As a salaried employee working for an engineering firm, I just finished off a FAT (Factory Acceptance Test) for a customers. Basically, a FAT is an “in office” proof that our programs/schematics work, the customer came into the office this week to let us present out work and to catch any issues before we put “boots on the ground” and actually start construction.
Well we did the FAT with the customer this week, from 6am-10pm all week long, no lunch break, no going home. The customer left yesterday and I came into the office today (Friday) to do our “wrap up meeting” this morning, basically covering everything we learned/need to change from the fat. I asked my boss after the meeting “hey, we are finished up and no longer presenting today and I’ve crossed 60hrs of work not including todays hours; can I go home after lunch?” And he told me that “I’m expected to stay around full time during office hours unless I want to take PTO.”
Does being a salaried employee mean you are a slave to office hours? Does it mean that your boss can ask you to work ridiculous hours without consequences?
Is it unreasonable to start looking for new jobs after a single week like this? Is it unreasonable to go talk to my HR rep about this?
Normally my job is a 9-5, but this last week has shown me that my manager does not respect my personal time. I’ve been with this company for over a year now and I’ve never wanted to quit so bad. Like in a single statement my manager demotivated me from being willing to work 60hrs a week without complaints, to wanting to quit and go work somewhere else. Like saying “yeah head home after lunch, thank you for all your effort this week” was all I wanted and I’m about to quit because I didn’t get that treatment.
Am I being entitled by thinking I should be allowed to take a 1/2 day without taking PTO when I’m over 20hrs of OT that I won’t get paid OT for? I’m salaried so it’s not like I’m getting 20hrs of OT pay, my paycheck will be the same as the weeks I work 40hrs.
I never knew a single statement from a manager could be so demotivating.