For context, I work for a North American company and 90% of the team are US-based. There are two of us that are based in Europe.
Sometimes meetings are scheduled with the convenience of the majority in mind and drop into my calendar at say 9pm.
I don’t attend these meetings, but my other Europe based colleague does.
I’d like to know people’s thoughts on this? Does it give off the impression I’m not a team player or am I rightly just respecting my own boundaries?
EDIT: Contracted hours are 9am – 5:30pm.
14 comments
Different work ethic there.
But for you, it is the law of averages. If other Europeans are making it, but you’re not, then you will look worse relatively. Pretty much that simple, regardless of your ultimately perfectly reasonable stance.
Same issue with my company. I just ask them to record the meetings. Even if I do attend I’m am completely zoned out by 9pm so need to read the minutes or watch the recording anyway.
What are your contracted hours? If they expect you to be in a meeting outside of your contractual hours they pay you to be there, otherwise, do one.
Are they east or west coast? Worst case being west coast with an eight hour time difference, that would make the meetings at 1pm their time. They should schedule the meetings earlier, like 9am their time, at least that’s only 5pm over here.
Lol fuck “being a team player” for a company that would not even hesitate to sack your ass and you owe nothing to the felons you call coworkers.
That being said, I hope you’re not on at will termination contract (pretty much all American companies) so eventually some busybody middle manager will fire you without notice so be ready for that
Unless my working hours covered the time that the meeting fell then I wouldn’t attend either, unless of course they’re willing to pay me for my time to attend that meeting. There has to be a balance between work and home
What is in your contract, and what are your contracted hours?
If you are required to attend them under your terms of employment, whatever the time, then you’re on dodgy ground.
If your hours are purely UK business hours, then … well you may look worse in comparison to the other European employee, but you’re not required to go. Americans have a very different idea about what you should or shouldn’t do at work, and how accommodating they are, and it is all because they have very different employment law and ideology.
Depending on how often they are, can you schedule in reduced hours the next day (or start late dame day) in order to compensate for additional hours spent if you attend late evening team meetings?
Schedule a meeting at 9am our time and see how many of them join in. They could easily schedule theirs earlier
Have you agreed with the company that you keep UK working hours? Then it’s fine.
If you haven’t, you’re in the territory of implicit expectations and you should get out of it asap. Just talk to your manager about it and make sure you agree on what working times are acceptable – I would have done this before taking a job in another time zone.
Do they make you clock in? If not, I’d be inclined to attend the 9pm meetings and claw back twice the time from my core hours. (IOW double time). I’d keep a written record of what I did.
Only go if they offer you overtime at double time + unsociable hours pay at an additional 25%
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You should insist on time off in lieu, or failing that overtime pay. 9 pm isn’t *that* bad unless you’re an extreme lark, but if it’s regular I’d be asking that it be scheduled earlier.
It depends if it’s a regular occurrence or not.
I’m in the exact same situation, working for a US company. I’m an IT Consultant, working on huge projects at the minute, so we do have project meetings later at night. But “standard” work meetings after hours I tend to decline (and my team don’t mind)
Is it a good company you want to stay with/get promotion with?
Do you have other commitments in the evenings?
Do they offer formal or informal TOIL?
How regularly do the meetings happen?
If I was generally happy with the job and saw a future I would try to make occasional evening meetings, but I would mention the time at least once and would start late/leave early when I needed some flexibility.
If they were rigid about my working hours then I would be less accommodating.