Benefits of salaried positions?

Maybe I'm being too much of a "free-thinker", or perhaps not seeing this in the right light at all, but what is the benefit to me of being a salaried exempt worker?

The way I see it, the employer benefits from having a salaried worker by not having to pay overtime for over 40 hours. But where does the employee benefit? It seems most employers require 40 hours minimum, so taking a half day when there's nothing going on is out of the question. It seems to me that if I have no work to be done, I ought to be enjoying a beer at home(while keeping the cell close, of course), not twiddling my thumbs at the office.

And on a slightly different, but related topic, I decided to read up on the Dept of Labor Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as a few supplemental resources... seems that most of our jobs are actually non-exempt jobs, which means we should be getting OT pay. Apple and IBM were sued by their systems and network guys over this a while back, with each of the companies losing out.

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pitviper

If you're ever in the position for a management job, better get used to the idea!

darkerosxx

Being a salary employee is not a benefit, imo, the paycheck is. If you don't like it or agree with it, then don't do it, simple as that.

mikedisd2

forkvoid wrote: »

The way I see it, the employer benefits from having a salaried worker by not having to pay overtime for over 40 hours. But where does the employee benefit? It seems most employers require 40 hours minimum, so taking a half day when there's nothing going on is out of the question. It seems to me that if I have no work to be done, I ought to be enjoying a beer at home(while keeping the cell close, of course), not twiddling my thumbs at the office.

It's an out-dated work model, left over from the industrial age; show up at x, go home at x.

Some progressive companies may have a much more flexible approach to their worker's time. But mostly, companies want to see hours clocked up for salaries paid.

And of course, "that's just the way it is".

eMeS

forkvoid wrote: »

Maybe I'm being too much of a "free-thinker", or perhaps not seeing this in the right light at all, but what is the benefit to me of being a salaried exempt worker?

The way I see it, the employer benefits from having a salaried worker by not having to pay overtime for over 40 hours. But where does the employee benefit? It seems most employers require 40 hours minimum, so taking a half day when there's nothing going on is out of the question. It seems to me that if I have no work to be done, I ought to be enjoying a beer at home(while keeping the cell close, of course), not twiddling my thumbs at the office.

And on a slightly different, but related topic, I decided to read up on the Dept of Labor Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as a few supplemental resources... seems that most of our jobs are actually non-exempt jobs, which means we should be getting OT pay. Apple and IBM were sued by their systems and network guys over this a while back, with each of the companies losing out.

The big benefit of being an exempt employee is that you are *guaranteed* a predictable amount of pay. I put the stars because there's really not a "guarantee" of employment per se, it's more that your hours cannot be suddenly reduced with a subsequent decrease in pay because you worked fewer hours.

In other words, the benefit is some control by the employee over variance in work hours and pay.

MS

Technito

When it comes to salary.....

The employer's advantage: It's easier for employers to pre-budget for an entire year of what it would cost to pay all their employees. And when revenue is high, more money to put in their pockets.
The employee's advantage: It's good knowing you'll always have a "consistent" and "specific" dollar amount as long you're employed with the company. Makes it easier to budget personal expenses.

The employer's disadvantage: When revenue is low and still having to pay their employees a full time salary could result in downsizing. The employee usually benefits here, but usually not for long until the big "lay-off" happens.
The employee's disadvantage: The "most" common disadvantage for the employee is of course being overworked. Say you work 60 hours in a week and have more than out-done yourself. You get not one dime extra! But try working less than just 1 hour shy of 40 hrs in a week and your employer will usually be sure you make that time up. Or guess what? They dock you! And even if that's not the case, if you're not happy with your salary you'll eventually get stressed and fed up knowing no matter how hard you work you always be worth the same value.

So the moral is, salary can be good and bad. But mostly bad

networker050184

eMeS wrote: »

The big benefit of being an exempt employee is that you are *guaranteed* a predictable amount of pay. I put the stars because there's really not a "guarantee" of employment per se, it's more that your hours cannot be suddenly reduced with a subsequent decrease in pay because you worked fewer hours.

In other words, the benefit is some control by the employee over variance in work hours and pay.

MS

That is exactly why I prefer salary. Yeah, I may work more than 40 hrs, but some weeks I work less. No matter what I know whats going to be deposited into the bank though(as long as I have the job that is).

forkvoid wrote:

The way I see it, the employer benefits from having a salaried worker by not having to pay overtime for over 40 hours. But where does the employee benefit? It seems most employers require 40 hours minimum, so taking a half day when there's nothing going on is out of the question. It seems to me that if I have no work to be done, I ought to be enjoying a beer at home(while keeping the cell close, of course), not twiddling my thumbs at the office.

Thats not how it works at the places I've been salaried at. If there is nothing going on my boss lets us take off early or do half days, work form home etc. If there is work to do it has to be done, obviously, and you can't take off.

CompuTron99

Just never make the decision to actually calculate the $/hr after you've been working alot of extra hours... sometimes I don't even match minimum wage.

powerfool

You are free to work a position that is offered to you, or not. The whole overtime pay thing is antiquated in and of itself. The employer/employee relationship is one of mutually benefit and choice. Why should an employer have to pay time and a half for overtime? Because a law that other people made and imposed on them? That seems a bit backwards to me. Now, that being said, perhaps that is something that you work out with your employer... you work so many hours and then you get "bonus" pay for work above and beyond... but that is a freely entered choice.

That being said, I have benefited from overtime pay in the past. I understand that this is the system in which live... it just happens to be irrational. What ends up being the practice is that when there is a chance for overtime one of two situations occur: 1) employers don't really get much done because they will be asked to perform overtime and get extra pay if they leave some work on the table, or 2) the employees hold so little value that even the extra money doesn't matter that they will call off sick in order to only have 40 hours.

In reality, I would much rather be paid on my output. Being in a salaried position is a better opportunity for that, depending on where you work. For instance, I have contractual deliverables that I have to produce. If it takes me 60/hours per week, then that is what it takes me. If it takes 40/hours per week, then that is fine as well. While not available at my current employer, but it has been the case with others, if it takes me 35/hours a week, then that is fine too.

My knee jerk reaction, based on experience, is that if you are sensitive to the idea of salary you are either inexperienced and have yet to see how it will work for you, or you do not provide enough value in the employer/employee relationship. So long as you provide enough value, your employer will be compelled to compensate you appropriately else they will see you go elsewhere. Meaning... if you are providing good value and you are under-appreciated, look for another job, you don't deserve that.

As in all things, it is a double-edged sword.

petedude

You might find out something surprising about yourself: You'd rather they pay you in a fashion that would allow you to work late when you want to finish things up, rather than having to fight for overtime.

joey74055

The way I understand it is up to a certain $ amount you earn an hourly wage plus overtime. If at some point (through years of promotion or hired on at) you make over that $ amount you will become a salaried employee. Reason being is that (in some cases not all so please no one get upset) hourly employees make less thus allowing for employers to be able to pay the time and a half. At the point that your making so much from working overtime the employer will usually benefit from bumping you up to salaried, usually with a bump up in pay, because with the overtime you are making in the salaried zone. On the other hand, certain positions like mgmt postions are automatically salaried because they are paid more and the company couldn't afford to pay someone that will usually work over 40 hours time and a half at the rate a manager will usually make. Some companies even look at your education to decide if your salary or not, a BS sometimes will equal salary.

Hyper-Me

Just the way it is, man. There are days we literally sit in the office from 8-5 and stare at the wall. There are other days that we go in at 9 and get done at 3 and head for home.

Sitting around doing nothing is especially aggrivating when its near month-end and you are close to hitting your bonus hours.

stuh84

forkvoid wrote: »

It seems to me that if I have no work to be done, I ought to be enjoying a beer at home(while keeping the cell close, of course), not twiddling my thumbs at the office.

I take it you've never worked in a reactive department then? My old job used to entail 12 hour shifts, of which usually there was maybe about 2 or 3 hours actual proactive work to do. Many nights we were twiddling our thumbs, but we weren't there for putting configuration in, we were there to wait for something to break.

When it did break, it could go on for days, spreading across shifts. When doing this kind of thing at home, you are likely to not notice problems as much as when you are there watching problems happen.

I understand what you mean about working till the work is done then going, but it can only really be applicable for departments which dont have as much on, or are not waiting for something to break.

Nuwin

There are pros and cons to either side of the argument here, but to me, it really boils down to the environment you work in. The right or wrong boss can make either arrangement enjoyable or a complete living hell.

If you find yourself getting the shaft in your arrangement, find a better one.

And remember, if you find yourself putting in the time and getting everything done, but your peers put in time and do less work, and are generally not as good at it, they're the smart ones. They're getting paid the same (or more) to put up with less than what you do.

GAngel

Not all salaried positions are the same grind. I work 37.5 hrs a week when and how I see fit. I can get there and leave whenever I want I get paid for overtime. I take lunch when and how I want. All of my team can come and go whenever they fell like I really don't care as long as the projects are done on time. Women get 1 year mat leave and fathers get 6 mths after that if they'd like. We have work from home options if you don't need to be in the office. We can take 6mths off every few years to "find ourselves".

Times have changed you just need an employer who isn't fussed as long as you get your work done.

it_consultant

Generally speaking positions that are "production" are hourly by law. This, of course, was defined before we had IT guys. It was designed to protect factory and other labor workers from abusive practices.

If you are producing something for your company that makes them money, you must be paid for every minute plus overtime. This does not fit with a salary position. Management does not do active production so they are given a salary.

You will see some phone and network guys who are paid $50 an hour (must be paid hourly because they are production based) who rake in the OT pay when they go over 40 hours. Those positions often come with a lot of pressure to get the work done on time.

If you are working internal IT, it is probably legal to be salaried. If you are a network engineer working for an ISP putting in customer facing equipment for the ISP clients, then you should be paid hourly.

erpadmin

GAngel wrote: »

Not all salaried positions are the same grind. I work 37.5 hrs a week when and how I see fit. I can get there and leave whenever I want I get paid for overtime. I take lunch when and how I want. All of my team can come and go whenever they fell like I really don't care as long as the projects are done on time. Women get 1 year mat leave and fathers get 6 mths after that if they'd like. We have work from home options if you don't need to be in the office. We can take 6mths off every few years to "find ourselves".

Times have changed you just need an employer who isn't fussed as long as you get your work done.

I was wondering if this was in the US, the saw no, you are in "T-dot" land.

Fathers (if they want) can have the same leave as mothers and are subject to the (US) FMLA. I don't know any father who has been out for more than 1-2 weeks though, even for a 1st born. But if he wanted to, he could be out for much longer.

As for taking 6months (paid) to find myself.....sign me up for Canadia!! (misspelling intentional.

Devilsbane

There are sometimes when I wouldn't mind being salaried. There are a list of things that I am required to get done, and there is usually a list of things that I want to get done. Some employers will have a firm no overtime policy. With a policy like that, it starts coming down to the end of Friday and you have 2 hours left to clean both lists.

I would much rather work at my own pace. Somedays (likely most days) I would fly through everything and get out early. Other days, I'm not in much of a hurry and wouldn't mind staying late (say on like a Monday morning, who likes to be flying around then?). As long as in the end, both lists are cleared.

I had a job that wasn't officially salaried, but I had a deal with by boss that all my time cards said the same time. One week, that meant I didn't show up. Another, I worked triple what the card said. It was a nice feeling that I could run out to lunch or take a break without a care of time. In the end I know I put in more time than what I was paid, but that was ok. Both of my lists were cleared and my manager was happy.

chmorin

I'm just happy to finally have a full time job that will keep me busy and have constant salaried pay, because I am sick of working for hourly all of my life and not knowing exactly what to expect next pay check.

I work in a field I enjoy, so I don't mind the overtime as much as others. To me, though, having a job that makes you work hard is better than having a job that doesnt, and then losing it.

Countryboi

this best part about being a salaried worker is never having to punch a clock.

erpadmin

Countryboi wrote: »

this best part about being a salaried worker is never having to punch a clock.

+1!

Definitely hate punching clocks....

colemic

I am salaried/exempt, but as a contractor still have to punch in my hours... depending on what charge code I use (depending on what I am doing), I may/may not get OT paid to me (but our OT is just straight time, NOT time and a half). Otherwise I accrue 'DH' time which is basicallly comp time with a buttload of restrictions.

Paul Boz

Salary is ideal for those who have families and need a specific fixed income. I would rather get a pay check for $2500 every two weeks than $3000 one check and $2000 the next. Sure it evens out, but the stability is what I care about. If I know for a fact that I'm going to get a check for $2500 every two weeks I can much better forecast what I can spend on housing, vehicles, etc. The only time I would ditch salary for hourly is if I was in a position which mandated overtime. When I worked for the telephone company in the NOC center I was scheduled sixty hours a week so I was hourly. If I was salary they could not have utilized me to such a degree. It was more than worth it to me because every week I made 20 hours of time and a half in addition to my base hourly wage.

I think it also comes down to what your role is in a company. Its much easier for my employer to say "we're offering you $75,000/year salary" than "we're offering you $35.33/hour." If they know they have to commit $75k/year in salary its much easier to forecast from a business perspective. My $35.33/hour may translate literally to $75k/year or I may have 20% overtime and wind up making more like $90k. When you start dealing with larger salaries that flexibility is very difficult to work with.

Devilsbane

The official offer came through, and starting in about 2 weeks I will become salaried. Rather than repeat all the same information, I am going to break the news of my new job here. http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/57149-new-job.html#post440107

BradleyHU

i'm salaried, but i would love to be salaried + OT. cuz i work a about 2 hours per week more than i'm scheduled to. i dont really mind for that lil amount of time. but if i was putting in 50-80 hrs/week, you better give me that OT. no, i dont want any comped days, i want [randy moss]STRAIGHT CASH HOMIE!![/moss]

tomahawkeer

The one good thing about my job being salaried, is that if I do happen to work hours over, my boss lets me take that time off, as comp time. I've gotten things stream lined so well here though, that I dont get it as much as I used to, but its still a nice perk to have, especially when I spend a day on a weekend upgrading or converting a server.

garv221

In my experience salary is what I desire and hourly wages is not the norm. I'm not a factory rat and will not punch a clock.

pitviper

Same here - I typically work 50+ hour weeks anyways but for the real long days (out of state trips always seem to yield 12-16 hour days) I get comp days.

Devilsbane

garv221 wrote: »

In my experience salary is what I desire and hourly wages is not the norm. I'm not a factory rat and will not punch a clock.

To be technical, I was (and still am for another week or so) an hourly employee and don't punch a clock. At the end of the week (or usually monday morning) I enter my hours for the previous week. Even salaried guys enter their time like this, it is a way to determine how time is being spent rather than how big the check should be.

colemic

We input time daily, but that is so the time can be billed back to the government.