To think 45 hours a week is too much

[Letthebodieshitthefloor]

Monday to Friday 9-6 with a 30 minute lunch break.
I'm sure there will be people on here who say they do 70/80 hours a week but I just feel that even 45 is slightly too much. Thinking of seeing if I can cut down to 4 days and 36 hours.

@Classicblunder they never do.

I think it’s a pisstake! They’re essentially trying to get you to work 6 days/week!

I agree with you OP. Hope you can work something out, be it four day weeks or another job.

I do 35 hours per week for a market rate full time salary. So does everyone else i work with and we still get people complaining. I appreciate it every day - it's a good work life balance.

Only ever done a 37 hour week fulltime. I do a bit of OT on and off though:

@AshLane

I have never understood this. If you are ' expected to do more' is it unpaid? Do you have to do more than you are contracted to? Is it all the time ir just occasionally?

Yes, unpaid as in salaried. Education and teaching contracts have a clause with words to the effect of 'and as many hours as the service demands'. Mine certainly does and means that the workload is huge and we are expected to complete it.

So do many private sector contracts. It's not just teachers, believe it or not!

So do many private sector contracts. It's not just teachers, believe it or not!

Nothing @AshLane said there suggests they think it’s only education, presumably that’s just their experience. Not every post about teachers needs a “oh but it’s not just teachers” moan.

I do 7am till 10pm 3 days one week 4 days the other week with just over an hours break not including travel time too and from home. 9-6 is easily doable. You're starting at a reasonable time and finishing at a reasonable time too.

So I’m interested to know what people think salary should be that makes 45 hours a week bearable?

And 50 hours? Plus?

Should it be a higher hourly rate or work to get the job done?

Way too much

Fairly standard number of hours when I was working in care to be honest. And it was shifts- so early starts, late finishes and long days. However it was term time only so it was manageable.
Guess it depends on the person, your home life, your precious roles (when I left shift work that would have sounded great to me as it was all good daytime hours), the commute on top of that, the pay and of course if you enjoy it.

I use to work many more hours and realised during lockdown that I severely disliked the culture of my large organisation. They said the correct things about juggling home school but the reality was stark. So I left after 20 years of being there. Got a role for 36 hours. Some weeks I do less some weeks more. WFH. Feel more in control of my life. And the pay isn't much different. I wouldn't go back. Professional role. Niche but expanding area.

Nope. Way too much. I'm in a senior role, on a decent salary and I just refuse to do that many hours. I'm in an industry where it's common, normal and expected but I've consistently shown it isn't necessary. I once worked for a company where long hours and presenteeism was the order of the day and got hauled in by the manager because I rarely stayed after hours. I showed (via a Logged tickets, logging on hours and active minutes and projects completed on time) that I was the highest performing employee at my level/ role (there were 9 of us). My manager was a bit dumb founded - he said he knew I always did my work but was "concerned about my commitment", I quickly put aid to that and was promoted less than a month later, left 6 months after for another promotion and was clear at interview stage (I was head-hunted) that I felt long hours were counterproductive and didn't routinely expect my team to work extra hours. It didn't go down particularly well, but they still employed me and we didn't work over hours as a regular thing - a push to get a project completed, then yes. But just because it "looked" better definitely no.

I've very recently got a new job and negotiated a pay rise AND reduction in hours

42.5 hours, even with kids, is completely normal.

I do agree that presenteeism is bullshit - for most professional services jobs there’s no need to sit at your desk from 8.30-6.30

I swan in an out when suits me but am on call essentially 24/7so not sure if that’s better 😂

Also agree commute has a big impact. My last job was fewer hours/less demanding but had a 45 min motorway commute

This job is much more demanding, full time plus but 5 min drive from home.

@Classicblunder

I don’t know any other job where you use your lunch breaks to try and catch up on work

I have friends who do a variety of professional jobs. All of them regularly work through lunch. It really isn't just teachers!

Completely agree.

Said by a teacher who has probably never done another job.

I have young DC and regularly work 45 hours a week. That is a normal week for me. A bad week is more like 70 hours but that is very unusual - once every couple of years or so.

As my kids get older I think I may need to find something that lets me be around for them more. Not least because school hours are shorter than nursery hours!

And I work through lunch almost every day. Financial services.

I used to work 100 hours a week as a junior doctor, in the days before the working time directive. And right up to my retirement 5 years ago, I didn't have a lunch break as such - just ate my sandwiches off the anaesthetic machine during operations in theatre.
Thankfully, I dropped on call duties when I had the DC and just worked part time (40 hours a week)

I’m an in-house lawyer and 45 hours is not bad for a lawyer of my level. I see my counterparts at firms routinely working 12-14 hour days - it’s not at all unusual to get emails from them at 10pm at night even on weekends, even though I do try to set realistic time frames … they just have so much work to juggle I suppose. But they are probably renting 5-10x what I am so you win some you lose some!

*Earning not renting

A good week for me is 45, often it can be more like 55, and has occasionally been 70-80. On a 45 hour week if I’m wfh I feel like I have lots of free time, so I don’t mind it too much, but I would obviously love to work less if I got paid the same!

Depends on the job but, in all honesty, sounds fine to me. I usually work 9-10 hour days and generally don’t take a lunch - just eat something at my desk. I do have the odd five min break to brew up during the day.

I don’t like the fact the contracted minimum is 42 hours. That’s more than the average contract so I’d be concerned at what that says about the organisation and whether overtime is expected on top.

I work 42 hours a week or more most weeks, but it isn’t mandated. So I’m not finishing early if I’ve got a slow week and call it a day at five. Or perhaps I’ve done a lot recently and I do finish early at 3 or 4. With that timetable that becomes impossible. Depends on whether you’re getting paid that extra % over equivalent roles with fewer hours, I guess but I wouldn’t be keen. I do think it’s too long as a fixed working day week in week out.