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Leader: Long hours come with the job
But that doesn't mean there aren't limits on how much bosses can expect of IT workers...

By silicon.com

Published: Thursday 24 February 2005

This Friday workers up and down the country are being urged to 'Work Your Proper Hours' by the Trades Union Congress, which is campaigning against the UK's culture of long hours and unpaid overtime.

Not surprisingly the TUC singles out IT roles including CIOs, IT pros and helpdesk operators as notorious for long hours, with some working as much as £10,245 a year in unpaid overtime.

The opposite view, which we believe is shared by most people who work in IT, is that - to an extent - this comes with the territory.

This doesn't mean we're advocating the tactics employed by ruthless bosses who simply take advantage of underpaid staff. After all, overworked staff are generally less productive and more likely to leave jobs after a short stint than workers who put in proper hours. Still a lot of IT staff are pretty well paid (compared to, say, teachers who top the TUC's unpaid overtime league).

IT always has and always will be about peaks and troughs for the people who work in it and it is simply recognition of how critical technology has become to the running of businesses that many staff need to be on call 24 hours a day.

There are quiet times and, when things go wrong or there are project deadlines to be met, there are busy times. Working unsocial hours isn't great but there are times you can only work on the IT systems when the rest of the company has gone home for the day. Luckily mobile technology has made working odd hours easier by allowing you to go home and get a call on your mobile if something goes down and perhaps even fix the problem from a remote location via a VPN.

And let's not forget the passion for their profession and technology that leads people to work in IT in the first place. For many people it's about getting the job done and the satisfaction that brings.

The key is that working long hours can't be a one-way street. Firms need to offer good salaries for IT staff - which, as we've said, most do - and we encourage those who also compensate IT staff with standby and callout payments, overtime rates and time off in lieu of extra hours worked.

It also makes a difference where workers rank in the hierarchy. For a CIO or IT manager who makes the big bucks to be asked to take calls after hours or on weekends seems reasonable. They knew full well when they look the job that this would be part of the deal.

This is less the case for the guy in the server room who makes a more modest wage - this is the type for whom arranging extra compensation or hours off after a busy period is just good management.

If your boss is a real slave-driver then Friday could be the right time to give him a nudge about the long hours but we'd guess most IT staff are actually pretty happy with their lot.