Regular readers of the blog might recall some time ago I posted a write-up of numerous goings-on at work. Though things have settled down a bit, my workload remains excessive. As promised by my employer, I got my first overtime allowance for 1Q2023 (actually for February and March only). Not a large amount of money, net-of-tax a four-digit amount, with “1” to the left.
The rollercoaster carried on in early April, so I requested some overtime orders (a manager must order an employee to work overtime). In the first week of the month my request was approved, but in the week following Easter, when I had to toil away intensively for up to 12 hours a day and after knocking off I could not string a sentence together, my request was turned down. The refusal was justified by my managers by the supposed termination of exceptional circumstances which occurred in 1Q2023.
Fortunately, my jaw did not draw open for long, so without second thoughts I instantly came up with three ways out of the absurd situation. First – they keep on paying me for doing overtime. Second – they reduce my workload. Third – I reconsider my career plans. Here they were up to the task, since they offered they would like to choose between the first and the second option and revert to me with a proposal. It ended up with me being allowed to request overtime pay until the end of 2Q2023. They pledged afterwards my workload gets reasonable, a promise I put no faith in.
For the time being I am focusing on surviving by the end of 2Q2023 (no fortnight-long holidays due in late spring this year) and getting a compensation for the inconvenience of working far more than 40 hours a week.
The squabble over my overtime pay has also mobilised me to browse job advertisements for the first time since 2017 and do trying to find out what wages competitors offer. The outcome of short research was that I would find it hard to negotiate a basic salary at the par with my current one and give up on generous (above-market) bonuses (my bonus for tough 2022 was effectively my 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th salary this year). The potential reward for much lower earnings could be potentially lower workload, possibly at the expense of handling tasks below my (pardon my lack of modesty – superb) competencies. Thus I have become a hostage of money…
The recent state of affairs has also made me reconsider priorities in life. I want the frequent sitting overtime to be a temporary measure, while in the mid-term, I prefer to renounce the overtime compensation (which will not make me much richer) and have more time for living my life, not sacrificing it to a callous corporation.
Next post in three weeks, since I am off to Wisła for the long weekend and the shortened working week.
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