‘You won't be paid, but need to stay here anyway’: Team of physicians are told by boss ‘not leave the clinic’ during unpaid work hours

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
Aug 14, 2023 10:00 AM EDT

On the one hand, you don't want to be a cog in a machine, on the 9-5 grind, wondering why you ever wanted to work in corporate, but on the other hand, you really don't want to work in healthcare, where the hours are long, the work demanding, the patients rude, low pay, poor benefits, and know-it-all bosses. These are some of the complaints I heard from my own friends who were going through a particularly grueling residency when first becoming doctors. According to them, they over-idealized the field as something otherworldly, magical, immune from the issues that most working-class and middle-class had.

As shared by u/illCut, who works in Columbian healthcare as a physician, they had 4 12-hour shifts per week, 2 days and 2 nights. Their hours were recently reduced, due to the country changing some rules. This reduction was supposed to happen gradually, one hour per year. The team of physicians that OP was working with all agreed that the most logical course of action was for the clinic to pay them that hour as overtime. It would save the clinic the time that it would take to hire new staff to make up for those hours.

But of course, predictably, the clinic told the physicians that it was too much money, and instead opted to tell them to take that hour only on their night shifts, between the wee hours of 1 to 4 AM. Great, thought OP. Just… great.

You'll find more infuriating details below, so scroll down to check out exactly what ensued. For more, here are the top stories from last week where people got fired, 'on the spot'.

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  • 01
    Font - Posted by u/_illCut My boss is pl enforcing the order given S OC 8 hours ago we're So I live in Colombia and our country recently reduce the weekly work hours from 48 to 42.
    via u/_illCut
  • 02
    Font - This is supposed to happen gradually reducing one hour per year. This year reduction was supposed to happen on July 15. I work in healthcare and I have 4 12-hour shifts per week, 2 days and 2 nights, i work in a psych clinic as a physician and there's only one per shift and we're here
    via u/_illCut
  • 03
    Font - in case any of the patients happens to have a medical emergency and to admit any new patient referred from other institutions or that arrive through our urgent care. We (the physicians) thought that the most logical thing to do was
    via u/_illCut
  • 04
    Font - to pay us that hour as OT and that would save the clinic having to juggle schedules or hire new staff. They decided that was too much money and told us we have to take that hour only on our night shifts and only during the 1 AM - 4 AM frame.
    via u/_illCut
  • 05
    Font - We we're understandably but then we realized we pl don't have to stay that hour, there's a 24/7 restaurant close to the clinic and we could go there and eat something. When one of the other doctors told our boss she said that we
    via u/_illCut
  • 06
    Font - weren't allowed to do that but they don't have any legal backup. I told them that if they refused to let me out during unpaid time to please forward that order on a written document so i can take that to the labor office. She backtracked and
    via u/_illCut
  • 07
    Font - told me she was only worried about us going out so late but I'm pretty sure she just thought we would suck it up and stay here and have us perform unpaid work.
    via u/_illCut
  • 08
    Font - 5 hr. ago Called her bluff and she immediately backed down and used the "thinking only of your welfare" excuse. tessa1950 ↑ Vote Reply
    via u/tessa1950
  • 09
    Font - 3lm1Ster +2.4 hr. ago Remind the boss that someone has to be there just in case of emergencies, and if she expects your break to be between 1 and 4 am then she needs to be there to cover.
    via u/3lm1Ster
  • 10
    Font - Decent_Juggernaut_80. 5 hr. ago I wouldn't be surprised to hear she also said, "Because we're all family here..." Vote Reply Share
    via u/Decent_Juggernaut_80
  • 11
    Font - SpruceGoose133 +2. 4 hr. ago Or we're all on the same team. Until the we is only you and not them. ✩ Vote Reply Share
    via u/SpruceGoose133
  • 12
    Font - Orion3500 4 hr. ago Yes, your boss likely wanted an extra hour of work off you, but to be fair, if you live in Bogota, I too would not want to be in the streets at that hour. At best, there's d around
    via u/Onion3500
  • 13
    Font - not shy in fighting any idiot that walks nearby, at worst, some rat thieves looking for an easy mark. a Keep pushing for your OT man. Get extra pay and stay safe.
    via u/Onion3500
  • 14
    Font - Busy-Ad2660 · 2 hr. ago I work in a boarding house in Australia and have to work overnights without pay. Their reasoning is that 'we're only sleeping during that time so not really working' but we're still
    via u/Busy-Ad2660
  • 15
    Font - required to get up if one of the girls needs us or if we hear noises (happens all the time, teenagers love staying up all night). We are also not allowed to leave campus during this time as we are filling the required
    via u/Busy-Ad2660
  • 16
    Font - supervision quota. I work 50hrs a week plus the 4 unpaid overnights. All my co-workers have accepted this for years, and I'm scared to do something about it as they will know it's me causing the issue, and the field of work I'm in
    via u/Busy-Ad2660
  • 17
    Font - is very tight-knit, so may impact my ability to find other work. Vote Reply Share
    via u/Busy-Ad2660
  • 18
    Font - Sharp Coat3797 3 hr. ago +2. Bosses do that. You know what you are allowed and required to do and you did it.
    via u/Sharp_Coat3797

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Tags

management boss labor-office patients malicious compliance nurse medical-clinic medical field malicious-compliance-reddit doctor physician overtime long-work-hours work-hours
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