Never accept work from a friend. A business friend is not a friend, it's a business relationship. Don't drink beer with him after work, don't talk family stuff with him. Do your job, submit requirements & see him for the next work.
Jim in AZ, post: 382510, member: 249 wrote: Why do you feel such allegience to this guy that apparently lied to you and is now abusing you?
What has he done to deserve it?
He gave me my first job surveying when I was 18 and mentored me through the years
John Giles, post: 382600, member: 57 wrote: He gave me my first job surveying when I was 18 and mentored me through the years
And now you feel he is taking advantage of you?
It's not his fault the job turned out to be different than what he told me. I believe he was being honest with me based on what he said it was like before I took over the dam. That I would work a few days a week and get some entire weeks where they didn't need me at all. But the reality is that I have to be here a lot more than what he told me. It's not him personally making me work all the hours. He is on another job out of state. That's the problem he has been good to me but the hours this job requires is a lot more than what he said when he hired me.
And to be clear I work 5 days a week at the dam job generally 10-17 hour days then go home and work on my surveys. I work all weekend on my surveys. I saw where someone thought I was working 7 days a week at the dam which is not the case.
It's just I was told it would be a few days a week and it's consuming all my time. I am at work right now sitting in a man lift 30+' in the air and all I am doing is taking a reading on the gun every 5 feet we drill. It's not a difficult job just not the job I was told. And I do have permission to be on my phone between readings. Like I said he is a good guy and that is what makes it difficult to say anything.
I've never been there....but it sure seems like you should be able to get together with your boss and the construction manager (even a phone-meeting) and discuss the expected work vs. the actual workload. Since you were told it would be kind of a 20hr work week, someitmes more sometimes less. Maybe you could renegotiate that your salary covers up to (x) hours and you get so much per hour for anything that exceeds that. If they can't reach an agreement, maybe it's time to quit.
I assume there is the prime contractor, your boss as a subcontractor, and you as his employee. If he underestimated the amount of work it would take there should be some way to fix it. Why are you the one stuck with a salary position that is based on a poor estimate of how much work it would take by your boss?
ps. it's good to hear from you John
John Giles, post: 382643, member: 57 wrote: It's not his fault the job turned out to be different than what he told me. I believe he was being honest with me based on what he said it was like before I took over the dam. That I would work a few days a week and get some entire weeks where they didn't need me at all. But the reality is that I have to be here a lot more than what he told me. It's not him personally making me work all the hours. He is on another job out of state. That's the problem he has been good to me but the hours this job requires is a lot more than what he said when he hired me.
And to be clear I work 5 days a week at the dam job generally 10-17 hour days then go home and work on my surveys. I work all weekend on my surveys. I saw where someone thought I was working 7 days a week at the dam which is not the case.
It's just I was told it would be a few days a week and it's consuming all my time. I am at work right now sitting in a man lift 30+' in the air and all I am doing is taking a reading on the gun every 5 feet we drill. It's not a difficult job just not the job I was told. And I do have permission to be on my phone between readings. Like I said he is a good guy and that is what makes it difficult to say anything.
I like Tom Adams comments very much. If your boss truly is a good guy he will hear what you are saying and make some changes. If he doesn't maybe he is not the person you think he is. Be honest - don't be afraid to tell him exactly how you are feeling. You are a liability to him if you are working 10-17 hors/day and you owe it to him to tell him that if you respect him.
IMHO, if you are working as much as you say you are you are making a huge mistake. I know - I did it for several decades. I finally woke up and discovered that there really is more to life than working all the time. I was very fortunate that I did not make a huge mistake from being exhausted and lose everything. Quit one of your jobs and take some time to do something different. It's too late for me - I'm too old to do many of the things i wanted to do... Don't let it happen to you.
John Giles, post: 382397, member: 57 wrote: I've been sick some too and my boss paid me during my hospital stays but I had another surveyor at that time that could take my place. I'm anemic due to blood loss but I think they figured it out and I am good to go now. Crohn's disease. But let me tell you when your hemoglobin gets below a 6 you can barely function. I worked while my blood level was that low and it's not easy. You can't barely walk without feeling like you are about to pass out. But I showed up and worked anyway. I've been in the hospital 3 times for transfusions and one surgery. I've recovered from this and feel pretty good now. But what am I supposed to do about my business. I have to work it too.
I just needed a place to whine a little. I wish I could go back in time and not take this job. But I'm not a quitter so I will stick with it. Just wish I had time to do what I loved. boundary surveying.
John, I know exactly what you mean about being sick and trying to work through it. I've had UC for many years, and there have been times when I wanted to throw in the towel and give up surveying altogether. I've been in the hospital and worried about my business, just like you are. Fortunately, I am much healthier now, but I have been giving serious thought to making changes in my career that will keep me from ending up in that situation again. I never know when my health could decline, and I don't want to have so much hanging over my head if it does.
I talked with my boss. He understands and is giving me one week off a month to do surveying. He is hiring a guy that can come in the week I'm out a month. I will start training the guy on Monday.
That's great news. Let's hope it works out to be the ideal solution.
It's been over a week since you posted that your boss offered a solution, John. I'm curious, are you still working 10 - 17 hour days, 5 days per week? If so, at three weeks on, one week off, you are still working more than twice as much as you were originally told.
Peter Lothian - MA ME, post: 386971, member: 4512 wrote: It's been over a week since you posted that your boss offered a solution, John. I'm curious, are you still working 10 - 17 hour days, 5 days per week? If so, at three weeks on, one week off, you are still working more than twice as much as you were originally told.
I trained up the new guy and he took over on Tuesday afternoon. I have a deadline on a job that has to be done by the 29th so I am taking off all of next week too. The new guy and I agreed that he would work the rest of this week and all of next week. I didn't ask for permission from my boss. I'm just doing it. It's either that or I have to quit. Because the terrible truth is, this job I have the deadline for, is going to bring in about about as much money as I make working for my boss in 3.5 months.
I really don't want to work on the dam, but feel obligated to, even though I'm losing money and jobs in the process. I have to turn people away or give them a crazy estimated start date.
For some reason the dam job is more stressful to me than doing boundary. I suffer from PTSD (Don't know why I'm mentioning it here. Some might think I'm lame and maybe I am. I try to work through it.) and it is very difficult to function sometimes. I am running myself ragged trying to please everybody. I'm at my wits end. If it wasn't for my crazy pills I would have already flipped out on some people. 🙂 I used to get angry, crazy angry, but my medicine makes me pleasant. I know if I don't do something about it, it is going to snowball even more. But I"m not the overly aggressive person I used to be before the medicine. If I stop taking the medicine for a while, hmmm.......no can't do that.
Now he wants me to go next month to another project site about 5 hours from home to help set up control and be there when he can't be because it requires a licensed surveyor to do the job. And I know I made it clear I didn't want to work away from my family that is why they moved with me and one of the factors in my taking the job in the first place. The family has to come. I've spent about 3.5 years away from my family a year and 2 months at a time. I'm a pushover, I guess. I don't know that he is purposely taking advantage, but I feel like I'm being taken advantage of.
I haven't had to work anymore 17 hour days thank goodness. I still work about 11 hours a day, 5 days a week though.
Enough complaining. I'll bet you didn't expect that when you asked how it was going. 😉 Not good.
You are probably wondering why I took the job in the first place. It was supposed to be part time, it was paid for 40 hours, even though it was expected I'd work about 20 or less a week. So it would have worked out to about $50 an hour for me. I got a company truck, phone, laptop, free housing, plus could survey all I wanted. I basically believed I'd work a few hours a week and get paid good money, but that isn't how it's working out. Now, since I need a week off at a time the guaranteed 40 hours a week is gone too. I was informed of that last week.
So now the new guy is trained, and you have other work, why don't you just walk away? - I think I would
jim.cox, post: 386987, member: 93 wrote: So now the new guy is trained, and you have other work, why don't you just walk away? - I think I would
The new guy can't work full time. He has a business too. I have talked to him about it but he is only willing to do one week a month. Except for this first time where he is doing two weeks to help me out.
Complain all you want. The devil is in the details, and you just revealed another detail - your agreed pay has now been changed based on you taking off a week at a time. As I noted before - working 11 hour days, 5 days a week, three out of four weeks, you are working twice as much as originally agreed. And as of last week, your pay is being reduced. Yes, you are being royally taken advantage of.
My advice:
1. Flat out say "no thanks" for the far-away job offer. Don't offer a reason, just say no. He can find someone else to work that job, or (gasp!) contract it out to a local surveying company that has a PLS on staff.
2. One week into your next 3 week work period, hand him your written 2-week notice. That will give your boss a full 3 weeks to find another site surveyor, or (gasp!) contract the work to a local surveying company that has a PLS on staff.
3. Walk away happy, secure in the knowledge that you did your best for him. You owe him nothing more.
John Giles, post: 386984, member: 57 wrote: I trained up the new guy and he took over on Tuesday afternoon. I have a deadline on a job that has to be done by the 29th so I am taking off all of next week too. The new guy and I agreed that he would work the rest of this week and all of next week. I didn't ask for permission from my boss. I'm just doing it. It's either that or I have to quit. Because the terrible truth is, this job I have the deadline for, is going to bring in about about as much money as I make working for my boss in 3.5 months.
I really don't want to work on the dam, but feel obligated to, even though I'm losing money and jobs in the process. I have to turn people away or give them a crazy estimated start date.
For some reason the dam job is more stressful to me than doing boundary. I suffer from PTSD (Don't know why I'm mentioning it here. Some might think I'm lame and maybe I am. I try to work through it.) and it is very difficult to function sometimes. I am running myself ragged trying to please everybody. I'm at my wits end. If it wasn't for my crazy pills I would have already flipped out on some people. 🙂 I used to get angry, crazy angry, but my medicine makes me pleasant. I know if I don't do something about it, it is going to snowball even more. But I"m not the overly aggressive person I used to be before the medicine. If I stop taking the medicine for a while, hmmm.......no can't do that.
Now he wants me to go next month to another project site about 5 hours from home to help set up control and be there when he can't be because it requires a licensed surveyor to do the job. And I know I made it clear I didn't want to work away from my family that is why they moved with me and one of the factors in my taking the job in the first place. The family has to come. I've spent about 3.5 years away from my family a year and 2 months at a time. I'm a pushover, I guess. I don't know that he is purposely taking advantage, but I feel like I'm being taken advantage of.
I haven't had to work anymore 17 hour days thank goodness. I still work about 11 hours a day, 5 days a week though.
Enough complaining. I'll bet you didn't expect that when you asked how it was going. 😉 Not good.
You are probably wondering why I took the job in the first place. It was supposed to be part time, it was paid for 40 hours, even though it was expected I'd work about 20 or less a week. So it would have worked out to about $50 an hour for me. I got a company truck, phone, laptop, free housing, plus could survey all I wanted. I basically believed I'd work a few hours a week and get paid good money, but that isn't how it's working out. Now, since I need a week off at a time the guaranteed 40 hours a week is gone too. I was informed of that last week.
"I really don't want to work on the dam, but feel obligated to, even though I'm losing money and jobs in the process. "
You REALLY need to take a business class! Why would you do this? It is so wrong it hurts... We had a local surveyor do the same thing - he worked himself right into bankruptcy.
Its not bad that you are commited and dedicated, but you have to get control of things - if you don't you will wind up looking back on your life when you are too old to do anything and wonder where your life went. I speak from wxperience...
John Giles, post: 386984, member: 57 wrote: I am running myself ragged trying to please everybody.
That's your problem right there. Trying to please everybody ... you can't. Its' a recipe for pleasing nobody and making yourself miserable in the process.
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
Peter Lothian - MA ME, post: 387015, member: 4512 wrote: you are being royally taken advantage of
And that's putting it VERY politely...
jim.cox, post: 387050, member: 93 wrote: And that's putting it VERY politely...
Yes, I had more colorful wording in mind, but toned it down to maintain a family-friendly forum.
Well out of the blue yesterday I got a call from a large engineering firm that has several projects in line and they want to hire my company. They found me online. There are 6 sites total, each of them about 3 month projects.
I am in a bit of pickle now with where I am working at the dam. I can't pass up the work. Looks like I will have to take the work. Things are looking up.
Sounds like you might be passing up your opportunity to grow professionally.