Work/Life Balance

How do you deal with accepting roles that you arent sure of the environment? Im in a role that rarely ever goes over 40 hours and I think Im getting spoiled.

Do you even consider it? I couldnt imagine being on-call anymore.

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SteveLavoie

I consider myself as a workaholic... I had some job offer that emphazise that it is a balanced work env where no one goes over 40h.. and after a few days of reflexion, I knew I would be unhappy. I dont mind a few slow week (40h) specially in the summer, but 50-55h is my normal work week. However my job is very flexible, I can set my goal, define my schedule and choose my project, so it is a big plus.

unrealskillz06

I cant relate to the flexibility, but I totally understand. I just dont want to have unrealistic expectations when it is time to move into another role. If I can get the job done in 40 then I would much rather do that. And now that I think about it, Im sure I do more than 40 when researching and testing outside of work but I find that fun.

gespenstern

There's no "life" for top tier. Just all work.

If you are looking for jobs then working in enterprise means 40 hours of work, unless the sky is falling, which happens like once in 25 years. Working for startups and smaller MSPs means a lot of unpaid overtime.

unrealskillz06

Define enterprise.

I guess my perspective is a bit off. How do you place a value on time, even if you dont know if and when its going to be required? For example, if Im given a salary should my negotiations take into account the time that I may have to work 50+ hours?? I apologize...Im slowly moving up this corporate ladder thing.

the_Grinch

For me there is no balance, it's just work with life sprinkled in every once in awhile. Largely that is due to how I work and not because work requires it per say. Most weeks I could go by without doing anything extra, but at least once a month I have insane hours. I'm single and no kids so makes sense now to do it and when the time comes I'll change a bit. Right or wrong I am my job.

hurricane1091

Comes and goes for me. Last week was slow. This week is busier already. I need to upgrade the firmware on some switch firmware which will be after hours but that's so simple and done from home that it doesn't matter.

I am the only network engineer so I am always on call but generally speaking, I don't work over 40 hours a week. Obviously some stuff cannot be done during the day but I'm in a relaxed environment. We're able to swap out routers at branch offices mid-day which is nice.

gespenstern

unrealskillz06 wrote: »

Define enterprise.

Big, often international companies, where everything is regulated. Think huge hospital networks, big retailers, big manufacturers, big banks, etc with tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of employees.

jt2929

My company has gotten rid of the phrase "work-life balance" and replaced it with "work-life integration". Not quite sure which one is being integrated into the other yet...

N7Valiant

I personally want to run at full burn until I'm 35 (currently 30), probably doing night classes in college for my Bachelor's and studying for and taking exams for certifications when I'm not working. I just figured I might as well get that out of the way while I'm still young and try to sidle my way into a steady 40 hour work week and a more relaxed internal IT department or something as I get older.

TheFORCE

jt2929 wrote: »

My company has gotten rid of the phrase "work-life balance" and replaced it with "work-life integration". Not quite sure which one is being integrated into the other yet...

That's hilarious, talk about political corrections in the form of brainwashing.

hurricane1091

Jinxed myself, working out the wazoo this week now. Working all the time is for the birds boys, go out and live life.

Jake4121

hurricane1091 wrote: »

Jinxed myself, working out the wazoo this week now. Working all the time is for the birds boys, go out and live life.

This always happens with my On-call weekend as well =/

hurricane1091

Jake4121 wrote: »

This always happens with my On-call weekend as well =/

Bummer brother.

UnixGuy

yeah I avoid on-call like a plague, and you have to actively plan your life outside work and engage in activities/family/hobbies, there is more to life than work, you're only young once!

SpetsRepair

The workload varies in my company. Basically sometimes I'm heavily deep in projects weekly and some days I may have like 1-2 days out of the week where I don't have much to do since I'm waiting on other projects/responses/schedules etc....