Darned Work!

[Doc]

So, I am just curious ...... how many people here are more and more finding that work responsibilities and demands are starting to take over time that used to be spent hunting/scouting/fishing/ etc.?

 

Its not a problem for me anymore since I am retired. But my memory is not so wrecked yet that I can't remember the direction that things were headed back when I was still working. I still remember the massive down-sizing and the added demands on those of us that remained as we picked up the responsibilities of those that were given the boot. I remember the mandatory unpaid overtime that was beginning to become a way of life rather than just additional effort when certain emergencies or plugs of overwhelming work-loads came along. And I remember how all that crap seemed to come along when hunting season was in full swing.

 

Well it's been a bunch of years since I retired, and I was just wondering the other day if those trends of living to work rather than working to live were still on the uphill trend and if members here were feeling the pressures of work taking more and more time away from their hunting, scouting, and other leisure-time activities.

[stoneam2006]

I work at a very big company and try and work 6 days a week if they will alow it all summer....but come hunting/trapping season I cut way back bc honestly everyone needs time to relax and live life....luckily for me I am in a union (some perks and some cra**y parts) and they cannot force me to work ot.

[Five Seasons]

Work is what you make of it. There are hourly jobs out there that allow you to work a solid 40 and the occasional OT. It's up to many if they want that OT money.

The salary role is different. Your phone is always on and you're expected to work more than the 40... But even still you can decide what level you want to climb to and what level of responsibility you want based off your goals and financial needs.

[scolopaxmatt]

I work two part time civil service jobs to make full time money.  No benefits, no retirement, no paid leave of any kind and no paid holidays.

 

Welcome to the new way of the future, doing more with less and all that happy monkey paw.  That being the case, piss on work. 

 

I take two unpaid weeks in October for an annual cast and blast and any other day I damn well please.  

 

I agree w/ Belo, you decide your "level" based on what's important to you.  The wife and I own our house and vehicles outright and have five years left on 1 student loan.  No cable, no iPhone, no new fancy cars so we live comfortably on what little we make.

 

It's all about what you value, and my time is worth more than the money I'm paid.

 

 

[First-light]

In between jobs right now, I was cutting firewood all day, it was a good day with no distractions!

 

[Jeremy K]

Since last year march,i left a job that i had 5 weeks off personal time to take a job in the auto industry and don't receive any paid time off for 18 months. That and 6 day work weeks are mandatory.

[Red]

I work in the construction business ill only do m-f. The weekends are spent with the wife and kids except for October November and December then the weekends are mine. The summer is crazy busy i usually work around 50 hrs a week but i schedule all of my jobs so if i have something to do with the family i wont make my schedule crazy that day. My start time is 8 but i work by myself so u usually go in between 6-630am and leave between 4-5 then ill have atleast 2 hrs over time each day and still get out early enough to do things with the family or if i don't feel like getting over time ill leave at 2.

This year i have 3 weeks of vacation and 3 or 5 sick days

Im starting to get to beat up to keep doing this work my body hurts more and more each year but i really enjoy the freedom. Plus i don't have a boss breathing down my back he knows when i leave the shop each day im getting all of my jobs done and i get done more then any previous employee he's had.

[Doc]

Work is what you make of it. There are hourly jobs out there that allow you to work a solid 40 and the occasional OT. It's up to many if they want that OT money.

The salary role is different. Your phone is always on and you're expected to work more than the 40... But even still you can decide what level you want to climb to and what level of responsibility you want based off your goals and financial needs.

Well, in so many of the larger companies, the rule is you are either on your way up or you're on your way out, and that takes all the decision-making out of your hands as to whether to turn down mandatory OT or not. That principle is enforced with periodic massive downsizing layoffs. In my later years of employment, corporations were making full use and taking full advantage of that principle, particularly in the midst of the down-sizing craze. My early retirement was primarily driven by these factors. I have heard from various sources that that sort of thing has not gotten any better. And I do hear more and more hunters claiming that many hunting days simply have to be done away with because of mandatory work commitments. So I figured I would simply ask how things are going these days.

[Nomad]

Fire fighter . Probably the best job for a hunter ! The best thing about the job is the work schedule the worst thing about the job is the schedule .... You'er going to work nights week ends and holidays , if your wife is "clingy " and can't spend night home alone it s not for you, same for missing games bdays and holidays .

But working 15 days a month and being able to hunt during the day the 7 or 8 days you'er on nights means 22 or 23 days of hunting a month .

I'm blessed and retiring in two years !

[Four Season Whitetail's]

Work?  Whitetail's?  Ya have that covered.  Made that choice many years ago and have went nowhere but up.

[First-light]

Well, in so many of the larger companies, the rule is you are either on your way up or you're on your way out, and that takes all the decision-making out of your hands as to whether to turn down mandatory OT or not. That principle is enforced with periodic massive downsizing layoffs. In my later years of employment, corporations were making full use and taking full advantage of that principle, particularly in the midst of the down-sizing craze. My early retirement was primarily driven by these factors. I have heard from various sources that that sort of thing has not gotten any better. And I do hear more and more hunters claiming that many hunting days simply have to be done away with because of mandatory work commitments. So I figured I would simply ask how things are going these days.

exactly what happened to me and a few thousand others in the last 5 years at Time Inc. Next big layoff comes right before they move downtown in October. My former coworkers have a doom and gloom cloud hanging over them, it sucks to work this way.

[phade]

Well, in so many of the larger companies, the rule is you are either on your way up or you're on your way out, and that takes all the decision-making out of your hands as to whether to turn down mandatory OT or not. That principle is enforced with periodic massive downsizing layoffs. In my later years of employment, corporations were making full use and taking full advantage of that principle, particularly in the midst of the down-sizing craze. My early retirement was primarily driven by these factors. I have heard from various sources that that sort of thing has not gotten any better. And I do hear more and more hunters claiming that many hunting days simply have to be done away with because of mandatory work commitments. So I figured I would simply ask how things are going these days.

 

I have mandatory OT for my reporting structure about 4-6 Saturdays a year.The thing is though, people actually enjoy it because it's usually 1 or 2x a month in Nov. Dec. Jan, and Feb. They crave the OT because it pays for Christmas. I may also run OT in July if we have a busy month, but again, its summer, vacations are in play, and people want the spending loot to pay for them...and school clothes.

 

I take less time now for hunting than I did before. It stinks, but it's also a trade-off. I worked 9 days in February because my wife fell ill and was in the hospital. One hand washes the other when it comes to situations like that. If I were hourly or maybe at a different company with people who cared less, it would have been tough to navigate. I just took care of what I needed to take care of and there was minimal talk of anything related to being in the office. When I check my remaining PTO balance, it still says the same as it did in January....maxed out. Essentially I took 13 working days off in Feb. and didn't burn an hour of PTO, sick, or anything else.

 

I'm not in manufacturing, which it sounds like alot of this topic applies to when talking about large businesses. I am in the services field working for a company with zero debt and not a single layoff in 35-40+ years of business with 12,000-13,000 employees. That is likely the exception to the rule, but these companies exist and if you are working for a company that isn't the exception to the rule, some of the "man keeping you down" is on your shoulders to a degree.

 

I will say one of the mistakes I made was being comfortable working for such a company. I never took the time to network for the first portion of my career and it probably cost me some opportunities. Now, even though I am quite happy where I am and who I work with (equally as important), I always have one hand in the game. There isn't a month that goes by where I don't receive or discuss opportunities with a couple headhunters. They know my current state and what it takes for me to look seriously, but like anything in life, complacency kills, so I've made a commitment to my family to maximize whatever potential there is. Last time this happened, I got a great offer from a massive, sound company every adult in this country knows...on the same day my company offered me my current role. Do you think I'd be as well off if I only had one offer in hand? Nope. You better believe I leveraged the hell out of it - to the point the VP of our division sat down and asked me what it'll take to keep me here after I turned down their counter offer. I burned a bridge at the other company, but it is one of those times where burning a bridge is worth more to you and your family.

Edited April 22, 2015 by phade

[genesee_mohican]

We had mandatory OT last fall which started the first week of October of all times. There went any chance to hunt the afternoons. I do save a week of vacation for archery and a few days for gun and black powder, plus I can hunt just about every weekend day so I feel fortunate.  My only regret when it comes to employment is that I didn't have the foresight to get a civil service job back when I was young like some of my friends did. They are retiring in their mid-50's on a state pension and full benefits.

[jjb4900]

I have zero problems with work affecting my hunting time, 6 weeks vacation and 5 personal days a year pretty much allow me to be off as I please. I also get a 3 day weekend every other week and although I work weekends the majority of the year, I would much rather be off mid week when everyone else is at work.......overtime is there if I want, but not mandatory........I just find myself wanting to take vacations to do things other than hunting these days

[GreeneHunter]

I was thinking about semi-retiring , I'd like to get a summer job on the NYS Canal system as an lock operator and have off for the winter .  Plenty of time in the woods then !

[Bow Addict]

I don't have a problem with work.I'm lucky.I work a 4 day week and can take time off for hunting any time I want.

[WNYBuckHunter]

This past year I left a job that I had 4 weeks of vacation time and a weeks worth of personal time at. I went to a much larger company and lost my vacation time for the first year, so last season, I was limited to a few evenings early on, and then all weekends and holidays after that. It put a big dent in my usual hunting time. This year Im back to having vacation time, though not as much, but it was well worth it from a career, financial and personal perspective, so I cant complain. Ill get the vaca time back again in time.

[Doc]

So many different scenarios.....lol. The original post was colored by a large multinational corporation that had gone through massive down-sizing with all the responsibilities of ex-employees falling on the shoulders of those remaining. It was also composed from the standpoint of a salaried employee who was not paid overtime. I should also stir in the fact that we had gone through wage freezes. So the effects were maybe a bit more severe than many are encountering. However, I still continue to hear of those today who are experiencing much of the same thing, and their ability to recreate is indeed being impacted in ways that didn't exist in the past. So I was just curious as to whether others have noticed that today's business climate impinges more on hunting opportunities (or any recreational activities) than it did in the past. It sounds like the answer is becoming, "yes" and "no".....lol.

[Five Seasons]

Well, in so many of the larger companies, the rule is you are either on your way up or you're on your way out, and that takes all the decision-making out of your hands as to whether to turn down mandatory OT or not. That principle is enforced with periodic massive downsizing layoffs. In my later years of employment, corporations were making full use and taking full advantage of that principle, particularly in the midst of the down-sizing craze. My early retirement was primarily driven by these factors. I have heard from various sources that that sort of thing has not gotten any better. And I do hear more and more hunters claiming that many hunting days simply have to be done away with because of mandatory work commitments. So I figured I would simply ask how things are going these days.

It is unfortunate the NY jobs have fallen so far because it use to be that if you didn't like it, the guy next door was hiring.

As a salaried professional I could put on cruise and keep my job, but probably not continue to climb... However even in cruise my employer expects you to push yourself and I don't find that unreasonable. Honestly I know some guys who just don't work smart, so they put in more hours than me with less results. There, of course are dozens of books on this subject. I'll keep doing what I'm doing until I feel it's keeping me from being there with my kids. That's my line, not hunting... But family.

I'll agree with phase that entertaining the head hunters is important.

Edited April 22, 2015 by Belo

[philoshop]

I announced my 'official' retirement on the same day that I graduated from high school about 40 years ago.

I have absolutely no money right now, but I've had a whole lot of fun since then just being me.

[Doc]

Well, I'm not sure that the system is working as it has to, but one does not generally expect living conditions to reverse over time. It appears that people can afford more "stuff" these days but way less time to enjoy that "stuff". To me that is a reversal in the quality of life. Somewhere, I got the idea that life was supposed to get better as years and decades and centuries go by. It seems to me that I am seeing a reversal of that in many cases. We worked hard to achieve a 40 hour work week, and it wasn't all that long ago that some companies were experimenting with a 4 day work week. I think that those were moves in a positive direction. Now, 6 day work weeks (and long days at that )  are becoming the norm (sometimes paid, sometimes not). To me that just doesn't seem to be a move in the right direction. That looks like a retreat in the quality of life.

[Five Seasons]

Doc,

 

I think you're taking your personal experience and assuming it's the case everywhere. We have more stuff because society has taught us to be materialistic. There's more than a few here who made it clear they don't have a ton of money or things because they'd rather enjoy life... and americans are in crazy debt because they can't afford the things they want.

 

I think it's personal choice and not a forced lifestyle on how many hours you work and what you expect to earn.

 

I work for one of the largest company in the world... I've had 3 positions in my salaried career with 2 companies. As I've grown, my salary has gone up and so have my responsibilities. None of the moves were forced upon me, I chose them. Mostly so that my wife could stay home with my boys.

[jjb4900]

 It appears that people can afford more "stuff" these days but way less time to enjoy that "stuff". To me that is a reversal in the quality of life. 

I think that many people have stuff that they can't afford, and that's the problem........nobody gets denied a loan or credit card theses days, they just hit them with astronomical interest rates and the people don't care, they just keep buying.