You are a team. Period. Yes, the business owner put it all together, yes they are doing work, and yes they are fronting the capital.
But also, they need you to complete the work. If any part of the team stops working, it all falls apart. If the business owner fails and the business does not make money, the won't be able to pay the employees.
If the employees don't put in good work, the business will fail. If the employees stop working, the business will fail.
It's the employer's duty to their business to take care of it in order for it to grow. It's the employees duty to treat the business as if it is their own because they (in a perfect world) will be included in the growth of the said business.
But that isn't always the case is it? In your example, you see the business owner going home at 5pm while the rest of the employees stay and slave over projects that bring in millions while the owner can go shake a leg. That's not leadership. That's unpaid slavery (working extra hours for no overtime pay) and employees should not put up with that shit.
Bottom line, and this is me speaking from the perspective of both an employee and business owner, and I quote Richard Branson on this, "If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your customers."
1. The business owner should focus on taking care of their people and put the people first. If you do this, your people will put your business first and in turn take care of it.
2. Treat your business like a team. Either you all go home on time or you all do overtime TOGETHER and clock out at the same time.
3. If the business cannot afford to pay the employees for work beyond their contracted time, then don't ask them for unpaid work.
Thank you for spelling it out. While a business owner is doing the orchestrating work, bringing in capital and reputation, employees also do their jobs (and their jobs need to be paid according to their time, value, and health), and need to be paid. Slaving over midnight for the boss to finish work at 5 pm doesn't cut with me as well. If the juniors need to work until midnight, while the "orchestrating" bosses do not hire more personnel or pay overtime for those who have to stay late?
You're absolutely right and I agree with your perspective. That said, I think it’s important to recognize that what we see may not reflect the full picture. For instance, a leader leaving at 5 PM might be heading to a dinner meeting with a potential client, or starting their day later because they had a morning golf meeting tied to a business opportunity. Just because their schedule doesn’t follow a traditional 9 to 5 doesn’t mean they’re not working overtime. While employees often focus on their individual roles, leaders carry the weight of the entire organization even during vacation days. That level of responsibility comes with its own set of sacrifices.
As an employee, I "carried the weight of my responsibilities even during vacation days."
Going back to what I said earlier. You are a team. If the business owner has to leave at 5pm on the dot in order to go to an important business meeting, COMMUNICATE IT! You'll say that as a business owner, you aren't beholden to your employees to disclose that. Sure. But the business is also a team. A team only works if it communicates properly.
I agree in general with the "we're all a team" thing, but the point about "all clock out/OT together", I think is too simplistic. Nowadays, with flexible work arrangements etc, it may not make sense. As long as everyone pulls their weight, then clock out time isn't relevant. Who knows, the boss who leaves at 5pm, maybe he continues to work from home late into the night?
In many smaller companies, employees (not all, but some) are the ones that are 'bringing in business' and keeping the lights on by doing the day-to-day work either by building relationships with key stakeholders (customers/financiers/other counterparts) using their reputation and track records, and/or doing the gruntwork in getting deals over the line. And that in these types of companies, given the low headcounts involved, wouldn't have the specialization and hierarchies that necessitate significant dedicated management. In this type of scenario, what's the business owner(s) providing to the value chain that would merit taking most of the Economics?
Loved hearing your perspective - the advice is both constructive and refreshing! As a junior software developer, I often experience this same "employee's blindspot". I will keep this post in mind, the next time I let these intrusive thoughts cloud my mind :)
Here's my take on this situation.
You are a team. Period. Yes, the business owner put it all together, yes they are doing work, and yes they are fronting the capital.
But also, they need you to complete the work. If any part of the team stops working, it all falls apart. If the business owner fails and the business does not make money, the won't be able to pay the employees.
If the employees don't put in good work, the business will fail. If the employees stop working, the business will fail.
It's the employer's duty to their business to take care of it in order for it to grow. It's the employees duty to treat the business as if it is their own because they (in a perfect world) will be included in the growth of the said business.
But that isn't always the case is it? In your example, you see the business owner going home at 5pm while the rest of the employees stay and slave over projects that bring in millions while the owner can go shake a leg. That's not leadership. That's unpaid slavery (working extra hours for no overtime pay) and employees should not put up with that shit.
Bottom line, and this is me speaking from the perspective of both an employee and business owner, and I quote Richard Branson on this, "If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your customers."
1. The business owner should focus on taking care of their people and put the people first. If you do this, your people will put your business first and in turn take care of it.
2. Treat your business like a team. Either you all go home on time or you all do overtime TOGETHER and clock out at the same time.
3. If the business cannot afford to pay the employees for work beyond their contracted time, then don't ask them for unpaid work.
Thank you for spelling it out. While a business owner is doing the orchestrating work, bringing in capital and reputation, employees also do their jobs (and their jobs need to be paid according to their time, value, and health), and need to be paid. Slaving over midnight for the boss to finish work at 5 pm doesn't cut with me as well. If the juniors need to work until midnight, while the "orchestrating" bosses do not hire more personnel or pay overtime for those who have to stay late?
You nailed it!
You're absolutely right and I agree with your perspective. That said, I think it’s important to recognize that what we see may not reflect the full picture. For instance, a leader leaving at 5 PM might be heading to a dinner meeting with a potential client, or starting their day later because they had a morning golf meeting tied to a business opportunity. Just because their schedule doesn’t follow a traditional 9 to 5 doesn’t mean they’re not working overtime. While employees often focus on their individual roles, leaders carry the weight of the entire organization even during vacation days. That level of responsibility comes with its own set of sacrifices.
As an employee, I "carried the weight of my responsibilities even during vacation days."
Going back to what I said earlier. You are a team. If the business owner has to leave at 5pm on the dot in order to go to an important business meeting, COMMUNICATE IT! You'll say that as a business owner, you aren't beholden to your employees to disclose that. Sure. But the business is also a team. A team only works if it communicates properly.
I agree in general with the "we're all a team" thing, but the point about "all clock out/OT together", I think is too simplistic. Nowadays, with flexible work arrangements etc, it may not make sense. As long as everyone pulls their weight, then clock out time isn't relevant. Who knows, the boss who leaves at 5pm, maybe he continues to work from home late into the night?
Allow me to present another perspective:
In many smaller companies, employees (not all, but some) are the ones that are 'bringing in business' and keeping the lights on by doing the day-to-day work either by building relationships with key stakeholders (customers/financiers/other counterparts) using their reputation and track records, and/or doing the gruntwork in getting deals over the line. And that in these types of companies, given the low headcounts involved, wouldn't have the specialization and hierarchies that necessitate significant dedicated management. In this type of scenario, what's the business owner(s) providing to the value chain that would merit taking most of the Economics?
Loved hearing your perspective - the advice is both constructive and refreshing! As a junior software developer, I often experience this same "employee's blindspot". I will keep this post in mind, the next time I let these intrusive thoughts cloud my mind :)