y girlfriend Cassie comes home every night frustrated by the amount of effort she puts into her job. As an Arts and Crafts Counselor at a nearby Boys and Girls Club, she invests considerable time outside of the workplace into preparing for each workday — shopping for new craft materials, preparing the materials the night before, and creating a sample “finished project” to present to her students before each activity.
She admits that the amount of time required for her to do her job is unreasonable — and knows that she is being taken advantage of.
Does your job take advantage of you in this way? Are you working unpaid hours once you’re no longer at work? In this article, I’ll be discussing the reasons why you should stop working so hard to make money.
To better illustrate my point, let’s consider Cassie’s summer job:
She runs an Arts and Crafts room for 7 hours a day.
Let’s say that she earns $10 an hour while on the job.
If we stop right here, then Cassie earns $70 for a 7 hour workday. ($10/hour)
The problem is, it doesn’t stop right here. This is because after she leaves work, her unpaid workday begins:
She spends nearly 1.5 hours shopping for new craft materials.
Estimate another 0.5 hours traveling to and from the craft store.
Additional Time Spent Working Without Pay: 2 Hours
If we stop right here, then Cassie earns $70 for a 9 hour workday. ($7.76/hour)
Unfortunately, she still has work to do:
She spends 3 evening hours preparing the materials for tomorrow’s activity. What’s interesting about these 3 hours is that I’m working alongside her. In other words, our combined efforts total 6 man hours of preparation.
Total Time Spent Working Without Pay: 8 Hours
If we stop right here, then Cassie earns $70 for a 15 hour workday. ($4.65/hour)
By now I’m sure you get the idea: Some jobs require so much effort outside of the workplace that your hourly rate is reduced below minimum wage. This isn’t smart, is it?
Would you work 7 paid hours if you knew it required 8 additional hours of your time without pay?
The obvious answer is “No,” but have you ever even calculated your own True Hourly Rate? In order to do so, you first need to add the number of hours you spend recuperating from your workday. Remember that this is specific to your own situation, but would include things such as:
- Work you take home with you.
- After work naps.
- Unwinding at the TV, Computer, or Video Game Station.
- Anything done resulting from a stressful or exhausting workday.
Add the number of hours you spend recuperating to the number of hours you actually spend at work each day. This total is your True Working Hours.
Hours at Work + Hours Recuperating = True Working Hours
If you don’t already know it, calculate your Daily Earnings by multiplying your hourly rate by the number of hours spent at work each day.
Hourly Rate * Hours at Work = Daily Earnings
Finally, calculate your True Hourly Rate by dividing your Daily Earnings by your True Working Hours.
Daily Earnings / True Working Hours = True Hourly Rate
The result can be enlightening. If you discover that you’re being taken advantage of at your job, don’t fret — you’re certainly not alone.
It took me nearly seven years of working jobs I didn’t enjoy before I realized it was inefficient to trade time for money. Thankfully, I’ve found something I enjoy doing that earns money whether I decide to work or not.
If you’re interested in learning how I do it, then I encourage you to read my series: How To Automate Your Income Online.
Chances are, once you understand how earning passive income using the Internet works, you’ll be anxious to stop working so hard to make money.
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