As employers push efficiency, the daily grind wears down workers

[angelatc]

I'm having a really, really hard time sympathizing with anybody crying about having a job these days.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

Every concert I do is a ton of physical labor. And I've driven quite a bit. I've worked in a factory before too, doing printing for elections. As usual, you are attacking others for no reason.

Unless you're the one doing the movers' job (carrying and setting up boards, mics, etc), you're not doing tons of labor. (no, adjusting the pots and faders doesn't count as "tons of labor")

 

[abacabb]

Matt Taibi of Providence, R.I., routinely works 12-hour days as a driver for UPS. The company would rather pay him and other drivers overtime instead of hiring more workers.

Taibi has no complaints about his pay. He makes $32.35 an hour, plus benefits, and has job security as a Teamster. But he wonders how much longer he can keep up the breakneck pace.

So the country has leeches and workers...I do wonder how much longer the workers can keep up.

 

[VIDEODROME]

Everything in the economy does have this weird feel that there is a lot of stealthy "skimming" that isn't obviously seen by the average rank and file worker.

It's how you'd feel if some people hooked up to your powerline and water line and saw your utility bills go up and wonder WTF? But then instead of catching the thieves, your just told to bust your ass and work harder to stay ahead.

To some extent it might feel like the person doing the skimming is your employer, but if so it's because the same skimming effect is happening to companies.

 

[TheTexan]

Everything in the economy does have this weird feel that there is a lot of stealthy "skimming" that isn't obviously seen by the average rank and file worker.

It's how you'd feel if some people hooked up to your powerline and water line and saw your utility bills go up and wonder WTF? But then instead of catching the thieves, your just told to bust your ass and work harder to stay ahead.

To some extent it might feel like the person doing the skimming is your employer, but if so it's because the same skimming effect is happening to companies.

Accounts Receivable Tax
“Black liquor” tax hike
Building Permit Tax
Capital Gains Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Court Fines (indirect taxes)
Dividend Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Tax on Comprehensive Health Insurance Plans (Obamacare)
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Franchise Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Fuel Excise Tax
Gasoline Tax
Diesel Gas Tax
Employer Mandate Tax (Obamacare)
HSA Withdrawal Tax
Hunting License Tax
Individual Mandate Excise Tax (Obamacare)
Inheritance Tax (Upon death, Government gets 40% of your inheritance)
Interest Expense (tax on the money)
Inventory Tax I
RS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Local Income Tax (Where applicable)
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Payroll Tax
Mill Levy Tax
Property Tax< (composed of numerous taxes, dependent upon locale).
Real Estate Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
Road Toll Booth Taxes
Road Usage Taxes (truckers)
Sales Taxes
School Tax
Septic Permit Tax
Service Charge Taxes
Social Security Tax
State Income Tax
State Sales Tax (Where applicable)
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Tanning Salon Tax (Obamacare)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Nonrecurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Toll Bridge Taxes
Tunnel Taxes
Trailer Registration
Tax Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers’ Compensation Tax

+ Banker Enrichment Tax (also known as Inflation Tax)

 

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

I think it helps that I am not very materialistic and I don't like to spend loads of money to travel to some foreign location only to perform the same activities that I can locally (i.e. vacation). I don't even like going out into public much these days, as the People of Wal-Mart are everywhere now.

In a sense, we're all statistical "outliers" here. That link I posted provides an economic reason as to why your feelings are different from a lot of others.

I also agree with you on that "stockholm syndrome" comment. When I was much younger, I had a gf who was absolutely strict about giving employers 2 weeks notice, no matter why she had to leave. (Think shitty treatment, sexual harassment by management, etc.) I was always thinking and saying "They'll absolutely fire you or lay you off without 2 weeks notice." That was usually followed by "Quit today. Call them. I have our bills covered." But she was 100% convinced she needed to give 2 weeks notice to quit a job.

There are positives regarding having "a good work ethic," but that is much different than what I just described. I've quit more jobs than I can count with no notice, but there was always a ditch I could dig someplace. Most employers will only verify employment dates anyway. Anything else, they're scared of lawsuits. That's kind of a shame. Anyway, if I were hiring someone and their reference said "they didn't give me notice," it would surely be up for discussion... not some automatic "can't hire you" issue.

 

[MelissaWV]

In a sense, we're all statistical "outliers" here. That link I posted provides an economic reason as to why your feelings are different from a lot of others.

I also agree with you on that "stockholm syndrome" comment. When I was much younger, I had a gf who was absolutely strict about giving employers 2 weeks notice, no matter why she had to leave. (Think shitty treatment, sexual harassment by management, etc.) I was always thinking and saying "They'll absolutely fire you or lay you off without 2 weeks notice." That was usually followed by "Quit today. Call them. I have our bills covered." But she was 100% convinced she needed to give 2 weeks notice to quit a job.

There are positives regarding having "a good work ethic," but that is much different than what I just described. I've quit more jobs than I can count with no notice, but there was always a ditch I could dig someplace. Most employers will only verify employment dates anyway. Anything else, they're scared of lawsuits. That's kind of a shame. Anyway, if I were hiring someone and their reference said "they didn't give me notice," it would surely be up for discussion... not some automatic "can't hire you" issue.

I give notice when a job requires some kind of certification or other specialization. It is a bit comical to notice that it still does not help. I actually gave well over two months' notice (gave notice in early September, did not leave until the end of December) at a job where I was a licensed insurance agent. This was a courtesy because there really were not a lot of licensed agents around. The bosses had actually paid for me to take the class and get the license in the first place. When did they start looking for someone in any serious way? A couple of weeks before I left. Did they find someone? Sure... kind of. I went back after my job was technically over, after I'd gotten back from seeing my parents over the holidays. I went upstairs during business hours to retrieve my mini fridge. The "new" agent was sitting with her head down on the desk, sobbing loudly. No one said a word to me. My then-husband and I got my fridge and left quietly. Awkward.

Still, I did my part and gave them what I felt was fair and respectful notice.

 

[AGRP]

Dont forget the ATV license. In many states, it is illegal to operate an ATV on public land or in a designated area without first obtaining ATV certification.

 

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

I give notice when a job requires some kind of certification or other specialization. It is a bit comical to notice that it still does not help. I actually gave well over two months' notice (gave notice in early September, did not leave until the end of December) at a job where I was a licensed insurance agent. This was a courtesy because there really were not a lot of licensed agents around. The bosses had actually paid for me to take the class and get the license in the first place. When did they start looking for someone in any serious way? A couple of weeks before I left. Did they find someone? Sure... kind of. I went back after my job was technically over, after I'd gotten back from seeing my parents over the holidays. I went upstairs during business hours to retrieve my mini fridge. The "new" agent was sitting with her head down on the desk, sobbing loudly. No one said a word to me. My then-husband and I got my fridge and left quietly. Awkward.

Still, I did my part and gave them what I felt was fair and respectful notice.

I find that completely appropriate. I've also given notice at times. In her case, she was willing to be mistreated for two more weeks (probably worse than to start with) because that's what everyone besides me told her she should do.

And I've gone through plenty of petty hazing at trade jobs. (It happens a lot in male dominated trades.) That's not something I've ever quit over. These were places where employees wanted to make sure their coworkers were pulling their own weight. (It is a behavioral economics issue that employees are concerned with fair workloads... moreso than actual wages even.) I'll deal with fellow employees on a case by case basis... just like everyone else in the world. When an employer is dogging you, you can expect it to never end.

Why was your replacement crying? Same reason you left?

 

[MelissaWV]

I find that completely appropriate. I've also given notice at times. In her case, she was willing to be mistreated for two more weeks (probably worse than to start with) because that's what everyone besides me told her she should do.

And I've gone through plenty of petty hazing at trade jobs. (It happens a lot in male dominated trades.) That's not something I've ever quit over. These were places where employees wanted to make sure their coworkers were pulling their own weight. (It is a behavioral economics issue that employees are concerned with fair workloads... moreso than actual wages even.) I'll deal with fellow employees on a case by case basis... just like everyone else in the world. When an employer is dogging you, you can expect it to never end.

Why was your replacement crying? Same reason you left?

I would assume insufficient training coupled with a massive workload and long hours (it was a country type operation, so I had to drive around and take photos of folks' houses, cars, boats, etc., to ensure they had brought the item up to code if necessary). When you're brought in at the last minute and you can't really talk to the person you're replacing, it's tough to transition, and bosses don't usually allow for things to slow down.

 

[MelissaWV]

Related:

http://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2013/03/28/17502134-want-to-be-happier-at-work-try-goofing-off?lite

Want to be happier at work? Try goofing off

A major reason your slacker co-workers like their jobs so much is because you’re doing their work for them. The study found that high performers were least likely to say their company held people accountable for their work, while the lowest performers were the most likely to say they received praise for the work they do.

Managers who dole out “attaboys” and merit raises across the board bear a lot of the blame for this, Murphy said. "It’s sort of the everybody-gets-a-trophy phenomenon," he said. "What they don’t realize is that by not differentiating the high performers, you really are irritating the high performers... who are keeping you in business.”

 

[angelatc]

So the country has leeches and workers...I do wonder how much longer the workers can keep up.[/COLOR]

Overtime is one of the signs that an economy is improving.

And some people are just never happy. The guy across the street from me is losing his house. (Before we go blaming the banks, I should point out this is the 3rd time he's gone into foreclosure. The other two times the bank renegotiated the loan for him.)

He made great money working overtime, bought several new cars, put a big addition on the house, cool TV and stereo. He crabbed about having to work so hard. When the OT stopped, he found himself unable to pay for all these new toys.

So I expect that when companies start to hire again, the guys complaining about having to work so hard will suddenly start complaiing about losing their overtime. It happens over and over.

Maybe some of you are young, so you've never seen this before but it's part of the cycle.

 

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

Related:

http://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2013/03/28/17502134-want-to-be-happier-at-work-try-goofing-off?lite

Yep. Stupid url by the author, though.

For one thing, talk to your boss, Murphy said. The idea isn’t to call out the co-worker who spends all day hanging around the coffee machine, but to ask the company to implement better ways to measure performance — which will separate the go-getters from the also-rans.

In the trades I talk about, it was employee enforced. There were no coffee machines. lol.

I think the smartest employer I ever worked for brought newbies in at 1.5 times the going pay rate. (Let's say the difference between 7 and 11 dollars per hour.) He explained that you'll either live up to it, or be gone within a week by his choice. At the same time, he had an entire workforce watchdogging newbies. They were all willing to work that hard, and not willing to work with people who slacked. So if someone was slacking, the employees would eat them faster than he could fire them. He wasn't really there to supervise, anyway. It was genius, really. He probably had a workforce of 15 people and clearing a million a year 10 years ago. Essentially, every employee became a manager, interested in the productivity of their coworkers. They all came in the same way, and everyone benefited because they were all able to maintain their higher than average wages, but they did so by expecting the same of others they worked with.

I think I made $10 per hour when I worked for him. There's no telling how much money I've made by having conversations with him. The method was counter to most things I had known before, but he could tell 10 people to "go get it done" and it would absolutely happen if possible.

 

[amy31416]

Every concert I do is a ton of physical labor. And I've driven quite a bit. I've worked in a factory before too, doing printing for elections. As usual, you are attacking others for no reason.

LOL! I used to be something akin to a sound engineer, I'm sure many others have done that sort of work as well. And you consider printing to be physical labor to an extent that it should be mentioned? I've done my share of that as well, and don't consider it to be physical labor.

You really are a piece of work, my delicate little friend. You do not know "a ton of physical labor."

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Employers once wanted long-term relationships with their workers. At many companies, that's no longer the case. Businesses are asking employees to work harder without providing the kinds of rewards, financial and psychological, that were once routine. Employers figure that if some people quit, there are plenty of others looking for jobs.

Supply and demand. Too many workers, and each worker become worth less. It's a global race to the bottom. Got a problem with that? You can be replaced by someone from Guatemala, China or India.

Slaves were so expensive with the cost of feeding, housing and rudimentary medical care. The system has better alternatives these days.

 

[abacabb]

Overtime is one of the signs that an economy is improving.

And some people are just never happy. The guy across the street from me is losing his house. (Before we go blaming the banks, I should point out this is the 3rd time he's gone into foreclosure. The other two times the bank renegotiated the loan for him.)

He made great money working overtime, bought several new cars, put a big addition on the house, cool TV and stereo. He crabbed about having to work so hard. When the OT stopped, he found himself unable to pay for all these new toys.

So I expect that when companies start to hire again, the guys complaining about having to work so hard will suddenly start complaiing about losing their overtime. It happens over and over.

Maybe some of you are young, so you've never seen this before but it's part of the cycle.

My observation is that we are quickly becoming a society of corporate and government elites at the top which are lazy finger pointers, a bunch of slackers on SSI and "assistance," and everyone else, which pays for the whole decadent system.

Eventually, the backs that carry this system will break.

 

[Demigod]

Not to be an asshole but the first lady makes envelops( I am amazed that someone even pays more than 100-200 dollars a month to someone who makes envelops).Her competition are 2-3 billion people from South/South-East Asia that would probably do what she does for 1/3 of the pay and with the same productivity thanking god all the way .She can be lucky that she can even earn the money she does by making envelops.

The second guy who drives 12 hours a day for 30 dollars an hour should know that what he makes in 2-3 days is a higher paycheck than what 60-70% of the world make in a month,let alone his colleagues.I am sure that his bosses would let him work for 8 hours a day for 20 dollars an hour,but I am not so sure he would take such a deal.

And hello to the USA from the rest of the world who did not understand how two people who do the compete same line of work can have a 1-4/5 ratio in salaries.The bad part for the USA worker is that the salaries will not equalize on the high end of the scale but on the lower one.

 

[LibForestPaul]

I'm having a really, really hard time sympathizing with anybody crying about having a job these days.

Field slave jeoulous of the house slave, eh?

 

[LibForestPaul]

LOL! I used to be something akin to a sound engineer, I'm sure many others have done that sort of work as well. And you consider printing to be physical labor to an extent that it should be mentioned? I've done my share of that as well, and don't consider it to be physical labor.

You really are a piece of work, my delicate little friend. You do not know "a ton of physical labor."

I have seen physical labor. I watched while standing at a train platform a crew of guys replace track and tie rods. It was maybe 80 degrees out, not too hot. These guys where HUGE. And they busted their asses, in 80 degree weather. And they were mostly white. And I thought to myself "White, I guess union and good pay." Then I thought, hell even at $100hr, I would run from this job. Physical labor sucks, at least for me. Would have ripped my back out in an hour.

 

[Demigod]

I have seen physical labor. I watched while standing at a train platform a crew of guys replace track and tie rods. It was maybe 80 degrees out, not too hot. These guys where HUGE. And they busted their asses, in 80 degree weather. And they were mostly white. And I thought to myself "White, I guess union and good pay." Then I thought, hell even at $100hr, I would run from this job. Physical labor sucks, at least for me. Would have ripped my back out in an hour.

Field slave jeoulous of the house slave, eh?

The house slave thinking that he is smarter than the field slave.eh?