Is 7am to 5pm too long a day?

[Crazyindiechick]

I've been wfh as a freelancer during lockdown - I also did a masters degree during lockdown. Applied for staff jobs last autumn and have been offered one with working hours of 7am to 4pm but have been told most staff stay till 5pm.
I've never worked a day as long as this. Not even in the early years of my career - and I did find working 8 hours a day with a lunch hour. To get into work (office) for 7am I have get up between 4.30 and 5am.

Not a job I would take unless in a very bad financial position.

You've been working in some crap companies!

That would be a short day for me so I'd say totally fine to do that 5 days a week.

That does sound quite long.

Disagree about being expected to put in 50 hour weeks at jobs - I mean if you need to finish something important at mine yes you'd maybe put in the hours when expected but it's not general demanded if staff!

I do those hours but 4 days a week and get paid full time, is this a full time job? It's a lot of hours.

This. I do these hours but I work compressed hours 5 in 4 so I am "full time" in 4 days a week. I wouldn't want to do it 5 days.

I'm a florist. 12 hour shifts, sometimes longer. On feet the entire time. Don't get a lunch break because I'm the only person in the outlet.
I've not really known any different, to be honest.

No, actually I haven’t.

I once worked 7-3 some days, and hated it. That was before kids, and I've maybe got used to functioning on less sleep, but still. The occasional days when I did slightly longer hours until 4 or so I was an absolute zombie. No way would I do that now, sorry- let alone until 5pm!

@Chickenly if they're expecting a poor work/life balance, you have.

I mean it does depend on the nature of the role - some people do long shifts in a day but it's the hours over a week I'd consider too. Would you do that 5 days a week as an employee though? That's 60 hour weeks and quite a lot. Also depends if you are expected to work over standard full time hours at a set full time wage, or you work more hours and get paid for them.

I can do those hours but I accept that for an extra day off per week. And I don't have to commute. 4am to 5pm and then another commute is a VERY long day

And it’s funny how the same posters on here who are aghast at these hours are the names who’ve popped up in the threads about teacher strikes complaining that teachers are lazy and basically just part-timers.

I’m at work 7:30-5 (teacher) and it is a bit miserable with the commute. It makes it hard to have energy to put much into meal preparation and exercise i.e. healthy living. I only manage it because of the holidays.

It’s 50 hours a week.

As others have said, doing what? A 10-12 hour shift with unsociable hours would be standard in some roles - say, a paramedic - but it would be weird for a graphic designer.

Context is everything.

Someone was saying they do 12 hour days and I responded which is a 60 hour week.

50 hours is still a very long week plus commutes.

This.

If you’re single with no kids and in a lot of debt or want to earn more money quickly for a house deposit or similar, go for it. I personally wouldn’t but those aren’t my circs.

Yes and would probably involve a shift pattern with off days

Do you own your own business? Go to the market at 4am etc?

As pp have said i'd be more than happy to do that if it was over 4 days, or it came with decent flexibility.

I pull those sorts of days fairly regulary, but my core hours are 8.30-3.30 so I can mostly choose to get a flyer if I need to. As long as my work is done, nobody is counting outside that time.

That duration day (with flexibility on start/end times) would be fairly normal or on the short side, for companies I've worked for in the tech field. 10-12 hour days are the norm. We're well paid to compensate.

If only.

I work 7am-10pm (without a break) 7 days a fortnight.
×4 days on Week 1 and ×3 days on Week 2
3 days a fortnight 9am-3pm
4 days a fortnight off

I drive 30 minutes to work so, on my long days, I'm out the house at 6.30am and I get home at 22.30.
I'm a home carer, and I eat my sandwiches as I drive between clients.

It's definitely illegal. But, I don't get paid for the time I spend driving between calls - so they get round it on this technicality.

I respectfully disagree. Frankly, many children manage arriving at school at 8am and staying until 4pm plus doing homework and revision on top, whilst several have weekend/evening jobs too. It’s a bit ridiculous to think an adult can’t cope with 50 hours a week (like the average teacher, for example and well below average for many professions like lawyers/bankers/farmers/etc). I worked significantly more than 50 hours a week as a waitress during holidays when I was a teenager and a student. Still always managed to have a life.

I’d do those hours if it was for 3 days a week only. I certainly wouldn’t do those hours 5 days a week! You struggle to have a decent home/work balance working those hours 5 days a week.

12-13 hour shifts and 48 hour weeks are completely standard for medics. As a junior doctor 8-5 was described as a "short day". Most consultants do similar hours (8-5/6) and on-call on top.