It’s a good and easy advice to tell someone “don’t work more than 40 hours weeks”. However, why does this not work in practice???
I simply can't tell my manager I won't work overtime because he doesn't want to hear it. I think he would do everything he can to get rid of me very quickly, that's my impression.
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Frank runs an abusive regime. I heard when they look at Sapience reports, they don't even factor R&R into the mix.. they just sort numbers. The saddest part is that managers are told to sell Sapience as a "productivity tool" and that it "is not used for tracking".
Due to horrendous upper management decisions, I’ve had to absorb the workload of at least four people. I can’t get the work done and even the work I can get done has severely decreased in quality. I’ve started to send an email to my boss on a bi-weekly basis letting them know the things that I’m not able to complete due to resource shortages. I’m not ki----g myself for a company that has no loyalty or care for its employees. I guess they might care when misstated financials are submitted and Deloitte gives Fiserv an Adverse audit report.
The big brother tools of Sapience and Clarity won't "allow" you to put in less than 40 hours...it would generate a giant red flag... Now how you spend those 40+ hours is another question entirely. There have been several recent articles about how overly invasive tools generate a backlash of malicious compliance. We don't manage to the work or quality or success, we manage to the dashboard...don't be a red dot on a report...it's how targets are painted from Broadway.
Do you think your job is any safer while putting in the 60 hours? Loyalty is NOT valued at Fiserv anymore. The layoffs are arbitrary. Bad, good, and great employees are being let go due to Frank’s random whims.
You do what I do. “Hey boss. I can’t complete this workload in 40 hours a week. I’ll do my best. Maybe even put in a couple hours of overtime here and there. I can’t do much more than that due to commitments I have at home. (DONT ELABORATE) But this is an impossible ask. So I just want you to know ahead of time that one or more of these projects are going to fail unless some of it is redistributed.” Then it’s your manager’s problem to figure out a solution. Let it go up the chain until someone who is making a seven-figure salary decides that they have to HIRE more people instead of laying off.
If everyone puts in 60-80 hours a week and the work keeps getting done, they will NEVER change anything. “Work is getting done? Deadlines are being met? Great! Sounds like everything is running smoothly. Nothing to fix here!” The bottom line is all they care about it. IMPACT IT.
I have stopped feeling guilty about it. I work to live. I don’t live to work.
First off, where does the number 40 come from? That's for hourly employees, you are most likely salary, otherwise it wouldn't even be a question. The fact of the matter is as a salaried employee you are supposed to work as many hours as it takes to get the job done. What I've found a lot of people don't understand is that could be less than 40! Seriously find me anywhere in the employee handbook that says you must work 40 hours, if you find something that says that then you might be entitled to paid overtime. The mythical minimum 40 hour work week is something employers want you to believe in, same with negativity about openly discussing salary. If you are hourly, then never mind all that!
Second, I'm not sure about your department, but mine has had a he-l of a time with people quitting and being laid off. They hired one person this year. If you push back why would they fire you and lose a resource. At the end of the day you are just a number, but you are a plus and they don't want to turn that into a minus.
Push back, at least a little, set some boundaries. And while you are at it, look for a new job so you don't have to.
The people who say that are phone support reps with no real education or skills.
Over the years, I've worked with countless people. I never knew one individual who "put in their 40 hours and left". Not one. It wasn't an ego thing - it was a "put in the hours or someone two levels above your manager will come knocking" thing. Your impression is exactly right. If the workload demands more than 40 hours and you don't do it, you'll either be terminated immediately for insubordination or your name will be at the top of the list for the next cut.
If folks are getting away with this, they're the exception to the rule.