Stub Year Weekend Work? Forum

[Anonymous User]

As a senior associate, I can only tell you this: the only time I've seen someone get fired was when they snuck out of town for a weekend without telling their team on an active matter. Sure, we might not find out, but if we do (and if we do, it's because we needed you), you are stone cold fucked.

I believe you, but this is hard to imagine based on my experience, unless there was a specific reason to think there would be work over the weekend. In fact no one I work with would consider it to be "sneaking out of town" you're not taking a weekday off. That's just "going out of town."

Let me give you the fact pattern: I'm on a deal. To our surprise, we get comments back from the other side on Friday night, rather than Monday as expected. Deal pace accelerates - clients want to turn back comments over the weekend, reviewing issues lists ASAP. Whole team mobilizes - for that sort of fire drill, everyone goes into the office to be as productive as possible; comments can be turned in parallel / real time, we can all take calls from the same room, etc.

Except the junior doesn't show up because they went on a long weekend out of town without telling us.

This happens uncommonly, but not unheard of. I've seen it twice. Once it got someone effectively fired, once it got them exiled to one of our foreign offices.

Don't be this junior. It takes 5 minutes to let the associate supervising you that you plan to go out of town. Once you do that, you have CYA even if work comes in. If you feel uncomfortable telling whoever is supervising you that you are going out of town, it's a good sign that you are leaving town too often for your firm's weekend culture.

Weekend work varies by practice group, but I would say that I'm calling juniors into the office about 4-6 times a year, and when I do it, everyone better show. It is a big deal when the partner and two associates are in the office busting ass and someone is working from the Hamptons. We all have places we'd rather be, too.

[dixiecupdrinking]

I guess I'll chalk this one up to "corp work sounds shitty."

[ballouttacontrol]

Wow that sounds like one of the worst places to work I've ever heard described on this website which is saying a lot

[unlicensedpotato]

I think this answers the question at issue - juniors should tell their supervisor if they'll be out of town. And there's an emotional appeal to your position - it sucks to have to miss time with your kids to make up work for some 26 year old who's out windsurfing.

But why does it make any practical difference whether or not they tell the supervisor? It seems like the supervisor still has the same three options when the comments come in: find a different junior, have the absent junior work remotely, or do the work with one less person. It would make sense if you told people there were good and bad times to leave or something. But if it's truly unpredictable, I don't see why it matters whether or not the supervisor knows in advance. It would be different if the out of town junior didn't reply immediately to let you they were out of town and offer to work remotely.

[Anonymous User]

I think this answers the question at issue - juniors should tell their supervisor if they'll be out of town. And there's an emotional appeal to your position - it sucks to have to miss time with your kids to make up work for some 26 year old who's out windsurfing.

But why does it make any practical difference whether or not they tell the supervisor? It seems like the supervisor still has the same three options when the comments come in: find a different junior, have the absent junior work remotely, or do the work with one less person. It would make sense if you told people there were good and bad times to leave or something. But if it's truly unpredictable, I don't see why it matters whether or not the supervisor knows in advance. It would be different if the out of town junior didn't reply immediately to let you they were out of town and offer to work remotely.

Because its not just about what makes a "practical" difference; I think a lot of value in communication is psychological. People (especially supervisors) generally like to be put on notice about things in advance rather than finding out about them at the last minute. Sure, like you mentioned it might not make a practical difference but I bet the supervisor who learns that one of his juniors is away on a ski trip on Friday night won't be pleased. That reaction might be irrational but sometimes emotions take control.

[unlicensedpotato]

Because its not just about what makes a "practical" difference; I think a lot of value in communication is psychological. People (especially supervisors) generally like to be put on notice about things in advance rather than finding out about them at the last minute. Sure, like you mentioned it might not make a practical difference but I bet the supervisor who learns that one of his juniors is away on a ski trip on Friday night won't be pleased. That reaction might be irrational but sometimes emotions take control.

That makes sense. I can see how it would be worse to find out last minute.

[thesealocust]

Depending on your goals, it can also be less than ideal to develop a reputation for being the one member of your team/group who routinely can't help on firedrills because of travel/family/pathetic human emotions/commitments.

Of course it's also bad for your health to develop a reputation as the member of your team most likely to reply instantly to 2:00a.m. holiday email/work requests/whatever. A lot of the workload will find its way to the people who develop a reputation for both being able to do it and being available to do it.

You have to think about your priorities, and brace for bad luck sometimes...