60% time dilemma -- need advice

dpdw

I just relocated to my company's office in another country.  The relocation deal was that I reduced my time to 60% (yay!), but I also took a big paycut (more than the 40% reduction due to the reduced time, yuck!).  I now also have a new manager. 

When I was working full-time in the US I would always work more than 40 hours a week, 50 hours was pretty much the norm.  I was paid a good salary and felt my firm respected me and the value I brought to the firm.  In my new office I have been working consistently more than 60% time, in fact this week I will exceed 80% time.

I just asked HR how they handle "overtime" worked by those who are not full-time employees.  I was told there is no additional compensation, but it "might" be considered by my manager when it comes time for bonuses. 

I am already frustrated that I am not being adequately compensated for working even 60% time.  I am also under no illusions that my new manager will actually consider my "overtime" in my bonus.  She's already said as much.  She is constantly talking about her workload and how many hours she is working --definitely not a sympathetic ear to my position.

Changing jobs is not an option as I would likely be paid even less at another company.  Working full time is not an option because, d@mn it, I'm an expat and what to enjoy my time here.  Quitting is not ideal (I like working & having the measley extra income), although this is what DH keeps suggesting.

I obviously will talk to my manager about this, but I'm trying to decide my going-in position.  Should I just tell her that I will NOT work more than 60% time and a project (no matter how urgent) will get done when I can get it done? (this goes against my work ethic). Should I ask for additional compensation or time off when I exceed my 60% time?  Is there some other option I'm not thinking of?

Any advice is appreciated!

amanjay

Do you have a new contract that you signed when you went to 60% time? What does it say about hours?

Talking to the boss (about setting hours, getting a raise, or ending your employment since you can afford it) seems like a logical next step.

vanillacourage

Since you are less than full-time, is requesting to go to PT/hourly an option?  If you have benefits you'd likely lose them, but maybe you have access to them through  your DH's employment? 

You say you don't want to go FT somewhere else, but are there other PT options in your new town if this job doesn't work out?

**sunny**

here's the thing. we have exempt and non-exempt employees at my workplace. exempt employees have a higher level of independence and responsibility in their tasks and they are salaried. it is expected that they will do the work that is required, whether it is slightly less or slightly more than their allotted time (be it the 24 hours/0.6 FTE or the 40 hours/1.0 FTE in a given work week).

like you said, at a high level of salary and responsibility, I have no qualms with someone working 50+ hours a week if they are funded at 1.0 FTE or 40 hours. however, when someone has taken a paycut beyond what 60% of their original salary would be and is only 0.6 FTE....then I would be paying closer attention to how many additional hours on average they are working.

Where any GOOD manager would be concerned is if this is a frequent occurrence beyond a few hours a week for more than a few weeks. That indicates a few potentials: 1) employee is inefficient or not sufficiently trained; or 2) too much work to be done in the time allotted.

The reason a good manager would be concerned about # 2 is that clearly you are frustrated and if you want to keep a good employee, they should be reasonably compensated for their work and it sounds like this isn't happening anymore.

Therefore, I would ask for a bump in your FTE from 0.6 to 0.7 or 0.8, if it appears there is consistent workloads that will sustain this.