I know this might be the opposite of what is normally posted in here, but after reading so many posts of horrible conditions and policies, I just wanted to give a shout-out to my employer. Not sure if I am allowed to post the employer name, so I won't yet, but it is a national company (actually international).
The post today about a person's work not liking that he/she is on time rather than early sparked this. I saw a lot of comments about their employers expecting you to be totally ready to go by clock in time, forcing prep work (which is still work) to be done off the clock.
My employer pays us PAD time, which is extra time added to our check for the amount of time it takes to get our computers logged in, launch tools, and anything else that is required before actually starting our shift. My division also received a 25% raise a few months ago (every employee received this). Granted, it isn't a high paying job to begin with, but going from 16/hr +bonus to 20/hr with same bonus structure was great. Additionally, our attendance policy was altered in a VERY generous way. We do not have a union. We did not have to organize a protest or even a complaint. It was simply given to us, as it should be in every situation. We did not sacrifice any of our benefits or policies to receive these quality of life provements at work.
This should be the standard everywhere. It is absolutely appalling that it is not.