To think working 64 hours in a week is too much?

[happinessisabutterfly]

Concerned about a good friend who is doing this.

Are there laws against it?

Aibu to think it is too much and worry she'll make herself poorly?

Major reason for resigning from teaching.

I used to work a 48h shift (8am Saturday through to 8am Monday), then work a full 10h shift on Monday (junior doctor), followed by Tues to Fri 10h days. We got paid 1/3 of our hourly rate for the contracted hours over 40. It didn't do us any harm in the short term although I don't think I could do it now.

60h over a whole week is the norm for many jobs, and I still work on average that number of hours. Some weeks more (especially with weekends resident / first on call) most weeks around 60. (senior hospital doctor). Hasn't made me poorly yet.

Likewise - the main reason I left teaching, to gain some work life balance. I have that now. It's great!

My DH works about 50 hours a week

Some weeks probably goes up to 60+

So I think working 64 hours plus on a regular basis is too much

I used to work 80 - 100 hours per week fairly routinely but it takes its toll.

You have to be young and in good health. It is not sustainable in the long term.

I suppose the question is why she's doing it.

Is it part and parcel of the job? Is it a temproary surge in work load?
Is she at the bottom end of the ladder and working her way up?

DH regularly works 60+ hours a week. He's tired & stressed and I don't think it's healthy.
So many people are stuck on this hamster wheel of promotion, mortgage, lifestyle whatever that it's become the norm.

Pretty standard in my industry. I often do a 13hr day plus 1hr travel each way. It's not about not being time efficient but about budgets being squeezed but expectations remaining the same. However, I love my job so it doesn't bother me too much.

I'm a nanny and work 60-70h a week plus occasionally another 12 at the weekend.

It's pretty Average for me!

I work in a statutory adult social work team and we can easily do 10-12 hour days. We are always forgotten but we work bloody long hours. I'm getting out soon; I'm going to look for a job in the private/voluntary sector.

65 hours is the minimum my partner does the majority of the time, plus on the days he travels it's an extra 1.5 hours each way minimum. It's standard in his industry, does take its toll though.

If it's a regular thing then I think it's too much. I used do a few weeks of overtime when there was some going back when I was was working fulltime and I was younger. Very long days and Saturday mornings and after several weeks it caught up with me even then. Think it depends on the sort of job you do as well. Mine was very physically demanding. Certainly couldn't do it now and I'd never see the kids if I did. I know if Dh were to work 60+ hours we'd have no family life at all as any time off he'd he'd spend it bed sleeping.

Doing it every week leads to exhaustion, poor health and burnout (generally in that order). I have a job that requires up to 50 hours a week in a normal week (in actual time doing the job), but there are always some weeks where it goes mental (my longest ever continuous 'day' was about 72 hours). Then there is 4 hours of commuting per day on top. However, if mental weeks were a regular event, I'd find a new job.

I've done it - again as a junior doc. Longest week was the week of night shifts at 13+h/night, so probably in the region of 100h/week. EWTD tries to limit it to 48, but that's laughable. In reality, the last few jobs I've done it's been an average of about 55h/w not counting any extra bits done at home on days off, and certainly not including the commuting time. I don't like it, but it's the only way to see and do stuff, and with training years getting shorter it becomes more and more important to put the hours in.

My DH regularly works a 72 hr week, which is quite physically demanding but well paid. He's in his 40's but he's done it for the last 20 or so years.

I am a university lecturer - on mat leave just now - and when I first started, would regularly arrive at my desk around 7am and leave work 13ish hours later, often taking work home and working weekends. In my current post, in my first three years I had no days off - as in, didn't take weekends - from late Sept to Christmas. No idea how many weekly hours it all equates to but on average I'd say 80 odd.

This is quite normal in my sector and I would have thought in most sections professional jobs like surgeon, barrister, senior management etc.

Standard in my area too. I hate it. And as everyone is salaried, it's not like there's overtime or anything. Now, as a new parent and with health problems, I can only manage 40-45 hours, and just have to accept that I am simply not going to advance/get promoted at the same rate (or at all) as my peers. But the problem is that it anyone who can put in the little extra gets ahead -- so why wouldn't they, if they can? I do wish there was more of a culture of actual life outside of work.

I've done it. I hated it. I was rather good at what I did (I was running the communications for a major charity at a very high-profile time) but I rather envied people who were having, you know, a life.

Another nanny here, I work 3 days now which is 36 hours and I'm classed as part time, but all my past jobs have been 50/60 hours it's the norm in the childcare sector, nannies, childminders and nursery staff all work 10/12/13 hour days.

My mum is the manager of a care home and can work way over 60 hours some weeks.

Quite normal in our house. DH works on average 80-90 hours and certainly seven days a week. He had 10 days last year when he didn't go to work. He's a dairy farmer, so in addition to him working those hours, I have to go to work to earn money.

Dh is a GP and regularly works over 60 hours a week, then has on-call responsibility as well.

He gets paid well for it but family life does suffer. As I can only work v. Part time due to disability, that's how it has to be!

Very personal decision if she is happy with it then thats her choice to make. I caned it for 7 years working day and night (international corporate law). Couldn't do it now!

I remember a trustafarian friend who had never done a days paid work in her life telling me earnestly before I had my first baby that I would never know tiredness like it. Had to bite my tongue. Closing an international deal as a mid level associate in charge of a team of juniors is actually quite comparable on the sleep front as having a new born.

Friend is lorry driver he works away Monday to Saturday. Granted he can only drive his set hours and has to take 9 off ect but he's still loading, unloading, paperwork ect. So he doesn't get time off properly until weekend

Myself and dh both work 60+ hours a week. We have two small children, and it works well. We are self employed, so if we don't work, no one else is going to do it for us. I have never really worked less so seems perfectly normal

I regularly worked 60+ hours (with 1.5 hour commute each way on top) pre DC. I now try to keep it to 45 hours plus 2 hours each way, but work at home one day per week. Pretty shit, but I work in central London and live out of town as commute is cheaper than living in London.

I am tired, but it is doable, and quite normal for where I live