the last storm I had came after 18 days with out a day off.. there were other factors but I know overwork leads to a drop off of myself care and the tiredness and lack of time to do things I enjoy tipped me further into the darkness… long hours at a job you like might be different but my job dosent leave me with any feeling of accomplishment or purpose . so I said no..told them I would work just not that many hours .. but its a all or nothing …so I got nothing.. I feel bad cus I got no hours and it was indicated that I was a unreliable and untrustworthy person and not a good worker.. that I had let other workers down..because I said no.. but I think setting myself on fire to keep other people warm would be stupid..working hours I know negatively effect my mental health and lead to suicidal thoughts is also stupid…I need balance… when you say no do you feel better about it latter..
You were entirely right and nobody should be treated like this manager treated you.
I am deeply touched by your comics, whether the dark or the light ones, and sincerely wish you the best.
Is this the same company where your immediate supervisor was having you work in unsafe conditions, rather than reporting those unsafe conditions to their boss to get them taken care of?
It's time to contact your boss's boss
This is something I utterly loath about our country. There is literally a law to prevent this treatment. It just seems to stop being applied as you move down the socioeconomic ladder.
…
The Americans with Disabilities Act provides for reasonable and necessary accommodations for those people with disabilities.
…
I have an accommodation under it with my employer, for very similar reasons.
…
These accommodations usually include reasonable limits like:
**
Employee will not be asked to work between 10pm and 5am. (This is in mine)
**
Employee will be scheduled no more than X shifts in 24 hours, no more than Y consecutive days, and no more than Z days in 14 consecutive days.
**
Employer will appoint one person responsible for providing >only< the prompt of “you should go home sick.” When the employee may be perceived to be experience a temporary impairment. (This is also in mine, it needs careful wording.)
A reminder for those who are just joining this webcomic. Riley's Patreon can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/Jrileymc ...Oh and don't forget to click the "You Like This" button in the lower right hand corner of the comic
If he's using the "Team player" card, then he's probably been ordered to reduce labor costs.
Usually this means that he has to target those that can't or wont defend their position. Which ends up being the the "grunt" labor, or the line workers.
He really shouldn't be trying to increase your hours over the phone.
What ever happens keep showing up for work until he actually tells you he is letting you go. (insist on a two week notice of termination)
As someone who's hired employees and done payroll, Federal overtime laws require paying hourly employees 1.5x their base pay rate if they go over 40 hours/week. Most states have a similar law for going over 8 hours/day. So forcing someone to work 10-13 hours/day actually increases labor costs. You only do it if you don't have enough employees to cover all shifts at 8 or fewer hours, and you don't think the increased work will be consistent enough to hire additional employees. Only exception I can think of is if this is one of those jobs which is off the books and paid in cash. All of this should be on a big poster about federal wage laws, which is also required by law to be posted some place easily visible to all employees.
A boss like that who violates his employees predetermined Health concerns is likely to get himself in big trouble with his upper management. It would be within a realm of legality that you could take it to small court and he'd be in trouble. That is, if he takes it too far. If he were to try that again, tell him you don't want to cost him his job because he ignored the law.
Another possibility is the company is in trouble, and needs to downsize. But they don't want to fire employees because that makes them liable for unemployment benefits (the rate a company pays to unemployment scales based on number of former employees who file for unemployment). A scummy strategy I've seen in this situation is to make work so miserable that employees decide to quit on their own. If you quit, you don't qualify for unemployment benefits, so the percentage the company has to pay to unemployment doesn't go up.
I've seen and experienced that strategy before. When I quit, I went to court to get my unemployment benefits. One thing is that you can't let them harass you into thinking they have something. It's like playing poker, management will go court looking like they've got all the cards, especially trying to intimidate you a legal assistant who's pretending to act like an attorney. And they'll make up lies or use half-truths to try and paint you as a bad employee. But you can't let them get away with it. Keep your stories consistent or say that you never did anything and that you want the person or persons that allegedly made the complaint(s) to be there and testify. Put the manager who shows up on the stand and grill them. As in my case, you can show the judge that you did everything you were supposed to and then some, then there's a high probability the judge will rule in your favor as he did for me. Funny thing is that the company I left eventually did go bankrupt and got bought out.
Your boss is being abusive. If he cared about you, he'd accept the 10 hour limit you requested, and he should be thankful for that because the normal limit is 8 hours, he's getting 25% more work from you than the average worker. I'd recommend finding a better boss with a different company, so you can put this creep in the rear view mirror. If you do decide to stay, keep your workdays limited enough that they don't damage your physical or mental health.
Another Human Being at 4:27PM, June 18, 2018
You were entirely right and nobody should be treated like this manager treated you. I am deeply touched by your comics, whether the dark or the light ones, and sincerely wish you the best.
Keybounce at 12:13AM, June 16, 2018
Is this the same company where your immediate supervisor was having you work in unsafe conditions, rather than reporting those unsafe conditions to their boss to get them taken care of? It's time to contact your boss's boss
DarkAgeCat at 3:09PM, June 11, 2018
This is something I utterly loath about our country. There is literally a law to prevent this treatment. It just seems to stop being applied as you move down the socioeconomic ladder. … The Americans with Disabilities Act provides for reasonable and necessary accommodations for those people with disabilities. … I have an accommodation under it with my employer, for very similar reasons. … These accommodations usually include reasonable limits like: ** Employee will not be asked to work between 10pm and 5am. (This is in mine) ** Employee will be scheduled no more than X shifts in 24 hours, no more than Y consecutive days, and no more than Z days in 14 consecutive days. ** Employer will appoint one person responsible for providing >only< the prompt of “you should go home sick.” When the employee may be perceived to be experience a temporary impairment. (This is also in mine, it needs careful wording.)
Mr Kaos at 7:34AM, June 11, 2018
He is a shitty boss who needs to be slapped hard in his face with a steelglove with pins on it. He is abusive indeed. i hope that you are alright..
Nowhereman10 at 12:40AM, June 11, 2018
A reminder for those who are just joining this webcomic. Riley's Patreon can be found here: https://www.patreon.com/Jrileymc ...Oh and don't forget to click the "You Like This" button in the lower right hand corner of the comic
itsune9tl at 8:24PM, June 10, 2018
If he's using the "Team player" card, then he's probably been ordered to reduce labor costs. Usually this means that he has to target those that can't or wont defend their position. Which ends up being the the "grunt" labor, or the line workers. He really shouldn't be trying to increase your hours over the phone. What ever happens keep showing up for work until he actually tells you he is letting you go. (insist on a two week notice of termination)
Makaira at 3:17AM, June 11, 2018
As someone who's hired employees and done payroll, Federal overtime laws require paying hourly employees 1.5x their base pay rate if they go over 40 hours/week. Most states have a similar law for going over 8 hours/day. So forcing someone to work 10-13 hours/day actually increases labor costs. You only do it if you don't have enough employees to cover all shifts at 8 or fewer hours, and you don't think the increased work will be consistent enough to hire additional employees. Only exception I can think of is if this is one of those jobs which is off the books and paid in cash. All of this should be on a big poster about federal wage laws, which is also required by law to be posted some place easily visible to all employees.
Dragonorder18 at 8:44PM, June 9, 2018
A boss like that who violates his employees predetermined Health concerns is likely to get himself in big trouble with his upper management. It would be within a realm of legality that you could take it to small court and he'd be in trouble. That is, if he takes it too far. If he were to try that again, tell him you don't want to cost him his job because he ignored the law.
Makaira at 3:24AM, June 11, 2018
Another possibility is the company is in trouble, and needs to downsize. But they don't want to fire employees because that makes them liable for unemployment benefits (the rate a company pays to unemployment scales based on number of former employees who file for unemployment). A scummy strategy I've seen in this situation is to make work so miserable that employees decide to quit on their own. If you quit, you don't qualify for unemployment benefits, so the percentage the company has to pay to unemployment doesn't go up.
felonimayhem at 10:29AM, June 10, 2018
That might be an idea, have you talked to your boss's boss? It's possible they're cut from the same cloth, but they might be more understanding.
man in black at 6:59PM, June 9, 2018
Sometimes you need to take care of yourself more than your job
Nowhereman10 at 8:16AM, June 11, 2018
I've seen and experienced that strategy before. When I quit, I went to court to get my unemployment benefits. One thing is that you can't let them harass you into thinking they have something. It's like playing poker, management will go court looking like they've got all the cards, especially trying to intimidate you a legal assistant who's pretending to act like an attorney. And they'll make up lies or use half-truths to try and paint you as a bad employee. But you can't let them get away with it. Keep your stories consistent or say that you never did anything and that you want the person or persons that allegedly made the complaint(s) to be there and testify. Put the manager who shows up on the stand and grill them. As in my case, you can show the judge that you did everything you were supposed to and then some, then there's a high probability the judge will rule in your favor as he did for me. Funny thing is that the company I left eventually did go bankrupt and got bought out.
felonimayhem at 6:58PM, June 9, 2018
Your boss is being abusive. If he cared about you, he'd accept the 10 hour limit you requested, and he should be thankful for that because the normal limit is 8 hours, he's getting 25% more work from you than the average worker. I'd recommend finding a better boss with a different company, so you can put this creep in the rear view mirror. If you do decide to stay, keep your workdays limited enough that they don't damage your physical or mental health.