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How to deal with 8 hour+ work days...?

T

ThisGuyIsThisGuy

Active Member
I'm always looking to try new things that I might enjoy. However, the one thing that scares me away most of all is companies that have you on extended shifts or mandated overtime. I read how the 8 hour work day has become an antiquated system, and that people get more work done when they aren't worked to the ground. So, why are companies so eager to make you stay longer and work you harder. Forget the 1.5x payment. I want more time at home and a stable, unsurprising work week. If I want to work days and go home to work on my side-projects, my obsessions, I should be able to put in the work and go home with not consequences.

Ah, /rant... I'm sorry, it's just that I've been looking at a lot of job listings and I can't seem to picture myself working that long. After all, I had two days where I worked 10 hour shifts and those are mind-numbing... Am I alone in this, or dost I complain too much?
 
The longest shift I remember was 21 hours. That was a little mind numbing and I got momentarily lost driving home (just 3 miles away). So yeah I think thou dost.
 
Tom said:
The longest shift I remember was 21 hours. That was a little mind numbing and I got momentarily lost driving home (just 3 miles away). So yeah I think thou dost.
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That's insane! 21 hours overtime?! No man should be pushed that hard. How did you recover from the strain?
 
You're not alone! I can't stand it either! I haven't worked hours like that in years.
 
ThisGuyIsThisGuy said:
What are you doing now? Do you enjoy your hours?
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I'm currently a working musician as a pianist, primarily teaching piano.

This has been perfect for me because it's in the nature of the work to have many gaps. Breaks between students, gaps between shows, intermissions, holidays, cancellations.. it's rarely relentless the way all the jobs I worked before were, which were all the minimum wage jobs that are easy to find, like movie theater, restaurant, retail, etc, all of which caused depression for me.

Just working continuously for four hours without a break to, at the minimum, eat, is too much for me! Maybe it would be easier with all the medication I'm on now, because I wasn't on these before, but I have a feeling it wouldn't be all that different.

Not that I'd have any reason to try! :D

But these problems were the primary motivation for me to stay in college, something that was also very difficult for me. :confused:
 
The simple truth of the matter is that if you can't meet the expectations of your boss, then your boss will find someone else who can. Long hours and random call-ins may not be ideal, but an employee who says they can do these things will look better than an employee who says they can't.

It's an opinion of mine that, while we shouldn't force autistics to act neurotypical, all members of a society should look to be economically productive to the best of their ability. You know, maintain real GDP per capita to maintain our quality of life and all that. One may say that society should make special accomodations for autistics to reach that goal, but that victory is a long time coming. Right now, we should just focus on what we can do as individuals.
 
Years ago, I used to do 9 while 5 work placements from College and that, and usually by about 4 PM I'd had enough, especially if I was in the Warehouse sorting rubbish out.

Contrary to popular belief I'm not workshy though, I genuinely WANT to work, I was just wary of working 16 hour weeks for free because it was a College placement, plus even back then I was on benefits so I couldn't earn a lot anyway.
 
I guess I’m lucky. I very rarely get asked to work overtime. I work 6am.- 2:30. It’s a great shift, but early.
 
My longest was 16 hours, though 12 hours is a typical classic double shift. It's not really that surprising nor tiring, honestly, unless you have more than 3 doubles in a row. Still, it doesn't leave you much time for yourself and is an overall bad idea for longer than a few weeks for both physical and mental health.
 
I have a job involving a lot of interaction with people, and I find that anything over about 5 hours wears me out.
 
If I'm working a retail job, I can only handle about 4-6 hours a day. Tops. Any more than that and I get hit with shutdowns/meltdowns and severe depression/anxiety. Can't do it. I'm working a job right now that involves horses and irregular contact with other people, so I can work 8-10 hours a day since its not really work :)

Yeah, if I don't have the time in a day to do my own thing, see my doc's, etc, its not a good thing and I suffer tremendously. I would LOVE to see the US go to a 6-hour workday, but we like to push ourselves too hard as it is...work ethic and all that.
 
If I could physically and mentally do it, I'd willingly work 40 hours a week, even at minimum wage, because I need the money, and it would also shut the naysayers on FB up.

Like In mid 1994, when I was doing the Supermarket placement from College over in Grimsby, they offered me full time 5 days a week work on placement instead of College work, in hindsight I should've probably taken them up, but on the other hand, who wants to work in Presto humping Trolleys 40 hours a week for free?
 
I work by myself and I get paid to do it!

One of my old jobs, they were constantly mandating people to stay longer. They didn't have enough people to fill their shifts and sometimes would not call the temp agency.
After the 36 hour snowstorm, I got a doctor's note.

I didn't have to do mandatory overtime after that.

It is a health issue.
 
china autie said:
I work by myself and I get paid to do it!

One of my old jobs, they were constantly mandating people to stay longer. They didn't have enough people to fill their shifts and sometimes would not call the temp agency.
After the 36 hour snowstorm, I got a doctor's note.

I didn't have to do mandatory overtime after that.

It is a health issue.
Click to expand...

I need to ask. What do you do and how did you get there?
 
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