Work piling up, offshore is useless as ever... I think I'll clean my old mail and onedrive instead
Posted by HylianSystems@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 167 comments
I'm burnt out to shit.
Been at the same place for close to 15 years now, have slowly become the goto guy for anything IT even if its outside of my department. They moved the only other onshore person on my team to a different IT team, so all of his unfinished junk got slapped on my lap. I have a couple offshore admins that I'm trying to push the work onto, but it just turns into endless chats for help and questions and how-tos... So I mean as per usual, we have offshore resources who don't know shit and lied through their teeth to get the job... Now here I am everyday driving into an office 2 hours round trip to talk to people in india. Meanwhile on the other side of the infra team, they are all onshore.
With all the systems related stuff I have on my plate, I continue to get hit with cybersec stuff such as policy writing, and helpdesk shit, such was basic IAM ... We have a fucking IAM engineer and cyber team. Oh but whats that? They are fucking offshore, and management still comes to me to do the work instead because they "trust me to do it right". Same goes for the helpdesk/desktop teams. "Oh they really aren't the right resource to manage the windows 11upgrade, here Sr Sysadmin Server guy, you do that too".
This place expects 45 hours of in office time, yet I still have to go home each night and work on projects and maintenance off hours and on weekends for larger deployments. Offshore doesn't have to do that because they are hourly. I am clocking up to 65+ hours of work a week. I never get any time with my wife and kids because of the work.
So, this week I've been joining meetings and doing the bare minimum while browsing job posts. Trying to find anything else that may be closer to home or remote... On the flip side, I've just been clearing out old ass files and emails from my 15 years of history here. Most of which are junk. Moving shit that is shared and still used out to the IT SharePoint.
I'm done. I've been done. I've had it with this fucked up, disorganized, and overall garbage company... I have been for years. RTO and rampant offshoring put the final nail in the coffin.
Just blowing off steam. Thanks for listening.
TrekRider911@reddit
Draw a line in the sand. You're paid for 40 hours (assuming your in the U.S.), work just that. At 5PM, shutdown computer and walk away. Don't check your email until 8:00 AM. If your boss asks why things aren't getting done, note you need additional resources and ask them to do the manager thing and find them. Project management ticket system, roadmaps... Three possible things will happen.
Your boss will go "holy crap," and get you resources, help and assistance. You'll get a project manager! You'll get more home time with the family.
Your boss will go "suck it up," you'll get madder, and eventually burn out, your wife will leave you, your kids will resent you, and you'll be miserable until you quit.
Your boss will go "suck it up," you'll give him the middle finger, and quit.
Pick the one that makes you the happiest. I think you already know though.
SpecialSheepherder@reddit
Don't show a middle finger, don't quit yourself? If they go the "suck it up" route just make sure you draw clear lines and stick to what is specified in your contract. Let them fire you if it comes to that.
TrekRider911@reddit
Well, true, I guess I should add, "quit, and start a new job." But sometimes in life, you just gotta bail. Getting fired isn't the optimal way, but if you need the unemployment, or time to find a new gig, do what you gotta do. :)
SpecialSheepherder@reddit
if they fire you for you not wanting to do unpaid work they typically have to pay a severance
uzlonewolf@reddit
Not here in the land of Freedom(tm) where they are Free to abuse you before kicking you out on your ass.
DeeboBD@reddit
If they fire you, you get unemployment at least. Quitting doesn't let you collect unemployment.
uzlonewolf@reddit
Because you can live off of the $250/week they give you or something? And good luck finding another job in this economy.
signal_lost@reddit
Constructive dismissal.
uzlonewolf@reddit
It is, but good luck proving it.
jamespo@reddit
How often have you quit a job with nothing to go to and do you have dependents?
pppjurac@reddit
Update linkedin profile, update CV and get the hell out of there.
This is three person team job and they pay you only for one and pocket rest into bonuses in HR and sales.
CaptainInMass@reddit
I work for a small MSP. We augmented our help desk and system engineers by adding some folks from the Philippines. They are awesome, talented and hard working. You need to fire the folks in India and switch to the Philippines. Just my experience.
signal_lost@reddit
Manilla has a culture of working late at night that's just wild to me. I'm convinced 1/2 that city is an insomniac.
0zer0space0@reddit
I am also finding that our offshore counterparts will not employ any critical thinking skills and will not move if there isn’t a step by step SOP documented somewhere for them to follow for every case. While I agree SOPs are important, sometimes you have to do your own research and make educated guesses. Asking others for help is fine, but they stop there and don’t follow through on instructions they are given.
zedarzy@reddit
This is often contractual.
And outsourced IT usually has little to no skin in the game.
Is It really surprising when subcontractor of outsourced IT is not willing to do anything outside SOP?
signal_lost@reddit
Is It really surprising when subcontractor of outsourced IT is not willing to do anything outside SOP?
I would argue 1/2 the value I provided at a MSP was to ignore the CAB and "fix things" when they were broken.
0zer0space0@reddit
Interesting. I wonder how their contract compares to mine.
ScroogeMcDuckFace2@reddit
once they need to go off script, it is over. complete flop
Dry-Librarian5486@reddit
Lmao... dude, with Nutanix, it generally goes as far as "let me do a health check" and "please, open the tunnel." Then you languish for months until you scream enough to talk to somebody from NA or Europe. It's pathetic. I've had the exact same experience with Palo Alto, who are actually worse, because you can hear all the clamor and screaming in their Indian sweatshop call centers while you're on a call. And, yes, they don't help.. I don't even think they can escalate you to somebody who can.
0zer0space0@reddit
They’re doing the needful.
But that’s bad they have nowhere to escalate to next level support after they run through the basics.
Dry-Librarian5486@reddit
They don't really run through the basics. They ask for this log and that log... then they ask for it again. Then they continue to ask for it, then they ghost you.
0zer0space0@reddit
I have worked service desk before many many years ago and if you went off script at all, even when it made sense, you would get dinged so hard on QA reviews. It makes me wonder if they carry that over to sysadmin type roles over there, yet it doesn’t make sense to do it that way if it’s true.
ScroogeMcDuckFace2@reddit
could be
Smtxom@reddit
I’ve said it before and some folks said it’s prejudice to say so but there are cultures where cheating or scamming to get ahead in life is ok. It’s ok to cheat on tech exams to get the cert and land the job. There are schools in these countries that will literally teach from exam dumps. They’ve been caught doing so and punished but the culture persists.
We had an ISP provider that used overseas “engineers”. They couldn’t think their way out of a wet paper bag. They were supposedly certified and experienced but once you ran into more complicated networking issues they froze like a deer in headlights. We switched providers soon after they went overseas for support.
0zer0space0@reddit
Something like that could be happening. I see my offshore counterparts with a string of acronyms behind their names and my first thought was how unprepared I was for this job. No certs for me but 20 years of work experience. Oh boy. I felt a little better about myself after a short while.
themisfit610@reddit
Definitely sounds like a new job is in order.
Salaried job demanding 65 hours a week and piling on all the work they don’t trust the offshore guys to do? You’re in an abusive relationship.
Where is your boss? At the very least somebody needs to start saying no to your resource being spent on bailing out other teams.
Saritiel@reddit
Yup, I worked a job that demanded 60-70 hours per week for about a year when I was in my early 20s. Thought it was okay because I was making good money for a girl who didn't have a college degree.
Burned me out and strained my relationships with friends and family and I vowed, at that point, to stop being a doormat to my employers.
mrtuna@reddit
are you still together?
Saritiel@reddit
I don't understand the question.
mrtuna@reddit
do you still have a relationship with the girl in question
tombull89@reddit
Bro she is said girl...
mrtuna@reddit
LOL how did I miss that.
Saritiel@reddit
All good, hahaha
zephalephadingong@reddit
In your early 20s that can be a great way to get experience. At some point it becomes not worth it though
zedarzy@reddit
Its not. You get enough experience during 9-15.
Requiring consistent OT means bad management and understaffing on purpose. Nothing to be gained from being doormat.
Kraeftluder@reddit
Most countries would see salaried as abusive to begin with. Work needs to be paid. All hours.
Zealousideal_Dig39@reddit
Not really. If a non-shitty job the perks of salary are great. You can work a 20 hour week and get paid for 40. I don't want to have to look busy for 40 hours. You do you though :)
Kraeftluder@reddit
But that ánd getting your overtime paid is basically how any office job in The Netherlands works.
lost_signal@reddit
The Netherlands works. And Germany from what I've seen
But the rate per hour for tech jobs there are a LOT lower than the US.
get the distinct impression that most salaried IT people in the US hardly ever work less than 40.
Define work? I worked for a MSP and did a lot of project work for various school districts and I regularly saw network admins and others who spend 1/2 the day on espn.com and YouTube. You end up with people who basically retire in place in some cases.
Also worth pointing out while less common you can be salaried AND get overtime pay. the term everyone is missing is "OVERTIME EXEMPT" and if you are doing low level Helpdesk stuff you possibly legally don't qualify for that designation.
Kraeftluder@reddit
It's not completely true if you add stuff like health insurance.
Yeah. We just had 3 people retire relatively quickly after one another because they reached pension age. Isn't that great.
lost_signal@reddit
Health insurance isn’t really that big of a deal in difference.
I’m on a drug my European colleagues couldn’t get for years, so comparing plans and drug access is always strange.
In the US you can either pre pay (PPO) or do an HSA plan. I do the later. My family premiums are $55 a paycheck (so $1430 a year)
My deductible $8,000 for the family but the company gives me $1500 tax free into. Health savings account, so my max to hit thr deductible is $6500.
I’ve been maxing out my HSA withholding for years (and invested it) and have grown it tax free to over 70K so even if we had maximum health costs I could pay 10 years of deductibles.
This healthcare cost difference for tech workers is largely mooted as the US company salary compensation for engineering roles pays often half as much (and multi nationals often don’t promote the EU offices to as high of positions).
What are the pensions like in Europe? For some reason I thought the state pension in Netherlands was only like €1,100–€1,200 a month. I do have a government pension (Social Security). Depending on when I retire it’ll only pay 3-5K a month. I know they supplement that with different benefit plans, but I thought those typically were only about €40,000 a year? It’s about the equivalent of me having $1 million in my 401(k). (maybe a little worse with today’s interest rates)
Pensions are nice but I’d rather have a 401K (that will let me buy an annuity if I want) than be forced into one for my private retirement savings. My parents have pensions, but that generally comes with lower wages than private sector. We currently are maxing our 401K/401A IRA contributions
Kraeftluder@reddit
Thanks for your elaborate reply. I really appreciate that. I can see where you're coming from as well. I mostly disagree with what I think is your opinion so far but that's fine. Just because I think our system is better doesn't mean everyone should implement it or that there isn't room for improvement. There are shitloads of issues in our society. Up until last year I used to spend a lot of time in the US, visited 39 of the contiguous States and enjoyed every millisecond of it and the US flat out does a lot of things better. But in my opinion when it comes to labor/pensions/healthcare, it is extremely lacking. The arguments that people have against other systems are not always wrong but often taken out of context.
I'm terribly sorry but this will be a wall of text. I just got back from our last-day-of-the-year-with-drinks at the office so there's some alcohol in the game, sorry.
Yes it is. It is tied to your employment. That is flat out dangerous in my opinion. Insurance companies in the US have much much much higher denial rates than the ones in Europe.
Ours is 375 euros by law. The UK and Belgium don't have them afaik.
It's about 1100 if you've got a partner. If you're alone it's around 1620 I think. Also, unlike the UK, there is no requirement to work. The only requirement is you had an address in The Netherlands between your 18th and 67th.
The last time I saw stats on this was around the first year of COVID but the current generation of retirees are the richest generation we've got. Poverty rate among the elderly was the second lowest in the world at 3%. The only source I can find that talks about the same numbers is slightly older and from a Dutch national public news organization's background stories type of show: https://eenvandaag.avrotros.nl/artikelen/hebben-nederlandse-ouderen-het-financieel-zo-goed-114549
My retirement plan is currently at 1200 a month on top of the state pension. In another 20 years or so when I reach retirement age it'll be a lot more. I've added the maximum extra amount I was allowed to without paying taxes for years to catch up my first 6 years of not paying any premium. Because you were excluded from paying pension premium until you were 24 back then.
I currently make 68K a year (all numbers before taxes & premiums unless specified otherwise). I get paid around 3500 euros after tax per month. There are three instances a year where there are extra payments. May has an extra 8.3% for everyone (vacation money), in October people who have reached the end of the pay grade get a seniority bonus of 1950 euros. At the end of December I get paid almost 10K after tax due to all additions and tax breaks. All of this comes from the collective bargaining agreement we've got in education. After I retire I should have about the same income. I'm paying 340 euros in pension premiums a month. I think my employer pays something as well but I'm uncertain how much.
I don't know what that last part means or why that would be a good thing, but I do know that a pension cannot be taken away. Not for 50% if you haven't worked there for 2 years yet. Everything is always yours. There is no risk of you losing the pension ever. Which should be how it works. The number of stories I've read of employees who lost (part of) their 401k's is disconcerting. It doesn't matter what they did or how they behaved; they paid for that. If the employer needs to recover damages they can recover them like everyone else has to ór insure themselves properly.
Oh, by the way, the US might have more cutting edge health care and easier access to the newest treatments for some, that doesn't meant that that it is the case for everyone or that generally the health care system is good: - https://ceoworld.biz/2024/04/02/countries-with-the-best-health-care-systems-2024/ - https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2024/sep/mirror-mirror-2024 - https://www.internationalinsurance.com/health/systems/
Finally; I cought a nasty influenza on my flight over to the US at one point, and I ended up in the ER and spent three hours there before discharging myself. This was in Utah Valley Hospital. I'm sorry to say I was not impressed with the state of the hospital, the level of care provided. I was pleasantly surprised by how much it cost but it turns out my insurance had some sort of mutual contract with their network so it was super heavily discounted. Had to pay 40 bucks or so, which my insurance then reimbursed to me personally.
signal_lost@reddit
Yes it is. It is tied to your employment. That is flat out dangerous in my opinion. Insurance companies in the US have much much much higher denial rates than the ones in Europe.
Kinda. 52% of people get insurance from an employer (that could also include a spouse, of which my wife and I have been on each others when between jobs). There's also an open market now (healthcare.gov) you can get insurance from (federal and states provide subsadies). income below those threasholds you fall into medicaid and it's subsidiaries. Some people also get them from their unions, and when I loose employment I'm looking at 60 days on payroll (WARN ACT) + 6 months of COBRA as part of my severance (and at any time in that I can just join my wifes plan).
It's about 1100 if you've got a partner. If you're alone it's around 1620 I think. Also, unlike the UK, there is no requirement to work
US only requires 40 quarters (10 years) of work for you to claim SS (You can obviously claim it early if you are invoking the disability benefit). They only look at your best 10 year run for calculating payout Your spouse can claim yours even if they don't work. (There's also survivorship benefits like for my kids as part of it).
currently make 68K a year
For education (which pays a bit worse, but also has free healthcare generally and pensions on top, and gets a ton of summer vacation time) I'm seeing that as the mid band of 7 years of experience for the local district. For private sector that would be starting salary (possibly below) for a new college grad as a sysadmin in medium cost of living place.
Most smaller shops do a extra 10% Christmas bonus for variable pay or profit sharing. Large evil tech companies can can be talking 25-35% of base bonus's, and stock compensation that's anwyere from 30% of base, to 400% (if the price is going up for a staff level position). The best paid sysadmin roles (SREs) tend to get into \~200-300K TC. Smaller shops maybe 130K for a sysadmin is pretty doable.
I think my employer pays something as well but I'm uncertain how much.
The US FICA is 15.3% split between you and your employer. (That covers social security, medicare, medicaid, disability etc).
There are three instances a year where there are extra payments
I have annual bonus 30%, (which can be boosted up to 100% based on division permanence and my stack rank). 4 times a year I get stock vest (RSUs).
This was in Utah Valley Hospital. I'm sorry to say I was not impressed with the state of the hospital, the level of care provided
For influenza standard of care is going to be Tamiflu (which a pharmacy can give you) acetaminophen or ibuprofen, fluids and rest. Maybe a banana bag in an extreme case but 95% of people don't go to a hospital for that they go to an urgent care/pharmacy. If you show up in a emergency room "not dying" You get triaged to the bottom of the list (It's not first come first serve, it's who's least likely to die) so expect a crazy long wait potentially.
Random question, did you get the Flu vaccine? For some reason I've seen a lot of Europe throttle it only to certain populations. (over 65, other risk factors). In the Us we just tell everyone to get it (Weirdly I get "paid" by my grocery store pharmacy with a coupon if I get it). It reduces hospitalization by 82%.
had some sort of mutual contract with their network so it was super heavily discounted
Healthcare bills work like Enterprise software/hardware discounting. CRAZY high list prices, that they then discount 90% for insurance. The funny thing is the cash pay (no insurance rate) is often LOWER than the insurance rate as weird as that sounds, and weirdly enough you can haggle payment terms. (and if your poor they just write off teh bills most of the time). It's reminds me of buying a Powermax.
Wild_Swimmingpool@reddit
I’d say I’m “available” roughly 50hrs a week but I’m definitely closer to 30 of actual work. Sometimes even less tbh. Plus I take at least 3-4 weeks of PTO a year. Salaried in the US.
Kraeftluder@reddit
Having to be available in most European countries counts as employment.
Even though I am an odd one out, I have roughly 12 weeks of PTO per year. I'm in education so that's a but unfair, hehehe.
Everyone has a legal minimum of 28 days PTO a year. To get one week off you use five of them. A lot of collective bargaining agreements exist for sectors and those usually up it. If you're really in IT-IT, there's no collective agreement but they often have 7 weeks of PTO. You can usually buy extra days (not in education). If the boss requires you to be there 15 minutes before your shift starts then they are allowed to ask that of you but you have to be paid for those 15 minutes.
Also; we do not have the concept of sick days. The law allows for employers to not pay the first day but many collective agreements have negotiated that back to 100% coverage of lost income. If you're sick you tell your boss you can't go to work because you're sick. He's not even allowed to ask you what you have. You are required by law to report to an employer contracted specialized doctor on request, though. That has happened to me a few times over the years when I had something somewhat serious. As it wasn't a work related (or where it is a co-contributing factor) illness and was on track to go back to work for 50% within 2 months and for 100% in 4 I never heard from them again, the other two times were sent automatically from their side but had the same cause (chronic illness) so a quick phone call made sure the case was closed.
Employers can start proceedings to let you go after 2 years of illness, but even then only if the employee won't be back even for even 1 day a week within 6 months of that.
lost_signal@reddit
Everyone has a legal minimum of 28 days PTO a year here. To get one week off you use five of them
I'm pretty much the same. They want to see 80% attendance a quarter. Last place I took a whole month off though which was fun.
Employers can start proceedings to let you go after 2 years of illness, but even then only if the employee won't be back even for even 1 day a week within the 6 months after that two year period.
It's generally 6 months in the US, but I have long term disability insurance that will cover this and pay out 80% of my salary until I die if I need.
nobody will deny me care
All emergency providers in the US can't deny care over insurance. It's hasn't been like that since the 80's where they wheeled you in the alley to die. I have a HSA account that's somewhat pre-funded by the company. I've managed to get I think 68K in there, and that can cover my deducible for a decade plus so in theory I should be good from here on out.
Kraeftluder@reddit
I said nobody will deny me care. That's very different from emergency care.
lost_signal@reddit
Denials come in many forms…. I’ve been on a drug for years now, that is just now in June 2025 coming to the UK (and some European markets but not all) because they didn’t like the pricing. I respect they throttle care based on their priorities, but my health would be a lot worse if I was in most European counties because of the rationing of drugs
The UK pricing is 4x my US insured price.
Wife’s a MD and there’s drugs she can source they are not globally distributed.
The US healthcare system has a lot of things wrong with it for sure (and care quality isn’t consistent) but that’s been my experience.
Kraeftluder@reddit
We're having medicine shortages as well but as in the UK they're a direct result of underfunding and terrible policy. With just slightly more expenses this could be fixed. And it would probably save money in the end.
lost_signal@reddit
Our systems aren't the holy grail, but your insurance being tied to your employment is absolutely barbaric.
Only \~57% of american's get healthcare from an employer. There's a direct purchase marketplace, Medicare, medicaid, Tri-Care (VA/Milltary) and of that 57% many get it from a spouses company rather than their own employeer. Weirdly enough my insurance coverage better than my wife's medical school's plan so she was on my plan for our kids being born.
If I get hit in a layoff, I'll get 60 days (WARN) coverage while I'm still an employee, and I can remain on the employeers plan longer using something called COBRA that I'm given money for as part of our severance agreement. Realistically I'll just transfer to my spouses plan, or go to the state marketing places or healthcare.gov if I needed coverage beyond that while looking for another job.
There's a perception that you get laid off, and loose coverage 30 seconds later and that's not really how it works, and REALLY not what it looks like for a tech worker.
We're having medicine shortages as well but as in the UK they're a direct result of underfunding and terrible policy. With just slightly more expenses this could be fixed. And it would probably save money in the end.
Oddly enough my employer provides supplemental private insurance to our UK.
Talking to UK peers, this is all kinda moot to me as the healthcare costs differences don't make up for the median sysadmins making so much less (like half or less in some case) than US salaries.
Kraeftluder@reddit
I'm skeptical. I had several American friends who are now dead because they lost their insurance and could not afford treatments and were not entitled to any.
That is not possible where I live. I'm not going to change my opinion until these stories stop being a continuous stream of information.
cpz_77@reddit
From everything I’ve heard employees have much better benefits in Europe. To your point we had a guy who was out sick for 2 years before they finally replaced him (he made an attempt to come back but was unable to). In the US everyone was wondering why it was taking so long. Sure sometimes people will make jokes about how everyone in our Netherlands office is always “on holiday” but at the end of the day it’s a better work life balance and what are you working for if you can’t ever enjoy it? Time is the most precious commodity of all. So I say, more power to you - you’re fortunate to be in an area that treats employees well (which the US largely does not, though it’s gotten better over the years, it still is not where it needs to be). Take advantage of it.
Kraeftluder@reddit
Exactly! And most of the above perks (except for the extreme amount of PTO, which for me could be 4 weeks a year less) you can get in almost any sector. Especially for specializations in IT.
You get paid more in the US, but I get the feeling that my salary is more effective than the larger sum that my friends in larger K12 institutions make in the US.
Wild_Swimmingpool@reddit
I think we’re stretching what available means here. I air quoted because all it really means if some catastrophic issue occurs I’m reasonably reachable. Part of this time is also very much in the 9-5 window given my realistic hours worked. I agree I would like your system of being paid for that but in the long run I’m still on average working less than 40 hrs a week and taking home a 40hr salary. Tons of flexibility for both wfh and when I come and go from the office as long as things are running correctly.
To your other points that becomes very subjective here between different companies. It’s not common, but all the benefits you laid out I pretty much get. Some of it isn’t codified in law and based on culture and my boss, but in practice it works the same way. I technically have unlimited PTO and sick time, a lot more holidays than most places, fully funded healthcare. I don’t pay any premiums and the full deductible for the plan is company funded. In the US there are plans where you pay upfront to X cost out of pocket and then they basically cover everything for free on your end. My employer drops that amount into your HSA so you essentially have free healthcare outside of a few things, but nothing crazy. I had surgery a couple years for exactly $0 on my end to take an organ out. If I’m sick or needing short term disability (which I’ve had to do before as well) I can pick my doctor and can basically be out for up to year if you swap to long term disability. It’s 100% salary for short term (up to 6months) and 70% for long term. Other than extra forced PTO I don’t think I’m all that bad off or really able to be flexed on by Euro positions considering with ALL of this I’m still taking home a 6 figure salary which I know would near impossible in most countries.
themisfit610@reddit
Same
Wild_Swimmingpool@reddit
Good! This should be the norm.
Jaereth@reddit
That's the rub. If I get all my work done in 30 hours I still gotta sit at the office for 40.
lost_signal@reddit
Spend those 10 hours, doing lab stuff and learning for certs for your next job that doesn't have this policy is what I did when I worked at a place that got angry about leaving early.
Jaereth@reddit
Yeah I do that. It's funny because our manager is not beholden to that "schedule" and comes in very early some days and leaves at noon.
I've been taking courses on Udemy just so the world doesn't pass me by here. I'll just book a conference room for myself and go in there and shut the door. (desk hounds are relentless at this company)
However i'm pretty much in a goldilocks scenario of salary, benefits and location so it would be very hard for me to jump. But still, yeah I don't waste that time.
lost_signal@reddit
Ahh right on.
I was pretty happy with my last place, but the added skills led to an offer for 80% more to fall in my lap. My old shop got blown up by management lawsuits against each other.
Kraeftluder@reddit
If you're not allowed to WFH especially then yeah. Sucks. It's also boring. Especially if there's like corporate policies that forbid you from doing fun things online.
uzlonewolf@reddit
🤣🤣🤣
xpxp2002@reddit
In theory, yes. But in practice, that’s rarely what happens.
It has nothing to do with an actual fair or reciprocal relationship and everything to do with exploiting and maximizing the time you get out of your employees without having to pay for it. Nobody’s going to pay anybody to work 20 or 40 hours a week when they can get 50 or 60 for the same price.
There’s nothing stopping employers from making these jobs hourly or even salary non-exempt except greed and labor laws that grossly favor employers over the people who do the actual work.
cpz_77@reddit
The benefit is supposed to be that you aren’t punching a clock. If I get online at 10 instead of 9 or leave at 4 instead of 5 I don’t lose an hour’s pay. The tradeoff though is no OT, and your duty is just to “get the job done” which is conveniently vague , so if “getting the job done” requires 70 hours most weeks, that’s what you can be basically “expected” to work. In theory if there was a week you could get you job done in 20 hours then you could take the other 20 off but that almost never happens.
I remember the days when I was punching a clock and hated it, I wanted to be salary. Now after years of salary and untold amounts of unpaid OT….although I do like the flexibility of hours….I dunno. I have mixed feelings I guess. Salary has its downsides but I’m not sure I’d want to go back to hourly, seeing what hourly workers have to deal with (always watching the minutes on the clock - ugh).
lost_signal@reddit
I occasionally work an event or something and do 60 hours, but then I'll work 5 hours the following week. Depending on where you work the flexibility can even out.
ShoulderIllustrious@reddit
My boss does not say no....he's worried about his image cuz he wants a promo. He objects in our team calls, but when business insists he folds like TACO.
Then when folks complain why it takes too long to do anything, it's a talk about priorities which basically means to put out the immediate fire and start setting up firewood for the next fire.
The offshore fools take way more time than they're worth. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it costs us money to train their resources who then get moved to other things and new resources have to be restrained.
I'm really hoping most of the corporate world burns down sooner than later.
topazsparrow@reddit
This is literally the business model. You pay to train them, then when they're somewhat useful, they roll that into a job change or new & bigger clients.
ShoulderIllustrious@reddit
Gotta love the dumbass execs who sign up for this enshittification. Which are the same ones who want to replace help desk with AI bots. Fucking waste of cells.
topazsparrow@reddit
They're all too stupid to see that their own jobs are more ripe for replacing in the next few years.
They're already soul-less robots - it's a natural swap.
BrokenByEpicor@reddit
Yeah but they're also the ones with money and power, so they're far less likely to be replaced.
lost_signal@reddit
I find the average lifespan of executive positions to be a lot shorter than individual contributor technical roles.
BrokenByEpicor@reddit
Sure, but they will just fail laterally to a new position and another jackass will come in and fuck shit up in a different way.
lost_signal@reddit
If you work somewhere that management is consistently a parade of clowns it may be time to realize you’ve joined the circus…. I’ve had one bad VP in 10 years, but otherwise had solid managers, great directors and have worked for some CEOs who were far smarter than me. (One of which developed the 486).
It’s a sign maybe it’s time to leave the peanuts behind and go work somewhere with management you can respect. Life’s too short to work for people you don’t respect.
cpz_77@reddit
Absolutely, because they’re always fucking stuff up so they can’t stick around for long or they’d have to actually deal with the consequences.
The general cycle is basically - show up at a new company, implement some grand unnecessary changes that disrupts everybody for no real gain, point out to the CEO and board how you implemented X system that saved X amount of money per year, then bail before it all comes crashing down. And meanwhile the long term employees spend the next 3 years cleaning up the mess.
Not all execs do this, some I think may actually be good at their jobs but it’s certainly a common scenario.
topazsparrow@reddit
Anyone below the board and VP level has very little power outside of of kissing ass and selling out other people to look good.
lost_signal@reddit
Unless it's a bank, and then EVERYONE IS A VP FOR SOME REASON.
lost_signal@reddit
Which are the same ones who want to replace help desk with AI bots
Hear me out. Replace HR with a bot. I feel like this is something we can all get behind.
Zealousideal_Dig39@reddit
But sars offshore is a great value sars!
lost_signal@reddit
You pay to train them, then when they're somewhat useful, they roll that into a job change or new & bigger clients
I've worked with good offshore teams. We also ugh... Pay them real wages. Like they got 2/3rd the variable comp the Americans did and given cost of living is like less than a 1/3 the US they live rather well.
One thing one oil company did that worked well for their offshore team was they shipped an American to spend the year there and work the graveyard shifts with them and act as a training and escalation liaison. Whoever got this job got a ton of extra money (had a 24/7 driver on call, and a ton of perks) but also got fast tracked for management if they would do two assignments like this overseas.
1a2b3c4d_1a2b3c4d@reddit
Maybe, maybe not.
They don't seem to be demanding it. OP is working those hours because the rest of his team can't do the work.
This is a choice OP is making, and its the wrong choice.
OP needs to work regular hours, getting most of their work done, but letting the tasks, tickets, and projects back up so that his management can see there is a resource problem, and its not him.
But if OP wants to continue to be the hero and play Superman, it only leads to one thing: burnout.
themisfit610@reddit
That’s true. He does have agency in this matter. It has to be handled the right way with his leader though.
Special_Luck7537@reddit
...and when he does draw the line, the threat will be to replace him as well, so the endgame is the same. It's better if he does it, as opposed to being let go
So, play the game, use some sick days for interviews, and slide out the door with 2:weeks notice . The crocodile tears really aren't worth taking to heart ...
1a2b3c4d_1a2b3c4d@reddit
You can't live or work in fear. The FUD factor is very real in your comment. Instead, you must lead your life and your career based upon goals and objectives.
The line should be drawn as soon as the hours start to creep up to a point when OP is no longer benefiting, and they begin to effect their personal and family life.
I've worked in IT for 30 years. I have NEVER seen anyone fired for ONLY working normal hours. Seriously. You get fired for doing something illegal or not following policy. You don't get fired for working normal hours so you can pickup your kids from daycare (or any other obligation that requires you to leave at a regular hour).
Special_Luck7537@reddit
Me too, but I'm old school. Ever have your manager call you into the server room, pull the plug on the mains, then blame it on you, because he was worried that you had more education than him? As much as I wanted to believe in humanistic forms of rule in business, they always degenerated into the old school scientific method of management... And still do. Maybe it's growing up now, but I retired two years ago early because I refused to be on call 24/7/365, and received nothing but internal pressure to quit so they could get someone else that would .
LRS_David@reddit
And the key point is that as long as the OP keeps doing it, management will keep thinking this is "OK". The sad fact is that the "go to" guy has to leave most of the time before management realizes what they have made of the situation.
MathmoKiwi@reddit
They'll need 3+ people to replace u/HylianSystems when he leaves.
_--_---__--_--_-_-_-@reddit
If your organization relies on a guy chained up in the basement getting punched in the dick on an hourly basis and the guy never manages to escape, everything is "working as expected" and management will pat themselves on the back for how lean of a ship they run.
Nobody will ever question why there's a dude in the basement, and if maybe someone should treat him better.
themisfit610@reddit
Exactly. The implicit part of the “no” conversation is actually:
“I understand the other team needs this. However my resource is maxed out. That means I can’t deliver some of the things my team has already committed to in time. Let’s go ask the VP which of those items he wants to deprioritize”
donjulioanejo@reddit
Yeah seriously. "No can do boss, I'm already at 42 hours, and I'm sure you fully trust the offshore team to handle server maintenance on Saturday."
Fallingdamage@reddit
Before anyone starts saying anything, data needs to be collected. Upper management listens to data, not complaints.
ultimatebob@reddit
The OP should have never let things get this bad to begin with. When you get overloaded with projects to the point where you're working overtime, it's time to start saying NO to new projects.
Also, if the assistance that you're getting isn't helpful, you need to call that out to management as well. Document their failures, because you'll need them to back up your claims of their incompetence.
kyle-the-brown@reddit
The burnout is real, and it's why I moved to consulting / project management with lots of national travel.
I get time away from the office with limited expectations on prompt replies to emails as well as free time to explore - literally enjoying time in Downtown Minneapolis today and took Friday and Monday off to do some fishing while I'm up here.
Does it mean I work weekends, nights, and often have almost impossible expectations from clients, of course.
Y-M-M-V@reddit
Have not seen this yet, so another thought.
Track what your doing and your priorities. Track what is going to off shore and their priorities. Track how long things take and what is getting done. When someone asks for something new, get them (or your manager) to prioritize it on the list.
When things don't get done, point to the list and explain that you haven't gotten to it because higher priority stuff has kept you tied up.
This can also help show that off shore isn't doing much, which could help with justifying more on shore help.
National_Animator404@reddit
Do you know who remembers you putting in 65+ hours each week?
Your wife and child missing you at home
tombull89@reddit
When you get to that stage, it's time to go.
cardy165@reddit
Do yourself a favour, the work will still be there tomorrow. Your kids growing up won't! Wind down the out of work hours stuff till your working your specified hours.
While you keep doing they will keep taking. Why employ someone else when you keep doing all the work. Spend time with e the family if they're is too much to do give the management a list and time estimations and tell them to choose.
They won't like it but tough, at the same time update your cv and start looking there are better jobs out there.
I worked extra hours did the extra and all I got was more work to do then I stopped. I do my job in my working hours and make the managers manage weekdays priority.
Your priorty is your family, it's scary how quickly they grow, my children don't live with me or even local I use my annual leave only to see them. Don't waste the time on a business who will take and take to save some cash!
It's hard but put you first, your kids will remember you home to play more than you got the work done for the business!
JustSomeGuyFromIT@reddit
If it helps you anything, they need to pay you the over time. If they don't they cannot expect you to work after hours. What's written in your contract goes and also you know you can just tell them you got too much stuff to take care off. If they want more stuff done, they need to hire more competent people. Ask management if it's worth having an off shore support that is not even used since people don't trust them to do the work correctly. I would definetely ask for a big raise or start looking for greener work options. Also you should be allowed to go on sick leave to fix your burn out that THEY CAUSED.
cpz_77@reddit
That sucks. I’m at a place where work has been piling up for years - we’re a midsize place that just grew up too fast (business grew faster than infrastructure) and so now we’re always playing catch up, plus we have too many initiatives we’re trying to get done with the size of our current workforce. I regularly put in anywhere from 50-70 hours a week. 40 is a light week for me, and rare. And it’s been like this for a while now (years).
Why do I stay? Because I enjoy the people I work with, and the flexibility that comes with seniority at a place. For the most part I manage my own time and set my schedule within reason, have benefits that aren’t terrible, get to pick my projects to a degree, and know the environment like the back of my hand which both makes my job and training other newer people on our team much easier. I’ve worked with teams I didn’t get along with in the past and it really sucks. So I have a special appreciation for a good team. Plus, a lot do our future plans are around existing systems that I built or had a hand in building so I do have a sort of personal investment to a degree to want to see those things through.
The thing that sucks tho is the workload is taking its toll. I feel closer to being burned out (and feel myself losing some of my passion for IT which sucks as I think that’s a big part of what made me a good admin/engineer in the first place) every week that passes. Management has at least acknowledged the situation with my workload being way too heavy and has been working to reduce it. For a while now. Have I seen much change? A little, not a ton TBH. But it may also get better with time I think as we just brought some new people on who should be able to help more once they get up to speed. So, for now it’s OK. We will see what the future holds.
0RGASMIK@reddit
If they offshored it, it’s not your problem. Tell everyone who comes to you to skip the offshored support queue to complain to higher ups and refuse to help. Explain that you’re trying to get another person in the office and leave it at that. You might want to follow up by actually asking your boss for help but personally if that’s not likely to happen just let them burn.
Gotta make the company pay for offshoring important jobs.
BoltActionRifleman@reddit
The last job we posted garnered about 100 offshore applications, we just deleted every one of them. There are businesses out there who won’t replace jobs with offshore nonsense OP!
lost_signal@reddit
Been at the same place for close to 15 years now
What's the pay?
Now here I am everyday driving into an office 2 hours round trip to talk to people in india.
If your going to have an offshore team you really should be:
Using them for off hours work primarily (so they are awake. Hiring good staff that will work at 4AM is difficult on all continents!
Be flying out to train them on a semi-regular basis. They should be flying to the US at least once if not twice a year, and you doing the opposite. Management doesn't want to pay for this? You don't have enough scale to justify this situation and one geo should own each silo 100% and figure it out with call.
Oh they really aren't the right resource to manage the windows 11upgrade
Go buy a MacBook. "I'm sorry I don't manage windows edge devices, *POINTS AT MAC*. If you want to do VDI I can run the Citrix/Horizon Infra for that team. Alternatively here's a MSP who can do this if that person can't do this (To be fair, one time upgrades and client device management is a MSP task they love that @#%@%).
This place expects 45 hours of in office time, yet I still have to go home each night and work on projects and maintenance off hours and on weekends for larger deployments.
I had that. I just showed up at noon after being awake in the middle of the night, or added the overtime hours to my vacation and PTO time.
Offshore doesn't have to do that because they are hourly
*Spews coffee* Hourly workers can absolutely work overtime. Tell management they need to approve it, or hire but their inability to manage staff isn't your problem.
I am clocking up to 65+ hours of work a week. I never get any time with my wife and kids because of the work.
Family comes first. You know who doesn't have insane consistent overtime? Vendors. You know who knows which customers are hiring and have sane management. your vendors. Call your favorite sales engineer/TAM/VAR/MSP and go grab a coffee/beer and ask them if they know anyone who needs staff with your skills and is sane.
sumZy@reddit
linkedin.com
Fart-Memory-6984@reddit
Move to hourly and have a high rate lol
Proximity_alrt@reddit
Get yourself out of there, brother. You're so deep in shit you can't see the light of day. Get those toxins out of your life.
wesinatl@reddit
Quit doing work at home. Only work at work. Schedule time to work on stuff. Put it in your calendar. Schedule your entire day. When you are working on something close teams and email. Schedule email time. Schedule Teams time. When your boss complains shit is falling behind show him your schedule and let him prioritize stuff for you. Make sure you schedule lunch too. Your mental and physic health is most important.
No_Investigator3369@reddit
Also, poop at work.
Recent_Carpenter8644@reddit
That was a pretty good thing during the toilet paper shortages.
No_Investigator3369@reddit
You may not know this, but toilet paper appreciated more than gold during the covid era.
lurker_lurks@reddit
Boss makes a dollar. I make a dime. That's why I poop on company time!
BrokenByEpicor@reddit
That was a rhyme from a different time. Now the boss makes a tenner and I make a cent That's why I take feet pics at my desk to pay my rent.
GetOffMyLawn_@reddit
Yes, I used to do this too.
I had gotten a new bitch of a boss and she thought that if she snapped her fingers you should come running. I pointed out to her I had already schedule time with a user to work on their problem. I was going to ditch him for anything less than an emergency.
LUHG_HANI@reddit
Absolutely boggles my mind when people take work home. Under a few rare occasions is this a good idea. And none of them are for salaried employees under most circumstances.
Foot down or you'll turn into OP
InnSanctum@reddit
65+ hours of work a week
BRO WHAT THE HELL!!! Its your fault they arent hiring anyone else since youre putting in all this volunteer time. Shame on you. Cut that shit back to 45 at most and spend time with your wife and kids.
Recent_Carpenter8644@reddit
That would have been me if I hadn't got married. I feel guilty that I only do 10 minutes free overtime a day, but at least if something goes wrong and I need to do more, I'm starting from a reasonable base.
elder_redditor@reddit
I swear this sums up too many IT employees. They just get taken advantage of, time and time again. To the point where it's wrecked the reputation of IT workers as a whole.
GROW SOME BALLS PEOPLE!!! Stop doing this!!
EastTamaki2013@reddit
I also believe as soon as OP resigns, the company will hire 3 people in his place to do this same job. I have seen it happen.
Recent_Carpenter8644@reddit
That's what happened to my predecessor here.
phobug@reddit
As an offshore resource myself, you got to learn to say no. What’s the worst that can happen? They fire you? Good! Go find a better job.
New-Sys-Admin@reddit
Sorry to hear you're having a rough go HylianSystems. I can totally appreciate the being burnt out feeling and being the "go to" person for all things IT. Hopefully you're able to get some of the valuable time with your family back. No job, no matter what it is, should ever take you away that much. To find the right balance of work/providing for your family and time with them without doing work is hard. But hopefully you are able to make some headway into finding out what that looks like and it gets better.
Take care!
Jaereth@reddit
lol what is this AI garbage?
New-Sys-Admin@reddit
How is this AI garbage? It was an honest response to the OP...
ultradip@reddit
Sometimes you have to sit back, relax, and let the train wreck itself.
Thisbymaster@reddit
Stop doing work outside of hours. Stop doing work that has offshore teams, even if your managers demand it. Ask them if the company is paying for offshore, then they need to be useable.
NorthAntarcticSysadm@reddit
I was in your shoes for 11 years, and finally got to the point where I had to take stress leave from work. Even with a no-contact policy in place I was getting several calls a day on my personal mobile number. A number I had given to only 2 people in the office as a requirement, which somehow made ita rounds...
Ended up serving notice and found a new role last year. Went from 60 - 70 hour work weeks without compensation matching to 45 with overtime compensation and very flexible scheduling. Some weeks I barely do 30 and then have freedom to do whatever I want when there aren't tasks to fulfill.
PappaFrost@reddit
"65+ hours of work a week"
This is a super sweet deal for them. That is a buy-one-get-one-half-off employee. If you did 70 last week that is 7 10's. You should be doing 5 8's in my opinion, they are probably compensating you for 5 8's. I think you should take a full one or two week vacation and leave the cell phone in the office drawer, and then re-evaluate when you are back.
throwaway0000012132@reddit
This is a mismanagement issue. Find a new job, it's not going to become better.
admiralspark@reddit
"No" is a complete sentence.
"No, we have resources for that work already and I don't have available bandwidth to do their job as well" is another one that's a bit nicer.
You are not responsible for what happened to you, but you are responsible for how you react to it.
PrincipleExciting457@reddit
Stop working after hours. You’re not doing yourself any favors. I only ever do it in an emergency.
1a2b3c4d_1a2b3c4d@reddit
This is on you bud. Set the line, clock out after 8, don't do work aftr hours, and let the tasks, tickets, and projects back up.
Once that happens, management will realize there is a problem.
But if you keep playing Superman and getting everything done, then management pats themselves on the back for proving how successful offshoring was.
mvbighead@reddit
When you land in a new spot, don't let it creep to this point. Set boundaries. Enjoy your family and your life.
Jaereth@reddit
EXACTLY!
If you do it, and then stop doing it, it looks like you are slacking off. You need to never do it to begin with :D
heapsp@reddit
Same boat, I demanded severance they agreed. lol.
If I were to stay, the easiest way to succeed in that disorganized mess is to stop doing things 'behind the scenes' completely. Let stuff fall apart that isn't supposed to be your job and just focus on a few highly impacting items that you can put into powerpoint for goodboy points and make overseas do all of the nonsense work that no one cares about.
vppencilsharpening@reddit
I call this "letting it burn".
Also "not my circus, not my monkey" comes to mind.
Jaereth@reddit
Not my farm, not my pig.
n0rdic@reddit
I mean, unless you have obscure LOB apps that don't run on Windows 11, you can just set a GPO for Windows Update to target Windows 11 24H2 and send it. Some users won't have the system resources or requirements to update it, and you'll certainly get grumbles about how long the update took, but that moved us from 20% windows 11 to 90% in about a month with no conscious effort on our part.
Coffee_Ops@reddit
...on a Friday.
Before you go on vacation to New Zealand.
heapsp@reddit
For sure, the project can definitely become long if you want to do white glove and are worried about what people think... want to do department by department testing, notifying every stakeholder, and planning it with the business for off of peak times.
Or if you work in a disorganized mess anyways, just fuckin send it and take the afternoon off!
nope_nic_tesla@reddit
Get the fuck out of there
whatdoido8383@reddit
So, it sounds to me like you are doing everything in your power to keep your area afloat. My input would be to stop doing that, let it crash and burn.
I've learned over the years that management won't change anything if things are getting done. You can't do 4 jobs. Do your job and if the other Engineers aren't competent enough to do their jobs aside from a random question here or there, eff em', let them crash and burn. Stuff will get backed up and management should get the point that they messed up offshoring those roles.
Pyroechidna1@reddit
I’m with you OP. At least my commute is only 15 mins by bicycle, or 8 in the car
briangw@reddit
sounds a lot like my company. CIO tells us we will never have to come back into the office again. Then last year President says 2 days a week. And the pick M and W's. They told us that they would never require us to work in the warehouse. Well then, they required it a few years ago. And offshore doesn't do much to help.
I feel your pain Op.
DehydratedButTired@reddit
Isn't it amazing how simultaneously important it is to have people in the office but also to dump more jobs to cheaper remote resources?
ErrorID10T@reddit
Here's two simple things you can do.
Stop working overtime. Tell your boss you have too much to do, ask them how they would like you to prioritize your time, then give them a schedule that reflects a 30 hour workweek. 30 hours, so you have time for other things that come up and still keep to the schedule you set.
When your coworkers start asking for your help, if it's more than a simple question, tell them you don't have time, if you're going to help them they need to get approval from your boss because it's going to delay your other work.
It's your bosses job to prioritize your work. It's your co-workers job to do their own work. It's your job to do your work, and to set the expectations for what you can do and how long it will take. Just speak up for yourself, tell everyone you have more work than time, and respectfully inform them you're no longer available to assist with their work. If they need your help, they need to figure out how to do their own research.
Regen89@reddit
Buddy if you aren't getting paid past your 40-45 you should have been looking to get the fuck out a long time ago, that is unacceptable. If you are getting paid for your time that is another story.
gamersonlinux@reddit
This is similar to my story in Helpdesk/ServiceDesk. Everything gets dumped on us and the whole company thinks we know everything.
I don't blame you at all for being consistent, reliable and finishing the work properly. I do blame management for not recognizing your workload and providing proper assistance.
In my experience I have quit these kinds of jobs before I've gone down the same road as you have. Unfortunately I'll get a new job and the next one is just as bad or even worse. I swear Executives and managers do not know how to properly handle technology and set policies/expectation that are for their end users and admins.
I've been so pissed and burnt out at a few job that I actually wrote a dissertation about it. I just wanted to document how roles and management should work in a company. Not just survival mode, but a proper way to train userbase and give the right /expectations to the techs.
My current job is a complete joke. Took it out of because I was laid off and unemployed for 6 months. Two years later I'm still here and basically don't do support at all. It's all data entry, triage and unlocking accounts. Thats it! I'm bored most of the time and they require me in the office 4 days a week. Not cool! My team isn't even in this state and I'm sitting here bored day after day. I hate it!
I've been applying for jobs the last two years (300+) and only one interview so far. At this point I don't even know how to get a job anymore....
I feel for ya! There has to be another way...
SirEDCaLot@reddit
OP- I think you have a communication problem.
What you should do is first stop working at home. If they expect 45 hours of in office time, that's your work week.
Here's what I suggest:
First, tell your wife you're going to prioritize the family more. This doesn't have to be a big conversation, it's just to avoid a lie in the next step.
Take ALL the tasks on your plate. Write them all down, along with an estimate of how long each one will take, and which ones are time critical. Ask your boss to prioritize them. And/or, tell him that the company has assigned you more work than you are capable of doing as a single employee, they need to either deprioritize some tasks or hire more people in your department.
Schedule ALL your time. Be pedantic. From when you arrive to when you leave, take out lunch time. Schedule the projects and maintenance. If your boss tells you to do that stuff at home, tell him that due to changes in your family you'll be available for a maximum of 5 hours per week after-hours and you need him to prioritize those tasks.
Do all this via email, make a paper trail. Save copies.
Perhaps they will hire another person to work with you. Or if they don't, then the shit won't get done, and when they complain about it you just point to a volume of email to boss saying that the company has assigned you more work than there are work hours in the day, and you need additional resources to handle this load.
R4PT0RGaming@reddit
Much love OP moving sounds like the plan. Refuse to do past ur hours and refuse to do any work from home. Mental health is important buddy. You are just a pawn in the workplace. At home you are a Dad, Uncle, Husband, Friend, King, look after urself.
kerosene31@reddit
The problem is, if you put on the super hero cape and save the day, you are enabling them to abuse you.
Force them to rely on their overseas bad decision, otherwise to them, everything is fine.
I hate to say it, but sometimes you gotta let it burn to get their attention, otherwise the suits will just grind you up and spit you out when they are done.
MechanicFun777@reddit
Bro, replacing you is gonna be expensive.
Johnny_BigHacker@reddit
Just work 40 hours a week. You need a break. Document things going wrong.
Gold-Antelope-4078@reddit
Just remember you are just a number in a spreadsheet to them. Stop putting in so many extra hours cut they will cut you when they feel they can save some money.
cad908@reddit
Make a list of what you're managing. Note which are supposed to be done elsewhere, either offshore or another department. Write what you think the priority of each is. Estimate the amount of time each takes. Make two views: one with all tasks, including the ones which should be elsewhere, and one without, and draw a line where you would expend 40 hours or so.
Then you need to have a discussion with your boss. Does he agree the other stuff should be done elsewhere? Does he agree with your priorities? What will he do to manage the expectations of the requestors of the items below the line? What additional (onshore) resources will you need to accomplish everything on your list? What resources will you need to manage off-hours requests?
You need to do this initial organization, but it's his job to manage these questions. Just let him know that you have family obligations, and you will no longer be available beyond normal business hours. It's not your problem! It's his. Let him do his job.
llDemonll@reddit
You’re paid for 40 hours, stop working more. Work doesn’t get done? Not your issue. Project timelines slip? Not your issue. If the company wants stuff done they’ll hire more people. Do what is reasonably expected of one person and stop covering for others.
Simmery@reddit
When people don't take this advice, they are also hurting the rest of us in the industry. Work your hours. Occasionally work more if there's an emergency situation. That's the job unless they're paying you for more than that.
Godless_homer@reddit
Brian that you?
GetOffMyLawn_@reddit
Stop doing work when you get home. As long as you keep jumping into the gap they'll keep expecting you to do it. From their point of view the system is working. Stop being an enabler. Let things fall apart. If they ask why tell them you don't have enough competent help. Why should you care about them when they obviously don't care about you?
I had a problem where we had a manager who would go and fuck things up royally (and he worked evenings) and then the rest of the team would have to spend the next day cleaning up his shit. When I started there I told the team they were part of the problem. When he fucked shit up and the users complained I would tell them who and where to find his boss. Let him fix his own shit. Rest of the team started doing it too. The manager got laid off. And that's because we stopped enabling him.
Divochironpur@reddit
Gonna reiterate what others have said; time to move on. Upskill if you can, work on personal skills and find something that suits your future. Life is too short to live your best years like this.
RumRogerz@reddit
Polish off that resume.
r/EngineeringResumes is a good source of how to create a wildy basic looking resume that actually works well.
noideabutitwillbeok@reddit
Stop working over today. When you go home, go home. Don't do anything after hours.
I had a ton of shit dumped on me recently. I work my hours then go home. C level is pissed that a few items are behind, but hey, you dumped me into a project way outside of my scope, gave me shit for help, and expect me to do miracles? it's not happening.
mad-ghost1@reddit
Show your projects and task you’re doing. When someone tries to give you more task direct them to your manager. You manager folds … show em the list and asked what can be dropped. It’s hard but you’re fighting for your sanity here.
MBILC@reddit
As others noted, draw a line in the sand, work your 40hours if that is what you agreed to, at the end of your day, shutdown and disconnect.
if you keep doing the work, management will keep dumping it on and assume you are fine because things keep getting done. They do not care you are working at home and have no personal life so they will abuse it for as long as you are willing to do it.
theoreoman@reddit
Sounds like your managers have just dumped all of the bullshit on top of you because you have been solving it for them.
Find a new job or or tell you boss you want 2 people under you for in office help or your last day is in August.
LongjumpingJob3452@reddit
I recently came back from a medium-term leave of absence, and it wasn’t nearly long enough. When I wasn’t working, I was able to actually care for myself and feel halfway decent.
Now that I’m back, the dread has set in again. I just can’t do this stuff anymore and stay healthy. I’m just barely hanging on, hoping they don’t catch on that I’m basically doing the least possible work, because that is all I can handle.
This industry has changed so much since I started nearly 30 years ago, that I don’t even recognize it anymore.
alexyong342@reddit
I too choose this guy's wife
Walbabyesser@reddit
Sounds like the old management does management BS for the numbers, but nowhere related to the reality we normal people live in. Move out of your cramped shell and get a nice, healthy job elsewhere
Round-Resident9233@reddit
I feel you and I wish you the best brother. Do that change, even if you are unsure. You will feel well and stable. Godspeed 🤝
fp4@reddit
I’m here to tell you to do the needful and quit your job.