"Casual Overtime"

It's summer - the weather has finally turned warm here in Michigan, the kids are out of school, and I find myself mired in the land of "casual overtime".  For those unfamiliar with this term: think unpaid time spent working.  This term crept up during the last (current - when did it stop?) economic downturn, when paid overtime flew out the window.  So, we are all now expected to donate some time to the company cause, which I'm fine with.  As a salaried employee I have no expectation of compensation for every minute I log in the office.  Except it has now reached the point where I am donating an additional 25-30% of time free of charge.

With the economy being so unstable, employers are clearly declining to hire additional employees.  Instead, they are relying on their current staff to continue to shoulder the burden.   Prospects for advancement: nil, prospects for raises: nil, prospects for new hires: nil.  So, when we go on vacation and see the "poor slackers" who chose to live their life renting out surf boards in Hawaii or serving drinks on the snorkeling boat, I guess we have to ask ourselves:  who made the better career choice?!