All posts tagged: work-life balance

CEO Says Work Weeks Should Be Seventy Hours

CEO Says Work Weeks Should Be Seventy Hours

Published by skeptic

Most people struggle with adhering to the standard 40-hour work weeks, but a tech CEO has suggested that instead of listening to the mass cries for better work-life balance and employers realizing that overworking their staff won’t lead to better results, companies should instead require their employees spend even more hours in the office.  Despite the overwhelming research and data that suggests otherwise, Narayana Murthy, the co-founder of a tech company called Infosys, stands by his work ethic. A tech CEO claimed that work weeks should be 70 hours because he ‘doesn’t believe in work/life balance.’ According to TechSpot, the Indian entrepreneur faced a bit of criticism after claiming that there are benefits to working every hour that you’re awake. He had previously insisted that young people should work 70-hour weeks and doubled down on those comments by saying that he doesn’t “believe in work/life balance.” In October 2023, Murthy explained that young people should work twelve-hour days for the “next 20 years, 50 years, whatever it is,” out of respect and a sense of …

Why Are Millennials So Mad At Gen Z’s Unreasonable Expectations At Work?

Why Are Millennials So Mad At Gen Z’s Unreasonable Expectations At Work?

Published by skeptic

The internet feed is overflowing with short videos depicting something along these lines: Take one: a Gen X individual — born between 1965 and 1979. She is in formal attire and visibly very sick at work, telling her boss that she will work through the illness but might be unable to work overtime. Take two: a Millennial — born between 1980 and 1994. She is wearing a sweatshirt or some other comfortable clothing at home. She is visibly sick, but not as much as the person in the previous take.  While on her laptop, she sends her boss an e-mail to let her know she will work slowly that day and might have to sign off early. I admit I squarely fall into this one and am a millennial. Take three: a Gen Zer —born between 1995 and 2009. She has a slight cough but is otherwise healthy. She uses Slack to tell colleagues she will be out of the office that day. On another take, she is nowhere to be seen near her laptop. …

Samsung Is Mandating 6-Day Work Week For All Executives

Samsung Is Mandating 6-Day Work Week For All Executives

Published by skeptic

Working the standard five days a week and 40 hours has become quite the struggle for many working-class Americans. Still, a large and well-known company has seemingly ignored the burnout crisis and decided their employees need to work longer.  Popular tech company Samsung recently announced that all of its executives will have to follow a new mandate requiring them to be in the office most of the week. Samsung is forcing executives to work a 6-day week to ‘inject a sense of crisis’ in their employees. According to The Korea Economic Daily, Samsung, a Korean company, has introduced a companywide six-day workweek policy for executives as the company attempts to address and devise emergency measures to tackle ongoing business uncertainty. This comes after a disappointing financial year in 2023, which included revenue of around $51 billion in last year’s final quarter, down 3.8% year-on-year and down 2.2% compared with initial analyst predictions. “Considering that performance of our major units, including Samsung Electronics Co., fell short of expectations in 2023, we are introducing the six-day work week for …

Boss Cuts Worker’s Hours When He Refuses To Cancel Vacation Because His Pre-Approved Time Off Was Denied

Boss Cuts Worker’s Hours When He Refuses To Cancel Vacation Because His Pre-Approved Time Off Was Denied

Published by skeptic

An employee admitted that he was baffled after his boss both reprimanded him for and refused to let him use his PTO.  Posting to the subreddit “r/AmITheJerk” — an online public forum where individuals can share either personal anecdotes or conflicts that have happened to other people to see who was in the wrong — the 20-year-old man claimed that he and his boss, Susan, were involved in a bit of an argument after she told him that his PTO request was “last minute” after he’d already booked his vacation days. She told her employee that he wasn’t allowed to use his pre-approved time off. In his Reddit post, he explained that he’s been working in a store for the past two years and has never had any bad interactions or encounters with his boss until fairly recently.  It started back in January 2024 when he decided to save up so that he could take a few days of vacation with the PTO that he has. As he started to make his plans and arrangements, he made …

Gen Z Worker Says His Goal Is To Descend The Corporate Ladder

Gen Z Worker Says His Goal Is To Descend The Corporate Ladder

Published by skeptic

So many people feel burnt out — it’s become almost impossible to live, even with once-professional-level jobs. College educations and professional certificates often don’t provide the same stability they once did, especially for younger generations just now entering the workforce.  It’s why so many Gen Zers express their distaste for the traditional workplace environment. The route to success they’ve been told to follow for their whole lives has fallen flat, leaving people with food insecurity, financial stress, and overwhelming dread for the future.  One Gen Z worker, known as Aaron Yin on TikTok, expressed his distaste for “hustle culture,” sharing that he’s not looking to climb the corporate ladder but instead “descend” it. “See y’all at the bottom!”  Yin said his goal is to ‘descend the corporate ladder’ to focus on his personal life, manage his stress, and save money.  “Some people want to be managers, and of course that’s okay. Everyone deserves the opportunity to get chewed out by the CEOs directly,” he said in his recent video. “My goal for the next thirty days is to not wake up …

Hush Trips: Benefits And Risks Of This Type Of Travel

Hush Trips: Benefits And Risks Of This Type Of Travel

Published by Sam

After the onset of the pandemic, many office workers learned something: Being present in one physical workplace is not essential for every job. Even as offices reopened, countless employees continued to work from home ― or from somewhere else. Not only did this change the way people work, but it also changed the way they travel. Enter the “hush trip.” But what exactly is a hush trip, and how does it work? Below, experts break down the benefits and downsides of this approach to travel. What is a ‘hush trip’? “A ‘hush trip’ is where employees work remotely from a location other than their usual one, without informing their employers,” said travel blogger Sean Lau. It’s a temporary setup in which employees might simply work from a beach house an hour away from home for a few days ― or they might travel to a different time zone or even internationally. “Since they can just log on and handle their job duties from anywhere, the mindset is why even bring it up to your employer …

Working Mom Says She Was Written Up For Using 3 Unplanned Sick Days In 6 Months

Working Mom Says She Was Written Up For Using 3 Unplanned Sick Days In 6 Months

Published by skeptic

A working mother named Jordan Fairchild tearfully admitted that it’s a struggle to balance a full-time job while caring for her children and being there as a parent. In a TikTok video, Fairchild shared that she was reprimanded by the higher-ups at her job because of how many sick days she’d used in the last several months when she or her children were sick, despite having accrued the time off. She was given a ‘verbal warning’ for using 3 ‘unplanned’ sick days in the last 6 months. Fairchild explained that she just had her annual review at work, and while the review itself was fine, she got a verbal warning that she had to sign. The warning was because Fairchild had used three unplanned sick days over the past six months — two of them being because her children were sick and one because she was. “They basically threw the book at me and said this is our attendance policy and because you had three unplanned absences, you have to sign this document,” Fairchild recalled. “I think this plays …

Boss Tries To Cancel Employee’s Approved PTO After A Coworker Resigns

Boss Tries To Cancel Employee’s Approved PTO After A Coworker Resigns

Published by skeptic

A boss has come under scrutiny after attempting to dissuade an employee from using his approved time off because of an unexpected staff shortage. In a TikTok video, content creator and business expert Michael Sanz, who often posts career tips, shared a conversation between a boss and his employee that elicited a strong reaction from viewers. After a coworker resigned, the boss tried to cancel an employee’s approved PTO because they needed ‘all hands on deck.’ “You will not believe this message I’ve just been sent,” Sanz incredulously began in his video. In a text to his employee Noel, a boss named Nick explained that his coworker, Jenny, recently resigned and Noel would need to cancel his upcoming approved leave because they would need “all hands on deck” to combat Jenny’s sudden exit. “We can push back a few months. I’ve advised HR, and it’s now changed for you. Appreciate your understanding,” Nick’s message read. Sanz acknowledged that he already sounded like a bad boss, as he canceled his employee’s leave without so much as a conversation.  …

Burnout Coach Shares 6 Ways To Set Boundaries At Work Without Saying Anything

Burnout Coach Shares 6 Ways To Set Boundaries At Work Without Saying Anything

Published by skeptic

Setting boundaries is an invaluable way to take care of yourself, in an emotional and practical sense. It’s not only our personal relationships that benefit from boundaries, however — our professional lives do, too.  A burnout coach shared 6 ways to set boundaries at work without saying anything at all: 1. Don’t respond to emails immediately As a coach, Elissa Lynn works to help other people figure out a way to make their jobs sustainable, so as to avoid burning out. She recommends establishing a very particular pattern when it comes to answering work messages: Let them wait. Taking your time responding to emails gives you agency over your schedule. It also sets a precedent for how you want to be treated on the job. Navigating office politics is never simple, but protecting your peace is worth it because you’re worth it.  Photo: Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels  RELATED: 6 Distinct Signs Your Boss Is Giving You Less Than You Deserve 2. Don’t apologize for not responding right away The second part of Lynn’s email technique is to avoid apologizing …

Woman’s Boss And Co-Worker Retaliate Against Her For Taking Time Off To Care For Ill Mother

Woman’s Boss And Co-Worker Retaliate Against Her For Taking Time Off To Care For Ill Mother

Published by skeptic

Everyone goes through a difficult time in life eventually, and if you’re lucky, it happens while you have an understanding boss and co-workers. One woman on Reddit was not so fortunate, however, and it’s created a situation that highlights one of the biggest holes in America’s employment laws.  Her co-worker and boss are retaliating because she took time off to help her dying mother.  Dealing with a close family member or even a close friend who is at the end of their life is a harrowing experience, and it can be impossible to devote yourself 100% to your job in the midst of such a struggle. As boomers age, these situations are becoming ever more common for American workers. RELATED: Hardworking Employee Spent 15 Years At Company Just To Be Fired In A 5-Minute Meeting Nevertheless, it is also all too common that bosses and managers are not understanding when workers find themselves in these harrowing situations. For a woman on Reddit, it’s resulted in a downright cruel situation at work that unfortunately falls into a legal …