Monday, February 24, 2014

Is Overtime Worth the Time?

The past week was full of hustle and bustle and lots of work! Many of us were working long days and many days, sometimes for over 10 hours! And if you know anything about restaurant work, it's all about moving around and little down time!

So, with all these hours worked, and all this money in hand, it made me question, was it all worth it?

I'm all for side hustles and also working extra hours when you can. But it makes me wonder about those people who constantly work extra hours, not just because they want to pay off debt, or need to, but because they want to.

What are they trying to escape, or better yet, what are they trying to get at?

Some people want to have lots of money to have it, but does it really make you feel all that better? I'd be so burnt out and stressed out I wouldn't even want to spend any money for fear of going on a rampage with it at the mall and spending it all.

There wouldn't ever be a certain amount that would make me feel perfectly comfortable enough to cut back. If you are used to a certain level of pay, why would you ever want to see it go down? Especially for a silly reason as work life balance...

It's great being able to say I have extra money in the bank, but boy, I don't want to see another week like that for a few months, at least. I'm so thankful that the long week is over and it's back to normal at work. It makes me appreciate days off and being able to do other things besides plopping down in front of the TV!

Would you be willing to put in constant long hours for great pay and sacrifice any form of social and possibly family life? Would you ever be willing to work just for the money?


6 comments:

  1. I think it's nice to work overtime if you have something special in mind but not just for the sake of it - life is to short. My sister is doing extra shifts at the moment and is very tired but she wants a new table and the reward of getting it will be worth the hard work x

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  2. I am ok with pulling long hours for a few weeks, but to do it for years...no.
    There has to be some kind of work life balance. Work hard, yes. But leave time to play hard too.

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  3. That is one of the reasons why I decided not to get second job to help pay down debt. I would never see my wife (it's hard enough right now with opposite hours and no shared days off). Money is not better than family. Like you said, there has to be a balance there.

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  4. I think it is sometimes worth it. The way my pay works is my average week is 35 - 40 hrs. If I work between 40 and 48 hrs I get comp time. Then after 48 hrs I get 1.5x. I have never made it past accruing comp time since I started.

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  5. If it's optional then hell yes, I'd like to take it when i can.

    If it was expected all the time? Then I'd burn out fast I imagine.

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  6. I am looking forward to the day that I can quit one of my "side" jobs. I basically work 3-4 jobs right now and have very very little down time. The down time I do have is used for household chores, working on the family farm and a few volunteer activities I'm involved in in my community. I almost never have a whole day to myself for relaxing. I need a break!

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