70hrs for me please (The Working Week: Do We Work Too Many Hours?)

Member Name: mattydalton

Product:	The Working Week: Do We Work Too Many Hours?
Date:	28/06/02 (183 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of money.

Disadvantages: Tiredness.

For about 3 years after I left school, I couldn't be bothered to work, kept the odd job for two weeks here, two weeks here, just to pay a few debts off periodically. Last September, I was given a job working with 5 members of my family(no, not a family business!) and ever since then I have had about 9 or 10 days off, and consistently worked over 60 hours and sometimes up to 80 hours. I work in a taxi office, so I just sit on my backside all long. Not a difficult job is it? Try working a Saturday night, answering about 400 calls in an hour, speaking to people who are always drunk, and sometimes abusive. I find these nights stressful, but they only take up about 10 hours of every working week. For me the other 60 or 70 hours I work are very relaxed, with a reasonably low stress level.

Given the choice, I would work a minimum of 70 hours every week. You can work 10 hours a day and still have spare time. I am single, so don't have to worry about a partner, but I have a brother who is a lot worse than me. He'll work 40-50 hours a week for the same company as me, finish at 5 and be out taxi driving for about 8 and finish at 5 or 6 in the morning. Then he'll start work at 10 again. That adds up to 16 hours a day! Personally, I couldn't do that many hours, but not everybody is forced to work long hours by the company they work for. My brother, like myself, is driven by money. We both enjoy our jobs, so why shouldn't we work long hours. What I am trying to say is different people have different ambitions. I don't whinge about long hours. If I work hard enough through my life I will be able to retire early and then I can laze about all I like. Surely that is what working is all about. Buying nice things, haveing a nice house, nice holidays, and a nice retirement. Why waste time sat at home doing nothing when I can be earning money to help me achieve what I want.

Moving on to the subject of people being forced to work long hours I
only have one thing to say to them.... Quit! You don't have to stay there, you can find a job elsewhere. What annoys me about this country is that nobody will stand up for themselves. People seem to go with the flow. If you are not happy, then you should make sure your feelings are known. Nothing will ever change while you tolerate it. Go to your local citizens advice bureau, or see your local MP about it. Action should be taken if you think you are hard done by. Where I work, we haven't even got a union, so none of us know our rights. A colleague actually sent off to obtain a copy of our rights in the workplace, as they broken promise after promise over the past few months. We don't even have air conditioning!!

The other thing that annoys me is the amount of people on Jobseeker's allowance that aren't even looking for a job. I think the government should make them work 3 or 4 days a week to stop them working for cash in hand, and that way they would earn their JSA. Also, it could create jobs, as people might realise they actually like doing the public services that the government could find for them to do. Basically, if people didn't work, they wouldn't get a penny, unless of course they had kids to take care of. I wonder what would happen to the level of unemployment if this was enforced. Also, you would probably find that with more workers, the workers we have now would not have to do such long hours anymore.

******************UPDATE*******************

After reading the comments for this opinion, I realise I have been quite one-sided and ignorant in my opinion. In paragrapgh 3 I suggest anybody who is forced to work ridiculous amounts of hours per week should just quit. I now realise that this is not the answer. I realise that just because I WANT to work 70 hours a week, doesn't mean everybody does. I apologise to anybody who felt uncomfortable with that comment. Of course what should happen in these circ
umstances is that the workforces should unite and challenge these tyrants. What right do they have to hold these people to ransom? It's not right and it's certainly not legal.

I realise how insensitive I have been now, as my memory is drawn to a crash which affected the lives of local people in Chester. Last year, a man driving a Safeway truck fell asleep at the wheel as a result of being forced to work ridiculous hours. He, or maybe that should read 'the employer', caused the death of a dad of three and left many lives in ruin, including the truck driver that was made a scapegoat of. These tyrant employers are causing mistakes like these on a regular basis, and are, in effect, nothing more than blood-thirsty murderers. Sorry if I offended anybody with my original, ignorant view.

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