Working until 6pm

[peachypetite]

I work 9-6 with a one hour unpaid lunch break. Taking a shorter break and finishing earlier isn't an option. It kills me. Does anyone else have to work until 6? I hate it!

My previous job in London was 9-6, office based. Prior to that I had always done 9-5:30, so I must admit I found it hard to adjust. 40 hours a week, plus a 3 hour round daily commute is a killer.

I moved to a 9-5:30 office with a similar commute and although the hours are better, the job is not. I often regret the move.

Why are people banging on about working long hours? Yes, many many people work far and above what's expected but OP has asked about her contractual hours being 40, which, in many office settings is slightly higher than the norm. I don't think she's working a shift either, as you might in a call centre. OP I would ask why you can't take a 30 minute lunch and leave at 5:30 - are you a PA who needs to be 'available' for the people you support? Can you work from home one day a week to give the commute a break, and do a longer day to make up some time to leave earlier in the week? Or is it just not the culture to allow flexibility there, in which case I'd be looking for a new job.

I work in and office job and officially my hours are 9-5 with a 1 hr lunch. I would say a typical day for me is 8-5.30 and I am usually one of the first to leave. I have a 90 min commute each way. It is what it is - is better now I can WFH on Fridays

No Huns here - yes exactly! Mumsnet is so exasperating at times. I don't work shifts, I'm talking about bog standard office jobs! I work in a company where many colleagues are in client facing roles. But mine is not and it would not make a difference to my work if I left at 5.30. I've basically never worked anywhere where a one hour lunch break has been enforced. There are people who work from home and I used to work from home regularly in my previous job. It's not that I am afraid of hard work but it's a very long day plus the commute. So I think once my probation is done I will raise working from home once a week. My manager is never in since she lives outside of London so I don't see why she would mind.

Yes. I've noticed 9-6 is becoming almost standard. It's so bad for family life! Of course people do overtime but it's the fact there is no chance of leaving earlier than six that gets me (my dh's last two companies have been quite inflexible over flexible hours). It's too many working hours I think and how much more productive does it make peoplE?

Making people work more than their contracted hours without paying them has a term. It’s called wage theft.

People always come out of the woodwork and say they work 8 to 8 with a 90 minute commute and they can't see the problem...

I think it very much depends on the company. I have just finished working for a company where I was regulary working from 07:30 to 18:00 with a sandwich at my desk. Contracted hours were 37.5. However, I previously worked at a similar size company doing the same job in an almost identical sector and worked 9 to 5 with an hour for lunch. I did do overtime but it wasn't a regular occurrence. The difference was that the previous company were adequately resourced. The long hours is one of the many reasons I have just left my last company as, funnily enough, I have a life

Can you just work your contracted hours? If not, I would be thinking long and hard if I wanted to stay.

What do you do in your lunch hour?
do you have anywhere to go?

go to management to request a shorter lunch, dont rely on colleagues op.

I've worked in different offices for over 20 yearsand always had to work over my hours unpaid, regularly bringing work home.

Not saying that's right.

DH works 10 hrs in an office and doesn't have a lunch. With children in the mix, it can be a hard slog.

It is unfortunately commonplace. Do you have kids OP because it becomes even harder then.

I look back on when I worked 9 to 6 with no kids and it seems a doddle!

I get into work at 7.30 and rarely leave before 5.30/6 pm (education) so a 9 am start seems luxuriously late to me!
However I appreciate that the OP is talking specifically about bog standard office jobs. Tbh I would have thought If the company want 9-6 that’s because there’s a need for it. If the job could be done in a shorter day then they wouldn’t be paying people to work longer.
Seems to me it’s the commute that’s the problem, and also the fact it’s not at all flexible. If you could start at 8 and finish at 5 you might feel it’s better

Disagree that 9-6 is incompatible with having kids- as many of us have pointed out, we work as long or longer hours. You may be better off with a childminder if you’re working particularly early or late, but having said that, day nurseries usually operate long hours precisely because there’s a need to children to be dropped as early as 7.30 and/or picked up at 6.30 pm or so.

In the OPs situation I would look for a job without such a long commute as that seems the main problem. Personally I dont think the difference between 37.5 and 40 hours would be a deal breaker for me (though I appreciate I’m coming from a totally different position of working longer anyway so the OP may feel differently) If it is a deal breaker I question why she moved to this job having only worked 37.5 hours in her previous office jobs and wanting to keep strictly to those hours

I think the point is that the contracted hours are 9-6. Lots of overtime is a different issue.

If the contracted hours are 9-6 why did you apply for the job if you wanted fewer hours?
I’m a bit confused.
The company may not be impressed if you end your probationary period asking for a reduction in hours and working from home! Not that there’s anything wrong with requesting flexible working but I assume they are paying these hours for a reason so want you there for those hours.

I think if other aspects of a job seem great you think maybe the 9-6 will be ok do take the job. It's only when you start that you realise it should have been a deal breaker.

Hi OP, rather than wait until your probation period is up, why not test the water and ask if you can finish early/wfh one day next week? Put it down to an appointment or something where you need to be back. You can gauge likelihood of a longer term arrangement by the reaction. Attitudes to flexible working are messed up, as lots of the responses on this thread show. Why should your desire to WFH or flex your hours make you undesirable as an EE? For roles with no compelling reason to be physically present in an office all day, every day, it generally comes down to trust and this is sadly lacking in the majority of people. Going by what you've said about your coworkers and boss's working patterns, I think you'll be fine.

I work 9-5 with a 60 hour commute (each way). Lots of people in my office are there before 9am and are still there working away when I leave. I refuse. My contract dictates a 38 hour week, so I will only work a 38 hour week.

Don't become a martyr or a slave to your work. If it's unsuitable, speak up and see if a solution can be found, or start looking elsewhere.

tbh i think if you try finishing at 5 you will get stuck in appalling commuter congestion you may regret the decision

I’m not sure what you’re wanting people to tell you? Yes, there are other companies where the full time week is 37.5 hours, but you know that.

Your company has decided they want cover 9-6 and your contract is for 40 hours so they are entitled to. If you don’t like it, go and get a 37.5 hour job instead.

OP, I am with you.

I have no desire for work to take over my life. I know plenty of people do - but I am not one of them.

My current job is 830-430 with an hour for lunch. I am home by 445 every day.

Old job was 830-530 and I hated it. I left because they weren't offering any more money for the extra time and I definitely felt I had less time and energy for myself.

All those people saying "well, I get up at 3am and work for a bazillion hours without lunch" - more fool them.

I work in London in FE and do 9-5 with some flexibility e.g. I can come in later and take half an hour instead of an hour for lunch.
9-6 would do my head in.

It’s conveniently missing the point to try to make out that people who work longer hours are Martyrs or wage slaves.

Many of us work longer hours because we’re salaried professionals or run our own businesses.

The OP describes herself as being in a bog standard office job and is complaining about the contractual hours. But what’s not logical is why she left her previous 37.5 hours job when working 2.5 hours more each week is clearly such a deal breaker.

Neither are the rest of us unimaginative in our approach to flexible working. I’ve appointed people to work flexibly where it works for the business and doesn’t impact negatively on colleagues etc

Bottom line is, if the company want the OP working 9-6, they advertised the job as such and are paying her as such, then they understandably may not be impressed if she asks to work fewer hours the moment her probation is up!

It’s a cheap shot to accuse anyone who disagrees with the OP of being unsympathetic to flexi working, or to be obsessed with presenteeism.

I have always done 37.5 hours 8.45-4.45 in my last job, 30 mins for lunch.
Now im job huntinh having moved anf finding it impossible to find a job. Wraparound care is 7.30 to 5.30 with a 45 min commute either way. You would think i was asking for part time hours

My hours are officially 8:30 to 5:30. Normally I get in earlier. I hate it as well. I am shattered.

I'm not requesting to work fewer hours. But I resent being forced to take an hour for lunch when I would rather take 30 mins and leave at half five. It is also not the commute. My commute is normal for London. But having to take an hour lunch and finishing at six just makes it a very long day. Glad some of you understand.

I'd love your hours! I work anywhere between 7:30 am - 6 pm five days a week on minimum wage