[Mentalist]

My boss is currently on vacation.

Last week he had a surgery to remove a herniated disk, since he was shaving a lot of problems walking due to severe pain radiating down his leg.

Apparently, once he immediately felt better, he decided to go for a coffee the next day, as was his habit prior to these issues starting.

I don't know all the details (because his wife who is our business manager speaks to other staff, but not to me), but long story short- his walk didn't end well, he's in ER right now, and no one knows what's going on with him.

Meanwhile, in 2 weeks he's supposed to come back to a full workload. And now there's a good chance that workload will become mine. Including having to do his his hearings on days when I'm already booked for other clients.

And as of right now I was informed (as a favour) that I'm not supposed to know about any of this until the bosses talk to me (presumably next week).

Lovely.

[Macros]

Nope, no sale. When they tell you to take a wage cut and spunk that kind of money?
Fuck off is the only answer they would be getting from me.

Everyone I work for spouts the usual shit 'we're not making money on this project' or ' we're actually taking this job at even or loss to get in with the company or I. The expectations of massive changes we can charge on'.
Shut the fuck up, you just bought a brand new top of the range pick up. I ain't taking a pay cut so you can take your fourth holiday this year and drink champagne with your dinner instead of prosecco, deal with it or find another fool to flog

This post has been edited by Macros: 24 August 2018 - 02:52 PM

[Gintokian]

Macros, on 24 August 2018 - 02:37 PM, said:

Nope, no sale. When they tell you to take a wage cut and spunk that kind of money?
Fuck off is the only answer they would be getting from me.

Everyone I work for our the usual shit 'we're not making money on this project' or ' we're actually taking this job at even or loss to get in with the company or I. The expectations of massive changes we can charge on'.
Shit the fuck up, you just bought a brand new top of the range pick up. I ain't taking a pay cut so you can take your fourth holiday this year and drink champagne with your dinner instead of prosecco, deal with it or find another fool to flog

Ha as much as I would love to say all that (I've said it a bunch in my head but I don't think that counts), it's hard being young and new, and having my friend's dad as my boss and I need the experience for my CPA. Especially when i see all the accounting and I know that we really don't have enough money for anything right now, whether it's a raise for me or a meal for them, there's really nothing there. Our payables keep increasing and the bank is harassing us over our LOC being near its max.
Just going to have to deal with it for now I suppose.

[Macros]

They clearly have no consideration for their company or employees when the bank is hassling them and they're still throwing money round them. I get you have ties to the company etc. A lot of the work I do is for my best friend, like if I ever get married he'll probably be my best man, but it doesn't stop me telling him to cut his bullshit.

[Gintokian]

Macros, on 24 August 2018 - 02:55 PM, said:

They clearly have no consideration for their company or employees when the bank is hassling them and they're still throwing money round them. I get you have ties to the company etc. A lot of the work I do is for my best friend, like if I ever get married he'll probably be my best man, but it doesn't stop me telling him to cut his bullshit.

That's true, there is a pretty clear almost caste system here, the partners are always taking out the lawyers and law clerks to lunch for hours where the rest of us admin staff never get asked. They get vacation and sick days whenever they want where ours are kept track carefully. It's kinda fucked up really, and pretty obvious why we're in such a bad financial spot. A few years ago we won the largest settlement in the history of Ontario and they blew all that money, saved nothing. All we can do in accounting is give them advice and tell them what they should be doing to keep us profitable but it's ultimately up to them what happens. I mean, if the company goes under I'm no worse for wear but the 70 year old managing partner will lose everything. So he can keep on spending money on dumb shit but it's gunna come back to bite him in the ass for sure.

We'll see how the next couple months go, I will be working here 1 year in late September so if we're doing a little better I'll definitely ask for something, another week vacation at the very least. And if we end up moving I'll ask for a bunch of money, cause I'll either have to spent more time/money commuting or move to Toronto where rent is insane.

[Macros]

Ha, he won't lose a penny if he files, it'll be the usual, the bottom of the company would get hard fucked and the top would start a new company the next day.

I may sound a bit cynical on this front but I just get sick of company hierarchy pissing all over their workforce and then laughing about it over the champagne and caviar.
Point and case that absolute fruitloop Mr green and what he did to BHS

[Gintokian]

Macros, on 24 August 2018 - 03:40 PM, said:

Ha, he won't lose a penny if he files, it'll be the usual, the bottom of the company would get hard fucked and the top would start a new company the next day.

I may sound a bit cynical on this front but I just get sick of company hierarchy pissing all over their workforce and then laughing about it over the champagne and caviar.
Point and case that absolute fruitloop Mr green and what he did to BHS

That would be true in most cases but he has personal guarantees on the LOC (max $2.75M) so that'll be a pretty big hit for sure. The $1.2M in payables would be gone but the bank won't let the line of credit go so easily.

[Cause]

I wonder if this is a lawyer thing. My friends dad is a lawyer and runs a small partnership and he also sees the bussinesses money as his money. Fair enough I suppose it is. Still. He spends it like water. I'm not his accountant so can't speak to his financial health or not but it strikes me as ill disciplined. I don't know if it's partly a tax dodge or whatever...

However if your company is in trouble and you spend 800 dollars on a meal your now an idiot. I get that your not 18 working your first job but we are not saying eat ramen. We are saying eat for less than a 100 dollars.

I know I'm not excactly rolling in it and locally we have some of the best priced food in the world but if I spent a 100 dollars on dinner I'd have a heart attack. 30 dollars for a kg of ribs at a fine restaurant once a month is my splurge.

[Macros]

people don't understand that company money is not personal money.

"but I invested money in the company"

good for you, take the money from the company in a profit dividend and then spunk it. the Companies money is there to pay employees, the second you employ one person you have obligations beyond your desires to show off and order a $1000 dinner.

[Gintokian]

Cause, on 24 August 2018 - 04:05 PM, said:

I wonder if this is a lawyer thing. My friends dad is a lawyer and runs a small partnership and he also sees the bussinesses money as his money. Fair enough I suppose it is. Still. He spends it like water. I'm not his accountant so can't speak to his financial health or not but it strikes me as ill disciplined. I don't know if it's partly a tax dodge or whatever...

However if your company is in trouble and you spend 800 dollars on a meal your now an idiot. I get that your not 18 working your first job but we are not saying eat ramen. We are saying eat for less than a 100 dollars.

I know I'm not excactly rolling in it and locally we have some of the best priced food in the world but if I spent a 100 dollars on dinner I'd have a heart attack. 30 dollars for a kg of ribs at a fine restaurant once a month is my splurge.

If it was a tax thing it would be incredibly stupid, in Canada you can only deduct 50% of meals for tax purposes so it wouldn't help that much really. I think it's partly due to the lawyers mentality, a lot of them have a bit of a superiority complex, like "i went to law school, passed the bar so I should be making tons of money and have the best stuff." Now obviously that's not all lawyers, the non-partner lawyers at my firm are super nice and not really like that, but they also don't really have a sense of money, one is asking for a big raise when we have no money to spare.


It's not all selfish stuff either, like the owner wants to buy all new computers for everyone when we move, somehow he got a quote for $100,000 for new computers for 14 people, how the hell does that work? They just have no concept of money or savings.

[Cause]

Race politics! They bore and frustrate me. In equal measure. My former presidents son killed a woman when he caused a car accident while speeding in his Ferrari.

Lots of people say he is being punished for being black, the presidents son etc. He KILLED a woman. Being tried for it is just the law! What makes it worse is that the people who are trying to defend him seem to not care that the woman he killed was black. No idea why they don't want justice for her.

[Tsundoku]

How the hell can anyone be punished for being black these days in South Africa?????

I mean, aren't they well on the way to 'doing a Zimbabwe', version 2.0?

Get out while you still can. Go to Perth (Western Australia, not Scotland) - you'll probably hang out with half your old mates there anyway.

EDIT:
On topic, I'm awake at shit o'clock because the handbag rats little yap yap dogs across the road have being going off all night. Which happens every time their owners go away for the weekend. Which is most weekends. I was really looking forward to a good sleep tonight but I may have to put earplugs in.

Again, #firstworldproblems

This post has been edited by Tsundoku: 24 August 2018 - 06:06 PM

[amphibian]

Macros, on 24 August 2018 - 02:12 PM, said:

I guess that's pretty obscure to people who don't know me or my trade.

I'm from Norterhn Ireland, the guys I usuay work for get a lot of work across the water in England/Scotland and other companies put me around Europe. Like most construction work unless you actually price a certain part of the install to complete yourself you work on an hourly rate (I won't go salary as I'm far better off this way).
If I was at home I would be working a 40 hour week or not too far off it and playing golf every evening. When I'm away I require to be flown home every weekend and work 50 hours a week to make it worth my while leaving home. And missing my home comforts 4 nights a week.
If they want me to stay away for longer than that my demands increase. I don't get unreasonable but they know what it takes to keep me and the second any of the companies I do work for start to fuck about on my non negotiables I pack my shit and tell them to stick it.
I was a soft touch years ago for too long, even now I know I still probably do too much, as amph (I think) pointed out, like part design etc. But a lot of that stems from me being frustrated with idiotic designers who have no real world experience and their drawings are fucking shit.

Prompting Macros to get paid more for his comprehensive labor is probably the best thing I ever did on this forum.

When your employer starts taking money from you in terms of pay cuts and it's not universal or matched by frugality and a general commitment to regaining financial health as soon as possible, it's time to find another job. Things like moving an accountant to receptionist are also extremely bad signs. Polish your resume. Apply to other places. Take a couple days off in September to go on interviews. Even if things turn out well with your employer, you still have options to look at. If things go fucking sideways fast, you might be able to jump to a better place fast or at least pay your bills until you find a better landing spot after your first jump.

The following is true for everyone - even new hires or low on the totem pole people: get paid for what you do and try not to regularly do much more than you're paid for.

Compensation isn't only about money. It's about time and energy. Pouring huge portions of yourself into an endeavor that won't ever appreciate or reward you for that is a path to pain for you and those around you. It's not being soulless or being bereft of compassion. It's quite literally a trade of your labor and time for the whole package of money, benefits, training, skills, and meaningful results.

I get paid less than most of my attorney peers. But my healthcare benefits are much better than theirs and I work mostly a 9-5 job as an attorney in a field I love. That's very valuable especially since I want a family soon with my partner (who outearns me) and I have hobbies that take up considerable time and energy. My commute is also less than twenty minutes one way.

The savings on time, stress, and energy are huge for me. This isn't available to everyone everywhere and there are rough spots about my job, but it's a very good package for me and my partner.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Tsundoku, on 24 August 2018 - 05:50 PM, said:

the handbag rats little yap yap dogs

No, you were right on your first go.

If it fits in a handbag, it's not a dog, it's a glorified rat.

[Gintokian]

amphibian, on 24 August 2018 - 08:22 PM, said:

Macros, on 24 August 2018 - 02:12 PM, said:

I guess that's pretty obscure to people who don't know me or my trade.

I'm from Norterhn Ireland, the guys I usuay work for get a lot of work across the water in England/Scotland and other companies put me around Europe. Like most construction work unless you actually price a certain part of the install to complete yourself you work on an hourly rate (I won't go salary as I'm far better off this way).
If I was at home I would be working a 40 hour week or not too far off it and playing golf every evening. When I'm away I require to be flown home every weekend and work 50 hours a week to make it worth my while leaving home. And missing my home comforts 4 nights a week.
If they want me to stay away for longer than that my demands increase. I don't get unreasonable but they know what it takes to keep me and the second any of the companies I do work for start to fuck about on my non negotiables I pack my shit and tell them to stick it.
I was a soft touch years ago for too long, even now I know I still probably do too much, as amph (I think) pointed out, like part design etc. But a lot of that stems from me being frustrated with idiotic designers who have no real world experience and their drawings are fucking shit.

Prompting Macros to get paid more for his comprehensive labor is probably the best thing I ever did on this forum.

When your employer starts taking money from you in terms of pay cuts and it's not universal or matched by frugality and a general commitment to regaining financial health as soon as possible, it's time to find another job. Things like moving an accountant to receptionist are also extremely bad signs. Polish your resume. Apply to other places. Take a couple days off in September to go on interviews. Even if things turn out well with your employer, you still have options to look at. If things go fucking sideways fast, you might be able to jump to a better place fast or at least pay your bills until you find a better landing spot after your first jump.

The following is true for everyone - even new hires or low on the totem pole people: get paid for what you do and try not to regularly do much more than you're paid for.

Compensation isn't only about money. It's about time and energy. Pouring huge portions of yourself into an endeavor that won't ever appreciate or reward you for that is a path to pain for you and those around you. It's not being soulless or being bereft of compassion. It's quite literally a trade of your labor and time for the whole package of money, benefits, training, skills, and meaningful results.

I get paid less than most of my attorney peers. But my healthcare benefits are much better than theirs and I work mostly a 9-5 job as an attorney in a field I love. That's very valuable especially since I want a family soon with my partner (who outearns me) and I have hobbies that take up considerable time and energy. My commute is also less than twenty minutes one way.

The savings on time, stress, and energy are huge for me. This isn't available to everyone everywhere and there are rough spots about my job, but it's a very good package for me and my partner.

That is true, if we move offices I'm going to be spending 3 or more hours commuting a day which will be brutal and I won't be getting paid for it. I should have all my hours for my CPA by January so for sure if things don't get better by then I'll start looking around, maybe sooner (dont have any vacation days left this year for interviews either). Plus once I have my CPA it will make finding another job a lot easier as well as approx. 10K pay bump. I just started doing the two jobs recently so when it comes time I'm going to ask for a big raise and if I don't get it I may walk. Plus I don't want to kill myself working either, I don't think it will be so bad once I get used to it but right now things are pretty hectic.
Another thing is one of the reasons my boss (CFO and my friends dad) brought me in was to take over for him when he retires (which he'd like to do soon), so I could be making a lot then too, but again I'll have to figure out if it's worth the commute and time.

My plan right now is to see how things go for the next little while (to january) and if it doesn't look good, I may have to bail.

Also when I said the lawyers have a superiority complex I meant the ones at my firm, not all lawyers...

This post has been edited by Gintokian: 24 August 2018 - 08:58 PM

[Macros]

ITS EVERY LAWYER EVER.

SWEEPING GENERALISATIONS AHOY!

[Macros]

ITS EVERY LAWYER EVER.

SWEEPING GENERALISATIONS AHOY!

[Gintokian]

Macros, on 24 August 2018 - 09:10 PM, said:

ITS EVERY LAWYER EVER.

SWEEPING GENERALISATIONS AHOY!

Well I mean yeah of course, but I was trying to be nice...

Lawyers have fragile egos you know.
But not all lawyers..

This post has been edited by Gintokian: 24 August 2018 - 09:19 PM

[Mentalist]

Macros, on 24 August 2018 - 09:10 PM, said:

ITS EVERY LAWYER EVER.

SWEEPING GENERALISATIONS AHOY!

I know it's meant as a joke, but given my current situation (see above), it's still irritating me more than it should. Which in turn is messing with my groove.

It's Independence Day. I'm contemplating getting drunk when I get home and passing out.

Edit: and the 3 hour commute to/from TO is great extra sleep/reading time. As long as you're not driving, that is.

This post has been edited by Mentalist: 24 August 2018 - 09:38 PM

[Gintokian]

Mentalist, on 24 August 2018 - 09:36 PM, said:

Macros, on 24 August 2018 - 09:10 PM, said:

ITS EVERY LAWYER EVER.

SWEEPING GENERALISATIONS AHOY!

I know it's meant as a joke, but given my current situation (see above), it's still irritating me more than it should. Which in turn is messing with my groove.

It's Independence Day. I'm contemplating getting drunk when I get home and passing out.

Edit: and the 3 hour commute to/from TO is great extra sleep/reading time. As long as you're not driving, that is.

Which independance day would that be?

And yes my commute now is about 1 hour there, it can be nice but I find I just end up staring out the window mostly. This new one will involve taking the subway and walking so not exactly relaxing. Or i could take the 407 and sink a ton more money into my commute