Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Overtime

Back in the days when I used to be a consultant, I used to run assessment centers for a client that was the BPO for an American company, and so most of their employees worked evening or night shifts. So my centers would be scheduled to run till 10 or 11 PM, but of course would more often than not end up going on till 1 or 2 AM. Because when has an assessment center ever run exactly as scheduled?

The cab agency my firm used to use had a couple of drivers we trusted more than others, so when it came to these super late nights, we'd ask them to come pick us up, especially I was going home by myself. One night, while driving me home, Kishan Bhaiya suddenly asked me if I was paid overtime for these long days, and was utterly outraged when I said I wasn't.

"Aap toh subah subah office aa jaate ho, aur phir puri raat yaha pe hote ho. Humein toh raat ko gaadi chalane ke liye overtime milta hain, app logo ko milta hai ki nahi? Milna chahiye."

Last night, I told my mother I'm wouldn't be home before 10 PM all of this week, because there were work events I had to attend - this time as a client. Her second question - the first, of course, being about what I would be doing for dinner - was if I would be paid overtime.

Wut.