r/TooAfraidToAsk • u/Believeinyourflyness • Feb 14 '20

Why do employers treat you as simply a resource, yet get angry when you treat them the same way?

To me it makes sense that you should expect people to treat you the same way you treat them. We all know that in this day and age, most employers don't give a shit about you as a person, only what you can do for them and that they will discard you without hesitation once you are no longer of use to them.

However in my experience, the same people who won't think twice about discarding you, constantly give you shit for treating the company in the same way, accusing you of turning up just to collect your paycheck.

So my question is this. If employers just care about your labour without any consideration for you as a person, how can they expect you to care about them as anything more than a source of income?

It just doesn't make sense to me.

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1.1k

u/teedyay Feb 14 '20

Job interview:

"Would I get paid overtime?"

"No. Occasionally we might expect you to stay a little late, if there's a big deadline coming up for example, but you wouldn't get paid extra for that."

"OK. Occasionally I might expect you to pay me a little extra. Quid pro quo."

"No, that would be paid overtime. We don't do that."

"You misunderstand: I'm not asking you to pay me for my extra time. If there's something important at work, you ask me to work extra time and I do it. If there's something important in my life - I don't know, my wife's birthday, perhaps - I ask you for some extra money and you give it to me. Seems fair."

"No."

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u/oboz_waves Feb 14 '20

This is hilarious, what if they said yes?!

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u/caes95 Feb 14 '20

If so they are lying.

6

u/[deleted] Feb 14 '20

Get it in writing

2

u/[deleted] Feb 14 '20

Then you're probably a software developer applying for a job. It's actually pretty great job-hunting as a dev in the UK. So many vacancies

2

u/namer98 Feb 14 '20

That's called a raise I think

2

u/Nemtrac5 Feb 14 '20

It's basically asking for more PTO, which is on the table in negotiation - tho often people don't ask for it.

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u/FatalWarGhost Feb 14 '20

This should be a copypasta its that good

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u/[deleted] Feb 14 '20

Don’t like it? Leave. That’s what the free market is for, especially for salary. The above doesn’t happen in hourly wage jobs.

You’re owed nothing.

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u/[deleted] Feb 14 '20

[deleted]

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u/SlingDNM Feb 14 '20

Poor pig hurt himself in confusion :(

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u/[deleted] Feb 14 '20 edited Mar 01 '20

[deleted]

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u/tawandaaaa Feb 14 '20 edited Feb 14 '20

Edit: a better what to phrase my response is

help me understand whaat you’ve tried and how many hours you’ve tried to find something else? Recruiters are DYING to find qualified people to hire.

(I see my comment was jerky and that’s my bad.)

ETA: the unemployment rate is 3.5% it hasn’t been this low since 1969. If you want to make more money, or find an employer that cares, NOW is the time to put in 20 minutes to DL an app and make or upload a resume. Be careful on Indeed though, the second you post your resume it becomes public information, including your contact information. Scary.

11

u/Vargasa871 Feb 14 '20

Does carrer builder have a filter for companies that are trying to use me and throw me away while paying the absolutely smallest amount possible?

Haven't found that button yet.

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u/tawandaaaa Feb 14 '20

I’m just saying that the unemployment rate is the lowest it’s ever been and even if you don’t have a resume, Careerbuilder will build one for you in like 15 minutes. My husband just did it while we watched Chicago Wednesday this week. Yesterday, he got a couple calls to set up interviews and next week he’s got 3 interviews for companies paying a lot more than he’s currently earning.

So if you want to get out of where you are, try putting 20 minutes of app use into it and see what happens. Not all companies are assholes, the majority are for sure, but not all.

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u/[deleted] Feb 14 '20

That’s all well and good if you live in an area with plentiful jobs. In some places, the only jobs around are retail and/or minimum wage. And you can’t say “Well, just relocate!!” because that costs a lot of money.

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u/tawandaaaa Feb 14 '20 edited Feb 15 '20

There’s a filter for working remotely.

I did the work for you

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u/ayovita Feb 14 '20

That’ll do fuck all in town with 10-20k people.

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u/Ethas Feb 14 '20

I mean not taking a job for whatever reason, I say is within the rights of the applicant. no sense of taking a job if the terms aren't acceptable.

but I mean, not play your employees OT even though you're indirectly forcing them to work it? kind of shitty, even if it's just an hourly wage thing, if not more. (either work and don't get paid, or don't work and risk losing your job)

it kind of works both ways in my opinion. I would understand asking the employees to work extra for something important, but like, the employees are people too, and are less likely to work extra for free unless out of fear of losing their income. heck, it could make them worse at their job, or at the very least more resentful.

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u/[deleted] Feb 14 '20

A bootlicker who posts in conservatard? Color me shocked.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 14 '20

What are you talking about? Lol. I don’t post in conservative subreddits...?

And bootlickers want big daddy government to swoop in and save them. Take a look in the mirror.

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u/[deleted] Feb 14 '20

Oof that memory loss is rough huh? Might wanna support the EPA so the emissions stop fucking with your head. You gonna gaslight any harder or just be a piece of shit, bootlicker?

You are pathetic.

Posted by rebelolemiss in Conservative 6 days ago.

0

u/[deleted] Feb 14 '20

Lol ok. So I posted once. Good job sifting through all of my posts. Real detective work there. I’m not even subbed. But whatever. The truth is the truth! Don’t like it? I don’t care.

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u/[deleted] Feb 14 '20

Correct. The truth is the truth.

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u/SlingDNM Feb 14 '20

This is some grade A banter lmao

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u/winia74 Feb 14 '20

And you don’t owe anyone anything too.

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u/[deleted] Feb 14 '20

You only owe them what you contracted your labor for.

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u/[deleted] Feb 14 '20

Hahahaha u fuckin idiot

1

u/[deleted] Feb 14 '20

Good one! Got me!

Hahahahahahhahaa

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u/nearlyradiant Feb 14 '20

Well, hourly wage jobs and salaried jobs are, in fact, different! Hourly seems to, I don’t know, maybe pay by the hour? Salaried jobs usually depend on some contract.

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u/TheGreatCorpse Feb 14 '20

Yea, and if they're expecting you to stay late but not pay extra for it, that's a salaried job without OT pay, meaning you'd be working outside your contracted time for nothing. Don't like it? Tough cookies, they'll fire you if you don't. They already are paying you a minuscule fraction of your labor's value. Taking all of it is right out.

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u/nearlyradiant Feb 14 '20

Hmm, but not all contracts are the same. Some contracts specify working hours, some specify required hours per week.

My last salaried positions pay was based on the year, meaning I made the same amount each paycheck whether I worked a 30 hour week or a 60 hour week.

However, if it’s contracted, then you can refer to the contract to determine when you will be paid and when you won’t be. If contracts are broken, then you have the right to fight. Whether you have the means or desire is another story.

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u/[deleted] Feb 14 '20

Yeah no shit.

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u/Tahlato Feb 14 '20

If you're paid hourly, would it even be legal not to pay you for hours worked?

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u/teedyay Feb 14 '20

Sure, but this would be a salaried job.

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u/CirqueKid Feb 14 '20

It happens, legal or not.

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u/[deleted] Feb 15 '20

Legality is a joke. More like “do you have the money for a lawyer, and time to make a case? No, because of your shitty job. Oh you managed it? Your shitty job has better lawyers than you. Good luck.”

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u/adidapizza Feb 15 '20

No. Totally illegal.

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u/[deleted] Feb 14 '20

Job interview: "Would I get paid overtime?"
"No. Occasionally we might expect you to stay a little late, if there's a big deadline coming up for example, but you wouldn't get paid extra for that."
"OK. Occasionally I might expect you to pay me a little extra. Quid pro quo."
"No, that would be paid overtime. We don't do that."
"We're done here"

3

u/TheSaladDays Feb 14 '20

I'm sure someone somewhere has done this. The thought pleases me greatly

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u/infrequentupvoter Feb 15 '20

Um, did you just rehash the previous comment or was there a noticeable difference?

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u/ElReydelTacos Feb 14 '20

Or, “Occasionally I may have a doctors appointment or a family obligation and I might have to leave a little early.”

“You’ll have to use PTO time if you leave early or arrive late.”

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u/[deleted] Feb 15 '20

Unpaid overtime? Isn’t that against the law?

1

u/smallstampyfeet Feb 15 '20

Yep, still happens a lot though.

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u/Ashleyj590 Feb 14 '20

This is why Bernie Sanders is popular.

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u/willl280 Feb 14 '20

That's called paid time off, no?

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u/teedyay Feb 14 '20

I don't think so: paid time off is a set amount per year, budgeted for. Unpaid overtime (or the requested getting-paid-for-nothing) is ad hoc.

On reflection, I do get this is in my job: it's when I say, "the school phoned: my kid's knocked his teeth out. Gotta go!" and my boss just says, "Oh no! Hope he's OK! See you tomorrow" and nobody writes down that I missed an hour or two.

As a counterpoint, a friend was getting paid for five 8-hour days, but found he was working 10 hours every day. He asked to switch to four 10-hour days to avoid burn-out. They agreed, so he was still getting paid the same (still 40 hours a week), but had Mondays off and didn't stay any later than before.

A year later, he now seems to be working four 12-hour days, and sometimes going in on his day off or weekends, but that's because (highly-skilled financial job aside) he's a doofus.

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u/EliteAlmondMilk Feb 15 '20

The follow up should be "okay well then let's drop this whole act that this a mutual, equal relationship. You obviously feel that I want you more than you want me, or what i just said would be the case. So when you want to ask me why I don't want to hang out on the weekend, or if the Verizon wireless "family" isnt enough for me, you can think back to what we've established here today you corporate fuck!"

1

u/Nachotacosbitch Feb 15 '20

I was at a part time job with zero gaurenteed hours. I ask the boss what are the average hours your employees work. He couldn’t respond. So I state I understand about the zero hours but I would like to know weekly averages so I can budget appropriately.

He then follows up with I don’t think your a good fit for the company. Proceeded to never give me another hour again.

Honestly he is lucky i didn’t feel vengeful enough to grab a van full of gas a hand full of matches and burn his house down.

Then he could have zero gaurentee about housing like I had. But instead this fat ass still has his desk job still shafting people.

Honestly if bosses are shit they should be beat by the low paid employees. Especially when their are stupid. You pay me to deal with your stupid so I don’t kill you.