It's like I'm in Office Space.

[Tortolia]

This has gotten so wonderfully surrealistic that I've got to share.

Basically, I worked as a "perma-temp" with my current company for 11 months. It was through a temp agency, and I was technically a temporary worker, but I was with the same company for all but three days of that long work period. Earlier this year, corporate HQ cut down on use of temps, so I got hired on full time. Basically the same job, slightly bigger responsibilities, bigger paycheck.

Initially, I thought that i was a salaried employee. My boss had given no information to the contrary. So I went about things normally. Two months into my full-time position, I got a call from my HR representative. Turns out that corporate HQ was wondering why I hadn't turned in any timesheets for the stretch.

Timesheets? Uh. So after a bit of poking around, it was determined that I wasn't salaried, I was an hourly employee. They had been paying me despite the fact I wasn't turning in timesheets, so I was cashing my checks like nothing had ever happened. So I start filling in timesheets regularly.

Fast forward a few weeks. I've since realized that due to the traffic lights by my office, if you don't get out of the office pretty much right at 5 PM, things back up horribly and it can tack on another ten minutes to the commute, easily. So I start waking up a bit earlier, getting into the office early, and leaving each day a few minutes early. Nobody says anything. Nobody comments on my timesheets. Until one day my supervisor mentions to me that she'd received some "comments" about how I was leaving early every day. I point out that I'd been coming in consistantly early, and was putting in the expected number of hours. I was told that this didn't matter, I should be staying until 5.

I was pretty damn livid, but I just agreed to it. In response, I started getting in the office at 9 on the dot, and leaving at 5 on the dot. When I get to the office early due to a good traffic day, I just sit in my car and listen to the radio until it's time to go in. This wasn't suggested to me, but it was a natural reaction to being told that it didn't matter when I got in as long as I was staying until 5 PM. In a way, it was weirdly prescient. Anyway, all was well.

Last week, I had to stay fifteen minutes late to take care of a last minute problem that cropped up. So I filled out my timesheets properly, indicating that my hours on the week were a quarter hour higher than normal. I didn't figure this would be an issue. Silly me.

Today my supervisor was informed, and passed along to me, that apparently the fact I'd put in extra hours as an hourly employee set off some flags. See, apparently I'm not eligible for standard overtime. To get paid overtime, I need to apply for overtime ahead of time.

So. I'm getting paid hourly. I'm getting paid for 40 hours a week, no more. I'm expected to be in the office at 9 AM and leave a 5 PM. Apparently if I stay beyond 5 PM, not only will I not get overtime, but it makes people higher up flip out. (The logic my supervisor presented to me was that, in theory, someone could rack up a ton of "overtime" hours, then sue for unpaid wages. I pointed out that the lawyer fees would probably eat up my quarter hour of overtime.)

My supervisor reached the same conclusion that I did, and it's a doozy - my company has provided me with absolutely no incentive to work extra hours. In fact, it's looking like it's pretty much discouraged. Don't get all the work done? Well, oh well.

So, the bureaucracy has completely and utterly eliminated all incentive to put in any extra effort or time.

I mean, shit, what do you say to that? It's so damn surreal. I really don't mind, but it's just so absurd.

Ah well. Life goes on, 40 hours at a time.

[Andrew, Killer Bee]

Bwahahaha! Oh man, offices. Offices! So surreally hilarious, so soul-crushing.

I'm in an office too and the novelty of office politics delights me at the moment, although I'm sure given a little more time they will come to break my mind. But at the moment, hilarious!

[Eric]

Dude Office Space was soooo real. lol.

[Nev]

What did you expect? Most companies have a strict budget and don't want to pay you any more than what you're "supposed" to be getting.

Temp jobs - and temp-to-hire, I believe, as well - are the bitchwork of all office bitchwork. I wanted to die after six months on my filing temp-to-hire job.

[Kupek]

The logic my supervisor presented to me was that, in theory, someone could rack up a ton of "overtime" hours, then sue for unpaid wages.

The <i>real</i> problem with that logic is that employees are to be paid for hours worked, period. It doesn't matter if the company has bureaucratic red tape about overtime, the law (as I understand it) is quite clear. You fill out hours worked, they pay you for hours worked. There should be no unpaid wages to sue for.

[Tortolia]

True. It's like they're trying to get the best of both worlds - it's hourly for purposes of people getting under their alloted hours a week, but salaried in terms of cap.

I don't mind so much - I have no trouble filling my hours, and some of the people in my office work ridiculous hours I would sooner quit than work.

It's not a bad job. I'm just generally ambivalent towards it, though the conditions are fine, and the commute really can't be beat for this area. We'll see where it goes.

[Flip]

Office policies are SO gay, especially as a contract/hourly worker. My job in public accounting for the last 10 months has been outsourcing and consulting where i am constantly at a client site for usually 3-4 months, then i get moved to a different client. While this is good to keep thing different and interesting, it has its drawbacks...

While at a client about a month ago that i had been at for 2 months i fell into a similar siatuation. I was taking live classes to help me pass the last few parts of the CPA exam; the classes were 3 times a week and started at 6:00. I needed to leave the client at 4:45ish to be able to get there on time due to NoVa's shit ass traffic, to compensate i had been coming in at 7:30 on those particular days. The manager at the client was aware of this and didnt care, or so i thought.

My classes finally had ended and the following week i scheduled to take a part of the exam. The day before the exam i came in early so that i could again leave at 4:45ish to be able, this time, to get home a little early to brush up before sitting on the following day. At 4:30 i went to the manager's office and told her that i'm leaving early again today, here is my work, everything is on time, thanks, bye. She responds with "I thought your classes were over?" I explained they were over but i wanted to get home early today too to brush up and that i came in early this morning to compensate. She says "No, you need to stay until 6:00 like everyone else and like a normal day."

Of course i was pissed, but i stayed till 6:00 (doing nothing) went home and took the exam the next day. The following day when i was back at the client i decided i would politely say something to the manager (mistake). I went into her office and told her i didnt appreciate her making me stay late the other day when i had nothing to do and had an exam the next day. I told her i wanted to let her know because i felt like i should so that we can move past it and forget about it. She agreed and said thanks for telling her. The MINUTE i walk out of her office she gets on the phone with my partner at my firm and bitches to him about my attitude and wants me taken off the job.

Long story short, not only did i get taken off the job, but my partner highly reccomended i look for work elsewhere, gave me 2 weeks pay, considered it a resignation, and here i am unemployed for the last week.

While i am interviewing for another office job (to work for a specific company's accouting department this time, not public accounting) i really do not like office politics and games. I was later told that the client manager had been fuming and bitching about my classes and always leaving early for quite some time and was just waiting to stick it to me. What a fucking bitch.

I have some good leads on some jobs and will probably soon be working for Network Solutions. They have a real cool Internet company kind of feel with lax hours and dresscodes. I really cant wait to get started, being in public accounting sucks ass as you are always held to a higher standard while at a client since they are paying your firm a shitload of money for your time. I will be much happier working FOR the company that i am usually just outsourced to, plus i will be making more money since i now have my CPA.

Things will work out, but i'm still steaming over the whole thing.

(sorry to thread jack)

[Tortolia]

Threadjack away.

Office politics suck. I just keep my head down and keep to myself. No need to tangle with the nest of vipers.

Shit, my office is small and it's still pretty damn eye-opening.

[Kupek]

I explained they were over but i wanted to get home early today too to brush up and that i came in early this morning to compensate. She says "No, you need to stay until 6:00 like everyone else and like a normal day."

God, who the fuck cares? What a bitch, and what a horrible call on your firm's part.

I think small offices might be worse. More incestuous.

[the Gray]

I work in a small office, only 7 people total. Two of whom are family members, but still. We have a very laid back attitude, as all our business comes in via the internet or phone.

If you need to leave early, so be it. As long as your work is done you don't even have to make up the hours. So while working with family can be a pain, there are some great benifits.

[Flip]

God, who the fuck cares? What a bitch, and what a horrible call on your firm's part.

I think the partner only wanted to make his client happy and i was pretty expendable. In my 10 months there i've been in the actual office maybe 4 times, have met the partner maybe 3 times, and knew noone from the company personally since i was akways out at clients by myself. Like i said, outsourcing/consulting has its drawbacks, i never felt part of my company and it was getting to bother me.

A fresh start for a private corp with a teamwork attitude and a desk i can call my own will be nice.

[SineSwiper]

My mom just got fired from her job (of 8 years) because of office politics and favoritism. It's going to suck for them as they quickly realize how much stuff she did (and this is a small business of about 3-4 people).

I just got a 2nd shift position (from my 3rd shift), and I'm not going to get into a 1st shift position. Too much office politics at that time of day. It's really not that bad over here, and I've been through much worse. (Two supervisor positions getted handed to the big titty blonde and her big-lipped friend, just so that she doesn't have to walk as far to give a blowjob. Or the time that the cable-side manager almost took over the internet-side, just so that she could cross train us on cable TV shit that we didn't want to bother with.)

The one thing I see is that my boss's boss is pretty much a worry-wart. We've observed that it's best to tell him as little as possible, so that he doesn't get all bent out of shape from a simple maintenance request. (And the guy does have quite a temper.) The good news is that he really doesn't direct his anger at us, just the other people involved.

[Ishamael]

Flip and Tort -

The really depressing part is to some extent, you will ALWAYS have to deal with this kind of bullshit (to greater of lesser extents) if you work for someone. So it really becomes a matter of weighing the pluses and minuses and putting things back into that context. The perfect job doesn't exist, so you always have to consider the whole picture. I've wanted to bang my head through a monitor a couple times due to incidents similiar to these.

Flip, I'm suprised you didn't pull a Latrell Sprewell on that bitch and give her neck a good wringing. You're better off out of that place. The last thing you need is a thin skinned manager who can dish it, but can't take it.

Tort, if you're a temp worker, that's often how the game is played. At some companies, even fulltime employees are treated that way. I know I was at my first job out of college. I can somewhat sympathize with the company on this as they're trying to meet budget. Hey if they're forcing me out the door at 40 hours on the dot, fine with me. When the project deadline nears and it's still nowhere near completion, you'll get paid.

At most companies I've been at, I've never had any compensation for overtime (only the occasional comp day). However, there so excuse for their ineptitude with misclassifying you.

[Nev]

I am unfortunately reminded of a quote I heard awhile back in my life - "The lead sled dog is the only one with a decent view."

You can interpret that in a lot of ways, but to me, one of the big ones is that in a corporation it's a lot better to be closer to the top than the bottom. It might be more work, but you have a lot more influence, and put up with a lot less shit...at least it seems like that to me anyway.