Author Topic: Epic FU money stories  (Read 2794993 times)

slipslop

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3200 on: August 30, 2020, 03:49:45 PM »
Yours truly, a day later: I have just applied for these other internal positions. I hope you will support my transfer.

If there's any danger whatsoever that your current bosses would try to block an internal move, you'd do well to look externally, too.

I have applied to more external positions than internal. But, unlike the internal positions, I don't have to tell my bosses about the external positions until my departure is imminent.

okits

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3201 on: August 30, 2020, 04:00:09 PM »
Yours truly, a day later: I have just applied for these other internal positions. I hope you will support my transfer.

If there's any danger whatsoever that your current bosses would try to block an internal move, you'd do well to look externally, too.

I have applied to more external positions than internal. But, unlike the internal positions, I don't have to tell my bosses about the external positions until my departure is imminent.

Good job!  👍 I hope you land someplace good before current place squeezes you too hard for this unrealistic project.

scottish

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3202 on: August 30, 2020, 05:53:20 PM »
I know you're planning on leaving but...

All these managers.    Do they actually help manage the project, or do they just give you objectives and tell you to figure it out?

If you can get them involved in running the project it may help with delivery.   Presumably their ass is on the line as well as yours.   

BicycleB

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3203 on: August 30, 2020, 08:15:21 PM »
Perhaps more in the “polite ‘no thank you’” than the “epic FU”, but still feeling pretty Epic right now...

Yours truly, a day later: I have just applied for these other internal positions. I hope you will support my transfer.

(claps) Well done, @slipslop!

NorthernMonkey

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3204 on: August 31, 2020, 03:18:33 AM »
I really enjoyed reading @Plina  ‘s story!

I saw the references to 40.0ers earlier in the thread.  Admittedly I’ve only worked for one company coming out of the military, but I don’t keep a time sheet at all.  How common is it for salaried employees to keep time sheets?

Where I work, all the guys that report into me are salaried, and we keep time sheets. They are used to work out cost allocation of engineering time to projects (each hour of engineer time worked on a project gets billed $x to that project).

They arent used to keep track of how much work people are doing since theyre the most hopeless way of measuring productivity. Its easy to record 12 hours working in one day, but spend the whole day watching netflix, and equally to work your ass off for 4 hours and get loads done.


engineerjourney

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3205 on: September 01, 2020, 05:29:50 AM »
I really enjoyed reading @Plina  ‘s story!

I saw the references to 40.0ers earlier in the thread.  Admittedly I’ve only worked for one company coming out of the military, but I don’t keep a time sheet at all.  How common is it for salaried employees to keep time sheets?

All the defense contractors I worked for pretended I had a salaried job but I was an hourly worker.   If I didn't account for 40 hours I didn't get my full salary.    Scummy but true.

Now, the timesheet had to be kept because the company billed by the hour, so they had to have the the documentation on the hours worked.   Same when I worked as a salaried consultant for private industry (where I actually was salaried).

Same here. And it’s important to note that billing more than 40 hours never meant getting paid more than my standard salary. At least until I became a self employed contractor and billed myself out hourly.

Yes!!   The worst of both worlds!

Are these companies subject to State labor laws? Because if so, that's illegal.

In my examples at least it was not "required" that I work more than 40 hours a week. The experience sticks with me because I grew up very blue collar and have never fully shifted away from the hourly rate mind set. To me working unpaid overtime meant my hourly rate was decreasing. I asked other salaried people about that and they all said "salaried means I'm paid to do this job and how many hours it takes doesn't matter". That answer bothered me because finishing the job in 30 hours wasn't allowed. I was able to flex my time all over the place at the first company so I'd have 6 hours one day and 9 two other days and no one cared. That was the company from the previous epic FU money story...

Over the years I've come to the conclusion that the different ways people relate time and money explains much of difference in how we relate to money. It's a lot harder to spend wildly or be super generous when it feels like I've literally trades "X" hours of my life for the money I'm spending/giving.

You're not wrong, but if you're classified as salary, and you work less than 40 hours, then it's generally illegal to dock your pay if someone works less. That's part of the justification for not requiring overtime pay for working more than 40 hours.

They don't dock your pay, they just make you use your PTO or vacation or sick time if you go under 40 which is legal from my reading.  And being salary exempt (most white collar salary) means they don't have to pay you for overtime. 

rockstache

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3206 on: September 01, 2020, 05:42:04 AM »
Actually...I don't think that's legal. ^^^ It might be stricter in my state (most things are), but generally if they treat you as an hourly employee, then they have to classify you as one. The guidance we were given by the AGs office is that salaried employees should always take their PTO in 4 or 8 hour increments. If they're being required to put in 1-2 hour vacation or sick time increments, then they're hourly employees and need to be classified that way. It's one of the things that falls in favor of the employee, not the employer, so to keep from running afoul of the law, they should not be topping off people's under 40 with vacation or sick. JMHO

Sugaree

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3207 on: September 01, 2020, 05:47:24 AM »
Actually...I don't think that's legal. ^^^ It might be stricter in my state (most things are), but generally if they treat you as an hourly employee, then they have to classify you as one. The guidance we were given by the AGs office is that salaried employees should always take their PTO in 4 or 8 hour increments. If they're being required to put in 1-2 hour vacation or sick time increments, then they're hourly employees and need to be classified that way. It's one of the things that falls in favor of the employee, not the employer, so to keep from running afoul of the law, they should not be topping off people's under 40 with vacation or sick. JMHO

This has been something that I've been going through at work.  I've been (probably rightly) classified as exempt for the last 11 years.  The new HR specialist came in and audited my status and decided that I should be non-exempt.  I got a nice chunk of backpay for 300-400 hours of backpay over the last 2 years, but I'm not convinced that the next HR specialist won't reverse that and ask for it back. 

dcheesi

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3208 on: September 01, 2020, 08:45:51 AM »
Actually...I don't think that's legal. ^^^ It might be stricter in my state (most things are), but generally if they treat you as an hourly employee, then they have to classify you as one. The guidance we were given by the AGs office is that salaried employees should always take their PTO in 4 or 8 hour increments. If they're being required to put in 1-2 hour vacation or sick time increments, then they're hourly employees and need to be classified that way. It's one of the things that falls in favor of the employee, not the employer, so to keep from running afoul of the law, they should not be topping off people's under 40 with vacation or sick. JMHO

This has been something that I've been going through at work.  I've been (probably rightly) classified as exempt for the last 11 years.  The new HR specialist came in and audited my status and decided that I should be non-exempt.  I got a nice chunk of backpay for 300-400 hours of backpay over the last 2 years, but I'm not convinced that the next HR specialist won't reverse that and ask for it back.
Same thing happened to a friend of mine; someone made a labor complaint, and next thing you know he and bunch of other people in professional positions were reclassified as hourly. There's a big difference between what companies get away with (most of the time), and what's actually legal. And sometimes it's a case by case thing.

Plina

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3209 on: September 01, 2020, 11:32:55 AM »
I really enjoyed reading @Plina  ‘s story!


Thanks @Montecarlo!

I had my first real workday at the new job today. Looking good so far. :) I started it last week with a conference at a spa.

I visited my former job last Monday to return my computer etc. We had an akward 45 minutes coffee and cake farewell, were I told the happy news about my new workplace. My former boss concluded twice that she thought the job would fit me well and I got a outdoor plant, that weighs about 5 kilos as a farewell gift. Considering that it was a pain in the ass to get home when you don't use public transport I was pretty close to dumping it in the closest trash can but used the bike service to get it home. I will consider the 5 months pay that they paid as a nice farewell gift! My guess is that 1-2 of my colleagues will also be leaving within 1-2 years. I happened to arrive at the end of a meeting and one of my colleagues were clearly frustrated with the lack of progress and she saw the results of opposing the boss.

mm1970

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3210 on: September 01, 2020, 12:13:14 PM »
Perhaps more in the “polite ‘no thank you’” than the “epic FU”, but still feeling pretty Epic right now.


Business Clients: We need X, built in this way.
Yours truly: This is pretty expensive. You could consider alternative A, which gets you 80% of what you need in about 20% of the time, or alternative B, which gets you 95% of what you need in 40% of the time.
Business Client Director: No. We need X, built in this way.
Yours truly to my managers: Thats fine. Based on historical time and the best numbers and research we have, we can have this ready for you between August and November of 2021.
My managers: Yikes! They’ll never go for that. We will present that we can have it between March and April of 2021.
Yours truly: Based on history and everything that we know, that is unlikely to be true. Remember that there are alternatives that are realistic though less complete, in that timeline.
My managers to my director: We can have it done between March and April of 2021.
My managers and director to Business Client Director: We can have it done between March and April of 2021.
Business Client Director: We need it done by December 2020.
My managers to Business Client Director: We can revisit alternative A, which is feasible in that time frame, or alternative B, which can be done in just a few additional months.
Business Client Director: No. We need X, built in this way. By December 2020.
My Director: You will have it.
My Managers: Okay, we understand. You will have it.
My Managers to me: We will have to have it done by December 2020 in this way. Here is a plan that, if we execute perfectly an a way that we have never done before, we hope will get us done by December 2020.
Yours truly: With this plan, the delivery date calculates out to June of 2021? That’s an improvement, but…
My Managers: Well, you will work something out.

Yours truly, a day later: I have just applied for these other internal positions. I hope you will support my transfer.
I don't know how I missed this.

This is my life.  Our company got into an agreement with another company with milestones for four projects built into the calendar for 2-3 years.

Not a single milestone is/was achievable based on how long it takes to actually build things.  Not a one.  OH, and 3 of the projects had the same damn due date, and are competing for all the same equipment.  Really.

I'm the program manager, who is always telling... everyone...here's the schedule but we won't meet it... lather, rinse, repeat for 4 projects for 3 years...

Sugaree

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3211 on: September 01, 2020, 12:53:41 PM »
Actually...I don't think that's legal. ^^^ It might be stricter in my state (most things are), but generally if they treat you as an hourly employee, then they have to classify you as one. The guidance we were given by the AGs office is that salaried employees should always take their PTO in 4 or 8 hour increments. If they're being required to put in 1-2 hour vacation or sick time increments, then they're hourly employees and need to be classified that way. It's one of the things that falls in favor of the employee, not the employer, so to keep from running afoul of the law, they should not be topping off people's under 40 with vacation or sick. JMHO

This has been something that I've been going through at work.  I've been (probably rightly) classified as exempt for the last 11 years.  The new HR specialist came in and audited my status and decided that I should be non-exempt.  I got a nice chunk of backpay for 300-400 hours of backpay over the last 2 years, but I'm not convinced that the next HR specialist won't reverse that and ask for it back.
Same thing happened to a friend of mine; someone made a labor complaint, and next thing you know he and bunch of other people in professional positions were reclassified as hourly. There's a big difference between what companies get away with (most of the time), and what's actually legal. And sometimes it's a case by case thing.

I'll be honest and say that I'm pretty sure the original HR specialist had it right and I should have been exempt as a computer worker.  I fall into that really narrow definition of computer worker that existed when the FLSA was written.  My co-workers who are system admins and network admins have always been coded non-exempt because they didn't write code.   

Alternatepriorities

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3212 on: September 01, 2020, 12:55:36 PM »
Perhaps more in the “polite ‘no thank you’” than the “epic FU”, but still feeling pretty Epic right now.


Business Clients: We need X, built in this way.
Yours truly: This is pretty expensive. You could consider alternative A, which gets you 80% of what you need in about 20% of the time, or alternative B, which gets you 95% of what you need in 40% of the time.
Business Client Director: No. We need X, built in this way.
Yours truly to my managers: Thats fine. Based on historical time and the best numbers and research we have, we can have this ready for you between August and November of 2021.
My managers: Yikes! They’ll never go for that. We will present that we can have it between March and April of 2021.
Yours truly: Based on history and everything that we know, that is unlikely to be true. Remember that there are alternatives that are realistic though less complete, in that timeline.
My managers to my director: We can have it done between March and April of 2021.
My managers and director to Business Client Director: We can have it done between March and April of 2021.
Business Client Director: We need it done by December 2020.
My managers to Business Client Director: We can revisit alternative A, which is feasible in that time frame, or alternative B, which can be done in just a few additional months.
Business Client Director: No. We need X, built in this way. By December 2020.
My Director: You will have it.
My Managers: Okay, we understand. You will have it.
My Managers to me: We will have to have it done by December 2020 in this way. Here is a plan that, if we execute perfectly an a way that we have never done before, we hope will get us done by December 2020.
Yours truly: With this plan, the delivery date calculates out to June of 2021? That’s an improvement, but…
My Managers: Well, you will work something out.

Yours truly, a day later: I have just applied for these other internal positions. I hope you will support my transfer.
I don't know how I missed this.

This is my life.  Our company got into an agreement with another company with milestones for four projects built into the calendar for 2-3 years.

Not a single milestone is/was achievable based on how long it takes to actually build things.  Not a one.  OH, and 3 of the projects had the same damn due date, and are competing for all the same equipment.  Really.

I'm the program manager, who is always telling... everyone...here's the schedule but we won't meet it... lather, rinse, repeat for 4 projects for 3 years...

It was trying to meet those impossible deadlines as the lead engineer that drove me towards FIRE before I found MMM and had a word for it. There is nothing like sitting in a meeting listening to the supper optimistic promises being made and knowing it would fall to me to make it happen if it were possible. Oddly enough after I left that job I had a conversation with the ridiculously optimistic VP as friends and found the endless optimism really encouraging... It feels very different when it isn't my job to engineer their dreams into reality.

joleran

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3213 on: September 01, 2020, 01:00:15 PM »
It was trying to meet those impossible deadlines as the lead engineer that drove me towards FIRE before I found MMM and had a word for it. There is nothing like sitting in a meeting listening to the supper optimistic promises being made and knowing it would fall to me to make it happen if it were possible. Oddly enough after I left that job I had a conversation with the ridiculously optimistic VP as friends and found the endless optimism really encouraging... It feels very different when it isn't my job to engineer their dreams into reality.

It's only been in the last year that I've started to think of deadlines more as "promise rings" than marriage.  I don't know any actual stats but it seems like at least 80% of them are missed across a good few companies and their vendors in my experience.

Alternatepriorities

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3214 on: September 01, 2020, 01:02:09 PM »
It was trying to meet those impossible deadlines as the lead engineer that drove me towards FIRE before I found MMM and had a word for it. There is nothing like sitting in a meeting listening to the supper optimistic promises being made and knowing it would fall to me to make it happen if it were possible. Oddly enough after I left that job I had a conversation with the ridiculously optimistic VP as friends and found the endless optimism really encouraging... It feels very different when it isn't my job to engineer their dreams into reality.

It's only been in the last year that I've started to think of deadlines more as "promise rings" than marriage.  I don't know any actual stats but it seems like at least 80% of them are missed across a good few companies and their vendors in my experience.

I wish I had learned that sooner.

Although the motivation to FIRE has worked out very well so maybe it was worth the stress...

ScreamingHeadGuy

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3215 on: September 01, 2020, 07:38:36 PM »
Perhaps more in the “polite ‘no thank you’” than the “epic FU”, but still feeling pretty Epic right now.


Business Clients: We need X, built in this way.
Yours truly: This is pretty expensive. You could consider alternative A, which gets you 80% of what you need in about 20% of the time, or alternative B, which gets you 95% of what you need in 40% of the time.
Business Client Director: No. We need X, built in this way.
Yours truly to my managers: Thats fine. Based on historical time and the best numbers and research we have, we can have this ready for you between August and November of 2021.
My managers: Yikes! They’ll never go for that. We will present that we can have it between March and April of 2021.
Yours truly: Based on history and everything that we know, that is unlikely to be true. Remember that there are alternatives that are realistic though less complete, in that timeline.
My managers to my director: We can have it done between March and April of 2021.
My managers and director to Business Client Director: We can have it done between March and April of 2021.
Business Client Director: We need it done by December 2020.
My managers to Business Client Director: We can revisit alternative A, which is feasible in that time frame, or alternative B, which can be done in just a few additional months.
Business Client Director: No. We need X, built in this way. By December 2020.
My Director: You will have it.
My Managers: Okay, we understand. You will have it.
My Managers to me: We will have to have it done by December 2020 in this way. Here is a plan that, if we execute perfectly an a way that we have never done before, we hope will get us done by December 2020.
Yours truly: With this plan, the delivery date calculates out to June of 2021? That’s an improvement, but…
My Managers: Well, you will work something out.

Yours truly, a day later: I have just applied for these other internal positions. I hope you will support my transfer.

Like a boss.  I give you a slowclap!

alcon835

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3216 on: September 02, 2020, 07:13:47 AM »
I really enjoyed reading @Plina  ‘s story!


Thanks @Montecarlo!

I had my first real workday at the new job today. Looking good so far. :) I started it last week with a conference at a spa.

I visited my former job last Monday to return my computer etc. We had an akward 45 minutes coffee and cake farewell, were I told the happy news about my new workplace. My former boss concluded twice that she thought the job would fit me well and I got a outdoor plant, that weighs about 5 kilos as a farewell gift. Considering that it was a pain in the ass to get home when you don't use public transport I was pretty close to dumping it in the closest trash can but used the bike service to get it home. I will consider the 5 months pay that they paid as a nice farewell gift! My guess is that 1-2 of my colleagues will also be leaving within 1-2 years. I happened to arrive at the end of a meeting and one of my colleagues were clearly frustrated with the lack of progress and she saw the results of opposing the boss.

It's good to see your happy ending!

Dicey

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3217 on: September 02, 2020, 07:32:03 AM »
...and a happy beginning.

jinga nation

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3218 on: September 02, 2020, 12:33:34 PM »
I really enjoyed reading @Plina  ‘s story!

I saw the references to 40.0ers earlier in the thread.  Admittedly I’ve only worked for one company coming out of the military, but I don’t keep a time sheet at all.  How common is it for salaried employees to keep time sheets?

All the defense contractors I worked for pretended I had a salaried job but I was an hourly worker.   If I didn't account for 40 hours I didn't get my full salary.    Scummy but true.

Now, the timesheet had to be kept because the company billed by the hour, so they had to have the the documentation on the hours worked.   Same when I worked as a salaried consultant for private industry (where I actually was salaried).

Same here. And it’s important to note that billing more than 40 hours never meant getting paid more than my standard salary. At least until I became a self employed contractor and billed myself out hourly.

Yes!!   The worst of both worlds!

Are these companies subject to State labor laws? Because if so, that's illegal.

In my examples at least it was not "required" that I work more than 40 hours a week. The experience sticks with me because I grew up very blue collar and have never fully shifted away from the hourly rate mind set. To me working unpaid overtime meant my hourly rate was decreasing. I asked other salaried people about that and they all said "salaried means I'm paid to do this job and how many hours it takes doesn't matter". That answer bothered me because finishing the job in 30 hours wasn't allowed. I was able to flex my time all over the place at the first company so I'd have 6 hours one day and 9 two other days and no one cared. That was the company from the previous epic FU money story...

Over the years I've come to the conclusion that the different ways people relate time and money explains much of difference in how we relate to money. It's a lot harder to spend wildly or be super generous when it feels like I've literally trades "X" hours of my life for the money I'm spending/giving.

You're not wrong, but if you're classified as salary, and you work less than 40 hours, then it's generally illegal to dock your pay if someone works less. That's part of the justification for not requiring overtime pay for working more than 40 hours.

They don't dock your pay, they just make you use your PTO or vacation or sick time if you go under 40 which is legal from my reading.  And being salary exempt (most white collar salary) means they don't have to pay you for overtime.
Fellow defense contractor here. On my contracts since 2010, even though I'm salaried, every hour that I work over 40 (has to be pre-authorized by customer) gets me paid at the regular rate. If I work over 40 without pre-auth, I don't get paid and both my employer and customer frown. If I work under 40, have to make it up with PTO hours. If out of PTO, then lube up to get bent over by HR.

jinga nation

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3219 on: September 02, 2020, 12:43:11 PM »
Perhaps more in the “polite ‘no thank you’” than the “epic FU”, but still feeling pretty Epic right now.


Business Clients: We need X, built in this way.
Yours truly: This is pretty expensive. You could consider alternative A, which gets you 80% of what you need in about 20% of the time, or alternative B, which gets you 95% of what you need in 40% of the time.
Business Client Director: No. We need X, built in this way.
Yours truly to my managers: Thats fine. Based on historical time and the best numbers and research we have, we can have this ready for you between August and November of 2021.
My managers: Yikes! They’ll never go for that. We will present that we can have it between March and April of 2021.
Yours truly: Based on history and everything that we know, that is unlikely to be true. Remember that there are alternatives that are realistic though less complete, in that timeline.
My managers to my director: We can have it done between March and April of 2021.
My managers and director to Business Client Director: We can have it done between March and April of 2021.
Business Client Director: We need it done by December 2020.
My managers to Business Client Director: We can revisit alternative A, which is feasible in that time frame, or alternative B, which can be done in just a few additional months.
Business Client Director: No. We need X, built in this way. By December 2020.
My Director: You will have it.
My Managers: Okay, we understand. You will have it.
My Managers to me: We will have to have it done by December 2020 in this way. Here is a plan that, if we execute perfectly an a way that we have never done before, we hope will get us done by December 2020.
Yours truly: With this plan, the delivery date calculates out to June of 2021? That’s an improvement, but…
My Managers: Well, you will work something out.

Yours truly, a day later: I have just applied for these other internal positions. I hope you will support my transfer.
I don't know how I missed this.

This is my life.  Our company got into an agreement with another company with milestones for four projects built into the calendar for 2-3 years.

Not a single milestone is/was achievable based on how long it takes to actually build things.  Not a one.  OH, and 3 of the projects had the same damn due date, and are competing for all the same equipment.  Really.

I'm the program manager, who is always telling... everyone...here's the schedule but we won't meet it... lather, rinse, repeat for 4 projects for 3 years...

It was trying to meet those impossible deadlines as the lead engineer that drove me towards FIRE before I found MMM and had a word for it. There is nothing like sitting in a meeting listening to the supper optimistic promises being made and knowing it would fall to me to make it happen if it were possible. Oddly enough after I left that job I had a conversation with the ridiculously optimistic VP as friends and found the endless optimism really encouraging... It feels very different when it isn't my job to engineer their dreams into reality.

@slipslop i'm living this right now on a current contract. luckily my internal PM and management thinks like me, and value my inputs and judgement.

My director knows I have FU money. He knows I have a good rental income that would cover food, housing, utilities, plus more. He knows our family income is more than what he makes. But he's also an engineer at heart and accepts logical inputs and lets me be picky about contracts and projects i wish to work on.

Sand101

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3220 on: September 02, 2020, 08:41:53 PM »

My managers and director to Business Client Director: We can have it done between March and April of 2021.
Business Client Director: We need it done by December 2020.


Luckily I have reasonably risk averse bosses, but the above is my life.

joleran

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3221 on: September 03, 2020, 08:10:11 PM »
Now that I am retired, I can share this.

I was fed up with my job and had a "check-in" call in an open office, but with a remote manager.  I put the call on conference where I loudly told them I hadn't done any work for the last several months, had no confidence in the ability of our products to make money, and they needed to tell me how that was going to happen.  They offered me a written retention bonus to stay on for another year.  I asked for changes in the bonus offer phrasing and more money.  After a meeting with executive management and general counsel to negotiate the agreement and to talk about the direction of the company, they accepted and I got what I asked for.

To this day I don't know why they didn't just kick me to the curb, but other than actually saying it, "FU money" indeed.  Absolute insanity and stupidity on my part and everyone else involved.

Model96

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3222 on: September 03, 2020, 10:40:41 PM »
Now that I am retired, I can share this.

I was fed up with my job and had a "check-in" call in an open office, but with a remote manager.  I put the call on conference where I loudly told them I hadn't done any work for the last several months, had no confidence in the ability of our products to make money, and they needed to tell me how that was going to happen.  They offered me a written retention bonus to stay on for another year.  I asked for changes in the bonus offer phrasing and more money.  After a meeting with executive management and general counsel to negotiate the agreement and to talk about the direction of the company, they accepted and I got what I asked for.

To this day I don't know why they didn't just kick me to the curb, but other than actually saying it, "FU money" indeed.  Absolute insanity and stupidity on my part and everyone else involved.

Not insanity and stupidity on your part...unless you had no FU miney! I was advising my daughter just this morning to ask for a pay rise, when she complained the management at her job had lost the plot and people were leaving wholesale. She might as well try to get better pay before she finds a better employer!

ysette9

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3223 on: September 03, 2020, 11:35:49 PM »
I really enjoyed reading @Plina  ‘s story!

I saw the references to 40.0ers earlier in the thread.  Admittedly I’ve only worked for one company coming out of the military, but I don’t keep a time sheet at all.  How common is it for salaried employees to keep time sheets?

All the defense contractors I worked for pretended I had a salaried job but I was an hourly worker.   If I didn't account for 40 hours I didn't get my full salary.    Scummy but true.

Now, the timesheet had to be kept because the company billed by the hour, so they had to have the the documentation on the hours worked.   Same when I worked as a salaried consultant for private industry (where I actually was salaried).

Same here. And it’s important to note that billing more than 40 hours never meant getting paid more than my standard salary. At least until I became a self employed contractor and billed myself out hourly.

Yes!!   The worst of both worlds!

Are these companies subject to State labor laws? Because if so, that's illegal.

In my examples at least it was not "required" that I work more than 40 hours a week. The experience sticks with me because I grew up very blue collar and have never fully shifted away from the hourly rate mind set. To me working unpaid overtime meant my hourly rate was decreasing. I asked other salaried people about that and they all said "salaried means I'm paid to do this job and how many hours it takes doesn't matter". That answer bothered me because finishing the job in 30 hours wasn't allowed. I was able to flex my time all over the place at the first company so I'd have 6 hours one day and 9 two other days and no one cared. That was the company from the previous epic FU money story...

Over the years I've come to the conclusion that the different ways people relate time and money explains much of difference in how we relate to money. It's a lot harder to spend wildly or be super generous when it feels like I've literally trades "X" hours of my life for the money I'm spending/giving.

You're not wrong, but if you're classified as salary, and you work less than 40 hours, then it's generally illegal to dock your pay if someone works less. That's part of the justification for not requiring overtime pay for working more than 40 hours.

They don't dock your pay, they just make you use your PTO or vacation or sick time if you go under 40 which is legal from my reading.  And being salary exempt (most white collar salary) means they don't have to pay you for overtime.
Fellow defense contractor here. On my contracts since 2010, even though I'm salaried, every hour that I work over 40 (has to be pre-authorized by customer) gets me paid at the regular rate. If I work over 40 without pre-auth, I don't get paid and both my employer and customer frown. If I work under 40, have to make it up with PTO hours. If out of PTO, then lube up to get bent over by HR.
I spent most of my career at a defense contractor and then a year or so at a tech company at the end. It was amazingly feeling to no longer keep a time card. For the first time in my career I took lunch breaks and socialized with coworkers. It was an actual, enjoyable break rather than a constant watch the clock trade off thinking about how much later I would have to stay at the end of the day.

dcheesi

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3224 on: September 04, 2020, 01:11:27 PM »
Now that I am retired, I can share this.

I was fed up with my job and had a "check-in" call in an open office, but with a remote manager.  I put the call on conference where I loudly told them I hadn't done any work for the last several months, had no confidence in the ability of our products to make money, and they needed to tell me how that was going to happen.  They offered me a written retention bonus to stay on for another year.  I asked for changes in the bonus offer phrasing and more money.  After a meeting with executive management and general counsel to negotiate the agreement and to talk about the direction of the company, they accepted and I got what I asked for.

To this day I don't know why they didn't just kick me to the curb, but other than actually saying it, "FU money" indeed.  Absolute insanity and stupidity on my part and everyone else involved.
This sounds a lot like a scene from Office Space!

joleran

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3225 on: September 04, 2020, 07:59:47 PM »
This sounds a lot like a scene from Office Space!

There is so much power in doing crazy stuff that most people would never think of doing.  Maybe I'll get bitten someday, but every time I think I've just gone too far... I get accommodated.

LennStar

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3226 on: September 05, 2020, 02:52:40 AM »
Take the time to truly THANK your boss for what he does for you and your team.   They deserve it.

Plus, you might have a ready-made job waiting for you wherever they end up. :)

I try to explain to younger folks that they are only one sociopath away from being sick to death of their job and burnt out their career, so get that FU money lined up asap.
Yeah, thank him. Such people get never praised enough.

I want to mention that sociopaths are 3 times more likely to encounter on big companie's top level than in the whole population. Afaik no one has done a study about middle levels of management, but I suspect the rate is even higher there.


If he is worth billions would not the cost of the conference/holiday equal what it cost for an ordinary person to invite their friends for a party or dinner if you compare incomes and costs?

But that isn't the measure of the potential to bribe. Even if a gift is insignificant to give, if it is significant for the recipient then it might be enough to influence a decision. Looking like a bribe, or close to a bribe, or possibly a bribe is a problem in itself.
Actually the worth is negligible on an emotional level, that's just the way our brains are wired as a "social animal". The mentioned flower is not a bribe because it is seen as just normal social behavior (and btw. that may be true for the rich giver in the fund case) like shaking hands.
However, if you would add something that is unusual, even if the cost is only 10€, the reciever will be influenced to reciproce.

I really enjoyed reading @Plina  ‘s story!

I saw the references to 40.0ers earlier in the thread.  Admittedly I’ve only worked for one company coming out of the military, but I don’t keep a time sheet at all.  How common is it for salaried employees to keep time sheets?
In Germany since this year it's mandatory if you risk (work longer hours) getting under minimum wage.

Quote
It's only been in the last year that I've started to think of deadlines more as "promise rings" than marriage.  I don't know any actual stats but it seems like at least 80% of them are missed across a good few companies and their vendors in my experience.
Back at professional school I learned that 90% if IT projects fail either in time or money, often both.
So I would not speak of promises, but of wishes ;)

BlueHouse

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3227 on: September 05, 2020, 03:20:08 PM »
This sounds a lot like a scene from Office Space!

There is so much power in doing crazy stuff that most people would never think of doing.  Maybe I'll get bitten someday, but every time I think I've just gone too far... I get accommodated.
This is also the George Costanza working model.  Whatever you think is the right thing to do....do the opposite. 

2sk22

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3228 on: September 17, 2020, 10:08:06 AM »
This is also the George Costanza working model.  Whatever you think is the right thing to do....do the opposite.

There is so much to learn from George Costanza in terms of work (or should I say slacking) strategies: I have used the "leave on a high note" approach several times myself very successfully!

frugalnacho

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3229 on: September 17, 2020, 10:27:16 AM »
I'm always working on that penske file. 

Asalted_Nut

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3230 on: September 17, 2020, 11:39:41 AM »
I'm always working on that penske file.

You are aware...

johndoe

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3231 on: September 17, 2020, 09:57:35 PM »
I loudly told them I hadn't done any work for the last several months...  I asked for changes in the bonus offer phrasing and more money.  ... I got what I asked for.
I am not an HR professional, but none of this makes any sense to me haha.  So you did nothing for months?  I never understand how people can just do nothing.  You couldn't ask any bosses for a task?  Weird, and I really can't understand why you would ever admit this to someone in the company, much less the bosses.  But hey it worked so what do I know?!  I can't imagine a scenario where it makes sense to pay a slacker more rather than immediately fire them.

Maybe it's "the Bobs" from office space where you just need more motivation? Bizarre

SwordGuy

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3232 on: September 17, 2020, 10:50:11 PM »
I loudly told them I hadn't done any work for the last several months...  I asked for changes in the bonus offer phrasing and more money.  ... I got what I asked for.
I am not an HR professional, but none of this makes any sense to me haha.  So you did nothing for months?  I never understand how people can just do nothing.  You couldn't ask any bosses for a task?  Weird, and I really can't understand why you would ever admit this to someone in the company, much less the bosses.  But hey it worked so what do I know?!  I can't imagine a scenario where it makes sense to pay a slacker more rather than immediately fire them.

Maybe it's "the Bobs" from office space where you just need more motivation? Bizarre

I had a sociopathic boss who refused to assign me any tasks at work.   I didn't realize he was a sociopath, I just thought he was feeling insecure because he was young and I had way more experience.   I was trying to repair the breach between us and he was working to get me fired.  (I finally figured that out when he made his move.)

Because I didn't have any assignments and I wanted to be useful, I started writing automation programs to automate common tasks that we programmers had to do on every project.    He used that as evidence against me??   In a meeting with him and his supervisor, he brought up that charge.   When I pointed out I was trying to be useful since he wouldn't assign me any work, the supervisor told me I should have gone to her to get work assignments instead.  WTF???   

I ended up quitting before they could fire me (for better working conditions, pay and vacation) in a different department down the hall. :)   But before I did I fired back.   I made it very clear to government management and corporate management what was going on.   Not to save my job, but to protect them from the harm he would cause if left unchecked.   It took about 8 months but that sociopath was escorted out of the building by security and never allowed back.   My former coworkers made a point of dropping by to share the news. :)

LennStar

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3233 on: September 18, 2020, 04:21:16 AM »

I ended up quitting before they could fire me (for better working conditions, pay and vacation) in a different department down the hall. :)   But before I did I fired back.   I made it very clear to government management and corporate management what was going on.   Not to save my job, but to protect them from the harm he would cause if left unchecked.   It took about 8 months but that sociopath was escorted out of the building by security and never allowed back.   My former coworkers made a point of dropping by to share the news. :)
Good Riddance!

Unfortunately, for every psychopath they kick out, 3 others are still there.

joleran

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3234 on: September 18, 2020, 07:11:35 AM »
I loudly told them I hadn't done any work for the last several months...  I asked for changes in the bonus offer phrasing and more money.  ... I got what I asked for.
I am not an HR professional, but none of this makes any sense to me haha.  So you did nothing for months?  I never understand how people can just do nothing.  You couldn't ask any bosses for a task?  Weird, and I really can't understand why you would ever admit this to someone in the company, much less the bosses.  But hey it worked so what do I know?!  I can't imagine a scenario where it makes sense to pay a slacker more rather than immediately fire them.

Maybe it's "the Bobs" from office space where you just need more motivation? Bizarre

It's actually happened multiple times in my career.  My second job I had a boss that decided how long tasks were going to take and told the stakeholders this timeline.  If I finished early and asked for more work, none would be forthcoming until the end of his estimate.

For this latest one though, I got into that dilbert situation where I didn't really have any daily responsibilities and was supposed to be doing vague architecture stuff.  The company was in extreme turmoil, churning through CEOs and upper management, and my boss had something like 40 direct reports and was remote besides.  I did work for a while, but basically the work was just ignored as priorities got wiped from the map repeatedly and daily 20 person design meetings were made to "align" people which just turned into a game of politics with a VP there.  So, I just slipped through the cracks and probably could have continued to do so for some time.

It is uniquely demotivating to feel your work doesn't matter and then proving it directly.  I should have moved on instead of negotiating, but I was able to leverage the bonus into a big raise at a new company as soon as the retention period expired.

johndoe

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3235 on: September 18, 2020, 08:59:17 AM »
@joleran @SwordGuy interesting cases...I guess I've been lucky with my bosses!  I have to think if there was something massively wrong I wouldn't hesitate to escalate it to the next level.  To tie it to FU money, I'd think of it like "I'm going to make sure the upper level people know the truth" rather than not be able to contribute work.

mm1970

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3236 on: September 18, 2020, 10:14:14 AM »
I loudly told them I hadn't done any work for the last several months...  I asked for changes in the bonus offer phrasing and more money.  ... I got what I asked for.
I am not an HR professional, but none of this makes any sense to me haha.  So you did nothing for months?  I never understand how people can just do nothing.  You couldn't ask any bosses for a task?  Weird, and I really can't understand why you would ever admit this to someone in the company, much less the bosses.  But hey it worked so what do I know?!  I can't imagine a scenario where it makes sense to pay a slacker more rather than immediately fire them.

Maybe it's "the Bobs" from office space where you just need more motivation? Bizarre

It's actually happened multiple times in my career.  My second job I had a boss that decided how long tasks were going to take and told the stakeholders this timeline.  If I finished early and asked for more work, none would be forthcoming until the end of his estimate.

For this latest one though, I got into that dilbert situation where I didn't really have any daily responsibilities and was supposed to be doing vague architecture stuff.  The company was in extreme turmoil, churning through CEOs and upper management, and my boss had something like 40 direct reports and was remote besides.  I did work for a while, but basically the work was just ignored as priorities got wiped from the map repeatedly and daily 20 person design meetings were made to "align" people which just turned into a game of politics with a VP there.  So, I just slipped through the cracks and probably could have continued to do so for some time.

It is uniquely demotivating to feel your work doesn't matter and then proving it directly.  I should have moved on instead of negotiating, but I was able to leverage the bonus into a big raise at a new company as soon as the retention period expired.
This is sort of the opposite of what happened to a friend of mine. She got laid off from a big government contractor, which is how we found her and hired her.

She got moved around a lot - reassigned to different bosses because her job description was vast and she didn't "fit" anywhere.  When widespread layoffs came, she was let go.  (This place is known for big hirings and firings, and also for people being territorial ... if you are the only person who knows how to do X, then you don't get laid off.)

Well, she did a lot of things.  One of her side jobs was that...every 3 months, all of the company computers have to change passwords.  So she would set a calendar and change the passwords in the group labs every 90 days, and then send out the info.

Well, what happened after she was gone and the 90 days were up?  All of the computers in the labs locked up because the passwords were not changed... That continued for a couple of years...all these things that she did...

Ha, she worked for us for 5 years, then we had a mass layoff.  She ended up BACK there, at a higher level position and higher pay...

achvfi

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3237 on: September 18, 2020, 11:45:12 AM »
@joleran @SwordGuy interesting cases...I guess I've been lucky with my bosses!  I have to think if there was something massively wrong I wouldn't hesitate to escalate it to the next level.  To tie it to FU money, I'd think of it like "I'm going to make sure the upper level people know the truth" rather than not be able to contribute work.

It only takes one bad boss to suck the life out of you. I was 10 years into my career until I had a bad boss. Shit really hits the fan when you are out of luck.

AerynLee

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3238 on: September 18, 2020, 03:12:47 PM »
I loudly told them I hadn't done any work for the last several months...  I asked for changes in the bonus offer phrasing and more money.  ... I got what I asked for.
I am not an HR professional, but none of this makes any sense to me haha.  So you did nothing for months?  I never understand how people can just do nothing.  You couldn't ask any bosses for a task?  Weird, and I really can't understand why you would ever admit this to someone in the company, much less the bosses.  But hey it worked so what do I know?!  I can't imagine a scenario where it makes sense to pay a slacker more rather than immediately fire them.

Maybe it's "the Bobs" from office space where you just need more motivation? Bizarre
I'm a very efficient worker. Not saying I'm an amazing worker, I just move through the computer efficiently and make processes for my regular work that let me get through them quicker than others would. I've had a few jobs where when I run out of things to do and ask for more tasks, they either don't have anything for me (for various reasons including being overstaffed or someone refusing to give up an ounce of knowledge) or they dredge up some obscure task that isn't actually needed or even wanted and my time ends up wasted anyway. When you add that onto being praised for being such a good employee that gets so much done, there's just not much incentive to ask for more. At my last job I got to where there were days where I did nothing but would have been promoted to the second highest level of my department if I'd stayed.

I'm actually about two years into my first job that I don't have a lot of extra time and it's been a weird adjustment to not reading the internet for hours a day on the clock

rantk81

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3239 on: September 18, 2020, 05:22:21 PM »
There's an amazing spectrum of jobs and companies -- where you can be hair-on-fire-busy for 60+ hours a week.... Or you can be struggling to fill the time from 9-5 due to boredom.  I've experienced both.  Extremes at both ends suck, for their own reasons.

zolotiyeruki

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3240 on: September 18, 2020, 06:49:47 PM »
There's also the unfortunate job that expects you to be there 60 hours per week, even if you have nothing to do. The best IMO is where you're meaningfully busy for 40 hiurs, and there's no expectation to spend more time than that at work

ixtap

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3241 on: September 18, 2020, 07:23:12 PM »
There's an amazing spectrum of jobs and companies -- where you can be hair-on-fire-busy for 60+ hours a week.... Or you can be struggling to fill the time from 9-5 due to boredom.  I've experienced both.  Extremes at both ends suck, for their own reasons.

DH has both at his current job, depending on the cycle. Luckily, has has learned to."fill" the slow weeks with recreational activities.

BuffaloStache

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3242 on: September 18, 2020, 09:50:40 PM »
I loudly told them I hadn't done any work for the last several months...  I asked for changes in the bonus offer phrasing and more money.  ... I got what I asked for.
I am not an HR professional, but none of this makes any sense to me haha.  So you did nothing for months?  I never understand how people can just do nothing.  You couldn't ask any bosses for a task?  Weird, and I really can't understand why you would ever admit this to someone in the company, much less the bosses.  But hey it worked so what do I know?!  I can't imagine a scenario where it makes sense to pay a slacker more rather than immediately fire them.

Maybe it's "the Bobs" from office space where you just need more motivation? Bizarre

I've watched (form a short, amused distance) many colleagues do this, but actually use it to jump from company to company. Essentially they join a new company, make a good first impression and do well at all the "onboarding" tasks that are mostly mindless, and then proceed to do basically no work. They use the time to find their next gig, and then jump ship before they really get caught for not doing anything. What really amazes me about Corporate America is that almost all of these people seem to be wildly successful, and are typically able to negotiate promotions each time they jump to a new company (and often several years before they've hit the "minimum" required experience needed for various salary levels/jobs).

It really is sad, but it goes to show that corporate loyalty is actually an obstacle to career/salary success in the modern American working world. This is especially true if you are working at medium-to-large size companies, almost regardless of industry. This was an interesting, albeit slightly long read about this: https://hbr.org/2015/07/setting-the-record-straight-on-switching-jobs

evanc

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3243 on: September 19, 2020, 11:32:01 AM »
Incoming! Last year, end of November, a coworker requested time off in conjunction with Christmas holiday and was denied. She was denied because she lacked* 1 or 2 days of the total amount of requested number of days. She told them, I understand that I do not have enough days, but this is a very important trip, so I would be more than happy to take the extra day or two without pay. They said no (no legitimate business purpose for the denial, just no). I won’t bore you with details, but trust me when I say that due to the nature of our work, it would have made absolutely no difference whether she took these days off in Dec, as requested, or waited another month or two to build up the requisite amount of hours. The problem for her, of course, she didn’t have the luxury of waiting. This trip was happening with or without her.

She tried again to explain to them that the reason that the trip was so important was because it was a trip to visit with family in India, which would be the last time she could spend time with her terminally ill mother (who emigrated to USA many years ago). They wouldn’t budge, so she essentially told them, I have limited time left with my mother, and I am going on this trip, so if you are going to fire me over it, that is your decision.  And they did.  They literally just let her go, out of spite. I have worked with her for almost a decade, she has consistently had good performance reviews, and now our team of 10 is down to 9 (we were a team of 12 earlier in the year, but had already lost two other people, because they transferred to other departments due to the lack of management support - starting to see a pattern here?).

Despite my already exceedingly low opinion of management, even I was shocked by the way absolute absence of empathy in this situation. Solely to flex their muscle, a valuable employee is now gone, which only hurts the business (not her, she’s fine. Thank you, FU money). I told her when she left, I know this is a difficult decision and many people would not make the same decision or understand why you have done what you have done, but I completely respect you for having the courage of your conviction that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. You won’t get this chance again, and I firmly believe that when you look back on this decision, you will have no regrets.

*She had a lower than average leave balance at this point, because she had taken some time off to care for her mother when she was initially diagnosed. Management was well aware of this. It should also be noted that there is office precedence for taking LWOP, even for just vacation purposes. This well known practice was another reason that I can only conclude that their decision was made in spite.

Moral of the story: if she had NOT had the FU money, she probably would have had to accept the denial and live the rest of her life with regret over missing those final days with her ailing mother. As so many others have said, FU money gives you options.

Zaga

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3244 on: September 19, 2020, 11:37:15 AM »
Good for her!  I would have done the same. 

Actually one summer I had to take a day or 2 unpaid off every week for 2 months to care for an ailing family member, and my boss let me and worked around my absences.  I stayed at that job 7 years, it was generally a good place to work until it was bought out by a private equity firm and went completely bonkers.

Dave1442397

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3245 on: September 19, 2020, 03:07:45 PM »
There's also the unfortunate job that expects you to be there 60 hours per week, even if you have nothing to do. The best IMO is where you're meaningfully busy for 40 hiurs, and there's no expectation to spend more time than that at work

I had one of those jobs back in the '90s. People would spend have their day goofing off and hanging out in each other's office, and then stay until all hours of the night to look busy.

It took me a few weeks to figure out the system and get familiar with the software, and at that point I don't think there was a single day where I wouldn't be finished my assigned work by 2:30pm. After a few weeks of me leaving at my scheduled end time, they asked me if I had a second job to go to :) 

I only lasted there 18 months before getting so frustrated with their work practices that I found another job and quit. The guy who assigned all my work (not my manager) was upset, and called a higher-up VP in the Corporate office to have him try to get me to stay. No chance...

I looked up a few of my old co-workers on LinkedIn, and the ones I could find still work there, doing the same thing they've been doing since 1990. Good gig if you can stand it.

evanc

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3246 on: September 19, 2020, 04:33:41 PM »
Good for her!  I would have done the same. 

Actually one summer I had to take a day or 2 unpaid off every week for 2 months to care for an ailing family member, and my boss let me and worked around my absences.  I stayed at that job 7 years, it was generally a good place to work until it was bought out by a private equity firm and went completely bonkers.

Right? Because humanity.

And they (mgmt) get the same awestruck look on their face each time someone else quits. I have learned that it’s senseless to try converting people who clearly don’t want to change. Keep your head down, build the stache, then adios. Maybe one day they’ll see the error of their ways, mabe not. I won’t be sticking around long enough to find out.

evanc

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3247 on: September 20, 2020, 07:57:56 AM »
An observation: reading these stories, it seems quite common for the reaction of a boss or colleague to be, did you win the lottery? as if that would be the only logical explanation for quitting a job, or at least the first one that comes to mind. As if it is utterly unimaginable to the ordinary person that someone could simply have saved money and invested it. Sad commentary on the current state of the world. This is why we need to teach basic financial literacy in schools. [/ soapbox]

Psychstache

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3248 on: September 20, 2020, 06:20:47 PM »
An observation: reading these stories, it seems quite common for the reaction of a boss or colleague to be, did you win the lottery? as if that would be the only logical explanation for quitting a job, or at least the first one that comes to mind. As if it is utterly unimaginable to the ordinary person that someone could simply have saved money and invested it. Sad commentary on the current state of the world. This is why we need to teach basic financial literacy in schools. [/ soapbox]

The problem is that any school financial literacy course would feature a curriculum written by the Foundation for Teaching America about Finance, a shell non-profit owned and operated by Wells Fargo and PayDay Loan Companies.

LennStar

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Re: Epic FU money stories
« Reply #3249 on: September 21, 2020, 03:54:48 AM »
An observation: reading these stories, it seems quite common for the reaction of a boss or colleague to be, did you win the lottery? as if that would be the only logical explanation for quitting a job, or at least the first one that comes to mind. As if it is utterly unimaginable to the ordinary person that someone could simply have saved money and invested it. Sad commentary on the current state of the world. This is why we need to teach basic financial literacy in schools. [/ soapbox]

The problem is that any school financial literacy course would feature a curriculum written by the Foundation for Teaching America about Finance, a shell non-profit owned and operated by Wells Fargo and PayDay Loan Companies.
They even lobbied google to hide them when I tried to have a look!

I think you have that name wrong.