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Original poster

Long hours culture

34 replies

Ideasplease322 · 03/12/2020 20:50

I have recently been promoted and am struggling with the hours.

I work an eleven to twelve hour day, five days a week and then a few hours at the weekend.

Colleagues at my level will always work longer than 9-5 And I have not problem putting in extra hours - but there is always talk about 15 or even 18 hour days.

I cannot do this, it is simply not possible for me. Yes once or twice, but not every day. At the end of a twelve hours infront of the computer I am beat, my head aches and I am stressed. The concentration is gone.

I dont understand how people can have any type of private life if they are really working these hours every day?

Are they lying? And if so why? It puts me under incredible pressure. I am sitting here exhausted after working 6am to 6pm. And work has called twice since 8pm.

Am I just not cut out for this?

OP posts:
hillarypcof · 03/12/2020 20:54

Hi OP.
What field of work are you in?

Original poster
Ideasplease322 · 03/12/2020 20:55

Finance

OP posts:
Temporary1234 · 03/12/2020 20:58

It’s not a balanced way to live so it’s up to you.

If it seaps into your personal and private hours then I would look into whether I love the job enough to consider it a hobby or not! And whether I’m able to juggle it with other responsibilities if there is a relationship/childcare/care ...

By the looks of it, this job isn’t your hobby. And you are feeling invaded. So probably need to do something about that

ZolaGrey · 03/12/2020 20:58

Nobody, not even Beyoncé, works flat out for 18 hours a day 5 days a week and is consistently productive in that time. It's not possible as humans. You'll end up with an ulcer.

This weird culture we have of rolling our eyes at people who are maniacally busy all the time is absurd. 15-18 hour days are not ok.

Quite aside from the questionable demands of that amount of working time, it's also got some fairly questionable patriarchal undertones. It's not possible to raise a family and work those hours, so it's mainly men with a partner at home to do everything else who end up in these positions.

NaturalStudy · 03/12/2020 21:05

Lots of places do have that culture and you just need to decide whether its for you or not. Some do it for a few years for the £££ but its absolutely up to you to say you rather do something else with you life. If you do decide to stay, remember to work smart and be in it for you, not for your employer.

Original poster
Ideasplease322 · 03/12/2020 21:10

Actually the 18 hour day claim was for a women. Also the 15 - 16 hour claim was a woman.

It’s a male dominated industry, but the men seem more confident to say they are doing the school run, going for run or finished for the evening,

I think the women must be exaggerating. Even 15 hours means starting at 7am and working straight through to 10pm. Every day.

OP posts:
vodkaredbullgirl · 03/12/2020 21:12

I work 12 1/2 hours 3 nights a week other weeks it 4 nights. Thought that was enough hours.

isolationhelp23 · 03/12/2020 23:18

It’s a male dominated industry, but the men seem more confident to say they are doing the school run, going for run or finished for the evening

So do you have a greater workload than these men. Or less flexibility?

I have a role with a long hours culture. I will take calls late in the evening and any work that is needed.

However have two under 5s and still do about 50% school / nursery runs and will take a long lunch in the middle of the day and go to the gym or do a food shop. My personal and work life are not separate but I'm ok with that, e.g. will happily work on a Saturday evening if needed. if DS has a swimming lesson on a Tuesday afternoon I'll just take him and return the missed calls later. They don't clock watch / I don't clock watch. But I do have to constantly be available pretty much.

isolationhelp23 · 03/12/2020 23:21

So basically I can start work at 7am and send a final email at 11pm, but by no means have I been working continuously. That's unsustainable and would be an absolute one off

Original poster
Ideasplease322 · 03/12/2020 23:30

Isolation

I am still finding my feet so probably take longer.

But my question is are colleagues lying about these extreme hours?

An 18 hour day, even with no commute if wfh, means six hours to sleep, shower, eat, relax, watch tv, and acknowledge the kids. The lady who claims this has three young teens at home.

Even a 15 hour day - if every day - doesn’t leave much time to sleep and have a semblance of a life. I sleep For about six hours, add an hour for dinner and breakfast, half an hour for showering and washing hair.

So an hour and a half a day to cram in family time, relaxation time, tidy house, wash clothes, nip to the shop etc.

How is that possible?

OP posts:
Snog · 04/12/2020 08:58

It's a choice OP and I would find another job if I were you.

Orangeboots · 04/12/2020 09:54

Dh is currently working from 5am to 9pm every day (he will take calls from clients or staff at anytime) - we're busy, really busy atm. He'll probably need a few power naps to get him through that and hopefully we'll get out to walk the dog, he'll try to take one day off a weekend. I agree with a previous poster we have a blended work life balance in our house. I work from I get up to about 8pm but I'll be attending to other things during the day - the kids are both doing A levels this year so their pattern is similar to ours. Dh has always worked long hours - he says people who don't, just don't get promoted.
We don't expect our staff to work these hours unless we are up against a client deadline and then we'll tell them to take some time of in lieu.

beguilingeyes · 04/12/2020 09:57

I spent most of my life in banking and the hours were horrible, but I was single and had a lot more energy then so it didn't bother me too much. It did get to me in the end and I got out.

FusionChefGeoff · 04/12/2020 11:36

Your posts are really focussed on what other people a d saying they are doing. Which is kind of irrelevant really.

What hours are YOU doing?

Are you getting your work done in that time?

Are you happy that it's sustainable for you?

Is your manager aware of the situation?

If you give us a bit more info on your personal situation it might be easier and stop comparing yourself with others who may well be lying through their teeth!!

Original poster
Ideasplease322 · 04/12/2020 18:23

I suppose I am focused on others because they keep referencing these incredibly long hours that I’m not working.

I work 7am to around 6pm or 7pm. Then maybe another hour or so before bed. Then four or five hours at the weekend.

I am struggling to keep up - but to be honest I don’t want to work longer hours than this routinely. I have worked through the night a few times to meet a deadline - and am happy to every so often. But I realise than 70 hours a week is probably my max if I want to maintain my mental health - and any sort of life.

My manager tells me I am putting too much pressure on myself. Then he rings me at 7am on a Saturday morning😂.

OP posts:
Nhsisfucked · 04/12/2020 18:37

I just don’t get it, nobody’s life is so worthless that they want to spend 70 hours a week at work. Miss your kids grow up, get ill, have no life and ultimately you’ll end up depressed with mental health issues. I get the odd contract means you work over at times but if a company needs people to work 70+ hours a week they simply need more staff!!

Orangeboots · 04/12/2020 18:42

@Ideasplease322

I suppose I am focused on others because they keep referencing these incredibly long hours that I’m not working.

I work 7am to around 6pm or 7pm. Then maybe another hour or so before bed. Then four or five hours at the weekend.

I am struggling to keep up - but to be honest I don’t want to work longer hours than this routinely. I have worked through the night a few times to meet a deadline - and am happy to every so often. But I realise than 70 hours a week is probably my max if I want to maintain my mental health - and any sort of life.

My manager tells me I am putting too much pressure on myself. Then he rings me at 7am on a Saturday morning😂.

Dh put a limit at 60 hours per week and if he worked more he took time off in lieu - not sure how anyone can keep that up. Protect your mental health - easier said than done I know.
Original poster
Ideasplease322 · 04/12/2020 18:46

I feel like I am letting the side down. I get to seven o’clock and I am exhausted, my work is full on, fast paced, high pressure and at times intellectually demanding. It’s Also quite a toxic environment, so you can’t show any weakness.

Maybe it’s not the career for me!

OP posts:
RainbowMum11 · 06/12/2020 02:43

I remember having a conversation with my boss about 20 years ago about the level of my pay rise that year - he said 'but your always leave on time at 5.30' to which I replied 'that's because I work hard and efficiently during the working hours so that I can leave on time'.

I got the salary increase.
Longer hours don't = better work.

elldog6 · 01/01/2021 20:56

Hi OP. I'm an accountant who's worked in practice and in industry. I have never worked more than 7.5 hour days in practice (time sheets are a godsend for this!) and in industry I worked as a finance manager and usually worked 8-9 hours a day. I'd say it's the job not the industry so if you enjoy the work, look for somewhere else!

Just think, if you're paid salary equivalent of £15ph for 8 hour days then increasing it to 10 hour days drops your hourly salary to £12. Worse, 12 hour days would be equivalent hourly salary of £10...

topcat2014 · 01/01/2021 21:22

If you were to die someone would be in your seat before your funeral.

Is it financially worth it?

elldog6 · 01/01/2021 21:24

@topcat2014 I saw someone on LinkedIn post about company loyalty being pointless because if you died they'd replace you in 2 weeks so I completely agree with you!

sally067 · 02/01/2021 17:22

Unfortunately working long hours is a very British thing and some people really get a buzz from it, there are a lot of people out there who actually thrive being in work mode and work is almost a hobby to them.

Of course, many organisations are happy for their employees to do this because it saves them money and they don't have to recruit anyone else to do the extra work. It also becomes embedded in the culture so that others suffer as they feel they have to do the same. Another win for the company.

My boss is one of those that loves working, I don't think she'd actually know what to do with herself if she was unable to log on outside of working hours. She's one of those always doing something associated with work. The worst thing is she moans about it and makes out that she's a martyr but being senior she could quite easily stop and much of the extra work she does isn't actually necessary.

There isn't a lot you can do. Once presenteeism is embedded in a workplace it's very hard for it to change without senior management actively telling people off for overworking and looking down on it like they do in Germany and other parts of Europe. Unfortunately Britain is very different when it comes to work.

I would look for a new job and try to find out the organisational culture when going for jobs - you can usually gauge from Glassdoor or senior employees Linkedin pages.

whatisforteamum · 02/01/2021 17:45

I'm a chef.until recently I was up at 7 did the chores then worked 930 until 1030pm 5 days a week for over three yrs.
I was 35 hour weeks with dc so used to not much free Time.
Long hours in a physical job I had no life but I loved it even on my days off I received texts.
Now I've been on furlough on and off I realise I can look after myself and go for walks and see the pple I live with

At 54 I won't be returning to such long days.
It is up to you though especially if u are paid hourly.

BlusteryLake · 02/01/2021 17:52

I think you need to look at what you want from a job, and how much you are willing to compromise on that/trade off against other areas of your life. It sounds like the culture of your current workplace is not compatible with your work/life balance requirements. I am always amazed that some people are willing to work these hours, but that's because they are prepared to make work their number one priority. Personally, it isn't mine, so I have sacrificed career progression in order to work part time.