What’s going on with working hours these days?

[CateringPanic]

I work in the public sector. My working hours are broadly 9-5 although I can flex this if I want to eg. 8-4, with 30 minutes for lunch. Either way it’s 37.5 hours a week which I thought was standard for full time work. I’m reasonably senior so obviously I might sometimes choose to work late to get stuff done but these are my contracted hours.

BILs girlfriend is young, early 20s and in her second job out of uni (was only in first for 6m). Her old job was 9-6 and her current one is 8-5. She thinks this is normal - I think her employers are taking the piss.

She is salaried, not hourly paid, and these are low skilled, low stress administration jobs so no real need to work long hours at all.

AIBU to think this is more than full time work and she shouldn’t have to be working an extra 5 hours a week for crap money or am I just out of touch with how things are out there?

It’s also really worrying to me if young people are just accepting of this in terms of workplace culture moving forward. When all the research points towards working fewer hours improving productivity it seems crazy

We nominally work 8 hours a day, most 9-5, some 8-4, some 10-6. In the more senior roles there is a lot of weekend working but it’s more cultural than expected. No one gets upset if an email sent 7 pm on. Friday isn’t responded to until Monday.

Some parents will work reduced hours in the week and catch up at weekends, some work compressed hours for 4 days.

As long as people are doing the job they are paid to do, no one cares too much.

This is how modern enlightened employers work, which is why people want to work here and why the company is very successful.

Are any of these companies with 45 hour weeks actually seeing greater productivity?

I always used to work 8.30am - 5.30pm years ago. That was pretty standard where I am. I have always thought people tend to work fewer hours now, 35/37.5 hours instead of 40 hours for full time.

My standard hours were 8am - 6pm in my first job (ftse 250, grad job) but that really meant 7:30am - 7pm, lunch at desk. We had to sign paperwork to forfeit our working time directive. My parents were aghast. But that was just the way it was - All my friends had the exact same hours, if not, worse. 9-5 seemed like part time to us! This was only ten yes ago.

I’m a teacher now. In at 8:15, a full hour for lunch, and home by 4pm with the kettle on. Ahhhh lovely! Yes I earn half as much, but I’m twice as happy 😊

Wouldn't that be less than minimum wage if she didn't get any commission one week?

I think for 310 hour days, 29 hour days and 4 hours on a Saturday (assuming 30 mins unpaid for lunch) she should be being paid 28k a year minimum, at £10.42 per hour?

My employer has 35 hours a week as full time so even less than you.

Ive mostly done 37.5hrs a week have done 40 previously. Currently do 35hrs and it feels far more civilised doing a standard 9-5 with hour lunch

My job is 35h, and I would pause before accepting more tbh. I cut hours at my previous workplace (and increased pay, phased in wfh pre-pandemic), and no effect on productivity.

What had a huge effect on productivity was happy employees who were good at communicating their needs to each other, and negotiating them.

I'd fight shy of any company doing my sort of work that thought they'd need more hours out of their staff. Clearly badly run.

I'd say it's public vs private sector. Last time I worked in the private sector (15+ years ago), I worked 8-5, 40 hours a week. My full time hours now are 35 a week so I work 9-4. That's at a university and seems to be standard.

Everywhere I've worked (charity sector) has 35 hours as the standard full time
Contract.

Public sector always seems to have shorter hours than private. .

Back in the early '80s my mum negotiated a 9.00 start rather than 8.00 with her employer. Her hours were meant to be 8-5.

I do 9-5 and til 4.30 on Friday , half hour lunch. I log on about 20 mins early so I can nip out to do the school run. I have never been asked or expected to do a single minute of unpaid overtime. Work from home charity data role. It’s not exceptionally well paid but it’s half as much again as I was on working 8-4 in a school office and doing ludicrous amounts of unpaid work.

My old job was 9 - 6 I assume because the directors have long lunches. But it was so annoying because everyone I did business with went home at 5 so there was absolutely fuck all to do in that last hour. My silent protest was playing angry birds and making dinner plans.

I’m 9-5 with 30 minutes lunch break

I used to work 9-5.30 (several employers) but got 1 hour lunch break

So it’s effectively the same - just a longer lunch break. Can’t see the difference.

I ALWAYS take my lunch break as it’s unpaid. I’m senior but not working for free. I timeblock and plan my day around it.

Same here. My first job (local government) was 37.5 hours, and my DF was shocked that it wasn't 9-5, which was pretty standard in the '70s. It was reduced to 37 a couple of years after I started.

I believe local government jobs are still 37 hours pw.

In my industry, a 40 hour week is fairly standard.
I'm in my job 18 years and my hours are 36.25 (7.25 per day, but flexible)
Several years ago they changed this for new starters to 7.5.

All of us work a lot of overtime at various times in the year. (Project work)

I work for a charity who recently underwent a salary benchmarking exercise. We have 35h contracts. They "normalised" our salaries based on a 40h week contract. So minus 12.5% for those 5h per week, or 88.5% of market rate. They told us all good nothing to see here you're all paid market rate. 🤔

I was like, well that's not how salaries work, not like I can pick up a little part time job to make up those 5h every week, paid at my professional hourly rate....???

It's ridiculous all around. Working longer hours has no productivity benefits for knowledge workers.

When I worked in the private sector I'd never do anything shorter than 9 - 5.30. I'm 7.30 - 3.30 in the public sector now.

Public sector hours were reduced many years ago, I vaguely remember it as a young worker.

DS GF has just started her first job 25k for a 42 hour week. I thought it was decent for a fresh graduate but had made the bold assumption it was a 38 hour week. They have a pension scheme, some other benefits and it’s permanent with a clear indication that wages will rise after a year.

@usernotfound0000 I worked in higher ed, working hours were less and back when I was very young we received free lunch every day and a clothing allowance of two suits from M&S, those days are long gone.

Just wait until you find out teachers hours. Arrive at the photocopier queue at 7.45. Tea gall day, lunch duty, end of school day 4.20. Then start Contacting parents, Mark books, plan next days lessons, reports, parents evenings, Planning trips, meetings it's always been the same (albeit I think it has got worse over the last decade) and that's public sector

Mine has always been 7.5 hours a day. But an hour’s unpaid lunch break actually makes it 8.5 hours. How long is the lunch break - that is key?

I worked for a software company 30 years ago whose hours were 9-6. It definitely wasn't the only company I worked for with 8 hour days.

9-6 with an hour for lunch is a 40 hour week which I always thought was fairly normal? I don't see what the issue is if it's advertised as such and in your contract?

@Maddy70 I actually used to be a teacher, it was ridiculous and the lack of life outside of school was one of the reasons I left.

I’m WFH today and so far have changed the bedsheets and cleaned the bathroom before starting work - this is what makes for happy employees!

I've worked for the Council and the NHS, for both it was alway 9-5 with 30 minute unpaid lunch.
I've also worked in the finance sector and one of my roles had my working hours as 'whatever is current office needs' or something along those lines. The reality was if you were in after 8 or left before 6:30 you'd get raised eyebrows. We had to sign a statement saying we were happy to opt out of maximin legal working hours. Most people did 7:30 to 6:30 and took an hour for lunch. Paid exceptionally well though.