Topic: Commute Times (UK)

@ralphdibny I've occasionally been asked to work on a day off but only once or twice has it been a last minute sort of thing. It's usually when we've had issues with some functionality and it's needed to be fixed quickly or for a meeting that couldn't be rearranged. With those occurrences I don't remember it affecting any plans I had but I might feel differently if that was the case.

There are definitely other jobs that are worse for that sort of thing than mine. I'm currently reading this...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Going-Hurt-Secret-Diaries/dp/15...

and it really makes you appreciate a) that your own job isn't too bad, and b) that people in the NHS really do get pushed to the brink. It really is a wonder that any of them can actually function in their jobs and as people with what they get put through. If you haven't read it I can definitely recommend it. It's a real eye opener and is laugh out loud funny!!

@NedStarksGhost oh nice that should be cool! Bit of a change of pace. I'm sure you'll smash it! Learning is easy if you are doing it on the job because you actually have the physical process in front of you at the same time as being instructed on it. Much better than books and lectures in my opinion which for me is just in one ear and out the other!

@render tbh for all the whinging I do, in relation to other jobs I don't have it too bad. Doesn't detract from the issues I have that get frustrating but overall it could be much worse. I do try to remember that from time to time, but it's always worth reminding people.

@ralphdibny cheers! I'm the same with learning. I hate reading manuals and struggle to comprehend stuff. People bring up that I did an engineering degree and I basically remind them that I have more or less forgotten it all!

@NedStarksGhost @ralphdibny I think it's fair enough to whinge about work, I do enough of that too

I definitely have a lot of respect for anyone doing a really tough job like nursing / doctoring and then being asked to work all the hours under the sun / moon. It really seems counter intuitive to me to push the people that are looking after our wellbeing so hard. I know that when I'm really tired I'm more likely to make mistakes and everything just takes longer to do.

@render After reading horror stories about people in the likes of retail, services and healthcare I'm always sure to be extra understanding and patient. Not that I'm rude by default, but after seeing what some have to go through I try and be extra pleasant with them.

And totally agree. I've tried learning stuff after work to expand my skills and I honestly just cannot do it. Mentally, I'm gone. Brain has just shut off. So I feel so sorry for those in the NHS having to work extra long hours under more pressure, with also a duty of care to patients.

@render @NedStarksGhost oh I love moaning about work 😂. There is an appropriate amount of moaning though and it's a fine line between letting off some steam and bringing down everyone around you. I have a colleague who moans so much that I have to set him to ignore on WhatsApp. I think what does it for me is that it's speculative moaning (with no self acknowledgement of its speculative nature) with lots of assumptions and no evidence which is not something you can really respond to. Speculation hurts my brain when it comes to work, I just want facts 😂

It's nuts what NHS workers get put through and it's so unfair considering they do one of the most important jobs in the country. I'll have to check that book out sometime. When I first half read the link, I thought it was going to be an article about conditions for Amazon workers which is another company that is apparently notoriously bad to work for. I wouldn't go near an Amazon job with a ten foot barge pole

@ralphdibny Yeah, outside of part-time jobs when I was a kid, I've only ever worked "on demand" so to speak, so I was forever used to being unable to plan... well, any of my free time, really. I just grabbed what little of it I could, because my phone could've started ringing at any moment. It takes a certain something but, whatever that something was, I've definitely lost it in recent years. Would never take another job like that again, or anything with the potential for any flexible hours. Particularly since, for 98% of the jobs out there, there's literally no reason to need to make those demands of people.

@RogerRoger same here, massively anti social hours because most of my work is done outside of working hours. Taking a day/night off to attend a social event costs me a shift. I've valued my free time more as I've got older so I've done a lot less shifts as I've got older!

I also keep my phone on silent too so I can call my boss back instead of being caught off guard and half asleep. Just need to be mentally prepared before I accept a job so I don't shoot myself in the foot and accept something awful 😅

I made a linkedin finally. God knows if it will do any good but I have 4 connections. Going to work on it over the next few days and work out exactly how best to present all the information about me

@ralphdibny definitely worthwhile doing. I think potential employers check it out and recruiters will get in touch.

I've been off here the last few days, staying away for work again. I'm fed up of it to be honest. It's part of the job, commissioning work on clients sites. I just wish it was better planned, and not always so last minute. It's like I get told on Friday I need to stay over somewhere for 3 nights... It gets so frustrating, like as if your life can and should be so easily messed about with!

@NedStarksGhost ah lame that sucks! Yeah I don't like the away trips. Especially if they get sold to you as a glamorous holiday, when it's at some random drab business park in the middle of no where 😂

@ralphdibny there's been times where a manager as, without me knowing, change my hotel from a decent premier Inn to some poorly kept room because it's £20 less a night. I'll never understand people who act like company money is their money!

I was in a very bad mood yesterday when I posted that, calmed down a bit today! How's your job going dude?

I think with work, last minute alterations such as being asked to come in 2 hours early on that day. Can really mess up your diary. It may seem harmless (to the manager) but that employee could have drs appointments, waiting for a parcel, dropping off kids etc. It really effects your morale as well.

I work 45 minutes drive from work approx 32 miles there and back through a city centre with a toll. Asking to come in 2 hours early (due to a sickness) really means I'm at work for 8+2+1.5 hours of that day. A few games of rocket League, ironing and making tea / lunch for tomorrow and the days over. Say compared to being able to have a long go of Disco Elysium and shag the wife.

@NedStarksGhost oh my days, I've had that! I've been booked into hotels that have no parking even though they know I'm driving to the job 😂. When they do stupid stuff like that, I just park the car in the most expensive car park I can find, even if it's further away and send them the bill!

The job is slow unfortunately, thumb twiddling is the order of the day. Sarcastic remarks about having nothing to do from one of the people that's supposed to be giving me something to do winds me up to no end. More lies, contradictions and inconsistencies. Of course, they can do that because I am a contractor and they can promise me the world to get me in before they hand me a dirt sandwich and send me on my way.

Have you applied for your new thing yet??

@themcnoisy hahah your TMI made me laugh 😂. Lack of consideration is a real bugbear of mine actually. I think I would handle an absence like this. Ask for volunteers, if no takers then ask for volunteers in return for something. Not sure if you get the time off in lieu anyway but maybe I'd turn a blind eye for an extra hour off the books or something. Still no takers? Draw straws (and include myself in the straw drawing). If it happened regularly though then I guess I'd just draw up a rota of who will cover the next absence and people could swap or delay their place on the rota

@ralphdibny I'm the manager in my place. I do everything I can to make sure employees will never leave.

Stats are for managers. Offer the team as little as possible with the essentials as targets (Data input / days worked / overall sales total) never ever show conversion, cost of sale etc etc. Make sure everyone has time off and holidays are organised well in advance. Im more referring to bad business practice. If you don't have the staff - don't open. Simple really. Pay well and actively offer incentives and pay increases based on time served and performance. Give return to work interviews for time off and don't give your staff random tasks and stress because 1 divvy is ruining the atmosphere. Have a backup plan in case you are short staffed - so managers can step in to a customer facing environment if needs be. Then coming in hours early is never an issue.

The issue I've found is everyone prioritises profits over workers and the staff just get up and leave. But if you have great, skilled and loyal staff who are paid well - you don't need big recruitment drives. The job sells itself.

@themcnoisy Hell yeah it's nice to hear someone talk about how to actually run a business. I've watched my wife work at various places where they just put profits before everything else and basically none of the staff give a **** and those that do end up leaving. She's far too conscientious for that and ends up being the only person that cares and gets screwed over for it.

Loyalty of staff is a major factor in making your business what it is. It's the people that are on the front line, and they are the ones your customers see so you need them to care and actually want to work. Like you mention there if you get the conditions right then you don't need to keep replacing people. The work force are happy and the customers are happy because they are getting better service!!

@themcnoisy some nice tips there! I don't understand the sales stuff, probably because I'm not in sales! The other stuff resonates really well though. Planning, logical approaches to stuff. Not just doing things for the sake of it.

@render I get that a lot at my current job. I really have to balance caring and not caring. Like tactical caring, it winds me up lol. My mind is wired to care about useful things, not to care about the bottom line when it's at the expense of the workers

These things are why I've been with the same company for 12 years now (which is kind of unusual in software development). I know I could get a job that pays even better if I wanted to change workplaces but this one is comfortable for me in many ways.

@Voltan 12 years is really impressive for software development. They must treat you like a king!

@nessisonett I tend to only work 6-7 (probably closer to 6 on avg) hours most days and usually get to the office between 10 and 11 - that alone is a big deal to me.
I've found that working the full 8 hours doesn't mean I'm getting much more done anyway - which is something not a lot of employers understand.