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.

42-45 hours a week is pretty standard for small animal vets. Regularly don’t get breaks and end up working later, often without extra pay! If you do on call as well it’s a lot more hours. When I qualified I regularly worked 70+hour weeks. Worked out at less than minimum wage…..

I was in the catering industry for almost 30 years we regularly did 60+ per week unpaid breaks it was a case of grab a coffee or ciggy whenever you could

Me and my parter work 48 hour weeks, 12 hour shifts across 4 days with 4 days off in between, we do get paid quite highly and the work is very easy with breaks every hour and a half, so it's really not that bad, I couldn't work a 9-5 job where I I do nothing but work, sleep and never see my family

I do 7-5/6 in work and a few hours outside of that. However, I also have the school holidays or I wouldn't survive!

@RoyalFamilyFan

I find it is low paid people who often do the longest hours.

I do 8 till 5 mon to thurs with 55 minutes break throughout the day and 1130 finish on a fri 37.5 hours a week.

They are great hours but wouldn’t like to work any more

20 hours is plenty for me!

I work 30 hrs but with the cost off living I’m going to need a 2nd job . It was never the best pay but made do with having a young child but DS is 14 now and very sensible . YANBU . Do what you can afford to do and be happy :)

Been there, did that… when I was younger with no home responsibilities. Couldn’t do it now. I work 30 hours a week over 5 days. Home by 3:30-4:00pm. Suits me very well. I really couldn’t do 45 hrs or more a week again.

Same Freddie. I wouldnt have energy for 45 hours. Maybe ten years ago. Im 49. I temped last year. I did do 9 til 6 years ago but it was hard. Had small commute so that did help.

Normal ‘office’ week is 8.30-5.30. Half hour for lunch. It’s pretty miserable. Actually I can cope with 8.30-5.30 but I just want an hour for lunch to be able to really do something else to take my mind off work for a bit eg pop over to the gym opposite, go for a proper walk, eat lunch elsewhere etc.

A busy ‘site week’ might have at least half as many hours again on top but the varied locations and nature of the work mean it feels not nearly so bad.

Work in financial services and totally normally if a bit low hours wise. It's utter crap but the way of the world. Pay is ok now but when I was on less money I worked more. You can't make lunch (normally don't take it because of meetings) or evenings plans however I never work at the weekend but do expect some low contact during my annual leave and an occasional call. Same for most people I know

I don’t understand, surely that’s a pretty standard office job? I wouldn’t want to do it with three young kids in tow but for a young working person I would think that totally normal and wouldn’t expect to get paid anything special for that?

I’ve worked in a number of standard office jobs since my 30s (I’m 58 this year). All have been 9-5.30 with an unpaid lunch hour. That’s a standard 37.5 hr full time job.

I worked 9 till 7 five days a week with no lunch break, plus every other Saturday. It was expected in the small firm I worked for. We were entitled to a lunch break but not allowed to take it. Sometimes no time even for a cup of tea.. It was estate agency and damn hard work.

I frequently worked 80 hours plus a week before my DC. After he was born, I quit

Whilst I can do the long hours physically in general it's just a bit shit. Life is just crap when you spend all your time working. It's boring, depressing, you miss things.

My job is reasonably paid and there are great bits, it will be good for my career in the long run which is why I do it, but I don't think we should just shrug off longer and longer hours in work as 'standard'. And when my contract ends like fuck will I looking for a similar job. Life isn't about working, and there's no medal at the end for the number of hours worked. I hate working for somewhere that acts like it owns your time.

Me too cashmere - late 20s to late 30s. Then I had DC and find 45 hours a week my absolute maximum.

I moved to civil service, similar role, less of a commute, more responsibility… less than half the pay 🤷🏻‍♀️. It’s a life choice.

Depends how badly you need the money.

Exactly. Plenty of people do longer hours than they want to because bills need paid and prices are rising. It is a tough world.

Depends on the context and your lifestyle.

When my kids were young I worked 30 hours a week and found that a struggle.

Now they’re teens and I’m a manager and work on average 45-50 hours a week in work and probably another 6 m-8 hours a week in the evenings or at weekends. It feels manageable. And I love my job, so that helps.

That's what most people do though don't they? It sounds very normal to me but that doesn't mean that we all should do it.
I do 8-6 with no real lunch break, 15 mins if I'm lucky but it's just how the job is 🤷🏼‍♀️

I think many people with DC would find it too many hours. But different things suit different people. I mean 9-6 would be a short day for me as I've worked 7-8 as a nurse with 30min for lunch and 30min for dinner. But I only worked 4 days a week when I was doing that.

I worked 9.30-6.30 or later. Seemed normal. Didn't have kids then though. When I did I had to leave by 6 to get them from day care which closed at 6.30. It was ok except a few days a month due to the nature of the work when we all had to stay late.

@RoyalFamilyFan

I find it is low paid people who often do the longest hours.

I agree. DH did far more hours as a teacher than he does now and he's paid 3 times as much and then some. Carers are dreadfully paid and do ridiculous hours. Those paid a low wage, by the hour have to do lots of hours to make ends meet.