Long hours culture

[Ideasplease322]

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?

I also work in finance.

Yes, the hours can be long, at certain times of the year (eg the final stages of the audit, before the accounts are signed). However...

The only people who go on about working long hours are the type who aren’t that good, and who have seized upon ‘but I work REALLY LONG HOURS!” as the thing that will make them stand out from the crowd. It doesn’t work: they just sound like whingers.

I haven’t put you in that category. You say that you have been recently promoted and that the culture can be a bit gung ho. It is not unreasonable of you to give it your best shot for the first six months of a promotion, to show that you are up to it. Which probably means longer hours during that period. New roles in finance have steep learning curves. I bet that six months in, you’ll be more confident and able to scale back your hours.

In other words, give it six months and ignore your colleagues’ protestations about 18 hour days. Have confidence in yourself. Good luck.

What were your hours like pre promotion?
I work in finance (accountant in a bank) and some jobs are ridic hours.

I changed jobs recently (internal)and have had to put my foot down hours wise. I decided a couple of years back I’m not going to push for promotion anytime soon as I can’t face the long hours, my husband already works long hours and I don’t get how family life would work if I did as well. Honestly it’s just not for me and probably many others but some people are super keen as they want the success that often follows when you are seen to be the person that will do anything for the job.

Try and not compare to others, I wish zoom couldn’t show your “status” as that makes me feel worse about finishing up at 5 and then checking emails a few times and seeing everyone else still online.

@Orangeboots

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.

This sounds really grim are you actually happy?

From Feb - June last year I worked 16 hours a day 7 days a week, due to COVID. I absolutely fell over after 4 solid months of it and my boss made me take a week off. I’d have done myself permanent damage had she not.

On the upside, whilst the ups and downs of COVID have led to some long hours working, it is now shared out and breaks enabled in the planning to allow us to recover.

People do work these hours - I am also in finance and have been working these hours - mostly 7 days a week, often getting up at 5am to get an early start, then fitting everything I need to do in around work (I work from home permanently and have done for years), neglecting myself and any selfcare, relying in DH to do all the cooking and shopping, teens mainly take care of themselves, and I would then be working after tea until far too late.
My time tracker shows me I have been doing 60-75 hour weeks. And that is just the chargeable time - that doesn't include stopping for a wee or a coffee/lunch break.
Just before christmas I had a mini stroke which I am quite sure is my fault for working like this and not taking care of myself.
I am going back to work soon, but short days only and I will never work like that again.
Just don't do it. The busier you are the more work people give you. Do the important stuff and if you cannot get it done on time, miss the deadlines you can miss. Obvs in the new job, there is an argument for putting in the graft in the early days, but I bet you are marvellous enough to shine without doing a 12 hour day.
Take care of yourself.

sounds normal for city traders which might be what OP means

There's a reason why cocaine use is so prevalent in the city.

You're right, it's a stupid way to work. But in city industries like finance you basically take the money and the company owns you. It's up to you whether you can stomach the impact on your life balance.

@Plussizejumpsuit We are happy, but some days it can be quite a strain on dh and I worry about his health. He aims to work 60 hours or less a week. In busy times it's closer to 80 hours.

It wasn't meant to be like this - long story but the person who dh set the business up with changed their priorities 3 months into starting the business, and then it was a series of broken promises and finally we had to tell them the game was up - which takes a bigger toll on your mental health than working 80hours a week. Anyone who has started a new business and has staff to look after will know what an uphill struggle it can be - dh had never intended to do it alone.

We hopefully have two new team member joining us in the spring - one of them has been recruited to take the load off dh - that will hopefully make all the difference but I never had expectations of my dh working 9am-5pm...maybe when he has retired! 😂

OP I doubt people are at their desks the whole time. I work in an industry with long hours but for me that means doing 8am-6:30pm then having a break and going back for 8:30pm-11pm (or later). It’s crap and unsustainable but I wonder if that’s more like what your colleagues are doing? Instead of working the whole time through.