To ask how hard you work for your >100k job

[Shed82]

name Changed for this as high earner post.

am early 40s and several months into a >100k salary, eg this month I took home £7k after tax, and feel it’s an achievement to get to this level of income. But obviously it comes with increased stress and responsibility. I wonder what sort of hours others work for their six figure roles/what stress you feel and ultimately whether you think it’s worth it.

When I earned that as an employee, working for other people, it was awful. They literally owned my life, holidays, weekends, bereavement….nothing was off limits. 16 hr days were the norm, lots of work travel etc. It was horrendous. They were and are generally recognised as a shit firm to work for though, so I’m sure it’s not the same for everyone. I left and set up my own business, which was also shit in its own way…..literally no money for anything, sheer terror about paying everyone and paying the bills (I sold my house and everything I owned to set up the business) £30 a month for food for many years and a toffee latte from McDonald’s was a major treat. Also awful, BUT with an end goal. And, in the end, it paid off. I now earn far more than I ever did and work 3-4 days a week, with hours that suit me. I will retire well before I’m 50 and I’m glad I did it. I’m bloody sure it shortened my life though!!!

Partner is in this bracket and usually does a normal 8-hour office working day, although does some overseas travel. Has industry-specific experience and technical knowledge, though.

I was working a little under 50 hours a week in the office and probably another 5 - 10 at home as standard and then occasional super long (90+ hours) weeks when proposals were due. I was mid 30s at the time. I stopped to pursue a very different opportunity.

My DH was earning this sort of money in his late 20s/early 30s with slightly longer hours and more super long weeks which were very stressful. But he kept at it and by his early 40s he was earning a lot more with a much better work/life balance - < 35 hour week with lots of flexibility, 8 3-day trips a year which he quite enjoys, and very occasional super long weeks when there's a crisis (about once a year). He does, however, think about work a fair bit and the stress is still there, though different. We didn't have kids when we were both working the long hours. Don't think we would have managed it. Even if we both had DH's current job we'd be doing a fair bot of juggling if anything clashed, though probably very manageable on that sort of money.

I don't work crazy hours any more, no sleeping under my desk. I can also work flexibly, drop and pick up the kids. I sometimes work in the evenings but almost never on weekends or holidays. Some travel, but luckily just a fraction of pre-covid levels. As pp said, it's about skills and experience. I am expected to take decisions that can have quite significant impact if I get it wrong.

I worked a lot longer hours on my way to the salary tbh. That was rough. But now, 9-6ish but I normally have at least one day a week where I’ll either have a long client lunch (like… long) or wfh and get some house stuff done.

We have a busy season where Im mostly not at home for a couple of months and can be working 12+ hour days. And I’m always available, I go on holiday but do a couple of hours a day while I’m away. That’s what sucks a bit - I’m the final say on a lot of stuff so if somethings important I need to know about it and I’m not in a business where things can wait two weeks.

Plus I work internationally so a couple of nights a month will need to be on the phone until late.

If I could earn half and work half I absolutely would but that’s not how the job works!

Have been working today (Saturday) for 10 hours already, and will not finish before midnight probably - on a coffee break at the moment. Tomorrow likely the same. The last weekend I could take off was in August.

What is most challenging, is having to mask and fake it when inside you are not feeling your A game. The expectation that you are on top of everything at home and at work at all times is just so draining especially with peri symptoms.

Have a look at pension contributions in lieu of salary. Relatively easy way to reduce your salary, if the organisation is on board.

Yes massive jump in responsibility and I worry the people that work for me are happy etc as well. The managing up as well as down. Delegating but having overall responsibility as well is hard.

I work 8.30-5.00 when I'm in the office (3 days/week). Similar when wfh but I can easily arrange things so I can pick kids up from school. I might need to log on after dinner occasionally. Im not closely monitored by my line manager, he trusts me and I'm very, very good at my job. I think I'm underpaid for the revenue I make for the company but I like the flexibility.

I could never dream of such money! But I know two people who do/did; one quit because it was too much stress and the other person (both very different industries) would love to.

Its not worth it in either case in my opinion.

I work very reasonable hours and wfh 3 days a week. I am incredibly efficient and have lots of experience which is why I am able to do this.

My biggest struggle has been anxiety / sleepless nights at crunch times , but even that has lessened over the years. I had never heard of lifestyle creep, it’s an interesting concept but I definitely don’t suffer from that. If anything I really should spend more, but a lifetimes frugality is hard to shift.

It’s really only a coincidence that high earners have stress / long hours. I would day that people earning a lot less than me probably have longer hours and more stress in many cases. It depends what industry and are you are in.

I agree that it's more about the responsibility and pressure than the hours. I work 40 ish hours a week but have to lead projects and workstreams and manage a team as well as delivering a lot of work personally. I am answerable for other people's mistakes and I find that hugely stressful.

I used to do the very long hours, now I'm part time. Supposedly. Always more hours than I should; but no weekends, few evenings and I do at least 4 school pick-ups each week (the US own me the other night). The stress while I'm working is immense; often no time for a wee never mind lunch, and a queue of tasks stretching past next year. But the interest factor is there as well as the pay, I really enjoy the majority of the work and knowing I'm adding so much revenue. My team are fabulous, which helps, but then I hired all but one so I got what I wanted. I'd like just a few more team members to relieve the pressure, one senior, but budgets never have been easy.

I could get some roles that are easier and higher paid, but getting part-time is really really hard past a certain level. It's worth striving for though, get in position then announce a change of working hours that can just about work for the business; the more of us who prove it works the clearer the path for all those following. One other director moved into part-time hours after me, and he's healthier for it too.

Nursery workers work very long shifts, never able to take their eye off the ball and wfh is impossible. All for near minimum wage. Higher salaries don't work their ass off proportionally more than this. They probably have more accountability though.

I work flexibly, I do most drop offs unless I have an early meeting, and my husband does pick ups. Sometimes I am busy, but other times I can fit in an afternoon nap! I have changed jobs recently and have a more strategic role so am less pressured. I used to do around 50hrs a week, but now it’s more like 30.

What the hell does he do?!

I average 80 hours per week to clear 15k a month take home. Niche IT role.

From my personal experience, I only know corporate lawyers who earn a lot more than £100k but boy do they work for it. It's a decision really.

This salary band can end up in prison for a wrong decision made by someone at the bottom of the food chain

What sort of jobs are out there for £100k a month? The only ones I know of are director jobs

At my level it’s more about outcome and impact. I have more flexibility and control over my diary than I did when I was more junior, so I can be there when the kids need me for school stuff/drop-offs and pick-ups, I nip out for personal appointments like hair/doctors/gym.

So I have more control but it also takes up a heavier amount of headspace. If I need to get something finished, I’ll stay up late to do it. If I’ve had a week full of calls and no focus time, I will work on a Sunday or in the weeknights if the kids are otherwise occupied. But I enjoy my work and enjoy putting that extra in.

So am i working harder?? I don’t think so but the flip side is that there is more pressure and stress, the decisions are bigger and the expectations are higher. Plus generally as you go more senior in my area of work, there are fewer opportunities to jump into another (similarly paid) role, which is quite daunting especially with the lifestyle creep as pp said.

It has taken me a while to strike a good balance and overall it feels worth it. We’re not minted but quite comfortable. I am guilty of letting work consume me at times and have to remember to claw back my sanity. That’s when it doesn’t feel worth it. I think it can be a state of mind as much as anything.

My husband is on a similar salary based on your monthly income.

Speaking on his behalf only, I feel like he has to say “yes” to most meetings/trips and that they become expected of him (not in a forced way!)

It does also works out well with school drops offs and pick ups in his favour too, as when he working from home and not away/back to back meetings he can take that flexibility that he’s had to give up the week before if he’s been away for 3 days or working late for a couple of days.

I think you need to be flexible with the work load and hope that you get the flexibility back. So hopefully it works for both you and the employer

I work part time doing majority of the childcare. His success has mean that I have had to say no to work, but it all changes as the kids get older - and me taking it slow for the next 5 years work wise in a blink in the grand scheme of things!

People with this attitude don't tend to end up in six-figure jobs!

I'm all for forsaking money in favour of work/life balance, and my own six-figure role allows me pretty good balance (thanks to a good org and manager), but to get here I had to go above and beyond sometimes and prove myself.

Of course in plenty of roles you can just do your contracted hours, but in many orgs you probably won't be promoted, and you may be first out when it comes to redundancies.

Not always, of course. Plenty of places are fine with everyone doing 9-5. But often the places that pay higher wages expect you to be willing to go above and beyond on the occasions it's required, even if only a couple of times per year.

I scarcely work at all. I'm paid not for my time and effort but for being someone who can perform at a high level and for what it took to become that person.