Dh's new job doesn't sound like it's going in the right direction. They told him he would be working 4 long days 10 or 12 hours and then maybe a short 3 hour day while he was training but he'd average 40-44 hours overall including when he got started on his own. At the end of today he will be at 45 hours so he called the boss to see what he wanted him to do tomorrow. He went off! He told him this was an unpredictable business and he told him the days would be long etc. Dh doesn't mind working 4 long days but 5 is crazy. It's not like they pay anymore. If tomorrow is like the other days he'd put in nearly 60 hours!!! Plus his boss told him he'd tell him what days were long and which were short a week in advance and now he's acting like he's not doing that anymore and how dare dh ask. It's not like we are in the position for him to risk getting fired by questioning things too much. I swear why didn't they just say some weeks would be 58 hours. Dh point blank asked and the boss swore the most would be 44. What is it? Is it the job market? Is it this town? It cost a lot of money to train people why not be upfront with the way it really is going to be? Dh made a point to clear all this up before he left his other job. I am beyond frustrated and feel like we are losers chronically doing something wrong. Dh is used to working long days and surpassing 40 without overtime, that is the world of commission sales. He got sick of working like a dog and us never getting anywhere so he took this job where it isn't commission. I am so sick of worrying about bills and I thought I didn't have to now and it sounds like his boss likes to fly off the handle and that is scary.

By Yjja123 on Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 02:49 pm:

I am sorry about the boss flying off the handle. That was wrong.
I can say the 40 hour work week appears to be gone---long gone. My hubby averages 72 hours a week. If you are commision or salaried, you are going to be required to put more in.
We have discussed this issue with many people. We do not know anyone that only works 40 hours.
It is becoming a sad reality.

By Bea on Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 04:27 pm:

My son usually works 60+ hours on a slow week, normally 70 - 80 hours when things are busy, and answers trouble calls on his days off and even on vacation. He's IT for a large company and says it's normal.

By Jodes on Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 04:46 pm:

The hours maybe wouldn't be so bad if he got paid overtime. My husband works long hours, but once he goes over 40, he gets overtime. It's hard though, because in his work, he gets paid hourly, and by the job (he services commercial refrigeration, heating, and air conditioning)so if there aren't many calls for service, then he gets paid less, and that happens often during mild weather months. So, it's hard to determine which is better, hourly pay or salary. Good luck to you and your husband.

By Debbie on Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 05:02 pm:

I agree, it is hard to find a job were you work just 40 hours a week. I take it, your dh is salaried, and doesn't get OT?

My dh is at work by 6:30 each morning, and doesn't leave until 5:30 or 6:00pm. He eats lunch in his office, and takes calls after he is home at night. He is salaried, but does get performance bonuses, which are nice. He works really hard, but it does pay off because he usually gets a nice bonus each paycheck.

I am sorry your dh is having such a hard time. Does he at least like his job? Is the pay decent? I guess these are things to consider. It is just a shame about his boss though.

By Debbie on Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 05:05 pm:

I agree, it is hard to find a job were you work just 40 hours a week. I take it, your dh is salaried, and doesn't get OT?

My dh is at work by 6:30 each morning, and doesn't leave until 5:30 or 6:00pm. He eats lunch in his office, and takes calls after he is home at night. He is salaried, but does get performance bonuses, which are nice. He works really hard, but it does pay off because he usually gets a nice bonus each paycheck.

I am sorry your dh is having such a hard time. Does he at least like his job? Is the pay decent? I guess these are things to consider. It is just a shame about his boss though.

By Tarable on Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 05:46 pm:

I know that DH and I both work for a software company (same company that is another post all together) and neither of us ever works over 40 hrs a week.. not because we refuse but because we are not asked to.. We make good money.

There are guys at our company who work weird and long hours the IT dept.. but they get paid a huge difference from anyone else because they are on-call and work long hours.

By Rayelle on Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 05:46 pm:

The biggest issue for us is he is trying to go to school. He let them know of this during the interview process. They told him there were guys that work 3 12-15 days because that is what they prefer and he thought that would be perfect to allow for tues/thurs classes. This job wasn't supposed to be a forever job just something he could do that actually paid the bills and allow for some class time. His line of experience is in sales/management. We live in a low cost of living area and we hardly live some excessive lifestyle yet it seems we haven't been able to keep up for about a year now. I use coupons and shop yard sales, always have. I only have the internet at home because of us both attending school, it's cheaper this way than gas and childcare to use the free access at school. About 2 days ago they said they were dissolving the three day program the first of the year.

I am so irritated because they could have just said hey there are going to be some weeks where it's 60 hours. I mean, how hard would that have been? We could have moved on to some other plan. It's like they boldfaced lied to hire him and then changed the story knowing there aren't many decent paying jobs around here. The company itself has a very high turnover rate. They said it's because alot of guys think it's a truck driving job when it is a sales job dealing with people. It made sense. Now I wonder if it's because they bait and switch and people without families to worry about might have the freedom to walk.

It's so depressing. I really, truly thought we had something dh liked enough and would pay the bills enough to get us through school. Since it is more money than we were used to our plan was to save as much as possible including school refunds and tax refunds so that when it comes time for dh's internship he can drop to part time and I can work at something and be okay for that year. He got a big grant/scholarship for this year too and I just don't know what to do. I also feel so alone with this. So many people I know (family) take this smug attitude like this is what we get for not completing college right out of high school. A friend of mine has her masters degree and can't get a teaching job because she has an attitude problem and can be rather unstable. She keeps telling me that even when he's done school that doesn't mean we're going to be any better off so I quit taking her messages for today, too discouraging.

My poor dh. He works so hard and it's just never been for a company or boss that seems to care or be in a position to care. The boss he had for ten years did what he could but industries change and he couldn't offer competitive wages even though he said dh was the best employee he ever had. He closed up shop last month.

By Luvn29 on Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 06:02 pm:

My hubby goes in at 5:30 and works till 5:30, sometimes later. But he gets paid hourly, so he gets overtime. Your husband may have to get out of sales if you guys don't like the way things are. It seems to be the norm for that type of work...

By Reds9298 on Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 08:16 pm:

My Dh is salaried and works exactly 40 hrs/week. He is not asked to work overtime, and the few times he was asked to in his old job (of 10 years)he did but made it clear it wasn't going to be a regular thing for him. He didn't get paid regularly for overtime either, but we don't need overtime money so that was never an issue. He was an engineer in the automotive industry for 10 years, and is now in medical. It appears to be about the same where he is now - no one is asking him to work over 40 hours, he doesn't see it around him, and he is getting a hefty bonus each year regardless. Probably depends on the line of work.

Working over and above 40hrs/week is not acceptable for us, and no amount of $ would compensate for it. That's just us. DH makes an excellent salary. The few jobs he interviewed for where he was told that the job required over 25% travel or would be 247 on-call were given the boot right away by us. It's not worth it. One in-particular was for an outstanding company that would have been great, if not for the hours. It all depends on the line of work I guess, but there are plenty of engineers we know who work way overtime (for no extra money), and all it really means for them is that will continue to work long hours because they've set that pattern for themselves and it becomes expected.

At the end of the day, extra $ isn't as important to us as the time together, but that's all relevent to your financial situation, too. They should have just told him up front what's expected. I do think that sales jobs are pretty much "all the time", so a)it has to be what you want to do and b)it has to be worth giving up time with your family. Some might think it is and that's okay, too! Everyone is different.

I'm sorry about it. Doesn't it stink when things just don't go as planned? Or the way you were "told" it would go? I always have the hardest time accepting that!

By Debbie on Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 08:21 pm:

Hugs!!!! It sounds like a very frustrating situation! Dh finished school while he was working, and it was very hard. He worked long hours, and took classes.

If the situation isn't working out, I would suggest he start looking for a new job.

By Insaneusmcwife on Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 08:44 pm:

I'm sorry your dh got yelled at. The boss sounds like a jerk. If it were my dh I think I would encourage him to find another job that will treat him better. It wouldn't hurt to put his feelers out.

I wont even get started on how early my dh goes in and comes home or doesn't even come home for that matter, only 6 more years...yippe!!!

By Rayelle on Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 08:52 pm:

Well, it turns out things aren't as bad as they sounded. Dh's boss drove 20 minutes out of his way to meet with dh in person to talk. Turns out dh has been there as long as most guys were when they quit and he doesn't want dh to quit. He was judging dh against other employees and dh was judging the boss against other employers. See, the training is 5 days a week but once he is on his own it's 4 days at his pace. Right now he's riding around with other guys at their pace and he's very bored. Dh has caught on faster than most and they are accelerating his training process starting tomorrow. Dh explained he could be making them money instead of the money they are spending to train him needlessly. They are also giving him a few shorter days next week to balance out with all the long days this week. It seems alot was misunderstanding. Hopefully it continues to work out more the way we thought to get school done.

Deanna- I completely agree with you about the $$$. Dh could have had a big six figure a year job years ago if he never wanted to see us for all the traveling but he is a family man. He wouldn't have accepted a job that required 50 some hours a week which is what made this so awful. They should have been upfront about it and at first it sounded like that's just the way it was. Thankfully it was a misunderstanding. He's used to doing it sometimes, like in retail management you pull those hours close to Christmas but not all the time. Dh is great with kids especially older ones and he wants to be a high school history teacher which we are in need of in this area if we choose stay here. Teacher schedules also mesh up pretty well with the kids schedules which is an added bonus to him.

Thanks!

By Insaneusmcwife on Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 09:54 pm:

Thats great news Rayelle. I glad to hear it was a misunderstanding...hopefully thing will get better.

By Dawnk777 on Thursday, July 24, 2008 - 11:23 pm:

I hope his next week is better. My hubby works longer than 8 hours a day, somedays, too. Since he is in the newspaper business, if something big happens, he will work longer hours, like when we had our big flood 10 years ago, or the multiple-car crash that happened 5 or 6 years ago.

Back in 1992, when Emily was less than a year and Sarah was just three, I saw the presidential election coming up and requested a vacation day, for the night shift I was supposed to work. Election days are CRAZY, in the whole media business, all the way around. In the end, I was sooo glad. He started work, sometime in the afternoon and didn't get home until 5am! I was so glad that I had anticipated that and my kids didn't have to spend the night at the babysitter's house. Most nights, he got home, in time for me to run out the door, and once in a while, we had the babysitter come over for just a little while, until he got home. (She was willing to come over at 10:30pm!)