To back up Jacob here, Rick. I think in most cases like these; the employer is looking to solve a problem ASAP and chooses to use a cheap and fast source. It's also been my experience that in the long-run it doesn't matter all that much if you help out or not. I might have been extremely unlucky with my employers, but I never heard again about going the extra mile (which I did) or get any bonuses from it. Left quite a sour taste in my mouth.
Live, Laugh, Love.
Is it ethical for the company to ask its employees to take on the work? Yes. It's their company.
Does an employee have to accept the extra work without proper compensation or a negotiated outcome? No.
Good on you, Mary.
The company has to learn you get what you pay for.
Is it ethical to ask? Sure, I suppose - or at least, it's not "unethical" by definition. The problem is, "ask" in an employer-employee relationship can have a fairly broad meaning. 'Ask' can mean, "Hey, we're recording these radio spots and we think you'd sound good doing them. Are you interested?" Or it can mean, "Hey, we know you've done radio spots before. We're recording some for the company and we think you'd sound good doing them" - with some added throat-clearing for good measure. Or the request can framed in such a way that it falls somewhere else on the spectrum.
Is it ethical for your employer to essentially coerce you into doing their radio campaign for free, knowing your skill set and knowing that if you didn't work for them, they'd being paying a decent chunk of cash to get the same product from you? I would say no. That doesn't advise what you should actually do in that circumstance, but no, I don't think it's ethical, nor do I think someone in your shoes could "ethicalize" it by swallowing their pride and acquiescing.
But if it's just a benign request, and you're free to decline with no repercussions, then no, I don't think they're asking for anything unethical. They're running a business, and they want to save money. It's unfortunate for us that would make our living from this work that this runs against our interests, but I have difficulty heaping the blame on their heads for these issues.
This is a fascinating thread! I agree that it's not unethical for the company to ask. But it's possible to do the company a disservice by doing it. I did just that in a similar situation at the small production company I keep books for:
A couple of years ago they were shooting an industrial, and knowing I'm an actor they offered me a few extra bucks to be what they considered to be an extra. Though there were no lines, the part was featured prominently and was by all industry standards a principal role. Being a "go along guy", I kept my mouth shut, took the stipend and forgot about it until six months ago when they were shooting a SAG national infomercial. They featured an actor they hired as "background" in a similar, principal way (unbeknownst to me), and wound up having to pay huge, unbudgeted upgrade fees. If I had had the cahones to speak up two years ago and had told them they were not paying industry standard wages for the work, I might have saved them tens of thousands now. Maybe then I would have gotten one of those hefty bonuses!?
Is this pertinent to the OP's question? It could be if the company ever wants to go back to using pro talent.
Tim Hill
www.tim-hill.com
Thank you Jacoby and everyone! I really appreciate the perspective. Now let me give a little more detail. First of all, it's a non profit association. And I love the job I do for them. I chose to seek employment other than professional acting a long time ago because I don't have the stomach for that kind of insecurity, but I'm married to a professional actor, and obviously have great respect for the fact that what he does, and what I used to do, requires skill, talent and training. I can't tell you how annoyed I get when people say any number of insulting things: "Your husband's an actor? What does he do for a living?" "Oh, you're an actor? I did a little theater in my youth." Yeah, whatever. Bet you don't say stuff like that to brain surgeons. (One of my favorite cartoons ever...think it was in the New Yorker: Two brain surgeons, suited up and working, one's sweating like crazy, looking very anxious, and the other one looks at him and says, "Relax! This isn't theater!") Anyway, my company has lots of educational training videos for which they've hired professionals in the past. I was curious why they were asking me, and others, to 'try out." (Ugh.) So, I asked and the reply was, "to save money." That just makes me mad. And, there are few promotions here and if there are, it's not for going the extra mile.
Well, as a non-profit, I can't blame them for wanting to save money. I'm on the Board of a non-profit that I have volunteered with for over 12 years, and the economy is BAD. People aren't donating as much as they have in the past because they're trying to keep food on their own tables, and non-profits are really struggling. I've seen so many good, long-term non-profits in our industry close, and honestly we would have closed a long time ago if it wasn't for a benefactor. You don't even want to know what our bank account balance is right now.
You say they were asking others, so it's not like they said, "Hey! Mary Elaine is an actor, let's get her to do this for free!" They're just trying to get what needs to be done without having the available funds to do it. I'm not saying that it's right to expect to buy a Jaguar for a Pinto price, but you really can't blame them for asking. They have to make cuts somewhere, and I think you would rather they do it here, and ask employees to do something outside of their job description, then to cut your job and salary all together.
It's your prerogative if you want to do it or not. Since they asked others to do it as well, they're not trying to insult you, they're not just being cheap, they're just trying to get the job done. I'm not seeing it as a personal slight against you.
My "Non Profit" company has millions in reserves. MILLIONS. We are doing extremely well in this economy because we provide credentials in a fast growing profession.Originally Posted by Gidget
Yes
No
True. Unfortunately, it's been my experience that more often than not it's "asked" with a lot of muscle and usually feels like they're smiling to my face while they're pressing a gun in my belly.This senario is a prime example of why you should save money, keep your resume updated, and always been in a position where you can simply quit and walk away if you need to. If you can't do those things, then the employer will tend to take advantage whenever possible. In another post, someone mentioned wanting empoyees to "go the extra mile" and looking to replace those who want to stick to the job description. IMO, an employer SHOULD stick to the job description...That's why there is a job description for a position. Anything else is an attempt to take advantage. I'm wary of employers who want to replace me because I expect him/her to stick to the duties that I agreed to upon hire for the wage that I agreed to. Yes, I've taken jobs that specify in the description "other duties as assigned" but I've also made sure that I was in a position to walk away from the job when I don't agree with those vague "other duties". Call it shameless, call it rude, or whatever but nowadays, if I was asked to step outside of my job description to do a voice-over for my employer I would want to know "what's in it for me". I expect some money or a new, better position in the company or...something more than just "thanks". Most often, there are ways to be diplomatic about it without being taken advantage of. YOU are the only one who is going to take care of YOU. Your boss doesn't really care about you (unless you have some special relationship that extends beyond the workplace). He cares about himself, the money, and the company. You aren't on the list. That's why it's important to have a professional license or a specialty that is in demand.
Last edited by Mark_M; 12-27-2011 at 03:28 PM.
Don't take this personally, but I'm glad that I do not work for you.
The people who report to me are rewarded based on their work ethic and integrity. Telling the company "no" when they're being unreasonable earns credit in my eyes. It's easy to find people who will go along with anything, not quite as easy to find someone who is willing to hold the company to the same standards that the company expects from it's employees.
There's a difference between that and someone who refuses to do anything that isn't directly listed in their job description.
What the OP stated is a situation that a previous employer did with me. While my rate of pay is rather generous, I knew that I was being asked to perform work that I usually get paid a LOT MORE for on the open market (in fact, the type of work occurs often enough that its' part of my set rates).
Now here's the important part: I had a legal document signed when I came on board the company which stated that the company was aware that I had a self-run company and that any services performed in that specific area would require them to identify that fact and hire me as they would anyone else for a voice over.
The company decided to ignore the document (again, the company is very healthy and brings in several billion per quarter in profit). Why? To save a couple of bucks.
I politely explained the situation, provided a copy of the legal agreement which they signed, and declined the work.
They chose to use interns, office admins, etc. to fill the role. The results were as one would have predicted.
Now here's where the karma comes into play. Internally, they didn't do a lot of voice over, but they had a tendency to do quite a few for their core customers (presentations, etc.). It was quite a bit of money that came in through their A/V services for this work, since most of the work from those core customers was for materials that was internal to those customers, and it's a very specialized field. About three months after I declined the "generous offer" from the company (generous offer = working for my normal rate of pay for VO work vs. getting paid a small multiple of that amount for the same VO work) a representative of one of those core customers contacted me and asked me why I was no longer providing the narration for the projects they were paying the company for. I explained the situation, and the next thing I know I'm doing the work for them directly. Within a month most of the company's core customers are now directly hiring me for their VO needs, instead of going through my former employer.
I feel a little bad about the folks who are losing income over that, but I didn't solicit my services. I merely asked them to honor the legal agreement that was between us. That the quality of the work coming out from my former employer tanked to the point where those customers came looking specifically for me is a nice compliment, but it's the karma of watching a big company lose business because they decided to unnecessarily cut corners that was the lesson for me.
Voiceovers by Gregory Houser
Philadelphia based voice actor
My Blog - A Man, A Martini, and A Lot of Microphones
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