Information Technology Consulting Firm

The old saying goes that “perception is everything, especially in marketing or individuals feeling on what reality really is.

My organization, STAR BASE Consulting, Inc. is a technology consulting firm who offers IT Talent on Demand as one of our services to our clients.  We will offer clients temporary and fulltime consultants if clients should have the need.  The process is rather simple but can become rather trying especially when a candidate has an unrealistic expectation on what a client’s needs may be.

Large clients usually have a very structured process for everything they do.  These processes have been tried and proven over the years and it is what makes any given company successful.  It have been my experience over the last several years that everyone is being asked to do more with less and that will equate to more than forty hours a  week

Still, many software developers and consultants that I interview sometimes have an unrealistic view of what it takes to run a successful business. Listen up.  The application development business is not a nine-to-five job.  There are no constants in the application development business outside of change and anyone who has tried to meet production deadlines fully understands this.  Organizations are under tremendous pressure to produce more and better every day and a great deal of this pressure includes ensuring that information technology can be used as a competitive advantage.

It has been my experience that professionals involved in information technology are involved in this profession because they have a true passion for technology.  When one is involved in application development or web development of any kind individuals work until the project is completed to the clients’ satisfaction.  Projects are not driven by forty hour work weeks.

This situation got me curious and I decided to research on where the forty hour a week originated.   Here is what I learned:
The 8-hour day movement or 40-hour week movement (a.k.a. the Short-time movement) had its origins in the Industrial Revolution in Britain, where industrial production in large factories transformed working life and imposed long hours and poor working conditions. With working conditions unregulated, the health, welfare and morale of working people suffered. The exploitation of child labor was common. The working day could range from 10 hours up to 16 hours for six days a week. These types of conditions do not exist in the free world today, so why must we continue to embrace nine to five with an hour off for lunch?  Is this productive?

Finally, let’s talk about today’s reality.  The economy has tanked, individuals are losing jobs left and right around the world and employers understand that they control the market today.  The forty hour work week is a practice of the past but actual went by the wayside for American workers towards the end of the eighties.  Everyone is being asked to do more with less and that my include working more for less. 

For those developers that do not want to work more than forty hours a week.  I offer this. Remember there are plenty of foreign nationals with excellent skills that are more than willing to work those extra hours just to taste the freedom and the opportunity that this country has to offer.  Count your blessings and reconsider when an employer asks you to extend yourself because perception is not always reality in today’s workspace.