People who never seem to leave the office

LordSutch

Adonis Sweet University wrote: »

There's a couple of people where I work and, no matter how late you leave or early you arrive, their cars are in the carpark and the light is on in their rooms. If you get emails from them they are often at 11 o'clock at night or on Sat or Sun and they are constantly cancelling leave because they are hours.

I know the type, they tend not to take holidays either, sad baskets that they are .....

But what really annoys me about them is the fact that they think everybody else should follow suit and work 24/7, not realising of course that we're not all sad baskets (without a life) outside of the office!

There's a certain type of person that thrives on non stop work, which is not healthy IMO.

andekwarhola

Anybody else immediately think 'Mass Denunciation Monthly' when they see that the OP has started a thread?

c68zapdsm5i1ru

DivingDuck wrote: »

Your last thought won't be, no. And that's fine; you have every right to decide your priorities and pursue those.

Other people feel differently, and have different priorities. Maybe they don't want a family, maybe scenery and travel doesn't impress them or affect them, maybe they don't enjoy sport. Maybe all they want is to feel like they contributed something to the world, or maybe their work is very mentally stimulating to them, or maybe they like having a concrete progress bar they can measure their accomplishments by, or maybe they are racking up huge pots of money to spend in their retirement or pass to their children.

I don't know why people struggle to accept that other people feel differently and want different things, even if they can't personally understand the appeal of those things. Just because it's not the central point of your life doesn't mean it isn't for others, or that it's wrong for others to make it their focus.

As long as they're not trying to wrestle you into behaving the same way, it shouldn't be an issue for anyone else.

I don't think it's wrong for work to be an important focus in your life. But I do think it's unhealthy for it to be the only meaningful thing in your life. It can also create an unhealthy working environment if a culture of regularly working many hours beyond your contracted ones is created and this becomes the norm.
In addition, as a previous poster has said, some of those people tend to forget that other people do have other things to do outside of work and can make unreasonable demands of their colleagues or become difficult to work with because they don't have a proper perspective on things.

sbsquarepants

Adonis Sweet University wrote: »

In addition, as a previous poster has said, some of those people tend to forget that other people do have other things to do outside of work and can make unreasonable demands of their colleagues or become difficult to work with because they don't have a proper perspective on things.

My boss is like that - he is completely work driven and can't for the life of him understand why everyone else isn't the same. He'd gladly work 7 days a week / 12 hours a day. A couple of years back, we were extremely busy - tons of extra work to be done - he's absolutely in his element, I'm loving it quite a bit less!
While going cap in hand to him looking for extra money to compensate for all this (very considerable) extra work I asked him "Why exactly do you think I come in here every day?". "Because there's work to be done" was his (honest, I believe) answer.
Eh, no...guess again!

corner of hells

I worked on contract for one of the local authorities and occasionally got an early morning call in thier main office, a clerk of works used let me into the building.

I was sympathizing with him when he told me about one of the chefs and catering staff that used come in an hour early each morning.Turned out they were banging each other in the showers.

Your Face

Years ago I worked in a warehouse on an early shift.
My supervisor was always there before I came in and always worked late.

He was the most incompetent person I ever met.

Neon_Lights

__..__ wrote: »

I know someone who did that too. It backfired when there was a problem with outlokk and the email went every minute until the morning. It was priceless.

I take it they got the message then haha!

Ulysses Gaze

It's a bit sad to dedicate your life to work when the company will have no hesitation in canning your ass for cost-saving measures. Or some other reason like you get a new boss who does not like you and get's you out.

You may be loyal to a company, but they will not reciprocate when push comes to shove.

Permabear

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A Battered Mars Bar

If I ever had to work late and an email had to be sent I'd leave it till the morning or set it to send at 9:05 am if i was out at important meetings.

I put anyone that sends an email after 7:30pm in my mental diary of gob****es and they're usually the same clowns that have to be hounded to complete the most menial of tasks in an email.

Jobs OXO

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

Only thing I'd regret in my deathbed is not throwin' the knob into more wans ! Not for the want of trying though ! Aye aye haha ha

Beechwoodspark

Work with a person who works late (they kick everyone out of the building at 7) every single night. I get the sense that if 12 midnight was kicking out time, she'd be there til then.

She's very disorganised and all over the place. And very short tempered. But hey, that's her. Let her on, as they say.

ArnoldJRimmer

Have worked in an office for the last 12 years. There have been times, for extended periods, where myself and others have had to work crazy hours, usually with a new client or during audit season. Its part of the job, but not the standard.

But more often than not, the people that are constantly in the office are either not very good at their job, or insufferable brown nosers. One guy's inefficiency has caused others to have to stay late with him, and at times created a precedent where more junior members of staff have seen this as the norm. Of course, this fella absolutely lives for the times where someone senior comes over to him late in the evening for a chat and he gets to play the martyr.

I was part of another conversation where everyone at the table was boasting about the last time they got to take all of their annual leave as their job is so important they simply don't have the time. Get over yourselves, as my Dad used to say, the graveyard is full of people who thought they were indispensable.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

Delphinium

Santos Unimportant Billionaire wrote: »

There used to be suspicion of people who worked before and after everybody else and who did not take leave, as this was quite often the MO of people engaged in fraud. They couldn't afford the risk of bringing found out if they weren't there and somebody else was dealing with their work.

This turns out to be true frequently. Always suspicious of someone who cannot take leave or delegate.

The Backwards Man

If you have the name for rising early you can lie in until dinner time.

murpho999

pilly wrote: »

I think it all depends on the give and take. I work long hours coming up to an audit or when a particular project has to be completed but also get time off if I need to go to the doctor/dentist etc. without using up leave so it works both ways.

I have previously worked in a multi-national though where the Financial Controller left the building for about 6 hours a day in total, never took holidays, not even a bank holiday. Turned out he just had no life and nothing else to do basically.

Every company I have worked for has done this. Most decent companies would.

Also, worked for multi-nationals and none of them forced people to work long hours.

Any company that does so are foolish as staff can't keep long hours and work efficiently over the long term. Strongly believe that people will work more effectively with shorter days.

A Battered Mars Bar

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

Sorry mate. These boys are down the road and are contracted for Irish hours and their companies are open normal times. No excuses.

HandsomeBob

I haven't really a problem with it as long as the person isn't snobby towards people who get in and get out at reasonable hours.

To be honest anytime I see someone make a negative remark about how much time another person gives to their job I find them both snide and bitter. It's none of your business how much time someone spends in the office so leave them to it as long as it's not negatively impacting you.

It's typical office bolloxology: someone won't be happy unless they're belittling someone else to make themselves feel big.

titan18

I'm one of those people who do this. Generally start at 7 and finish about 5.30 and might log in on weekends to do some work too. I hate my job tbh but I still do it.

Reason, I've no life and work is a distraction from the thoughts in my head. Don't call someone a gob****e for working long hours as you've no idea what's going on with them.

the purple tin

Some of them might be trying to avoid the OH and/or kids as much as possible.

jon1981

"Busy bastards, dont be one of them... " Colin Powell

JohnCleary

To me, the real goal in life is to be in the office / work as LITTLE as possible (while still earning to support a nice lifestyle), not AS MUCH as possible.

Am I missing something? That said, my 2 businesses started as a hobby, so don't really consider them work anyway.

(Been there, done that re. corporate multi-national employee..... it was fun when I was 21 but never again)

FizzleSticks

This post has been deleted.

LordSutch

Years ago when I headed an office team it was quietly mentioned to me by the MD that I might consider the fact that two of my team arrived into the office a whole hour before me at 8am! they also left an hour or two after me every evening.

It was said to me in such a way as to make me take notice, (not in a good way), but like a type of warning, that as team leader I should be present before, during, and after any other members of the team. Never mind the fact that I was adhering strictly to official company hours of 9-5:30.

After six months I'd had more than enough, and my mental health was beginning to suffer, so I threw in the towel after a massive verbal confrontation ... and I was free

Big thumbs up from the other half too, which was nice.

All this after I began to realise that the whole office was beginning to stretch the working hours, and the management expected it too ... some workers coming in before 8 and staying till 7 or 8pm.

People prided themselves on the fact that they worked weekends & they didn't take proper holidays either!

Luckily for me I walked straight into another job of the same spec, only this time I made sure the culture was more balanced and not so "work till you drop" orientated.

Scary when I look back now, but that's how "some offices" operate, and some people love it, and some of us don't.

Work/rest/leisure balance is very important.

mfceiling

I'm in construction and long days were the norm 7 - 7 through the week and every Saturday was another working day. Then the recession came and it was less hours and less money.

Now it's busy again but I'm fùcked if I'm going back to long hours. If I'm doing a job and I have a price for it I'll take my time and enjoy shorter days. If I need to do it on time I'll work 7 - 5 and finish at 1 on a Friday.

I learned a hard lesson about working long hours when I got the boot from jobs when things got quiet...no different treatment than the lads who worked 4 hours a day less than me.

Richard Hillman

I can never understand why people go far and beyond the call (and their hours) for their employers. I can understand if you care passionately about your line of work but especially in finance I think its just sad.

Well done, you've got all the work done and the shareholders are wealthier because they didn't need to employ extra staff. You might even get a bonus that barely covers the extra hours your worked.

Trainee accountancy is the worst. At some stages of the year you are expected to work 12 hour days for an entire week to hit the tax deadlines. You are working near 60 hours a week for about €400. It's not even minimum wage. Some charlatan companies even offer minimum wage salary then dock money for your professional exams off the wages.

Retail management is one that completely bewilders me, particularly for the larger chain stores. The amount of agro from middle management, hours and stress for very moderate wages.

Snotty

My boss is based in America, I start at 9am which is 4am with him, I'll email him at 4am his time and he'll respond straight away, most of the time the emails aren't even important and the response might just be thanks.
Now I don't email him till 7am at the earliest, for his own sake.
Imange laying in bed beside your wife at 4am and answering emails. Seems to be common over there, another senior developer I work with is online all day everyday, their lack of job security seems to be a driving factor

Nettle Soup

American multinationals are making us into robots. We're even becoming more American!

HandsomeBob

Nettle Soup wrote: »

American multinationals are making us into robots. We're even becoming more American!

They have actual robots doing work now so no need to concern yourself pal, you'll be obsolete soon anyway.

dresden8

Two examples.

One guy loved the work. Spent hours in the office, worked at home. Was a master of his craft. Everybody thought he was a bit of a lunatic but respected him, his work ethic and his sheer brilliance at the job.

Second guy. Came in early, went home late. Basically running up the flexi-tjime as he surfed the net. Everybody knew he was a tosser.

Mr_Muffin

I see emails being sent by colleagues at all hours of the night - most of them have their smartphones linked with their work email account.

I cannot understand why they would do this, as soon as I leave the office at the end of the day I'm done. It's also obvious that they are actually working during the evenings, not only sending emails.

Maybe they really enjoy it? It's possible, but I'm starting to think it's more about trying to look good for management and also not having faith in the work they complete during the day. I know plenty of successful people who leave work in the office once they clock off.

Tigger

Richard Hillman wrote: »

I can never understand why people go far and beyond the call (and their hours) for their employers. I can understand if you care passionately about your line of work but especially in finance I think its just sad.

Well done, you've got all the work done and the shareholders are wealthier because they didn't need to employ extra staff. You might even get a bonus that barely covers the extra hours your worked.

Trainee accountancy is the worst. At some stages of the year you are expected to work 12 hour days for an entire week to hit the tax deadlines. You are working near 60 hours a week for about €400. It's not even minimum wage. Some charlatan companies even offer minimum wage salary then dock money for your professional exams off the wages.

Retail management is one that completely bewilders me, particularly for the larger chain stores. The amount of agro from middle management, hours and stress for very moderate wages.

Small store management is grand but chain store management is soul destroying

_Dara_

Adonis Sweet University wrote: »

I remember when I used to post on another forum that someone started a thread asking people how many hours a day they worked. Posters were falling over themselves to rush on and tell everyone how they started at 7am and rarely got home before 9pm and usually ended up putting in a couple of hours at the weekend......
It was as if working long hours was some kind of status symbol that made you superior to the 'losers' who worked their contracted hours and then went home to their families/interests/social life.

It was actually quite sad and I hope most of them came to their senses (this was during the celtic tiger) and realised that sacrificing large chunks of your life to work in order to feel important was just a huge waste.

It's up there with people who are competitive about how little sleep they need. I've not heard people mention it much in real life but I've seen online pissing contests about the subject. It's like they hear about all these CEOs and successful historical figures who reportedly got/get by on very little sleep and think that if they claim they need little too that they can almost bask in reflected glory.

Bambi985

Snotty wrote: »

My boss is based in America, I start at 9am which is 4am with him, I'll email him at 4am his time and he'll respond straight away, most of the time the emails aren't even important and the response might just be thanks.
Now I don't email him till 7am at the earliest, for his own sake.
Imange laying in bed beside your wife at 4am and answering emails. Seems to be common over there, another senior developer I work with is online all day everyday, their lack of job security seems to be a driving factor

Yeah this is a real feature of Corporate America, the 24/7 thing, responding to emails five seconds after they're sent whether it's 2am or 2pm on a Saturday, sending contracts through on the weekend, working through holidays etc.

My company's HQ is in New York and it's almost a frenzied rush to respond to emails and hop on projects and client requests and snap up any work they can ahead of other colleagues to hit their targets and make their bonuses. It's intense. Any time I'm in the NY office I leave the place with my head in a spin.

I work in client management and I'll never answer a single email before 9am, which is fine as I'll rarely get any before then either. My clients are based around Europe and the UK, for the most part nobody is rushing to make contact in the early morning, there's a different attitude over here. Because of my team being stateside I end up responding to emails throughout the evening, but it doesn't bother me as I'll have my phone beside me anyway and I'm quite nocturnal, could be up til 1am just assing around most nights.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

_Dara_

DivingDuck wrote: »

I'd rather pick at work for twelve hours, taking regular breaks to read/surf websites/go for a stroll/IM friends/mess about doing nothing, than work very hard for six hours and do something completely different for the other six. That's because my interests are mostly computer-based or can be done in short half-hour blocks. Other people want to get their work done and get the hell out ASAP because their interests require long chunks of time or for them to be away from work to participate (time with kids/hill-walking/drinking sessions etc.).

Both are fine.

Well, I don't think people want a nice chunk of free time only because their interests are time-consuming. Having that time with no particular plan in mind is just as nice and is what a lot of people want, I reckon. Even with no plan for my evening, give me the time chunk rather than scrappy bits of free time any day. With only short periods of free time, I'd find it difficult to unwind and decompress. I also think that simply doing nothing is underrated. It's nice to sit and daydream.

worded

Working for approval etc

Possible low self esteem issues / personality disorder

http://www.lifehack.org/575598/signs-personality-disorders-you-need-aware?ref=in_content_related

Your Face

worded wrote: »

Working for approval etc

Possible low self esteem issues / personality disorder

http://www.lifehack.org/575598/signs-personality-disorders-you-need-aware?ref=in_content_related

Aced it.

_Dara_

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

Nah, the deathbed thing is still valid. People enjoy watching that sport or those soaps. That's an interest of theirs. They won't regret spending time doing something they enjoy. If staying late is something you won't regret on your deathbed, fair enough; but many people would.

donegaLroad

I know a few people like this, and the reason they fumble around in the office all evening is because they have poor computer skills. It takes them for ever to type up a simple document.

Eircom_Sucks

They are called losers

The J Stands for Jay

Neon_Lights wrote: »

You can schedule to send in Outlook fyi

I think I might start to look more impressive in Q4!

realdanbreen

__..__ wrote: »

I worked with a guy who used to be in the office late and sent emails at 11pm etc.
Then I was at a wedding in the hotel right behind our office. Our hotel room window overlooked the window of the office.
I went up to the hotel room a few times during the night, the last time being about 11pm.
The fuker was playing solitaire every time I looked over.

You brought a pair of binoculars with you to the wedding!

hanky2016

Never stay past 4.30 unless I have a scheduled call with the US office. I don't understand how people can't get their work done in the allotted time and need to stay on.

LynnGrace

LordSutch wrote: »

All this after I began to realise that the whole office was beginning to stretch the working hours, and the management expected it too ... some workers coming in before 8 and staying till 7 or 8pm.

People prided themselves on the fact that they worked weekends & they didn't take proper holidays either!

Luckily for me I walked straight into another job of the same spec, only this time I made sure the culture was more balanced and not so "work till you drop" orientated.

Scary when I look back now, but that's how "some offices" operate, and some people love it, and some of us don't.

Work/rest/leisure balance is very important.

Saw that in one place I worked. Competitiveness about the arrival and leaving time. Crazy stuff going on, in some cases.

I couldn't have done the hours, even if I wanted to. Never minded staying late if something was urgent or a deadline had to be met, but didn't make a habit of it.

My boss at the time was one of the most competitive about being first in and last out. I think she thought that when she retired the place would fall down. It didn't :pac:

TomSweeney

Neon_Lights wrote: »

You can schedule to send in Outlook fyi

Indeed you can, I remember in an old job that was just HELL ON EARTH,
I would decide the day before if I would call in sick the next day, it was company policy to email notification of sickness to line manager + HR, I would just schedule it for 8AM next morning and have a nice lie in zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.


It was the worst place on earth to work tho....... HELL

BBDBB

Nettle Soup wrote: »

American multinationals are making us into robots. We're even becoming more American!

Im taking a knee in protest at the Americanisation of our culture

realdanbreen

TomSweeney wrote: »

Indeed you can, I remember in an old job that was just HELL ON EARTH,
I would decide the day before if I would call in sick the next day, it was company policy to email notification of sickness to line manager + HR, I would just schedule it for 8AM next morning and have a nice lie in zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.


It was the worst place on earth to work tho....... HELL

I take it you got paid for being out 'sick' ?
I once worked in a place where they switched sick pay to an attendance bonus. It was amazing how many fellas who were regularly out 'sick' managed to turn up every day. I hate dossers!

billyhead

Its a regular occurrence in jobs with flexi allowances build in i.e you can work up flexi time to take off another day such as the civil/public service however that does not mean that by staying late work is being done;)