Irish work culture

[Gr3atEscape]

Hi folks, I worry I will get torched in the responses for this but I am keen to hear about people's experience working in Ireland. I have lived away from Ireland for many years now and am planning a move back next year. A concern I have is the work culture as my experience from when I was there involved alot of overtime as standard practice. I believe in putting my all into my job in my standard hours and being productive, also as I work in project management, there are times when extra effort is needed to get something over the line and I also understand and support this. What I am not up for is a work culture where overtime is expected and almost the default working day.

Can you please share your work situations in this regard. Is overtime expected and standard or DK you start and finish (most of the time) on your respective hours?

I'm retired (early) so can't comment personally but my husband works for one of the largest construction companies in Ireland (safety officer) and its very seldom he does overtime, he works closely with the project managers throughout the country and very few need to work beyond their scheduled hours but the last company he worked for was a much younger company with quite a young workforce and honestly one of the reasons he left was he felt the directors/managers pressured the staff to work unpaid overtime (not the trades on the ground but anyone office based), the staff were being sold a 'show their loyalty and help build the future' bullshit which impacted on their chances of promotion, husband didn't stay there very long. It really depends on the company but I don't think it's as normal or as expected as it was a few decades ago. I'd be just as wary of the 'bring your whole self to work' that's creeping in to some places.

Honestly this is an impossible question to answer without knowing the sector you’re in and your level of seniority.

I work in finance and sometimes work over my contracted hours but it is rare enough. I am however senior enough that I am in control of my workload and my diary and can structure what I need to do within those hours.

I do think there is a trend in the younger generation towards better work life balance, which is no bad thing. It can be very company specific however.

Thanks both. @Mudflaps My partner works in construction so it's a relief to hear it isn't your husband's experience as it is similar for him in the UK and would not like to move towards something with more time demands or more stress.
@TheRulerofThings Also good to hear that you believe it is industry specific rather than an Irish work culture norm. I work in digital/Telco project delivery. Appreciate there will be differences between companies but wanted to check on general culture.

I work for a company in Galway. I work remotely. Finishing time is 5:15pm but it's not unusual to stay 15 minutes longer to finish something. That applies to PMs and everyone. In general people do finish on time

I work in marketing in an office setting and occasionally stay 15-30 minutes longer to tie up loose ends. Very occasionally put in an hour or 2 in the evenings if a project is at crunch point and needs it.

My last job was fully remote and I had to do 10+ hours to get through my workload on a daily basis, which is one of the main reasons I left in the end.

It definitely depends on the sector and company you work for.

I work in fintech for UK company and have also done consultancy for two years in an Irish office part time.
Irish company had much more of a work to live attitude. Out the door at 5. Proper 60 minute luch. Very social, considered rude to eat on your own, everyone gathered to chat.
They worked more intensely but used the hours wisely to avoid overtime, I found.
I loved it, to be honest. More cursing, less corporate speak, more down to earth and any nonsense or bull shit was called out.

Love to hear about using the time effectively. That is what I am all about. Used to drive me crazy when people work long hours but alot of the time was spent chatting around the office or on non productive activities. A bit of this happens everywhere and there is a time for social chats but maximising efforts is what it is all about.

I know this is a week old.

I'm an accountant, when I started out in 2013 as a trainee over time was absolutely expected without fail. I had colleagues that I think saved up their work to send out emails at 9pm.

I'm not sure if the culture has changed or is it because I have moved into more industry roles, as opposed to working in a practice but that is not my life anymore.

My previous 2 jobs people seemed to leave at 5pm, one place even kicked you out the door so they could lock up. The place I am now is fully WFH and I would say 99% of the time I stick to my working hours which are 9-5 occasionally a bit of OT might be needed but nothing substantial. The 2 occasions I was needed to do a lot in the 3 years I've been in the company I was given a full day off.

My first job straight out of college in investment banking had a very 'OT' culture as well even though we were just back office staff not stock brokers or anything!

I think in general most people I know now in their 30s have a much better work/life balance compared to our 20s but if that is us aging and demanding better standards or a shift in culture I can't be sure. Bit of both I'd say.

I've work in software development all my career. I spent almost 12 years working in Dublin, for two well known multinational companies. Overtime was very much the norm in the teams I worked with. 50 hours per week minimum, and the expectation to be always available. But salary and conditions were very good (as is typical with these companies), and there was a lot of flexibility. Working in England the past 2 years, in a similar role, and I really do notice the difference. Here there is less expectation of overtime, and a more relaxed and casual approach (it's not a company difference, since it's the first company I worked for in Ireland, and I'm working regularly with devs based in Dublin).

Commuting in Dublin, it also suited me sometimes to start super early or work much later too. Luckily I was in a position where we could manage childcare (DH worked close to home/school).