Reply to: State of the Market

[northernladuk]

This. Anyone who works 120%+ of their contracted hours is a mug, IMO. This is something the millennial and Gen Z generations have cottoned onto.

I don't time watch and if I need to do extra hours I do. Had a very busy period lately and everyone including the contractors has had to step up. Doing what needs to be done inc extra hours has kept me in a contract for two years and it's been the reason at least two of the other contractors have been let go. In both cases it's taken a bit of time for them to get extra gigs. I'm a mug? Not so.

Granted if it wasn't getting me any benefit I'd be pushing back but it's worked out very well for me this time.

[JazzyFry]

Exactly my attitude, especially following the covid scamming. Being the model worker (in the eyes of companies) isn't in my best interests. Follow every single rule to the letter and you're going to just screw yourself. Obviously there is a line you shouldn't cross but I'm certainly change my attitude about giving it a little push every now and again.

The covid phenomena of the last 3 years was a serious scam of criminal proportions. We need more people to say it out loud, especially in the white collar workforce that tends to be so very conformist.

[PerfectStorm]

This. Anyone who works 120%+ of their contracted hours is a mug, IMO. This is something the millennial and Gen Z generations have cottoned onto.

This.

It's the same attitude that means we put people through 11 years of schooling and don't once tell them how to manage their money, how to invest, how to run a business. Just enough to be doing the same as everyone else in a factory or office somewhere.

The people you're trying to impress don't give a tulip about you.

[edison]

A CEO will often be a non-executive elsewhere for various reasons. But non-executive directors need not spend much time on the work they do - they may literally be there to provide advice in monthly board meetings - so say 12 half days a year.

NEDs usually get paid an annual salary. It can vary how much time they are expected to do. I've heard NEDs say it can range from 0.5 days to 2 days a month. Plus there's prep for board meetings etc. Some NEDs I know have eight directorships. Same for Chairmen who have other NED and advisory roles. It's all a bit of a gravy train... But it's a very different world to IT contractors.

I worked at one very well known global company who had a famous NED. He had his own swanky office on the top floor of their HQ and he came in once a month at most.

[eek]

Are you referring to non-exec directors (NEDs)? If you're the CEO of a large firm then work is usually all consuming. There's often lots of travel, having to attend evening events etc. It doesn't normally leave much time for other paid roles.

A CEO will often be a non-executive elsewhere for various reasons. But non-executive directors need not spend much time on the work they do - they may literally be there to provide advice in monthly board meetings - so say 12 half days a year.

[edison]

Exactly, roles and clients are all different. I've had roles with minimal work and no meetings and others where there was copious work and managers who had a fetish for meetings and an inability to maintain a consistent schedule. So there are probably people who work in a role that isn't double dipping friendly.

Considering most of us get paid well because of our knowledge doesn't it make sense that the better we get the less man hours it takes? Companies/clients as a whole don't care how long something takes you, they have assigned a £ value to output X.

Google any CEO and look how many jobs they are holding down at the same time, yet it's shady/unprofessional if us plebs do it?

Are you referring to non-exec directors (NEDs)? If you're the CEO of a large firm then work is usually all consuming. There's often lots of travel, having to attend evening events etc. It doesn't normally leave much time for other paid roles.

[JustKeepSwimming]

Peoples inability to set boundaries over clients use of their time has no bearing on my ability to set boundaries on mine.

We get to live ONCE. Staying late is a choice.

Exactly my attitude, especially following the covid scamming. Being the model worker (in the eyes of companies) isn't in my best interests. Follow every single rule to the letter and you're going to just screw yourself. Obviously there is a line you shouldn't cross but I'm certainly change my attitude about giving it a little push every now and again.

[Paralytic]

Peoples inability to set boundaries over clients use of their time has no bearing on my ability to set boundaries on mine.

We get to live ONCE. Staying late is a choice.

This. Anyone who works 120%+ of their contracted hours is a mug, IMO. This is something the millennial and Gen Z generations have cottoned onto.

[PerfectStorm]

People with integrity?

In finance it was fairly standard to work 120% of contracted hours.

Peoples inability to set boundaries over clients use of their time has no bearing on my ability to set boundaries on mine.

We get to live ONCE. Staying late is a choice.

[Paralytic]

Companies/clients as a whole don't care how long something takes you, they have assigned a £ value to output X.

Yes they do. Most companies regard most contractors as staff augmentation. If they know you're doing X in half the time, they'll soon be offering half of £.

(this is for typically day-rate contractors - true suppliers on SoWs are obviously different)

[JustKeepSwimming]

I might have other reservations about doing two contracts at once such as availability for meetings but I have certainly previously had contracts where I hardly broke sweat and doing two at once was eminently achievable.

Exactly, roles and clients are all different. I've had roles with minimal work and no meetings and others where there was copious work and managers who had a fetish for meetings and an inability to maintain a consistent schedule. So there are probably people who work in a role that isn't double dipping friendly.

Considering most of us get paid well because of our knowledge doesn't it make sense that the better we get the less man hours it takes? Companies/clients as a whole don't care how long something takes you, they have assigned a £ value to output X.

Google any CEO and look how many jobs they are holding down at the same time, yet it's shady/unprofessional if us plebs do it?

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

I don't think you actually can see a short term drop in demand. A 10% drop in revenue will be crippling for many companies but if everyone is still going out but just spending 90% of what they did previously you're not going to notice that walking down the highstreet.

I'm absolutely certain we are in a recession.

I for one reigned in my spending a couple of months ago. Now I'm really tighting my belt.... And I'm still in contract for a few more weeks and have an additional income. You can almost smell the recession in the air. It's going to be a rough next 12 months or so.

[SussexSeagull]

Some people are really precious over the notion that they work their full contracted hours at 100% effort. IME the only people who do that are permies who are unable to set boundaries and grossly underestimate their worth. Literally working twice as hard and long for an extra 1 or 2 %point on their bonus.

If you're doing what is reasonably asked of you in 10-20 hours a week then you're not going to get burnt out doing another 10-20 hours at another gig. I can see burnout happening if you have awkward schedules and constantly having to juggle everything, especially if you have the 'honest mentality' of not wanting to be seen as a rogue.

I might have other reservations about doing two contracts at once such as availability for meetings but I have certainly previously had contracts where I hardly broke sweat and doing two at once was eminently achievable.

[JustKeepSwimming]

At the moment, I can't really see much taming happening.

I don't think you actually can see a short term drop in demand. A 10% drop in revenue will be crippling for many companies but if everyone is still going out but just spending 90% of what they did previously you're not going to notice that walking down the highstreet.

I'm absolutely certain we are in a recession.

[DrewG]

Hardly anyone in technology makes director/partner.

99% of the time you are made redundant as a senior VP.

Hardly anyone at all makes partner, it's that way by design.

Plenty of tech consulting people in the BIG 4 make director, and some partner, though. I would imagine your statement is more correlated with finance than consulting. Not sure why you'd be a perm in finance though as a techie though, you're a second class citizen at best.