Being Poor (1 Viewer)

[Dragon]

I work remotely for a German software company. They have strict rules. The workweek is 35 hours and if you hit 40 for some reason they will send you home. This because studies have shown that when you work +40 hours the chance for errors increases by 50% and it takes 3 times as long to fix an error than to get it right from the start. Thus is is really a very bad for the company if people work more.

 

[kizzy821]

Growing up poor is spending the rest of your life trying to escape (and never realizing that you have).

There is little I fear more than being as poor as I once was.

I'm stuck right now because of that fear.

If I wasn't so scared of being poor again, I would've quit my job this morning like I've been compelled to do for months.

I could look for something fully remote or try my hand at freelancing. If I didn't know the ugliness of being poor, I'd have the gumption to pursue something resembling happiness.

But I can't take that chance and not have it work out. What little fortitude I have left, I use to wake up. To put on shoes and greet people in the hall.

I don't have the strength to start over if I miscalculate.

Every now and then I practice being poor again (because I'm tired of running from it, so it could sneak up easily and catch me).

But one of the things that keeps me setting that alarm clock and saying "Hello" ... is the dentist. I swear I'd rather fill my own cavities than go to "the poor people's dentist."

Don't care about things. I go days without eating now. I could live in my car if necessary, but walking into a waiting room... and putting my name on a list filled with The Unfortunate... THAT is going to will me out of the door tomorrow.

I'll choke back tears as I turn off the engine. My hands will shake as I fumble to gather my stuff. But I will get out of the car.

 

[kizzy821]

This commercial is sexy and grotesque at the same time.

On the one hand, it's sick how obsessed we are with working. How being a "lunch pail guy" is seen as some sort of compliment. How everyone thinks "being productive" should be on their daily to-do list. "I'm hard-working, yeah!" Whatever. It's societal propaganda and we eat it up.

Personally, I'm kinda envious of deviants who say buck that and work the system instead.

On the other hand, immigrants and people who visit the US from other countries often remark about it being a place where anything is possible.

If a little girl says she wants to be President one day, they can't get over how she's told she can do it. That we don't typically laugh at people who come from nothing, declaring they want to be something.

No matter where you're from - what you're born into will likely affect where you end up. But of all the places on earth, America appears to be the place where it's least true. And it probably has more than a little to do with our work-obsession.

 

[Icon]

And we've all been taught this. I worked while I had an IV in my arm getting cancer treatment because "what else was I going to do"? When I had my gallbladder out last year I took my laptop into the hospital with me because I was working on a large project and since we had all been working from home I didn't want to be seen as a slacker. My Dad's work ethic and the work ethic of the generation before are to blame for my inability to see that it is OK (because your company will never tell you this) to take the days off.

My wife may have finally gotten through to me though. I did take a week off after my latest surgery to rest and recuperate. I did not check in on email.

OTOH, even though I brought home a large project under time and under budget my "merit" increase wasn't as much as the cost of living index rose. No ones was. They had some audacity to call them "merit" increases when they had nothing to do with merit at all. And you can just forget about bonuses.

So yeah, what did I learn?

First, props to you for going above and beyond in the manners that you did. I've been fortunate to have never had to work in the midst of dealing with major medical issues the way you have, but I did have a previous salaried job where I felt the need to often go in on weekends and/or stay late after working hours just to stay "somewhat" behind instead of "grossly" behind in my work. Because no matter how many people know that you're going the extra mile......when it's all said and done, people want to look at you side-eyed and ask questions if certain things aren't accomplished by certain timeframes. They aren't interested in the hows and whys of what's interfering with your abilities to complete certain things in the usual hours of the work-week, they're ultimately just interested in the end result. Thankfully I saw the handwriting on the wall and realized after a few years that it wasn't going to be a long-term fit for me, and moved on.

You asked "what did I learn?" Well, I can tell you what I HOPE you learned. If you had slumped over and died at work for reasons that largely centered around the stress your company put you through, what would have been the end result? Some people from the company would have gone to your funeral and shook hands with your family and talked about what a great guy you were, and all that fun stuff........and then someone else would have been sitting in your previous desk within a month. Sometimes we all like to feel like "wow, they'd be up **** creek without me here to do blah blah blah whatever", but the world keeps turning and companies keep moving forward despite certain people's unavailability.

 

[Taurus]

First, props to you for going above and beyond in the manners that you did. I've been fortunate to have never had to work in the midst of dealing with major medical issues the way you have, but I did have a previous salaried job where I felt the need to often go in on weekends and/or stay late after working hours just to stay "somewhat" behind instead of "grossly" behind in my work. Because no matter how many people know that you're going the extra mile......when it's all said and done, people want to look at you side-eyed and ask questions if certain things aren't accomplished by certain timeframes. They aren't interested in the hows and whys of what's interfering with your abilities to complete certain things in the usual hours of the work-week, they're ultimately just interested in the end result. Thankfully I saw the handwriting on the wall and realized after a few years that it wasn't going to be a long-term fit for me, and moved on.

You asked "what did I learn?" Well, I can tell you what I HOPE you learned. If you had slumped over and died at work for reasons that largely centered around the stress your company put you through, what would have been the end result? Some people from the company would have gone to your funeral and shook hands with your family and talked about what a great guy you were, and all that fun stuff........and then someone else would have been sitting in your previous desk within a month. Sometimes we all like to feel like "wow, they'd be up **** creek without me here to do blah blah blah whatever", but the world keeps turning and companies keep moving forward despite certain people's unavailability.

"The graveyards are full of indispensable men."

 

[saintmdterps]

First, props to you for going above and beyond in the manners that you did. I've been fortunate to have never had to work in the midst of dealing with major medical issues the way you have, but I did have a previous salaried job where I felt the need to often go in on weekends and/or stay late after working hours just to stay "somewhat" behind instead of "grossly" behind in my work. Because no matter how many people know that you're going the extra mile......when it's all said and done, people want to look at you side-eyed and ask questions if certain things aren't accomplished by certain timeframes. They aren't interested in the hows and whys of what's interfering with your abilities to complete certain things in the usual hours of the work-week, they're ultimately just interested in the end result. Thankfully I saw the handwriting on the wall and realized after a few years that it wasn't going to be a long-term fit for me, and moved on.

You asked "what did I learn?" Well, I can tell you what I HOPE you learned. If you had slumped over and died at work for reasons that largely centered around the stress your company put you through, what would have been the end result? Some people from the company would have gone to your funeral and shook hands with your family and talked about what a great guy you were, and all that fun stuff........and then someone else would have been sitting in your previous desk within a month. Sometimes we all like to feel like "wow, they'd be up **** creek without me here to do blah blah blah whatever", but the world keeps turning and companies keep moving forward despite certain people's unavailability.

Last June when I went on vacation, my regional manager told me I would need to take my computer from work with me "just in case". I told her no. I wouldn't do it and there was no reason for me to set any expectation otherwise. I needed the time with my family, and that included no interruptions from work. I got written up but it was worth it. She subsequently resigned and we've had 4 more regionals since then. Went I went on vacation again last month, there was no nonsense from the current regional about taking any damn computer with me

 

[Tapxe]

I'll admit, Since I took the supervisors position where i work, I am guilty of this. It may not be daily or for very long, but when I go on vacation i take my work laptop with me just in case. I'd rather handle a 5 minute problem then, than a terrible headache when i return....

Well a properly managed system would have redundancy so that another supervisor can handle your duties while you are out.

What are they going to do if you don't come back? There should be a process.

 

[bigdaddysaints]

Well a properly managed system would have redundancy so that another supervisor can handle your duties while you are out.

What are they going to do if you don't come back? There should be a process.

Be in a world of hurt for a couple months, But they'll move on and be fine.
Its a complicated situation. I am an embedded contractor at a plant. My company has the warehouse contract for all the plants, 2 in La and 12 in Fla. I run the 2 in La. I have been working here for 15 years (supervisor for 2+). I have 8 people under me. Its not usually my people that has issues while I'm on vacation, its our client. They are so used to dealing with me in the past for everything, they default to me when they have issues, plus they all have my cellphone #. I don't really mind it because I get 288 hours of vacation each year since I took this position. Its not a bad trade off. lol. Believe me, i'm not going to stop what i'm doing while on vacation to help, but if i'm just chilling, then its no big deal...

 

[Bleu Raeder]

I don't really mind it because i get 288 hours of vacation each year since I took this position.

How much of that do you actually take?

 

[zeetes]

sigh. i have a lot to say about this, yet i won't. it really sucks as being a person starting to experience it.

 

[bigdaddysaints]

How much of that do you actually take?

Well, it was hard last year because 1) we went to 4-10 schedule 2) they wanted me to work from home 2 days a week. So i didn't burn a lot of Vac days.
Actually I get 240 Vac hours and 48 personal time hours, So I did use all 240 hours of vacation last year. but just let go 30 hours of personal time, which wasn't a big deal because when i was working from home, i used that time to run errands, paint rooms, etc. lol. Needless to say i didn't work a lot of days in Nov and Dec.
But this year, i did a better job. I have Christmas and Thanksgiving already scheduled off, and i still have 90 hours (9 days) total left to use between now and end of year. We are off on Fridays, so lately i have been leaving a couple hours early on Thursdays.
I have never had more than 2 1/2 weeks vacation in all my years of working, so its tough on me to take this many days off. I guess its a good problem to have.

 

[MLU]

I'll admit, Since I took the supervisors position where i work, I am guilty of this. It may not be daily or for very long, but when I go on vacation i take my work laptop with me just in case. I'd rather handle a 5 minute problem then, than a terrible headache when i return....

I resolved this quandary by taking more vacations out of country or in remote areas where cell service is lacking. Shockingly enough, the office figured out how to put out fires without me. That was the start of my real growth as a present husband and father.

 

[Icon]

Last June when I went on vacation, my regional manager told me I would need to take my computer from work with me "just in case". I told her no. I wouldn't do it and there was no reason for me to set any expectation otherwise. I needed the time with my family, and that included no interruptions from work. I got written up but it was worth it. She subsequently resigned and we've had 4 more regionals since then. Went I went on vacation again last month, there was no nonsense from the current regional about taking any damn computer with me

Not that it changes things either way, but I will assume you were going on some family trip and it wasn't just a stay-cation at home. I would have just point blank told her I have zero interest in the additional stress of having to keep up with a computer and insuring that it doesn't somehow get damaged or stolen during a time frame that should be workplace-free.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Add German, Dutch, Danish, Scandinavian, etc, and so on. In the USA exhaustion due to overwork is still a status symbol.

 

[saintmdterps]

And we've all been taught this. I worked while I had an IV in my arm getting cancer treatment because "what else was I going to do"? When I had my gallbladder out last year I took my laptop into the hospital with me because I was working on a large project and since we had all been working from home I didn't want to be seen as a slacker. My Dad's work ethic and the work ethic of the generation before are to blame for my inability to see that it is OK (because your company will never tell you this) to take the days off.

My wife may have finally gotten through to me though. I did take a week off after my latest surgery to rest and recuperate. I did not check in on email.

OTOH, even though I brought home a large project under time and under budget my "merit" increase wasn't as much as the cost of living index rose. No ones was. They had some audacity to call them "merit" increases when they had nothing to do with merit at all. And you can just forget about bonuses.

So yeah, what did I learn?

What you really learned is that at the end of the day you are a commodity to them. Regardless of how all your hard work has benefited the company they will cashier you at the first opportunity if someone comes along who is cheaper, or if God forbid you become incapacitated (like by cancer) and can’t give them 120%