I work in the IT department for a very large org in the United States. There are 3 of us technicians to serve roughly 20,000 employees. We used to have 7 technicians, which was still far too few a number, but those folks all quit after management ran them out. We are salaried non-exempt employees who all make roughly 50-55k a year (already quite underpaid for advanced level technicians) and our hours, responsibilities, etc change on a fucking dime. We are consistently punished by management for being understaffed without so much as a thank you for our efforts of working every single minute of every single day. (Seriously, I feel pressure when I step out to go pee).
Allow me to give you a contextual example – Previously, our working hours were “extended” (without pay because we are non-exempt) due to us being “unable to fulfill client obligations.” The literal translation is that we were too understaffed to track and receive 100+ shipments of laptops and docking stations for one of our client groups. You may be asking why an IT department was responsible for order fulfillment, shipping, receiving, etc – don’t we have policies and procedures in place to handle these things? Great question that only our management can answer, as they deem it necessary to promise the world to our clients (and directly violate Org policy in doing so). Our director was so furious that our small team could not handle this on top of the constant fires we have to put our daily that he said “they can all quit for all I care” and that he can go find more of us on the street if he needs to (LOL more on that phrase later).
Currently, we’ve taken ownership of several more customer groups. One of these groups has an obligation on Saturdays that require IT assistance. The previous technician employed by this group was paid for the weekend hours they worked, but the technician left, and we are now left to try and provide service with what little resources we have because management yet again overpromised. When I asked about this, I was told we are to work the Saturday with no pay and that we will not be receiving hours “off” through the week to compensate – essentially working 6 days a week. I explained that this was unacceptable, especially for the compensation we get, but was told that as a non-exempt employee, I am merely to ask “how high?” when I am told “to jump” and that I don’t get a say in my work.
We recently lost two more employees, and management has asked me to take on more administrative duties on top of my technician responsibilities (don’t ask me if I got a raise – you already know I didn’t LOL). Because of this, I was able to assist with the hiring process for their replacements… if you can call it that because these new positions are temporary and only pay $18-22 an hour. Our director said he could find more of us on the street, but we have had 14 applicants (none of whom have IT experience) since the second week in February, so you tell me if you think that’s accurate.
TL:DR; my coworkers and I do a LOT of work for free with zero benefit and now we’re being asked to do even more. Management seems content with abusing our non-exempt status. Director thinks our prize is that we’re still employed.