| Topic Name: |
Why stay at hewitt? |
| Message Name: |
No One Can Force You to Work More |
| Date Posted: |
01/30/2006 |
| In Reply To: |
Assuming
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If the two following things are true:
1. You are reasonably good at your job.
2. You can afford to leave or be fired or are willing to take the risk.
3. You are a salaried/exempt associate.
.. then simply do not allow yourself to be micro managed or overworked.
How to do it
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Here are some steps you can take:
Remember, be polite and super nice in all dealings with superiors during some tough conversations. Be firm and hold your ground.
1. Tell your project manager that you won't be working much more than 40 hours except in rare cases. Tell them the reasons why, you know what thye are: spouse, kids, health, work-life balance.
2. Allow your project manager to set priorities, even for the day if necessary, but don't commit to anything you don't think you can get done before 5:00 pm.
3. You have to just say "No, I can't get that AND that AND that done today please find someone else. You need to let your PM know before 5:00 PM, when the work is getting assigned. If something comes in at 4:30 and needs to be done by the end of the day, say, very apologetically, I have to leave just after 5:00 today and I won't be able to complete that. The PM will then probably go back to the client and tell them it will have to be done tomorrow.
4. Don't be late or take overly long breaks or surf the web at work or give them any really obvious reasons to fire you. Be as nice as possible.
What the PM might do in response
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1. If the PM later sits you down and says how working less hours will effect your raises and opportunities, be polite, but keep remembering that you probably only got a 3% raise last year, and will probably get a 2% raise this year. This conversation means you have won and they will not fire you, and you have no worries.
2. If the PM says you "won't be meeting expectations" at just around or just over 40 hours, this is code for "you may be put on an IP and/or fired". You just have to be polite but firm. Quote the work-life balance reasons leading you to this decision. Tell them you plan to do as good and efficnent job as possible in your 40 hours, and you need their help to prioritize projects so that the client gets what they most want the earilest. Hold yoour ground, but put in just a few extra hours every month so they still have something to lose by pushing you too far.
In closing
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If you do find yourself on an IP and the main item is that you are not getting everything done, but what is done is done well, then talk to HR. Tell them you are trying to do a great job in 40 hours to support work life balance but you are willing to work some extra hours from time to time. Use the word family a lot. Of course, if you are a member of any protected class (by race, over 40, or GLBT) you probably already know to drop references to your class in the conversation. |
| Message: |
This advice is dead on. If you really want to take control (and are willing to accept the fact that it may limit your career opportunities), do what's suggested.
In this day and age, with work activities threatening to invade every bit of personal time, you have to draw lines in order to keep your sanity. Even managers understand this -- even if they don't have the backbone to do it themselves -- and will respect you for being straight with them.
Of course, the only problem with follow this advice is that you are likely to be stuck in office park traffic for 30 minutes at that time of day, and that's before you even hit the public roads. Gotta love that.
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