[trxblazr]

ASKING FOR HELP:

hi HN, I'll take the opportunity of this thread to ask for some advice. My current employer (a billion $ startup, ~200 employees) is asking all of us to work Saturdays (on top of the 12-13 hours I already work daily).

I value my weekends, a lot. It's not that I don't want to work. I love work and on weekends, I still do. I have spurs of intense creativity and code productivity, but I want to keep those weekends for myself.

How do I tell my employer that my weekends are not for sale? What should I expect from them if I say no more?

[dyno12345]

Tell them that in exchange for 20% more time you expect a 20% pay raise. Talk about all the things you're going to have to give up if you take that extra time, and how that makes you unhappy. Since they're asking for something from you, they can't get mad at you for negotiating something in return. No one can call that unfair with a straight face. Most likely if you do this they probably won't actually give you 20% but will may offer you something much smaller. You can decide to either accept this, or, you can say that their counteroffer is not good enough for you, so you can't take the extra time. That way your reason to refuse is completely impersonal, and not because you don't care.

Regardless, start looking for another job in the meantime. The culture of where you work sounds completely inhumane.

[wavesounds]

I've been in the same position and it sucks a lot, especially when you aren't even being paid for the extra hours and you don't want to have to leave a company you feel invested in.

Please you need to stand up for yourself and likewise all of us, employers need to know that if they want quality engineers they need to treat them like quality human beings.

We cant let this become the new normal in our industry, the more of us that demand our right the less likely employers will be to try to take them in the future.

[jasonkester]

How do I tell my employer that my weekends are not for sale?

You could try selling him your weekends. And your nights.

Negotiate your position into a contract where you bill by the hour. That way he can have as many weekends as he likes. He can request you charge him for as many non-productive sleep-addled hours as there are in the week. Offer to "work" 24/7, so long as he's willing to pay.

The other way to pull this off is to get your entire team on board with the concept of "free time", "weekends", and "life". If everybody on your team were to slowly ramp their hours down to 40 per week, your employer would have but two choices: fire everybody or deal with it.

I've done both those things at various companies over the years. Both work nicely, provided you're prepared to land on the open market if things go south.

[bstpierre]

I'd expect them to show you the door. If you want to stand firm on this point, be ready to look for a new job. (I'd personally be looking for a new job anyway if I was asked to work weekends; there's more to life than work.)

[rhizome]

"I'm sorry, that won't be possible." --Miss Manners

Also, if you're in the US and a normal software developer, and depending on your salary, your existing 12-13hr/day schedule may make you eligible for overtime and back pay.

[mattdeboard]

"I'm not interested in doing that."