Miss Tequila
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Post by Miss Tequila on Aug 9, 2017 7:14:23 GMT -5
I have to call attention to the fact that it is a huge perk that your company gives you comp time. I traveled extensively for past roles and would leave on a Sunday and get home on a Saturday or late Friday night. When I flew overseas, I would have to leave on a Saturday and get home on a Sunday. Never once got comp time. So maybe you don't need the mental days because you are cashing in all your comp time. Does your company force you to use them or can you work through that time? I'm not complaining, I know not everyone gets it, but I think it's fair.
If I'm expected to give up a Sunday to travel so I can start an inspection Monday I should be compensated in some way, or at least flex my schedule.
Isn't that just part of being a professional? There were plenty of times when I would be in Brazil for 10 days, chewing up one entire weekend. Or flying out on a Saturday night since it was an overnight, 10 hour flight and I had meetings at 8am on Monday. Even now that I only go to Canada, it is still 7 hours of my time on a Sunday to drive up. And next month I head to the Uk and you guess it, leaving on the weekend.
I've honestly never heard of professionals getting reimbursed for travel. It is a great perk but it also means that all of that travel time that I had to eat, you get to take off...no wonder you don't need to call in for a mental health day, you have 70 hours (I believe that's what I read) of travel time to use. If I had that time plus my vacation I would never take a mental health day again.
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Miss Tequila
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Post by Miss Tequila on Aug 9, 2017 7:16:36 GMT -5
Yes, it's a government job.
There are some nice perks, but like any job there's downsides. We do have to travel a lot and not everywhere is nearly as desirable as Guam. I've had to go to Tucson in the middle of the summer, or the artic tundra of rural Indiana in the dead of winter.
And the travel I have to do is often at inconvenient times because that's what cheapest for the government. So yeah, I've gotten up at 3:30 a.m. to catch a 5:30 a.m. flight on a Sunday many a time.
So all in all, it's not all rainbows and unicorns, but I can't complain too much.
You know that doesn't really exist right? Arctic Tundra in Indiana... pishaw... try Minot, ND Jan-March. That's one of the exotic locales I got to spend time at for work. I was stuck there for 3 months, because nobody wants to make that drive more than they have to. I went from going to Rio to going to Montreal in the middle of the winter...I live in the Northeast. I thought I knew winter...I knew fuck all compared to the MOntreal winter!
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Rob Base 2.0
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Post by Rob Base 2.0 on Aug 9, 2017 7:20:43 GMT -5
I'm not complaining, I know not everyone gets it, but I think it's fair.
If I'm expected to give up a Sunday to travel so I can start an inspection Monday I should be compensated in some way, or at least flex my schedule.
Isn't that just part of being a professional? There were plenty of times when I would be in Brazil for 10 days, chewing up one entire weekend. Or flying out on a Saturday night since it was an overnight, 10 hour flight and I had meetings at 8am on Monday. Even now that I only go to Canada, it is still 7 hours of my time on a Sunday to drive up. And next month I head to the Uk and you guess it, leaving on the weekend.
I've honestly never heard of professionals getting reimbursed for travel. It is a great perk but it also means that all of that travel time that I had to eat, you get to take off...no wonder you don't need to call in for a mental health day, you have 70 hours (I believe that's what I read) of travel time to use. If I had that time plus my vacation I would never take a mental health day again.
Phoenix (and most government workers) are "hourly" workers that get paid based on a 80 work hour over a 2 week period (even if they are "professional" workers).......anything outside and above the 80 hours is supposed to be comp time or overtime........sometimes some agencies have a "culture" where people don't claim these hours, but most of the time peeps do
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Aug 9, 2017 7:38:07 GMT -5
Isn't that just part of being a professional? There were plenty of times when I would be in Brazil for 10 days, chewing up one entire weekend. Or flying out on a Saturday night since it was an overnight, 10 hour flight and I had meetings at 8am on Monday. Even now that I only go to Canada, it is still 7 hours of my time on a Sunday to drive up. And next month I head to the Uk and you guess it, leaving on the weekend.
I've honestly never heard of professionals getting reimbursed for travel. It is a great perk but it also means that all of that travel time that I had to eat, you get to take off...no wonder you don't need to call in for a mental health day, you have 70 hours (I believe that's what I read) of travel time to use. If I had that time plus my vacation I would never take a mental health day again.
Phoenix (and most government workers) are "hourly" workers that get paid based on a 80 work hour over a 2 week period (even if they are "professional" workers).......anything outside and above the 80 hours is supposed to be comp time or overtime........sometimes some agencies have a "culture" where people don't claim these hours, but most of the time peeps do
Pretty much this. I'm not entirely sure if we're officially salaried or hourly. It's some kind of hybrid.
We are full time and have to account for 80 hours a pay period. We don't "clock in" like many hourly employees do. It's not like our hours change from week to week. We never really get overtime, so unless we get (small) bonuses your annual pay is your annual pay.
But we have fill out time sheets every two weeks and account for any leave taken, any travel comp earned or taken ect. These time sheets get approved by our supervisor.
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Aug 9, 2017 8:34:07 GMT -5
I am salaried and work for a private non-profit. No, I don't "officially" get comp time but I generally take it. I am an adult...the work gets done and that is really all that matters. I worked the entire weekend of July 22-23. Got home around 10PM on the evening of the 23rd. I took the following Friday off. Didn't use any PTO. I tell the salaried people that work under me to take a day at some point if they work through a weekend. This is just called being a flexible and good employer IMHO. I don't want a bunch of burned out people walking around with poor morale.
Also, traveling for work can be exhausting. You are basically "on" 24/7 (at least in my arena). I am in meetings and then go to dinners with the board, etc. It is nonstop business talk. Don't get me wrong, I typically add a couple of vacation days onto the front or back end when I go somewhere good but the work part of it is in no way a vacation.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Aug 9, 2017 8:45:03 GMT -5
If I didn't have a week vacation coming up next week I would have played hookey today. I am completely drained to the point where I am making stupid mistakes (I have a follow up for my finger slicing tomorrow) but they still keep piling more and more on my plate while I have to smile and take it.
It's just how academia works and the head of this department is especially cheap, even though it would not be his money hiring another tech. I am getting resentful of being worked to the bone for absolutely no reward. When I get to this stage I know it's time to put myself in the corner for a bit before I snap.
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cktc
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Post by cktc on Aug 9, 2017 17:05:09 GMT -5
The people who never use sick time--when do you go for checkups? I'm rarely sick (knock on wood) but I have a dental checkup twice a year, take DD to her dental checkups twice a year and her well visit once a year, go to the gyn for my annual screening, etc. I try to schedule appointments at the beginning or end of the day, or schedule a few for the same day so I can knock them all out at once, but I still probably burn 10-15 hours a year without actually being sick. I can't imagine going years without using any sick time. I also work with a few martyrs who come in when they are contagious and disrupt the whole office. If you can't go more than 15 seconds without sounding like you're hacking up a lung, go the F home. Your work will still be here tomorrow. I used to always pick doctors with extended hours, near work. Can usually find a doctor or dentist that opens at 7am or closes at 6 once or twice a week. Lots of eye doctors work weekends. Then there is always urgent care. I switched to 4x10s for awhile and that was fantastic. My boss is actually pretty flexible with taking an hour or two off here and there but I have an aversion to asking and prefer to keep my appointments private. As for working sick, I regularly work with colds, but if I'm puking or feverish I'll stay home. Taking 3 days off every time I have a sore throat just seems silly. By the time I realize I'm sick I've already spread whatever germs I'm going to spread. I pop a dayquil, and wash my hands frequently. I'm not hacking all over the office spreading germs.
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Deleted
Joined: Mar 29, 2024 1:05:20 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2017 18:51:59 GMT -5
I'm taking 3 mental health hours tomorrow. I'm putting "appointment for son" in the memo box, but not mentioning it's a DMV appointment. My sick time is almost to it's 40 hour max again.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Aug 20, 2017 19:13:46 GMT -5
I'm not complaining, I know not everyone gets it, but I think it's fair.
If I'm expected to give up a Sunday to travel so I can start an inspection Monday I should be compensated in some way, or at least flex my schedule.
I don't abuse it though. It's largely based on the honor system since your boss doesn't know when you leave or when you arrive. So I am always honest about how much time I traveled. Travel doesn't usually match up well with specific hours, and I usually round down when reporting time, so I don't necessarily get all the travel comp I otherwise could.
You lose travel comp after one year from the date you traveled if you don't take it. It's not really tracked so you either have to track it yourself or otherwise try to guesstimate when it expires. I usually do the later.
In general, I try to take travel comp in the first 2/3 of the year so I use it up and take any remaining annual leave balance toward the end of the year if I need to, since we can only bank 240 hours and I try to have the max transferred over every year. It's easier to "plan" to run your annual leave down to 240 hours at the end of the year than it is try to track all your travel comp.
And that's great. It just seems a little like you're judging people for their mental health days when you are averaging 1 extra day off per month to decompress. Comp time is not a given for travel jobs. It wasnt for me. I was just glad I could rack up some airline miles and hotel points. I could mentally decompress on the plane and in my quiet hotel room . [ I consider traveling especially by plane to be extremely stressful.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Aug 20, 2017 21:51:28 GMT -5
I think I could have officially put in for travel comp time for last Friday but I probably won't bother. Our original flight was straight up cancelled and we ended up with a connection via St Louis. So my nice evening to shop for a few last minute items and get my nails done prior to my honeymoon was ruined. There were less than 12 hours between when I finally got to the airport and when I had to go back to leave for St Lucia. That sucked.
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Aug 20, 2017 22:09:03 GMT -5
I work overnights so I go to the doctor's whenever. Well, if I ever made an appointment, that is. I don't do drs if I can help it. I generally don't call out unless DH falls. Then I need to be home. Knock on wood, 1 day in January and 1 in February and nothing since. Well, he did fall last week but he was able to move on his own after that so I was ok going to work. I should find out what I have for PTO. We start accruing at some point but I don't usually pay attention since I can get paid to be bored just as easily as I can do it for free. I will need 2 nights off in December for a wedding but that's it that I know of. this is exactly why I'm shocked that I only have 3.5 days left of PTO between the vacation/sick banks. wtf.
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muttleynfelix
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Post by muttleynfelix on Aug 21, 2017 15:32:06 GMT -5
I find I burn out a lot more easily now than before I had kids. Probably because I have to be "on" all the time. Since I have PTO, I use it and schedule days off (particularly in the summer). Of course, the last time I took a day off, my daughter puked for 3 hours straight. I'm counting down the days until Labor Day. Hopefully we can have a fun day then, but who knows? Yesterday's "fun" was cancelled because my kids were little thieves and opened 2 bags of goldfish, 2 boxes of cereal, and a liter of apple juice without permission and then hid the containers in their play room. Then my daughter got the pukes again and it was a good thing we were home. (And you wonder why I need a break).
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Miss Tequila
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Post by Miss Tequila on Aug 21, 2017 16:21:03 GMT -5
I find I burn out a lot more easily now than before I had kids. Probably because I have to be "on" all the time. Since I have PTO, I use it and schedule days off (particularly in the summer). Of course, the last time I took a day off, my daughter puked for 3 hours straight. I'm counting down the days until Labor Day. Hopefully we can have a fun day then, but who knows? Yesterday's "fun" was cancelled because my kids were little thieves and opened 2 bags of goldfish, 2 boxes of cereal, and a liter of apple juice without permission and then hid the containers in their play room. Then my daughter got the pukes again and it was a good thing we were home. (And you wonder why I need a break). I'm laughing aboht then hiding food but felt bad when I got to the part about the pukes! One day they will be off to college and you will miss these days...sort of!lol
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teen persuasion
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Post by teen persuasion on Aug 25, 2017 23:26:57 GMT -5
No sick time, no vacation time or PTO. If we don't work, we don't get paid. Generally, the other clerk and I just work it out between us to cover a shift if we know in advance we need a day off. I rarely get more than mild colds, so haven't really called in last minute sick, until this spring. There was a stomach bug going around, and the other clerk got a nasty case, so I was covering her shifts as well as mine. The brand-new director asked if I was good to continue covering the next day, and I said sure, I felt fine. Next morning, not so fine, so I emailed the director, who was now the only employee available! I hated putting her in that position, brand-new and all alone, but there was nothing that could be done about it. I was better the next day.
Taking a mental health day would really inconvenience someone else to cover for me, especially when I work alone most of the time. Luckily, I enjoy my job, and don't need a break from it, or home life. My schedule is kind of broken up anyway as part-time: work MWH days, T evening, and 2 Saturdays a month. So I have a couple 3 day weekends a month.
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