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 how people actually go up in their professions though, in real life. When you're at the same level in the same place for years, things get easier because you have plans, you know all the detail, the budgets are sorted, juniors you're training up pick up tasks, processes are all in place etc. When you want to move on, you pick a time in your life that suits, you go all out doing the extra hours and hard effort to prove you're ready to move, then you get the next stage and higher salary. Then there's all the effort to settle in, set up processes, learn, train juniors who are at their stage of rising up and will move into your level. Seniority is paid for knowledge and experience beyond a point, the emphasis is on strategy, guiding and teaching the levels below not delivery, so hours at the desk reduce. (Hours in breakfast / lunch / dinner / drinks sessions and time randomly mulling stuff over can increase though!)

Sympathise with your boss for his hours, sure. But that will change. Don't be surprised, nor feel jealous, when he moves up and seems to work fewer hours for more money.

Resonates with me I’m contracted to work a 7.5 hr day with flexibility around hrs and prob do work a few extra week if something on but mine you quite senior in public sector. Son is new graduate working 9-5.30 standard and rarely gets away in time , his grad friends similar, one working that plus on call 1 week eves and 1 weekend ninth for no extra pay, another started work 9 hr day 2 days off a week Tue and Thur (no weekend option) . The other for a car company literally 8-8 daily one day off at weekend -all salaried, no overtime! Generally I think grad employers are taking advantage of people wanting to get on the ladder!

37 hours is the standard 'full working week' in the civil service/local government so I disagree it's 'very hard'

Sorry, i missed this

yes she would be on less than minimum wage with no commission, she didn’t make much last month

My contracted hours are 37.5 per week. Private sector. Some weeks I might work more and others I might work less. My husband is the same.

I'm working 8-6

I don’t think I know anyone with a 9-5 job anymore, not one person I can think of. All my friends who work in the city work around 8.30-6 and other friends do shift work.

I'm public sector (teaching). I'm in work from 8 to 5:30 and often do another hour or so at home in the evening, plus a few hours at the weekend. My timetabled hours are 8:20 to 3:30 'plus whatever additional time is needed to do my job properly'... Obviously I do get long holidays though.

Longer and longer working hours have become standard, also with fewer and shorter breaks that are often time-watched. You’re long out of touch op. Employee rights have gone in practice, whatever people think is encoded in law: we’ve needed more encoded because employers take the piss and fewer people have access to funds to enforce the little offered by law anyway.