What do you wish someone had told you?
May 5th 2014, 7:10 am
#136
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Re: What do you wish someone had told you?
May 5th 2014, 7:26 am
#137
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Re: What do you wish someone had told you?
Oh. I think it is quite a common norm and expected in many walks of a working life as I and others have illustrated about our experiences of office life.
It may not be common with shift work where one can sign over to someone coming in to fill a same role , or perhaps with those that clock in and out where that information is the basis for pay.
It may not be common with shift work where one can sign over to someone coming in to fill a same role , or perhaps with those that clock in and out where that information is the basis for pay.
May 5th 2014, 8:15 am
#139
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Location: In a large village called Auckland
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Re: What do you wish someone had told you?
Personal experience;
Having said this, I've just taken a call from a friend who until recently had a job and we're talking minutes and hours;
His whole team we're asked on Friday whether they wanted to take 6 weeks pay to leave, or stay and be put on performance management - they were asked this at 10am on Friday, with a 5pm Friday deadline.
My mate took the later. He got fired this morning, by telephone as he was at home - he's already been on to a lawyer who is very keen to take this case up.
The cheeky gits also wanted him drop his company car off at the office 30kms away!! The lawyer told him that as it's their car, the relationship with him is now non-existent, so he shouldn't use his time and expense to return the car. It's up to them to retrieve the car.
Obviously these are vague details, but you couldn't make this up!!
Having said this, I've just taken a call from a friend who until recently had a job and we're talking minutes and hours;
His whole team we're asked on Friday whether they wanted to take 6 weeks pay to leave, or stay and be put on performance management - they were asked this at 10am on Friday, with a 5pm Friday deadline.
My mate took the later. He got fired this morning, by telephone as he was at home - he's already been on to a lawyer who is very keen to take this case up.
The cheeky gits also wanted him drop his company car off at the office 30kms away!! The lawyer told him that as it's their car, the relationship with him is now non-existent, so he shouldn't use his time and expense to return the car. It's up to them to retrieve the car.
Obviously these are vague details, but you couldn't make this up!!
I just googled the news to see what the lastest case was and as usual the amount awarded was $12k
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-a...ectid=11249763
May 5th 2014, 8:18 am
#140
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Re: What do you wish someone had told you?
So do I. 35 yrs+ in office environments both private and public sector.
My experience of local government was that everything ran to the clock. You worked over, you got paid.
In a private sector office environment it is usual & expected. The hours may seem set but you get salaried for what the content of the job entails. Time is money. That means pressure. That report is not ready first thing in the morning for whatever reason , you are accountable. You don't meet the targets several times , you may find yourself facing a disiplinary or asked to leave or step sideways from your job because you don't meet the 'standards' of said job .
Yes. you could move jobs but that would be a mark against your credentials & you will likely meet the same again.
"Go that extra mile"
"Deadlines"
"Work as a team"
All sorts of guff Col.
So. Forget clocking off at the end of your working day. Lunch on the hoof. Reports at home.
I worked in office environments for a good 35+ years. The culture has become worse and worse. I have been a person still in an office at midnight trying to fix issues not of my making, to ensure a huge amount of employees got paid next day. I've been the person completing management reports late into the night to help safeguard the future of a company with a financial deadline to meet.
In the end I had a burn out . Just as Capp
I also agree Col, that no job is worth your health and well-being. That is why Capp has re-evaluated her life and why I stepped out of employment.
Not everyone is in a position to do that though & we have to respect that. At the end of the day most all of us need an income to meet our outgoings. Those outgoings can be adjusted but if a family has a mortgage and children, it may not be possible to step off the wheel easily.
My experience of local government was that everything ran to the clock. You worked over, you got paid.
In a private sector office environment it is usual & expected. The hours may seem set but you get salaried for what the content of the job entails. Time is money. That means pressure. That report is not ready first thing in the morning for whatever reason , you are accountable. You don't meet the targets several times , you may find yourself facing a disiplinary or asked to leave or step sideways from your job because you don't meet the 'standards' of said job .
Yes. you could move jobs but that would be a mark against your credentials & you will likely meet the same again.
"Go that extra mile"
"Deadlines"
"Work as a team"
All sorts of guff Col.
So. Forget clocking off at the end of your working day. Lunch on the hoof. Reports at home.
I worked in office environments for a good 35+ years. The culture has become worse and worse. I have been a person still in an office at midnight trying to fix issues not of my making, to ensure a huge amount of employees got paid next day. I've been the person completing management reports late into the night to help safeguard the future of a company with a financial deadline to meet.
In the end I had a burn out . Just as Capp
I also agree Col, that no job is worth your health and well-being. That is why Capp has re-evaluated her life and why I stepped out of employment.
Not everyone is in a position to do that though & we have to respect that. At the end of the day most all of us need an income to meet our outgoings. Those outgoings can be adjusted but if a family has a mortgage and children, it may not be possible to step off the wheel easily.
Nice post Bevs
I think sometimes we need to remind ourselves what we moved to another country / life for. For me it wasn't financial, it was defo that life / work balance. Health is too important to ignore, without good health you can't work or enjoy life.
May 5th 2014, 8:22 am
#141
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Re: What do you wish someone had told you?
Also in a similar vein I was talking to someone earlier today also that has been in 'consultation' process due to an office relocation - their office is moving from North Shore to Penrose - a considerable hike and most unattractive proposition if you live at Whangaparoa : There's no offer of compensation or redundancy, the options are; take it or leave it.
May 5th 2014, 8:52 am
#142
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Re: What do you wish someone had told you?
Also in a similar vein I was talking to someone earlier today also that has been in 'consultation' process due to an office relocation - their office is moving from North Shore to Penrose - a considerable hike and most unattractive proposition if you live at Whangaparoa : There's no offer of compensation or redundancy, the options are; take it or leave it.
May 5th 2014, 6:29 pm
#143
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Re: What do you wish someone had told you?
I've worked and been paid in various different ways in NZ: paid per hour, paid per day/half day and salaried with extra hours paid.
The middle option is the worst as I do a job where emergencies at the end of day are commonplace so you often work overtime. It is hard to join a company where this is the normal way of being paid and try and change it. After all, most of us do need the work!
It was the same in the UK- I've been salaried with overtime paid or not and also paid per day. It is expected that you will possibly end up working over due to the nature of the job and most of us don't mind as long as it isn't consistent and is actually necessary
It does depend on the actual job though. Mine is annoyingly unpredictable at times
The middle option is the worst as I do a job where emergencies at the end of day are commonplace so you often work overtime. It is hard to join a company where this is the normal way of being paid and try and change it. After all, most of us do need the work!
It was the same in the UK- I've been salaried with overtime paid or not and also paid per day. It is expected that you will possibly end up working over due to the nature of the job and most of us don't mind as long as it isn't consistent and is actually necessary
It does depend on the actual job though. Mine is annoyingly unpredictable at times
May 5th 2014, 11:29 pm
#144
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Posts: 1,213
Re: What do you wish someone had told you?
A shocker, eh?
Luckily, my company is looking for someone and he appears to fit the mould. Every cloud.
TBH, I reckon he'd be happy to take $12k and draw a line under it, as it was roughly the amount he was angling for when he refused the 6 weeks pay to sling his hook.
This still doesn't detract from the fact that this situation stinks to high hell!
Luckily, my company is looking for someone and he appears to fit the mould. Every cloud.
Unfortunately they can do this because there is so little protection for employees and likely cost to the company to get rid will be minimal - even with a lawyer involved likely they'll just give him/her $10 or $12k for 'hurt and humiliation' - if it gets to $15k then IRD starts to get interested and will want to ask questions and tax it.
I just googled the news to see what the lastest case was and as usual the amount awarded was $12k
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-a...ectid=11249763
I just googled the news to see what the lastest case was and as usual the amount awarded was $12k
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-a...ectid=11249763
TBH, I reckon he'd be happy to take $12k and draw a line under it, as it was roughly the amount he was angling for when he refused the 6 weeks pay to sling his hook.
This still doesn't detract from the fact that this situation stinks to high hell!
May 6th 2014, 12:00 pm
#145
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Re: What do you wish someone had told you?
Yes, the OECD puts NZ just above the US with regards to worker's protection. So there basically is no protection and consequentially the pressure is on if you don't have any savings; especially in expensive Auckland!
May 7th 2014, 8:40 am
#146
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Re: What do you wish someone had told you?
http://www.oecd.org/employment/emp/o...protection.htm
There is actually a lot of protection for workers, in my company we have plenty of guys that we would love to get rid of as they are slack thieving sods, however the processes involved to make this happen are far too difficult and prolonged, if you play by the rules, if you don't then the courts are there to compensate.
May 7th 2014, 9:24 pm
#147
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Re: What do you wish someone had told you?
If one feels there is a work/life imbalance then this might well be able to be addressed without going to the other side of the world. As has been written , there can be the exact same issues here for a family as in other countries & with NZ being a far smaller & isolated pond , trying to adjust a work/life imbalance can be difficult.
