If you earn over £60k...

[loveawineloveacrisp]

How much work over and above what you're paid for do you do?

I'm a month into a new job and it's clear that the previous person was only getting all the work done because she was working all hours. It's the job of two people, not one. I work 9-5.30 but people are sending emails before 8 and after 6. I was just letting off steam to a friend (who earns about £20k more than me) and she said oh it's just expected at that level. I earn £65k which I know is a good amount but it's not Megabucks and I'm being paid for my 30 years experience in the industry.

AIBU to want to just do my hours and log off?

Not responding to the mails is the right thing, especially if there doesn’t seem to be any pressure to do so. You also don’t know what hours the others are working

with elderly parents there are times I need to take a hour or two during the working day, I then catch up on mails later in the day. I make it clear I’m not expecting a response that evening

As soon as my salary exceeded £55,000 I didn’t expect to work my fixed hours and nothing beyond.

I’ve found that (1) the more you do the more they expect (that thing about giving work to a busy person) and (2) working over and above does not protect you when it comes to redundancies, at least the three times I’ve been through it.

Because they want to progress and they don’t divide their salary over a specified number of hours. It is viewed as I am x to complete this job. I am not paid x to work y hours. If that’s your approach that is fine but you will be capped and have probably gone beyond that cap. They will replace you if you don’t do the role.

Are you in a Big 4 firm?

@Riaannai don't want to 'progress.' I'm 55 and not interested in climbing the ladder. I just want to do a good job for a fair salary, and that doesn't include doing the work of two people.

It's worrying how many people support what I think is an unhealthy work life balance.

No

I work my hours unless there's something exceptional going on. I will send the odd email out of hours but as has been mentioned up thread, I'll be catching up after having done a school run. I'm well paid but I'm paid for my experience and skills, not my willingness to do two jobs.

Software development here. In my current role I haven't actually worked over my standard hours yet. I will at some point, if we have a live issue, or if the project requires it. But my company is very keen on work life balance and being mentally healthy, so I would be expected to take that time back. I won't mind putting in extra hours when needed, because I know they're not taking the piss.

I would not stay in a company that expected me to regularly work 50+hr weeks without paying me over time.

Fits and starts I work over if there's a big project for example. However most of my "overtime" would be travel time.

I earn over 65k I start work around 9.30 and never ever work beyond 5. Most days I finish 4ish, if I'm in the office I leave for school pick up most days. My department which I am head of is very successful and I'm there to step in with expertise if sh*t hits the fan! 99%

On average, 5 hours a week extra. Some weeks it’s 20, other weeks I can claw a few hours back.
I detest it.
Unfortunately, despite my best efforts to try to find out about the culture during interviews, I’ve managed to get a job at a company with a deeply ingrained culture of overwork.
I haven’t been there long enough to leave.

I usually work 9 to 5.30, but about once or twice every few month I might have to work early (6am meetings) or late (10pm meetings). But that doesn’t happen very often

my job is very flexible so I see it as give and take. My boss trusts me to do my job as I see fit, so sometimes I might leave early , but when I need to I’ll work over and above my core hours.

None we have flexi time but I work condensed hours over 4 days and if I did work extra hours I’d take them back. The days of working ridiculous hours for no reward are over for me

On a daily basis, not really. I've got statutory deadlines to comply with for incidents, but I've always been able to do those with minimal overtime.

I work in law and earn £90k per year.

My working hours are 9:00-17:30. I usually finish at 18:00, and then log back on between back on between 22:00 and midnight three or four days a week. I also work most Sunday evenings between 21:00-22:30, mainly planning the following week.

It’s actually a lot less than I used to do, before marriage and DD, when I was single and my time was my own. I’ve got really good at churning it out during the normal working hours, which limits what I do outside of that.

My salary has been 70-95k ish over past six years and I rarely work late into the eve. If I do it's because I'm really into what I'm doing and on a productive roll. I set expectations by doing good work during sane hours and just say no when I asked to do more than is reasonable.

Head of a Team too and I will do extra hours for travel, essential calls and deadlines but I balance it by sticking to broadly 9-5.30 on other days and occassionally sloping off a little early. Swings and roundabouts.

If its a new job, hard to judge how much extra a predecessor was doing until you are at least 6 months in and across the role fully.

£63 plus benefits, 25years experience, no direct reports and pretty much work my contracted hours although if we travel to clients we tend to do it mostly in our own time (and there’s been spells when I’ve done that every week for months, not to mention the downside of being away from home)

I've found the opposite - the more you get paid, the less you actually do. I earn circa 70k and if anything I work less hours than contracted but I get all my work done and then some

I earn 170k basic + up to 40% bonus.

I work from home M-F 9-5 with almost no work outside of these hours. I never work at weekends.

I’m paid for knowledge and experience so work far fewer hours now than I did earlier in my career when I was establishing myself.

Having no commute and not having to do additional hours gives me the best quality of life I’ve ever had.

What do you do? I can’t imagine working for free, however much I enjoyed a job.

Can;t you schedule it to send during core working hours next day instead? Because if you send it at that time most people would assume it needs dealing with.

I was on £70k and worked way over my hours. During Covid I was working 7 days a week - literally only took Christmas Day off.

It was healthcare related role and I had overall responsibility for at risk, junior staff and I felt I couldn’t just abandon them at their most vulnerable time.

I didn’t get bonus/overtime but I did have flexibility and could “take time back” - outwith the madness that was Covid. So I used to add a time back day to the end of my holidays (so for example, have a week off but only use 4 AL days).

In the end I totally burnt out and nearly had a breakdown. I took a voluntary severance deal and now have a “clock in, clock out” role for a fraction of the salary but I’m happy.

I probably worked about 40 hours a week when I was on that salary. Odd hours but flexi time so I worked around my life .