Dear Cubicle Coach: I oversee workers in India, London, and New York, so my first conference call starts every day at 7 a.m. and my last one ends by midnight, if I'm lucky. I'm desperate for help, but my bank just downsized. How long should I put up with this?
Dear Conference Caller: You shouldn't be required to be in the office for 17 hours straight. It seems more than fair for you to do the early shift from home, perhaps roll into the office around 11, leave at 6, and grab a nap before finishing up that midnight call in your jammies while watching some TiVoed Top Chef. It's possible your company is just trying to weather the storm with their stock price only dropping by 80 percent. It's also possible they're trying to bleed the remaining employees of every last drop. If this is still going on after, say, three months, ask if you can lose one of the shifts, or switch to a four-day week. And maybe next time you're on the phone to India, see if they have any job openings.
