Do you (voluntarily) come into work on Saturdays?

Michael H

Assuming you normally work a Mon-Fri job, that is. I guess I don't mind doing it when there's work that needs to be done. We have a pretty good flex-time policy, so theoretically I would get my hours back if I want to take them later, but I don't keep track all that well.

It's actually kind of nice. I can work in peace. I've gotten so much more done so far today than I have any normal weekday. I'll probably skate out of here at noon.

I kind of feel like the kid in a movie who's locked into a store or mall after hours and can do whatever he wants. (Usually portrayed in montage form.)

HappylilElf

Yes but I'm scheduled for Saturdays :P

Although going into work on Saturdays for m consists of listening to music/watching movies/tv for roughly 5-6 hours of my 8 hour shift so I'm pretty ok with it

Edith_Bagot-Dix

Michael H wrote: »

Assuming you normally work a Mon-Fri job, that is. I guess I don't mind doing it when there's work that needs to be done. We have a pretty good flex-time policy, so theoretically I would get my hours back if I want to take them later, but I don't keep track all that well.

It's actually kind of nice. I can work in peace. I've gotten so much more done so far today than I have any normal weekday. I'll probably skate out of here at noon.

I kind of feel like the kid in a movie who's locked into a store or mall after hours and can do whatever he wants. (Usually portrayed in montage form.)

I do this once in awhile, maybe every couple of months and more frequently around a big deadline or release. It's kind of enjoyable, like you said, at least at my current job. Before that, though, my career was focused on the video game industry, where you are basically "voluntold" to come in every Saturday (and go ahead and come in Sunday, too), which pretty much sucked the will to live right out of me.

Demiurge

Man, I get paid 200% on saturdays, why the hell would I not go in on a saturday if its an option?

Malkor

I can work at home.

I'll occasionally VPN at odd hours, because taking care of little problems then makes big problems less big. Plus I'll read and respond to e-mails because there are just so damn many.

nstf

I work in IT, so I often have to. I'm salary so no overtime, no nothing. But it's in the contract that I have to be "on call" 24/7 in case of a disaster.

I could probably farm the work out on others, but no reason to. If i have plans, I won't. If I don't I'll pick up the issue if someone else does.

Armored Gorilla

I often find myself logging into my company's VPN on the weekend to make sure everything's going smoothly for the weekend crew and to keep up with any emergency emails. Already did it once today because we had a new request from a client on Friday and I want to make sure everyone's following procedure properly.

YodaTuna

I purposefully requested to work Saturdays. No one else in the office and occasionally I can VPN and work from home which is nice.

DevoutlyApathetic

I think I've probably worked something around 45+ of the last 52 Saturdays.

Half days mostly and I get paid overtime so it isn't that bad but the stress adds up after awhile.

Michael H

Obviously I think it makes a big difference if you get paid to be there or not. I'm salary, so all really get is a pat on the head and the knowledge that I'm being productive.

Feral

I have more work to do in a typical week than can reasonably be done during business hours. I am supposed to be paid overtime but I can't get it approved for routine overflow. If I try it just gets turned around on me and I'm told that I just need to work harder during the week. Everybody else on my team is perpetually in the same boat, only some of them compensate by simply letting things drop or missing deadlines.

So I generally work unpaid over the weekends for about 4-6 hours.

nstf

Michael H wrote: »

Obviously I think it makes a big difference if you get paid to be there or not. I'm salary, so all really get is a pat on the head and the knowledge that I'm being productive.

Overtime is typically for lower end workers and grunts, that's been my experience.

Dyrwen66

Demiurge wrote: »

Man, I get paid 200% on saturdays, why the hell would I not go in on a saturday if its an option?

Indeed. I rocked some overtime Saturday action a few weeks back and "yes please, pay me 17.50 an hour over my usual 11.50 anytime you goddamn please".

Aridhol

Michael H wrote: »

Assuming you normally work a Mon-Fri job, that is. I guess I don't mind doing it when there's work that needs to be done. We have a pretty good flex-time policy, so theoretically I would get my hours back if I want to take them later, but I don't keep track all that well.

It's actually kind of nice. I can work in peace. I've gotten so much more done so far today than I have any normal weekday. I'll probably skate out of here at noon.

I kind of feel like the kid in a movie who's locked into a store or mall after hours and can do whatever he wants. (Usually portrayed in montage form.)

I do this on occasion and that's exactly how I feel. I am salaried so no overtime or anything, just peace of mind.

Passerbye

I would, 'cause it would mean I had a job.

I mean, extra money? Sure, why not. As long as it's not a regular thing.

Mojo_Jojo

I think if you take into account days when my department was closed that I've worked and compared it to the days I've taken off when the department was open I'd be running a negative number.

Shit has to get done and it is easier on Saturdays and Sundays when there's nobody else getting in the way. I don't get paid for it though.

Feral

nstf wrote: »

Michael H wrote: »

Obviously I think it makes a big difference if you get paid to be there or not. I'm salary, so all really get is a pat on the head and the knowledge that I'm being productive.

Overtime is typically for lower end workers and grunts, that's been my experience.

California used to have some really strict laws about computer professionals and overtime that basically meant that all system administrators, software developers, tech support, etc. had to be paid overtime, even if they were very senior-level. That wasn't the exact intent of the law, but that's how it worked out in reality.

Basically, any computer professional who spent the majority of his or her time doing technical work (coding or administration, as opposed to, say, project management) whose hourly wage was over a certain threshold had to be paid overtime. That threshold rose every year, and got up to around $44/hr at one point. But for the purposes of this law, your hourly wage was based on how much you worked each week. So if you were paid on a weekly salary of $1,760 per week ($44/hr x 40 hrs/week), and one week you worked 50 hours, then under California law your employer had to pay you overtime because for that week your effectively hourly wage dropped below $44. A lot of payroll departments just said "fuck it, we can't have this special class of employee that's sometimes exempt and sometimes non-exempt, so let's just declare them all non-exempt to be safe."

The laws have since been relaxed significantly, because it was causing an observable brain drain out of California. It happened to my last employer - basically, they made it clear through informal channels that IT people based in California would hit a glass ceiling unless they moved to Chicago or Princeton.

But a lot of Californian employers are still in the old mindset, or still have employees flagged as non-exempt in their payroll systems, and still continue to pay computer professionals overtime even though they don't strictly have to.

I'm at a point in my career where I'd much rather be exempt. I don't mind working on the weekends, but I have to sneak around right now to do it because my employer has to pretend that I don't know I'm working on the weekends or else they have a liability for unpaid overtime.

Michael H

nstf wrote: »

Michael H wrote: »

Obviously I think it makes a big difference if you get paid to be there or not. I'm salary, so all really get is a pat on the head and the knowledge that I'm being productive.

Overtime is typically for lower end workers and grunts, that's been my experience.

I'd say that's probably true _most_ of the time, but I'm sure there are notable exceptions.

I could have the option of being "salaried non-exempt" which means I could get paid a salary and then get paid overtime if I worked in excess of 40 hours a week. In exchange for that I believe I give up vacation days (which I have what I believe to be a generous amount) and I think even some holidays. Not worth it!

Stuf

I teach, so pretty much whenever I have a free moment I'm considering my classes for the next week and evaluating the weaknesses of the prior week.

I don't get paid for it, but I do get better at what I do - and that's why I do it.

adytum

This thread is relevant to my interests, as I just sat down at my desk and it's Saturday!

HappylilElf

I'm actually at work right now getting paid to watch Scott Pilgrim vs The World.

This is a good day.

ElJeffe

Feral wrote: »

Basically, any computer professional who spent the majority of his or her time doing technical work (coding or administration, as opposed to, say, project management) whose hourly wage was over a certain threshold had to be paid overtime. That threshold rose every year, and got up to around $44/hr at one point. But for the purposes of this law, your hourly wage was based on how much you worked each week. So if you were paid on a weekly salary of $1,760 per week ($44/hr x 40 hrs/week), and one week you worked 50 hours, then under California law your employer had to pay you overtime because for that week your effectively hourly wage dropped below $44. A lot of payroll departments just said "fuck it, we can't have this special class of employee that's sometimes exempt and sometimes non-exempt, so let's just declare them all non-exempt to be safe."

The flip-side of this is that a lot of tech companies - I'm looking at you, game industry - like to hire people on the pretense of working 40-50 hour weeks, then require them to work 70 hour weeks with unpaid overtime on a regular basis. Then when the folks burn-out, fire them and start fresh.

Me, I don't care much for going in on Saturdays. If I had no family, it wouldn't be so bad, but time with my family is more important than enriching my employer with free overtime.

adytum

The only reason I'm here on a Saturday is my underling quit two weeks ago and I have paperwork everywhere.

Fortunately I'm being compensated for the extra workload.

Unfortunately I don't know how long this will last, as finding a qualified worker for the part-time position has proved exceedingly difficult over the past year.

shryke

ElJeffe wrote: »

Feral wrote: »

Basically, any computer professional who spent the majority of his or her time doing technical work (coding or administration, as opposed to, say, project management) whose hourly wage was over a certain threshold had to be paid overtime. That threshold rose every year, and got up to around $44/hr at one point. But for the purposes of this law, your hourly wage was based on how much you worked each week. So if you were paid on a weekly salary of $1,760 per week ($44/hr x 40 hrs/week), and one week you worked 50 hours, then under California law your employer had to pay you overtime because for that week your effectively hourly wage dropped below $44. A lot of payroll departments just said "fuck it, we can't have this special class of employee that's sometimes exempt and sometimes non-exempt, so let's just declare them all non-exempt to be safe."

The flip-side of this is that a lot of tech companies - I'm looking at you, game industry - like to hire people on the pretense of working 40-50 hour weeks, then require them to work 70 hour weeks with unpaid overtime on a regular basis. Then when the folks burn-out, fire them and start fresh.

Me, I don't care much for going in on Saturdays. If I had no family, it wouldn't be so bad, but time with my family is more important than enriching my employer with free overtime.

I find the whole idea distasteful.

It seems mostly like a pretense to curtail worker rights and extend the work week on the sly.

Armored Gorilla

I'm salary, so I don't get overtime, but the time I work IS put towards vacation and sick days, which is pretty cool. I'm sort of on-call, but I've never had to come in for anything yet. Just a few phone calls during off hours to answer questions.

Shadowfire

Feral wrote: »

I'm at a point in my career where I'd much rather be exempt. I don't mind working on the weekends, but I have to sneak around right now to do it because my employer has to pretend that I don't know I'm working on the weekends or else they have a liability for unpaid overtime.

Pretty sure they're liable anyway, even if you weren't instructed. You're working the time, regardless of whether the company knows, because of the mindset that "they should have known."

So when they fire you later, sue for the unpaid overtime. ;-)

Daedalus

My employer is one of the rare software companies that pay overtime, although it's just straight time rather than time-and-a-half.

I'll come in Saturdays if the alternative is missing a deadline.

If they didn't pay overtime, though? Fuck no. Not unless missing that deadline was egregiously and unequivocally my fault.

CycloneRanger

I just got back from 12 hours at work, none of which I will be paid for. On one hand, that sucks—but realistically I'd just have been sitting in my empty apartment anyway. It's not like I have anywhere to be. I'll be back there tomorrow, too.

Sort of depressing all around.

Kitsuna

I avoid weekend overtime like the plague. I've avoided it for so long that I've actually managed to train them not to bother asking me any more because they know what the answer will be.

If my company actually paid decent overtime rates then I might be interested, but since they don't, I opt to enjoy the weekends instead.

Elitistb

I work both graveyard AND weekends, so I have virtually no social life unless I want to be heavily sleep deprived. And I'm sleep deprived anyway.

Evil_Reaver

nstf wrote: »

I work in IT, so I often have to. I'm salary so no overtime, no nothing. But it's in the contract that I have to be "on call" 24/7 in case of a disaster..

I worked in IT before I went back to school. Two jobs ago, I was on a team that was on-call 24/7 for emergencies, but we also had a Super Emergency Pager that we rotated through the group on a weekly basis for users who needed help after hours. We didn't get paid overtime but our CIO was really awesome about making sure our comp time worked out fairly. We would schedule maintenance and server room upgrades for the weekends, but that was maybe like 4 times a year, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

We didn't get called in for meltdowns very often because we worked hard during the week to make sure nothing would happen when we weren't there, but every now and then we'd come in at random times of the night to fix servers and shit. My most memorable emergency was when I got called in on Thanksgiving eve one year at 9 PM because the telco cut our phone lines. I wound up staying at work until 4 AM on Thanksgiving day trying to get everything sorted out. You better believe I got some comp days out of that.

nstf

Feral wrote: »

nstf wrote: »

Michael H wrote: »

Obviously I think it makes a big difference if you get paid to be there or not. I'm salary, so all really get is a pat on the head and the knowledge that I'm being productive.

Overtime is typically for lower end workers and grunts, that's been my experience.

California used to have some really strict laws about computer professionals and overtime that basically meant that all system administrators, software developers, tech support, etc. had to be paid overtime, even if they were very senior-level. That wasn't the exact intent of the law, but that's how it worked out in reality.

Basically, any computer professional who spent the majority of his or her time doing technical work (coding or administration, as opposed to, say, project management) whose hourly wage was over a certain threshold had to be paid overtime. That threshold rose every year, and got up to around $44/hr at one point. But for the purposes of this law, your hourly wage was based on how much you worked each week. So if you were paid on a weekly salary of $1,760 per week ($44/hr x 40 hrs/week), and one week you worked 50 hours, then under California law your employer had to pay you overtime because for that week your effectively hourly wage dropped below $44. A lot of payroll departments just said "fuck it, we can't have this special class of employee that's sometimes exempt and sometimes non-exempt, so let's just declare them all non-exempt to be safe."

The laws have since been relaxed significantly, because it was causing an observable brain drain out of California. It happened to my last employer - basically, they made it clear through informal channels that IT people based in California would hit a glass ceiling unless they moved to Chicago or Princeton.

But a lot of Californian employers are still in the old mindset, or still have employees flagged as non-exempt in their payroll systems, and still continue to pay computer professionals overtime even though they don't strictly have to.

I'm at a point in my career where I'd much rather be exempt. I don't mind working on the weekends, but I have to sneak around right now to do it because my employer has to pretend that I don't know I'm working on the weekends or else they have a liability for unpaid overtime.

LOL that sucks, I'm a senior sysadmin and one of the IT officers. I constantly pull insane hours, it just goes with the turf. I'd say move here to VA/DC area, tons of tech jobs and none of that shit. Though shit like 10 hour days and weekends is considered the norm. And even if you are able to get overtime, you won't. because you weren't asked to do it, but your ass will be looking for another job if you don't pull it.

All the jobs I've had have stated "nights and weekends" and that's being salary.

I'd say that's probably true _most_ of the time, but I'm sure there are notable exceptions.

I could have the option of being "salaried non-exempt" which means I could get paid a salary and then get paid overtime if I worked in excess of 40 hours a week. In exchange for that I believe I give up vacation days (which I have what I believe to be a generous amount) and I think even some holidays. Not worth it!

In my company vacation comes out of another pay pool. I get roughly a month a year, plus half a month sick time. Due to the recession I've been forced to take vacation for funds allocation. Which means I still work the same hours, and just bill it to my vacation pool and lose a day

The flip-side of this is that a lot of tech companies - I'm looking at you, game industry - like to hire people on the pretense of working 40-50 hour weeks, then require them to work 70 hour weeks with unpaid overtime on a regular basis. Then when the folks burn-out, fire them and start fresh.

Me, I don't care much for going in on Saturdays. If I had no family, it wouldn't be so bad, but time with my family is more important than enriching my employer with free overtime.

All the work I've done has been DOD, or funded by State and USAID. In DC it's expected that you are working 50-80. And your ass better not try to claim OT. They don't force you to do it, so they don't have to pay you. But when all your coworkers are pulling those hours, you simply will not get promoted, or will find yourself fired for some random reason quick. It's not just tech folks, though tech people are the most prone to it.

Oddly all the "real" work I do, I can't do during working hours. So my 9-5 is mostly sitting on my ass hoping things don't break. I get shit done once 7pm hits or over the weekend.

I worked in IT before I went back to school. Two jobs ago, I was on a team that was on-call 24/7 for emergencies, but we also had a Super Emergency Pager that we rotated through the group on a weekly basis for users who needed help after hours. We didn't get paid overtime but our CIO was really awesome about making sure our comp time worked out fairly. We would schedule maintenance and server room upgrades for the weekends, but that was maybe like 4 times a year, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

We didn't get called in for meltdowns very often because we worked hard during the week to make sure nothing would happen when we weren't there, but every now and then we'd come in at random times of the night to fix servers and shit. My most memorable emergency was when I got called in on Thanksgiving eve one year at 9 PM because the telco cut our phone lines. I wound up staying at work until 4 AM on Thanksgiving day trying to get everything sorted out. You better believe I got some comp days out of that.

Yeah such is life. I get calls constantly. I make sure those who work for me can avoid it. I don't have a wife/kids, and most of my family is 6 feet under. So I take the holidays, and let the others off. I claim three holidays as mine. Halloween, my birthday, new years, and ST. pattys. The rest I don't care.

Plus my office is two subway stops from my house, so it takes me 10-15 mins to get to work. I'm not going to make someone suffer an hour long subway trip or drive when I can just hop in and do the work.

Interestingly enough though, when I force someone to come and do the work, they don't bitch at me.

Dark_Side

I kind of like coming in on Saturdays. I'm salaried and since my company does a lot of air travel in our business, most of the engineering employees can come and go as they please. So I'll cut out early on a Friday and come in late on a saturday for a few hours, crank the music, have full control over the AC, and can usually just fly with my work since there's no distractions.

It's also fun because another co-worker and I realized that since the building's empty on weekends, we can bring in our guitar rigs and play as loud as we want.

Incenjucar

I'm a fan of the occassional bit of overtime. I make a habit of finding work that I can find some joy in, and I rather enjoy making money because of all the freedom it buys.

Were I on salary, it would depend on the job. If I actually enjoy going into work every day, it wouldn't be that big a deal so long as it didn't erase my life outside of work, and I was paid enough that I wouldn't mind working a little extra.

Golden Yak

When I'm going through a crunch time at work, I generally have the sense of what needs to be done and by when. If I feel like coming in on the weekend will help, I do. A number of my fellow employees operate the same way.

Kalkino

I have done in the past, at previous employers, however this one not so much. The work does not demand it, nor will it help me get ahead at work.

The Cat

I'll do it if I'm on a field sampling exercise away from home, or if there's a major crunch to finalise a document, but that's it. I'm on salary, but the contract is for x hours per week and then I get time off in lieu. I track every hour, and I use that time the first opportunity I get (since it 'expires' after a time, pfffft). If I was working somewhere that didn't do that, I'd negotiate alternative payment.

I don't actually mind working odd hours or weekends, but its quite common here for employers to take advantage of cultural pressures to wring unpaid overtime out of white-collar workers, and I'm not playing that game. I don't work for free, I'm selling my labour on the open market. And there are plenty of buyers, because I'm well-trained, flexible, and not particularly invested in one Big Career.

Feral

nstf wrote: »

LOL that sucks, I'm a senior sysadmin and one of the IT officers. I constantly pull insane hours, it just goes with the turf. I'd say move here to VA/DC area, tons of tech jobs and none of that shit. Though shit like 10 hour days and weekends is considered the norm. And even if you are able to get overtime, you won't. because you weren't asked to do it, but your ass will be looking for another job if you don't pull it.

Yep, one of the many reasons I'm trying to get the hell out of IT.

Walt

Well, I usually VPN from home, but as a salaried code monkey I almost never work less than 88 hours in a pay period. Fortunately, after 15 hours of overtime in a pay period I start accumulating comp time which is 1:1 with vacation hours. So after a crunch I can sometimes work a 3-4 day week while effectively nothing happens at the office.

If I'm approaching comp time with deadlines looming and working Saturday will get me hours off, I am all over that crap. More often than not though crunches are suspiciously timed to run through the end of one period and the beginning of the next one, leading to that "just missed getting mondo comp time" phenomenon that I sometimes suspect is intentional.

Nucker

Working for the Federal Government and pulling Saturday overtime has been a pretty sweet deal so far. OT and a quiet workload off the phones makes for a good day, especially doing something like 7am-12pm where you still get a day afterward.

Speaker

I'd go in on saturday if they let me.

I'd probably volunteer the time.