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phaedrus
Joined: 13 Nov 2003
Location: I'm comin' to get ya.
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 Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2005 7:30 pm Post subject: Overtime Work on Saturdays |
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I happen to work in the public school system. My boss likes to ask me to do stuff on Saturdays. Not too often, but once every month or so. I did some short term Saturday work in the past with my job, and I hated it. It totally ruins my weekend and week.
The contract says Monday to Friday quite forcefully and clearly, although there is an overtime clause which says that the employer may require overtime work in addition to regular hours and days.
I have no intention to work Saturdays again under any circumstances. I hate making excuses, though. In other words, I hate being asked. I end up feeling like I'm not doing my job properly if I say no. I think my boss, who happens to work Saturdays, just doesn't get it.
I guess I have three choices. Do I work the Saturdays, keep making excuses, or put my foot down once and for all? |
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the eye
Joined: 29 Jan 2004
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| Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2005 8:12 pm Post subject: |
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well, to be fair, they're not asking very frequently, are they?
i suppose considering the clause in your contract that states they may require it, you should honor it at least half of the time, in my opinion.
compromise.
i assume everything else is good with your job?
there is NO clause for overtime in my contract other than the pay in case i accept it.
i'm doing it today, actually, as it pays off in goodwill when i need a favor.
that's how i look at it....and the 30,000/class helps, too. |
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Grotto
Joined: 21 Mar 2004
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| Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 1:25 am Post subject: |
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Never NEVER NEVER do a Korean boss a favor. Give em an inch and they will!!!! take a mile. If you do it once then they will expect it...once they expect it then they will demand it.
Your contract says no Saturdays...just say no thank you. |
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ajuma
Joined: 18 Feb 2003
Location: Anywere but Seoul!!
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| Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 5:28 am Post subject: |
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| Grotto wrote: |
Never NEVER NEVER do a Korean boss a favor. Give em an inch and they will!!!! take a mile. If you do it once then they will expect it...once they expect it then they will demand it.
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I've got to disagree. Of course it totally depends on your boss, but I've been pretty lucky in the "getting back more than you put in" department. I once worked in a hagwon where I was the only foreign teacher. It was back in 1998, just after the "crash" and it was really hard to find foreign teachers. I put in a LOT of overtime, and not only did my boss pay me for the overtime, but she also gave me a bonus every month (even after she DID hire a new teacher!). She also gave me a 3 day holiday when a friend was leaving Korea so we could travel together. There was no other foreign teacher at the school at that time, and she "technically" didn't have to do it, but because I'd helped HER out, she helped me! |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 8:00 am Post subject: |
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Work as a salaried employee in any office in North America. Working one Saturday month isn't that uncommon. I don't know any job I've ever had where I didn't give up my weekend to meet deadlines during crunch times.
It's not fun but I don't know many people who work in, say, the accounting or software world that biatch too loudly about having to come in the office on a Saturday to catch up on work. |
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jaykimf
Joined: 24 Apr 2004
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| Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 3:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Grotto wrote: |
Never NEVER NEVER do a Korean boss a favor. Give em an inch and they will!!!! take a mile. If you do it once then they will expect it...once they expect it then they will demand it.
Your contract says no Saturdays...just say no thank you. |
With an atitude like that, you are your own victim. |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 3:45 pm Post subject: |
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| jaykimf wrote: |
| Grotto wrote: |
Never NEVER NEVER do a Korean boss a favor. Give em an inch and they will!!!! take a mile. If you do it once then they will expect it...once they expect it then they will demand it.
Your contract says no Saturdays...just say no thank you. |
With an atitude like that, you are your own victim. |
My boss is great. She goes toe to toe with the uber bosses if she thinks they're waffling on some contract point (which itself is rare... and more because of their lack of experience with a foreign teacher, not understanding how my contract differs from the Korean contracts). Would I do my Korean boss a favor? You're darn right I would. One day she quite fretfully approached me. She needed to take her Saturday shift off for her mother in law's 60th birthday or something. She was trying to figure out how to rejig the schedule that week so I would work a Saturday but still teach my contracted teaching hours. I'm like "don't be silly, working one Saturday isn't going to kill me. Keep the schedule the same and I'll fill in for you those 3 hours on Saturday."
Would she expect it again? If she had another major family duty, I'm sure she'd ask me again. And I'd happily cover for her again. And next time I had a problem with my bank or my apartment appliance or visa, she'd happily get on the blower and remind the powers that be every day they need to move on these issues.
| Quote: |
| Give em an inch and they will!!!! take a mile. |
I'm sure many Korean bosses have a similar attitude about their foreign teachers "Give 'em a centimeter and they'll take a kilometer".
Don't be a carpet in your job but don't go in with the attitude that your school is only out to scam you. It can only create a bad relationship. A-holes tend to get treated like a-holes. Don't attribute to malice what can be attributed to poorly defined job roles, lack of time, and a lack of a planning. These latter elements are present in all work places, not just Korea. |
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Grotto
Joined: 21 Mar 2004
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| Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 4:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Okay if you have a good boss then by all means help them out if you feel like it. BUT if you have just started a job set some boundries right off. I have 3 friends that recently started working here on the ROK Their contracts state Mon-Fri but since they arrived their boss has been making them come in almost every Saturday for 3-4 hours at no pay to evaluate new students. |
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phaedrus
Joined: 13 Nov 2003
Location: I'm comin' to get ya.
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| Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 4:37 pm Post subject: |
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If I thought I wasn't being stepped on, I would do it. I did Saturday work in the past out of kindness, and now I fear an expectation has been established.
I just think the Saturday work could easily be scheduled for another day during the week. I'm more than willing to work harder Monday to Friday, but my weekends are my time.
This is the public system, so the assumption is everyone should work on Saturdays. |
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