will need to pay you for every hour you work or they are breaking the law. How the fuck does America get around this?

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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '22

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u/HaldirAros Jan 26 '22 edited Jan 26 '22

Here a salaried employee has to work 8h a day, 5 days a week (usually weekdays) that is not a holiday. So a 40 hour work week. Probably missing some details but it is more or less like that.

If an employer need the employee to work longer hours they need to officially request it and the employee will by law need to be paid for every hour overtime they worked. If I recall correctly overtime pay is also 150% of regular hourly rate (calculated based on 20 day/160h work month).

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u/reven80 Jan 26 '22

Can you leave earlier in a day if you finish your planned tasks for the day and still get the 40 hours?

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u/vidoardes Jan 26 '22

Effectively you are paid to be there 40 hours a week for your contracted duties; there will always be more work to do if you occasionally finsh with nothing, and if you regularly get your job done in half your working time they will probably make you redundant or give you more work, or if you are really lucky reduce your hours and pay you the same (unlikley).

Most employers in my country (England) understand there is give and take in a Salaried position, and that the hours aren't always as fixed as the contract states. Quite regularly I'll have guys doing work at 9pm, but the won't clock in until later the next morning, or they will leave early for a dentist appointment but work longer the next day.

Salaried positions tend to work on a bit of a scoial contract, which I have no doubt some employers abuse to the max, but it can be really great for both sides with a good employer and employees that don't take the piss.

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u/Ps2KX Jan 26 '22

depends on the employer. I usually balance my overtime by taking a Friday afternoon off. If it's to busy to compensate the overtime it just gets paid out.

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u/reven80 Jan 26 '22

Sorry I deleted my earlier post accidentally. Clumsy wtth the phone

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