To think 9 to 6 are long working hours

[Coolcucumbers]

For UK standards, office work.

All companies I have worked so far have been 9:30am to 5:30pm

I do 8:30 - 5:30 so it sounds like a dream to me!

I’d consider that part time work, genuinely. Why are people starting work so late in the morning? Especially once you factor in that many take a lunch break, no wonder there’s so many posts on the Cost of living topic who say they work “full time” yet are struggling financially.

My DS was looking for first grad jobs recently. Nearly all of those were 40 hr/week.
The job he ended up with is 40 hrs, but they are flexible with start and end times, can work from home 3 days/week.
That was for Quantity Surveying so some involved some hours on site as well as office base.

I do 9-6. It does feel long — I wfh though, so I don’t need to commute. But because we all wfh, the boundaries are quite blurred, and people do a lot of staying on task late to show that they really are putting in the effort. It’s not healthy, I know, but I still do it myself 😞

I work 2 days per week (due to ill health) in my job. My hours are 8.45 - 3.30 with a 15 minute break in the morning and 45 minutes for lunch. Very fortunate to work short hours but it's a job role that is really full on when you're actually working.

Yanbu. Unless they're getting more than an hour for lunchtime then it's a lot. There's no time for exercise or life admin if they have a short lunch and a commute. And we wonder why people are unfit, unhealthy and stressed.

I really resent the shift in normal working hours since I started in offices 25 years ago. 37.5 - 40 seems the norm now, whereas back then it was 35. I really miss having a full hour lunch break - enough time to grab a meal away from your desk, go for a walk, do some shopping, even squeeze in a haircut or a dentist appointment. I felt like I'd had a proper break. So not only have sub-inflationary pay rises eroded the real cost of may wage, my hourly rate has also been dented by the increase in hours, which sound petty but it's an extra day or two each month.

‘genuinely’ 😂

I’ve previously worked 15 hour overnight shifts

Are you working for a travel company?

Yes, it's a 40-hour week excluding breaks, whereas most UK office jobs are 40 hours including breaks (and are therefore 35 or 37.5 hours). So it's longer hours than average.

In my 25ish years of office jobs, I've done 9-5.30, 10-6 and 9-5, plus various flexitime/flexible working arrangements based on a 35 or 37.5-hour week.

I think in reality most office workers don't arrive and leave bang on the exactly same time every day (unless they have a job that's fairly rigid and routine in terms of daily tasks) and the hours they actually work might vary depending on whatever it is they happen be working on that day/week. But obviously the starting point for that is the hours actually contracted, and 40 hours is a bit longer than usual in the UK.

I used to do 8.30-5 with an hour for lunch. Now I do 9-5 with 30 minutes for lunch.

Not really. I do 8 til half 5

Sure - lots of people have, I'm sure. But the OP said 'for office work' and a 15-hour overnight shift would be exceptionally unusual in office work.

And presumably, you weren't doing 15 hours a day for five days a week, 52 weeks a year. Certainly not as your standard contracted hours, anyway. I don't think I've ever seen an office job advertised as 75 hours a week!

I've been on 8am till 5.30pm hours for 12 years. Anything that starts at 9am and finishes at 5pm would feel strange to me now, but I'm sure I'd get used to it fairly quickly

I’m 8:00-16:30 with two 20-25min breaks, 8:00-15:30on a Friday- 39hrs

I’d consider that part time work, genuinely.

No wonder your user name's 'ExhaustedAndProbablyDrunk', then.

Why are people starting work so late in the morning?

Because they can. And presumably, many/most of them would probably need to pay for additional childcare if they started any earlier.

no wonder there’s so many posts on the Cost of living topic who say they work “full time” yet are struggling financially

Unless they're paid by the hour or self-employed, this isn't relevant. If I worked from 7am to 7pm every day this month, I'd still be paid the same salary that I'd earn if I worked 9am-5pm.

This is why I love my job. I am paid overtime on top of my salary. If I have to log in before 8 I am paid double time, anything after 4:30 is 1.5x and if I log off and then need to log on later in the evening that is a call out so I am paid for 4 hours @1.5 regardless of how long I’m on for.

I do 7-5 M-Th and 7-12.30 Fridays. Sometimes I get away at 4.30, but sometimes 5.30 or later.

40hrs is normal in my industry but 8-6 isn’t unusual either, not well paid (28-30k ish)

Indeed, I also notice the lunch hour, where I sometimes work, is 45minutes long.

I worked 40 hours in Northern Ireland and 35 in England. Noticeable difference day to day which surprised me at first. I'm not from either country originally. Now I work 37 not in the UK.

Almost all jobs I’ve done are (nominally) 9-5.30 though lunch break culture massively varies

one job I had was 8-5 and that felt a long day. That said 1h lunch break was strictly enforced (call centre)

I’ve never done 9 to 5 until my current job and I love it! Usually I’m 9 to 5.30 with 30 mins for lunch

I think most people work longer office hours than their contracts. What’s unusual is for a company to stipulate a clocking off time of 6pm.

The conspiracist in me thinks this might be a way of preventing working parents from applying for roles, since 6pm is typically when you’d need to pick up a child from nursery.