Justin Lindsey was looking for a novel way to reward workers who were "literally working 70 hours a week, week in and week out," he recently told QSR magazine.
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When I first started out at the Safeway warehouse, we were on a 5 day work schedule which sucked for the majority of the workforce because there were very few weekends available. Mine was Saturdays and Tuesdays off for a year or so.
Then the company went to a 4 day 10 hour workweek. I thought I would hate it because we were working 5 ten hour days as it was and I could see it turning into four 12 or 13 hour days with an hour long commute each way.
It was that way for a little while, then the company got its shit together and we actually did 10 and 11 hour workdays for the most part, and I loved it. It was great having 3 days off in a row every week. If they had proposed three 12 hour days plus a half day to make it a 40 hour workweek, I'd have gone for that too.
The place I worked at called it a compressed work schedule. I had every Monday off and when the holidays rolled around (we pretty much had every holiday) it was pure joy. Sometimes two day work week. We lived near the beach and everyone would have to leave on a Sunday morning while we sat there enjoying the quietness of the surf plus no traffic when we left. -sammy
ReplyDeleteI worked at a place long ago that instituted a 4 day, 10 hour work week. One woman whined enough to get it cancelled. Management said it one person was complaining, many more felt the same way and wouldn't say anything. She said the extra 2 hours was just too hard to do. Word around the plant was that she was the only one that complained about a 4 day week and a 3 day weekend. She was pretty much an outcast after that.
ReplyDeleteFor the last few years, mine has been 12 hours, 2 on, 2 off, 3 on, 2 off, 2 on, 3 off, with the 3 being Sat, Sun, Mon., so we work every other wknd for straight time. Everyone fucking hates it, can't keep anyone, other than the 99% old White guys who've been there for 25 to 35 years, and are too old to go somewhere else and/or close to retirement. It wasn't too bad when I was younger, but at 60, and with one back surgery, 12 hours just gets tougher. I can't see myself hanging around much longer. Haven't hired anyone but gingers(many felons), izzies and Hispanics in the last few years. Nice to walk into the locker room and find an izzie, face down, ass up, saying his prayers. The gingers, for the most part, don't want to work, get into fights, spend 75% of their time playing with their phones, fucking up jobs, and making extra work for everybody else. Last year, they had to post signs in the bathrooms, in about 12 different languages, asking people not to put used toilet paper in the garbage cans, but flush it like a civilized human being.
ReplyDeleteWhen I worked at LAX I loved having my days off in the middle of the week. Wife and I would head up to the Redwoods or another park and we would have plenty of elbow room. Few local visitors in the middle of the week.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite days off was Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. I'd get up to the mountains or lakes just as everybody else was leaving and I'd have the place to myself.
DeleteI've worked 4x10+ (all in a row) several times and have always loved it! By the 4th, I was tired and hated my job. By my next Monday, I still hated my job but not nearly as much as when I only had a 2 day weekend! Life was always much better when I was on those shifts.
ReplyDeleteMy shop had two "ends", an air melt shop and a vacuum melt shop. During the busy times, which was pretty much always, the vacuum was on a 12 hour day, 4 on and 4 off. So they had 4 crews, with 2 working and 2 off.
ReplyDeleteThe air melt shop only had 2 crews, 1st and 3rd. So we melted 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. And we would do that for sometimes months on end. To get a day off, you either had to use a vacation day, or find someone who could cover you that was not an active part of the melt floor. When I was younger it was great, you made a lot of money. But after a long enough time, you get burned out, and feel like a zombie. You just don't have any time other than to work, eat, and sleep.
The one good thing that came out of it, is that even though I had a lot of money held out of my check at the time, for things like taxes, child support, health insurance, etc., it all counted towards my social security earnings. So now that I am on social security, my monthly check is much higher than it might have been, working for less money. Combine that with being debt free, and I probably am much better off than my parents were at my age.
I worked for an airline 8-10's with 6 days off. Excellent duty.
ReplyDeleteI worked the other side of the fence for 8 years with Safeway Industrial engineering. The fucktardation in management was why I left. Right before Steve Bird took over. Should have stayed. He was smart and hired smart people. But I had already had my fill of Peter and the pinheads. I watched them fire a Grocery distribution who warned them to do a reset at the same time the merged another region. Said it would be a clusterfuck. It was. Didn't fire the idiot that pushed it through - fired guy who told them it would be a disaster.
ReplyDelete3 days on 3 off (12 hours per day). If you worked it out with the guy opposite to 24 on 24off split the last day 7 off straight
ReplyDeleteMany years ago I worked a weekend shift (Sat., Sun., Mon.) consisting of three 12 hour shift (36 hours) but was paid 40 hours. Anything worked above the 36 scheduled hours was overtime. I usually worked my shift plus a ten hour shift on Tuesday. 50 hours pay for 46 hours worked and still had three days off.
ReplyDeleteMy last two jobs were four 10 hour shifts (Mon. through Thur.) whenever overtime wasn't required. Overtime was plentiful on the first of the two jobs n(12 years), but very rare on the last one (last seven years before retiring). The last two years, the last hour or two of the shift was becoming more and more of a stretch for my worn out injured body.
Oh fuck no! 14 hours in one place, nuh uh!
ReplyDeleteI always hated any 12 or 10 hour shift work.
Swing shift hell no.
Worked one place 3 on/4 off, the woman supervisor had her own spy/snitch network, her own son tried to bait people into saying negative things about her to get them in trouble.
Hellacious place to work, load lifted when I quit.
I think they moved their machinery to China when that became more profitable,
slaves work cheaper than Americans.
Worked at a wallyworld D.C. they had a weekdays shift and the weekend shift weekdays were tuesday through fridays at ten hours a day , the weekends were saturday through monday 12 hours . I was on weekends the three day week was ok but twelve hour workdays in a DC can wear you down Four days off was ok but the first day was usually recovery . The worst thing was missing everything happening on weekends if I wanted to go to someones birthday party or wedding or whatever it meant taking a day off. Nobody has a party on tuesday LOL
ReplyDeleteUsed to work 4x10’s, home on Friday = spending too much money on “honey do’s”! Prefer 5x10’s, and then a break after the job. Oh, I work industrial construction.
ReplyDeleteI had a TAD as a gate guard at NAS willow grove,PA. we did 8 on, 24 off. so the first day you did the 7am-3pm shift. the 2nd day you did the 3pm to 11pm shift. the 3rd day you did the 11pm to 7am shift.
ReplyDeleteit sounds good on paper. but you could never get any sleep.
These writers really need better editors (or better educations). The story isn't about a 14 hour workWEEK. It's about 14 hour wordDAYS.
ReplyDeleteI worked in a situation where we did multiple 12 hour shifts sitting behind computer screens. Not enough people to go around. So nights, some days. Plus over a couple of hours travel time. Great money (motivator). Then one day I said fuck it and quit. The job was killing me physically as well as mentally. I went out and got me a 40 hour a week job nearby my hour. Best decision ever.
ReplyDelete