to only work my contractual hours of 22 hours rather than doing lots of unpaid extra hours?

[MrsDW]

I used to work 4 days a week but after doing this for about 2.5 years felt no longer able to sustain it. Had to commute about 3 hrs a day in total to get to work, was often late picking dd up from nursery in the evening, and more significantly felt I was missing out on dd early years not to mention feeling knackered all the time. About 3 months ago I applied for a new job which is 22 hrs spread over 3 days a week. I had a chat with my manager when I accepted the job and told her one of the reasons I wanted the job is because it is part-time and fits in with my childcare commitments. She seemed to understand.

However, it is now obvious that everyone else in the organisation (I am the only part-timer) works way in excess of their hours. They spend long hours in the office and a couple have admitted they work at home during evenings and weekends. I wasn't to worried at first because I work hard at my job and do put in extra hours, often arriving 45 mins early in the morning so get started on work straight away before I'm "meant" to as it were. However, working late in the evenings is non negotiable as I have to pick up dd from nursery- there is no-one else. People have started making snidy remarks "it must be nice to be able to leave on time" and "I wish I had children so I could leave early". I normally politely reply something like "yes, but I only get a part-time wage" but no-one seems to get this...

I can see why my colleagues get a bit annoyed, they are paid for 35 hours a week and yet put in loads of extra hours, unpaid. However, my point is why should I work 35 hours a week and only get paid a part-time wage and more importatnly, why did the organisation take on a part-timer if they wanted a full time person? My manager has now started arranging evenings for 3 when she knows I have to leave at 4 and often the meetings over-run. I sit there at 3.50 panicking inside, thinking "I'm going to have to walk out of this meeting and all my colleagues will hate me". I can see them getting annoyed when I have to leave the meeting early.

I do try to be flexible. Recently I spent 2 nights away from home at a conference which meant re-arranging nursery days and getting DH to take annual leave. I put in more than my 22 hours that week but didn't complain, didn't put in for overtime etc. I work as hard as I can and have done work at home but I am now dreading going back to work tomorrow (the first time after christmas) because I dread all the comments. I know all my colleagues will have been working flat out and putting in extra hours and will expect me to do the same. AIBU not to?

Oh yes the other point I meant to say was why its important to discuss this with your boss. My boss was telling me how good the work ethic was in his area because of the long hours people worked, so I felt duty bound to mention that I cannot work much more than my paid hours due to family commitments. His reply was that he fully understood this and his expectation was that I would be working hard in my paid hours and this was good enough for him ( Clearly I'm not on the fast track for anything at the minute but hey can't have everything)

I get the same type of comments about how late they all stay in the office. I just ignore or say 'well that's your choice, bye bye and see you tomorrow'.

YANBU

themoon66 i like your line

Just a couple of thoughts to throw into the mix.

Firstly, might they be irritated because proportionately you are getting paid for more of the time you work than they are? Obviously as you are contracted to do less hours, you are paid less, but if, say, you are paid for 22 hours and work 25, but they are paid for 35 and work 50, you are getting a better deal.

I'm not at all saying that you should work extra, or that their comments are justified in any way, and it's such a shame they either have to or feel they have to work such long hours, but it's just something to bear in mind.

Second and most important thought - is your job getting done to your and your manager's satisfaction? In which case, what other people do is irrelevant. Problems shouldn't be about whether you are in the office long enough, but whether you are doing your job well enough. Stick to your hours, and if your manager has an issue, always insist on details and examples of how the issue has negatively impacted on your work performance.

Rookie- I love the beeping watch idea set at 4, fantastic! Going to definitely give that one a go.

Flowery- I really hope I'm doing my job well, feedback so far has been positive. Though I'm aware that a lot of the time other colleagues do have to cover for me. For e.g if something comes in on one of my non-working days, it has to be done immediately due to the nature of the job- it can't wait for me to be back in the office to deal with. Deadlines are literally hours rather than even a couple of days which makes me think the role is more suited to a full time worker rather than a part-timer. So I can see why colleagues get a bit hacked off.

YANBU. Your colleagues have allowed themselves to be used as unpaid workers. That is their choice. Your choice is to work the hours you are paid.

You don't clean your house, make personal telephone calls etc in work time, so why should you be expected to work in your own time.

I say stuff your colleagues. If they are in the office until 9pm that is their choice. Also a recent report said that Britons worked the most hours, but where the least productive. A tired worker is not a productive worker.

I often work over my hours, but I do it for patients, not the NHS. But if I worked in an office environment I would tell them to stuff it.