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I think most salaried writers have a contract the specifies 'normal hours of
work' with a clause that states that the employee should also be prepared to
work additional hours when required for the proper function of their job. Of
course, this is subject to the employment laws of the country in which you
are employed.
I believe that fair play is required and, from my point of view, expected. I
enjoy my job and I take pride in it. As such I am prepared to work extra
hours from time to time to see that my deliverables are of a standard to
which I can continue to be proud. It is the nature of tech writing,
especially in the software industry, that workflow tends to be somewhat
sporadic. If, however, I was working many extra hours over an extended
period of time and for the foreseeable future I would say that the company
is either understaffed or mismanaged or both.
