Arguments for a 4-hour Work day

we are being butt-raped by the government, corporations, employers .. it's time for a revolution! I believe in Anarchy!

 

The company I worked for. I worked in maintenance on their machines and they made stuff for the public to purchase. I could be at risk if I published their name. Let's just say it's a sizeable company in Canada, one that has ran a lot of years here and was doing well all them years till it ended up with the new management group types who take. It is now using Americans for cheaper pay rates for a majority of it's stuff and is running low here in Canada and the upper management peeps are doing Well. Very well.
I worked there for 9 awesome years, then for two crappy years and then that was enough for me, couldn't sit and watch the new management destroy it and all of it's workers.
I did well by leaving, now I make a lot more then they ever offered even tho it was a good pay and I have a ten fold less stress doing my own thing, so there is a life After. You never need to stay where it gets shitty if you look into yourself and leave them to destroy themselves. I just feel bad for those they have working for them while it continues to downgrade, rumour is they might fail after all and yet it was a good company to work for, for over 50 plus years. Very family like, they looked after you when you did the same for them. Even had a known reputation for that.
Another sad thing is it was Canadian, now it's getting stuff from anywhere, cheapest and so it's not really Canadian anymore then the land it's original building sits on so all of the goodness it had a reputation for is gone.

 

Only if you totally ignore supply and demand.

 

Why so long? Staying alive requires effort (work), so why shouldn't government just print and pay everyone an equal income?

 

I work 11+hrs a day. Yeah it sucks but it's money too. If the wages stay the same and the hours cut back I'm in trouble. Plus as if customers are going to give courier/delivery drivers a break. Yeah you might think my own time is more valuable than the companies time, until you order something online and want it delivered.

 

Go ahead and wait. I'll just watch the movie if it sounds entertaining enough.

 

If true, you should have nothing to fear by providing the name. Unless, of course, Canada does not protect free speech.

When you shop, is price not one of the factors in making your purchases?

 

I will not provide the name, it's not necessary, also it would point out where I live and if I provide that information to anyone I'd rather provide it in private.
Ya, it's true as the same which is happening to many companies today.
When I shop, I try to buy Canadian and then American before I buy stuff from across the water.

 

Fair enough, so I have your perspective alone which probably differs from that of the company you refer to. Without knowing the companies side, I can only assume they had good business reasons for what they did. Oh, and I think you've already told us you live in Canada, but I assume the company you refer to existed in only one location in Canada?

Is price not one of the factors in making your purchases, or do you simply purchase based on where the product is created alone?

 

I really don't care what you think of my perspective on the company or it's perspective, I said what happened and their shares falling continually over the years since the new style management came is proof for us who worked there and had shares in the company as well as all other share holders. Yes it is a local company that served all of Canada for a lot of years. And no, price does not factor in what I buy. I can afford to buy Canadian where it's available. I spoil myself where I feel I deserve it and if quality is a choice I take it. My mom is the same, we buy Canadian when we can if it's on the shelf. If not we try to buy what's made in USA. I hate buying crap off the boats, it's not good for us.
Best thing for me is I got out of there before I got hurt or fell to thinking it was my only way in life. Many are lifers there through thick and thin and that's sad. I loved the work and the place before it started going down hill. I still miss working there too, I had such a great job and awesome seniority as well as a great paycheque but I knew mentally I could be happier doing my own thing.
I run into peeps that still work there quite often and they always say they envy me for jumping ship.
I sit and sip my coffee while I watch one guy I worked with head out to work, he lives a couple streets from my house. When I see him out and about he says he sooo wants out of there. It's all numbers now, not employees as human beings anymore. Mind you I got out before it got really bad, it was just turning bad as I was on my way out.
About a month after I left they called and asked me to come and take the rest of my tools, a supervisor had them all in a big box and needed me to sign some papers saying I received them. His hands were shaking, I asked him "what's up Dave?" He looked at me and only said "Don't ask" so I am assuming the lower management staff were feeling it too, or else maybe my box of tools was too heavy when he carried it to the room I met him at. I remember them telling us, "shits gonna hit the fan soon", long before I did my last day there. But ya, I sure do miss the job, it was fun. I worked with a great crew, including the man I later married who quit when I did and got into business with me.

Now, a question for you,,,

Is there something you'd like me to spill about myself here, like maybe some personal information about myself or where I live? Seems you really want to know more then the average person would be willing to share on a site like this. I said what I have to say and that's about it. You can challenge me all you want but open your eyes and you will know a lot of companies went this way, even years ago, your man in the White House bailed many already and they failed again. You paid that price already and still are, so ya, them companies had a reason to fail alright. Your argument seems to be more about checking me out. If so then we have a problem here.

 

Sally,

Thanks for sharing your story.

 

My whole point was we see it, we know it's not like it was and will probably never be again. I am glad I don't need the work but I feel bad for those who do, who will struggle to hold two jobs, maybe three and be out of home for more hours in a day then a straight eight hour job took them from home in a day. And the gas they will burn commuting to two places a day instead of one.
I don't know of I could work at two different places in a day every day like they will have to do to hold a mortgage and will a mortgage be as easy as it was when we held a solid 40 hour a week job that held some security? It could be a huge challenge for those just coming into the work force without any medical benefits for their families, never knowing when one of them 4 hour jobs dumps them and bills are gonna get behind, I can't imagine after my years of holding good jobs that I was proud to do and got me to where I am now. Will they be able to set themselves up for a good retirement? Will they be able to hold long term jobs like we did only a few years ago?
I saw it for my own eyes with the newbies coming in, no tolerance for anything for them like waking up to a sick kid and having to call in on a lowsy 4 hour shift, having to refuse a lowsy 4 hour shift because the other job called them first. 3 refusals at this place for any reason and you were done like dinner, next to hire up,,,, those peeps weren't worth the paper they signed to come in their first day.
I saw too many show up a few times and then they were gone, couldn't even let yourself like them working with you as your helper because you might not see them again.

 

I was working a 4 day, 10 hour shift when I retired, and in another job title within the same company I worked from home. I've bargained for other working conditions at various times, some which I came out ahead and others where the company did, In those instances a finished product was provided by a set date and I could work as little or as much as I wanted as long as the product was delivered on or before the agreed date, and if before, the remaining time until the agreed date belonged to me.

I care less where a product is made and simply base my purchases on my needs and wants, along with quality and price. Often I find some needs are in reality just wants, especially if the quality and/or price don't justify their cost to me.

 

With that company they landed a big contract and asked us by seniority if we would work weekends at 12 hour shifts. I said yes to a forklift job and they offered to pay us almost what our 40 hour week paid but we had to except rotating night shifts. So that was two days a week for nearly the same pay.
I did one better, the guy who took the second forklift position hated nights and offered me a bottle of booze if I let him have all the day shifts and I took all the nights so each second weekend when it would be his turn to do nights he would be at work waiting for me by the cars with a bottle of booze when I pulled in. I said "surprise me with what you buy". He was good at picking.
I stocked piled a nice liquor cabinet in time with a nice variety of different bottles of stuff and it took us some time to use those up while having drinks to celebrate and the odd party we held. There is still a brand new bottle of Cranberry Vodka in there. I have yet to crack. A few times he even added something cool from the liquor store like a funky wine bottle corker he'd buy at the till and other stuff they held as offers and bonuses when he would buy himself a case of beer like a cool cowboy hat and other gadgets.
It meant if there was a holiday tho we had to work that day too with no added pay or bonus because they were already paying us well on the program, not like that happened too often. It was absolutely awesome. All week I laughed my ass off, actually I installed my self in some courses and used my time off wisely, I was addicted to taking courses back then. Anything they would come up with at the local collage that had certificates like management of difficult people, work place incident management, dealing with injuries from a managers side and even a reflexology course because I thought I would like to do that some day, turned out I hated working with other peoples feet.
I also did jump positions a few times in the company when they offered me one. Working with the machines was my favourite tho, paid well to do that. I loved it there, learned lots and it didn't take me long to get a full time position there because I was willing and able to do what the guys did, the heavier stuff.
Now people say they are screwing with seniority mostly to see if people will get pissed and leave. They are limiting people with higher seniority to lesser shifts, the American side takes enough work at min wage so that this can happen. They hired jerk supervisors with attitude so they will chase people around to coffee breaks and washroom trips, not to make sure they were working but to piss them off and most of the staff upstairs was changed over, peeps who worked 20 plus years were let go in a day if they didn't like them.
That CEO at that time came from Ontario with friends he hired as soon as he got in. Ya they had a reason, they took and took and took, many bonuses flew out the door, then he retired, a young man in 4 years. I hear it's still going on with new CEOs, it's the new way of management. Work a short stint, kill the good in a company as long as you do well for yourself and have a blast doing it.
I have been out of there 7 years and they still haven't recovered their shares to what it was over 7 years ago. It's below half what it was and if it slipped up any, it went back down, sometimes lower then it was again.

 

You could always take a short position on the companies stock if you're certain it's going to fail.
And if you have shares sell call options.

 

That was dealt with already, many dealt with theirs as well. Once it looked bad many workers moved theirs.
I have stocks in many places. I started with them when I started there and then after that I started looking around for other stuff to get into. I was glad I didn't install all I had in to their stuff.
All I ever did with them was stick my over times hours into their stocks so it wasn't a huge loss for me.

 

I have to concur and agree with this as well as I have experienced this as well.


The top one 1% lives in a world that isn't very logical and is very "worldly, and image conscious, on top of sexual pressures)

It's a freaking soap opera at the top and FEW thing about the little guy because to them they are "beneath" them. Maybe it's because sociopaths tend to rise to the top of corporate ladders in USA's individualistic culture or what I don't know I can only theorize.

The solution in my humble opinion is to have some kinda of economic mechanical function that kicks in and acts as a circuit breaker to act between the law of supply and demand regarding the concept of cutting costs for businesses, and also SLOWLY and consistently allowing for economies to transition through phases rather than how the system is now that promotes volatility.


But that's been the problem for economic recovery for the middle class both on the #'s side of things and psychologically.


I also happen to know that big corporations also HOLD back technologies that they know WILL work through the abuse of the US patent system and through lawyering court efforts to reserve trademarks and intellectual property and mechanical property, that would eat into their profits on the old school business deals and technology they want to milk dry before moving on to transition.


What our economic models don't account for, is that factor and that we need to allow PROGRESS to move forward and that the premise of government regulation needs to NOT be ABUSED.

STP and I both agree that it has been abused, but his solution and my solution differ on how to deal with that.

The first step is to elect people who LIKE and find honor in preserving the union of the country and the second is to give them legal backbone so they can't be bullied or bribed by lobbyists.

 

There also needs to be a law where if a business of ANY sort is not turning a profit.


The top brass, CANNOT give themselves bonuses and corporate expenses that are really "luxuries masked under a corporate-tax write off as a business expense" would be equal to 1000 hours of community service OR PERSONAL assets seized and put back both to Government, and corporations alike.

Of course legal limited liability laws need to be re-written to allow this new law to be compatible.


What do you think of my ideals individual and sallysmart?



Also science in stress and psychology and workplace productivity PROVE business managers and owners CAN'T treat workers like this and expect good results.

Instead it get:

1. A more depressed and unhealthy national populace

2. Children with parents who can't tend to them > unruly needy children


3. Unruly youth become adults that aren't functional

4. Non-functional adults with no hope have a higher chance of turning to violent crime

5. You have a more violent society in general

6. More violence in society drives wealth gaps further and lowers home values.

7. You get mob rule.



A country and it's citizens and it's businesses NEED to take care of each other in a respectful manner.

You cannot have this culture where a business can feel entitled and treat people like garbage.

If you treat someone like garbage they will behave like garbage and they will come for you because garbage cannot be beholden to morals of higher civilization.


Respect should be given by default on one's existence, not earned.


Trust, should be earned, but not respect.

--

Respect is also violated when one starts claiming why another's job and work is "worth more pay" or is more of a "struggle" than another person who makes more because of what they do.

To a point that's true, but there are natural levels of where that line of logic won't hold true anymore.

 

I think there should be more breaks during the workday instead of shorter workdays. Naps at work actually increase productivity.

 

monkjr,

How are you defining the word 'respect'?