The four-day week: less is more

[OriZ 3,165]

A 40 hour work week is not a vacation or lazy.

My sister is up at 4:30 every morning. She travels over an hour to her job. From then she is on her feet all day selflessly caring for patients. There is rarely even time for her to take a bathroom break, let alone lunch. She returns home at 7, with barely enough time to eat or relax before she has to get up and do it all over again. She has even done work unpaid, and come in on unpaid weekends. This year she is even barred from taking her earned vacation time. On her only day off, she's so exhausted I often find her asleep in her chair, when she had intended to catch up on the hours of missed tv or other paperwork. Weekends aren't restful for her either, as there's always errands to run. Please be careful making blanket statements, because you are not in any one else's shoes or know or understand what they do or their working conditions. She knows what it's like to work 40 hours and work beyond 40 hours, as she's done this for over 30 years. Lazy she is not.

What you just wrote makes absolutely no sense. Lets do a little math here:

4:30 to 7 = 14.5 hours. Lets allow 3 hours total for travel time = 11.5 hours. * 6 days a week(you said one day off) = 69 hours. Doesn't sound like she works 40 hours a week so what the point of your post was beside trying to get sympathy is beyond me. It doesn't impress me however - as my wife has had it even worse than her. I've briefly mentioned the conditions my wife still deals with to this day due to circumstances in her past, and yet she goes to work with me(our shop where I also do my trading from) every day and works 50-55 hours a week and over 100 hours during holidays. With several auto immune diseases, back issues, joint issues, you name it. Even her docs agree 99% of people in her situation would be on disability, she refuses. This shop was her dream and she wants to do it. Hell just this weekend in the midst of one of our biggest holidays she had to go to the ER twice and went back to work where most people would have stayed home for a week. She just doesn't quit. Lets see - she came back several days after a hysterectomy, next day after a third of her breast was cut out, and same day after a leg muscle biopsy. And she's working as we speak even though she should probably be home sleeping(which is what she did for 25 out of the 30 hours prior to this morning when we decided to close for one day for her). And in her past rest assured she slept alot less than your sister. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention on her feet all day too, then and now. So again I'm sorry but your story does not impress me. And don't assume I don't understand or know what people do or what their working conditions are. I've seen, heard and experienced the worst. I know what it's like to have nothing better than most just like I know what it's like to have better than some. So allow me to continue thinking that people who work only 40 hours a week are not working very hard. Feel free to disagree.

Edited May 12, 2016 by OriZ

[smilesammich 10,727]

I'm sure it can be.

There was this girl once we used as holiday help in our shop. $10 an hour cash as a subcontractor. All kosher with the IRS.

We then wanted her to come in for a few hours every Tues. At the time she was working part-time in a jewelry store a couple blocks up from us. One day she walks in, says she's not going to be able to keep working on Tuesdays cause her boss in the other place offered her more hours cause she prefers her there more so that it doesn't affect her work and she "can only work so much". AFTER being offered the extra hours she was still under 40 hours a week.

People are lazy.

do you think maybe she said she could 'only work so much' because you're only allowed to earn a certain amount of money before you have to start paying 'subcontractor' taxes on $10.00 an hour?

[Teddy B 17,252]

do you think maybe she said she could 'only work so much' because you're only allowed to earn a certain amount of money before you have to start paying 'subcontractor' taxes on $10.00 an hour?

After all the paperwork and time to fill it out, $10 an hour is more like $6 an hour. What a cheap bashtard. I would've laughed in his face with that offer.

Edited May 12, 2016 by Teddy B

[smilesammich 10,727]

After the all the paperwork and time to fill it out, $10 an hour is more like $6 an hour. What a cheap bashtard.

not to mention, he clearly is working his poor wife to death..my goodness.

[Teddy B 17,252]

not to mention, he clearly is working his poor wife to death..my goodness.

Anything less would be lazy.

[Jacque67 7,328]

After all the paperwork and time to fill it out, $10 an hour is more like $6 an hour. What a cheap bashtard. I would've laughed in his face with that offer.

Well, Sarah was a smart cookie and has moved on thank goodness....

Ori, ya fool!!! She could have made ya millions.

[OriZ 3,165]

Are you kidding me? $10 an hour cash, no tax. We're talking college age girls, not someone with a family. The conditions working for us are better than anything else most of them ever find. Meghan is like family to us and loves coming here especially considering she can take a break whenever she wants to. Text, go on the computer, go to the bathroom, eat, do what you want. She appreciated the fact that unlike someone she was babysitting for, who also paid her $10 an hour - we didn't take tax out of it. You have no clue what you're talking about. We are extremely generous with our helpers.

Edited May 12, 2016 by OriZ

[Jacque67 7,328]

not to mention, he clearly is working his poor wife to death..my goodness.

Lol. Run out of plus 1s...did I really use 50???? Need someone to do the math...I can't be shagged.

[Teddy B 17,252]

Well, Sarah was a smart cookie and has moved on thank goodness....

Ori, ya fool!!! She could have made ya millions.

He was doin her a favor yanno. Maybe if she wasn't so lazy she'd be up to $10.25 a hour by now.

[Jacque67 7,328]

Are you kidding me? $10 an hour cash, no tax. We're talking college age girls, not someone with a family. The conditions working for us are better than anything else most of them ever find. Meghan is like family to us and loves coming here especially considering she can take a break whenever she wants to. Text, go on the computer, go to the bathroom, eat, do what you want. She appreciated the fact that unlike someone she was babysitting for, who also paid her $10 an hour - we didn't take tax out of it. You have no clue what you're talking about. We are extremely generous with our helpers.

Poor, homely Meghan, being taken for a ride.

Hot Sarah could have attracted more customers in the long run....

[Teddy B 17,252]

Are you kidding me? $10 an hour cash, no tax. We're talking college age girls, not someone with a family. The conditions working for us are better than anything else most of them ever find. Meghan is like family to us and loves coming here especially considering she can take a break whenever she wants to. Text, go on the computer, go to the bathroom, eat, do what you want. She appreciated the fact that unlike someone she was babysitting for, who also paid her $10 an hour - we didn't take tax out of it. You have no clue what you're talking about. We are extremely generous with our helpers.

No taxes? She still had to pay taxes and do all the paperwork. You're the one who was making out in that deal.

Dude, you think far too highly of yourself.

[OriZ 3,165]

Oh I forgot to mention we also cover lunches.

[Teddy B 17,252]

You do realize minimum wage in VT is $9.15? She would've been better off working at McDonalds.

[smilesammich 10,727]

Are you kidding me? $10 an hour cash, no tax. We're talking college age girls, not someone with a family. The conditions working for us are better than anything else most of them ever find. Meghan is like family to us and loves coming here especially considering she can take a break whenever she wants to. Text, go on the computer, go to the bathroom, eat, do what you want. She appreciated the fact that unlike someone she was babysitting for, who also paid her $10 an hour - we didn't take tax out of it. You have no clue what you're talking about. We are extremely generous with our helpers.

i think you don't know what you're talking about or you're not familiar with income taxes. you were paying her as a subcontractor so after she's earned a certain amount (and it's not much, like 1500?) you have to take taxes out of your income since the employer is not.

[Rob L 3,811]

Are you kidding me? $10 an hour cash, no tax. We're talking college age girls, not someone with a family. The conditions working for us are better than anything else most of them ever find. Meghan is like family to us and loves coming here especially considering she can take a break whenever she wants to. Text, go on the computer, go to the bathroom, eat, do what you want. She appreciated the fact that unlike someone she was babysitting for, who also paid her $10 an hour - we didn't take tax out of it. You have no clue what you're talking about. We are extremely generous with our helpers.

Wait...you are paying her payroll taxes right? FICA , unemployment. If you dont take out those taxes, she will still need to pay.

Or are you "doing her a favor" by paying her under the table?