Work start time 9-5 POV

[MAK93]

If you are contracted to work 9-5, do you get to work for 9? Or do you get there for day 8.50 to get to your desk, then pc on & log in etc for 9?

Just interested if there is a right or wrong way when contracted 9-5 🤷🏻‍♀️

Incompetent manager suggesting you should be at work in plenty of time to be ready to start work for 9

'Incompetent manager' is correct, at least on this point. You should be ready to start work at 9.

For me, 9am start means being at my desk, computer on and logged in, phone logged in as well as necessary.

In my last job there were always huge queues for lifts to the various floors so I'd allow 10-15mins for that too.

Finishing at 5pm meant I started tying up loose ends from 4:30pm so I could leave at 5/5:15pm though if necessary I'd stay longer if necessary to finish something urgent/important or to avoid the initial commuter crush, or make the start of my next day easier.

However I was trusted and treated as an adult by my manager, so swings and roundabouts. 🌹

I start at 8.30, my first meeting is at 9. I get in at 8.28 ish, chat to my team, make a brew, log on, probably look at my emails at 8.45 then into the manager meeting at 9. It's quite relaxed here, my manager (director) gets in for 9.30 as any new information will come out of the meeting at 9. Nobody finger points if you're a few minutes late.

When I was in the office I'd aim to arrive at 8.30, which would give me some time to get a drink, and sit and relax for a little while before starting. I'd have the PC on but no actual working until 9, except maybe a cursory glance at the inbox/calendar to see if it was going to be a hectic morning.

We have to be logged on for our start time so I arrive 15 mins before

It is explicity stated that we need to be ready to start work at the contracted time and work right up to clocking off. Setting up and tidying up is in our own time.

My hours are 8-4 but in reality my days are longer. In return I have flexibility if I need to finish a bit earlier or start a bit later.
I had a team member who used to come in for 9, make a coffee and start actual work around 9.20/25 - that was taking the p and we often had words, those 25 minutes per day added up over the month. He never once worked beyond his finishing time. There’s a balance to be had.

At my first job at my local coop, the manager told me the start time mean you are ready to serve customer or start taking stock out to fill the shelves not when you enter the shop!

I always make sure I am online before the start of my hours. I am wfh/office based.

A 9 am start means you need to be ready to start work at 9 am
Not walking through the door at 9 am

@CeeceeBloomingdale

It is explicity stated that we need to be ready to start work at the contracted time and work right up to clocking off. Setting up and tidying up is in our own time.

Even Amazon sets aside time at the end of shift - before clocking off / finishing time - to tidy up the workstations etc. It is part of the work and therefore it occurs during paid working time.

Travelling to work, parking, walking to your particular workstation, putting your belongings away, getting a drink, etc when you arrive are personal activities.

Setting up your workstation, reading and sending emails, planning your work, switching on machines, listening to messages are all work activities.

Saving work, putting files away, switching off machines, tidying your workstation are all work activities.

Collecting your belongings, saying goodbye to people are personal activities.

You are ready to start work activities for your start time. If you're still doing personal activities at your start time, you are late.

It is nonsense to call people lazy for having more sense than to engage in the ridiculous overtime culture that has been created in the last few decades. Habitually working unpaid overtime without questioning why that expectation exists doesn't make you a better person or give you the right to denigrate anybody else.

When l worked for in an office many years ago..l did 8.30 till 5pm 4 days a week..l was always in by 8.15.. made a coffee ate my breakfast and messed around on internet for 10 minutes. Ready to start at 8.30
Now l work in a kitchen...we start at 7.30 we always there 15mins early we have breakfast while setting up for the day and a chat...l hate to be late for anything.

I work flexibly but we all have to record hours on timesheets - I log when I started work, not when I entered the building. Surely to start at 9 you only need to be in at 8:55? I would do this if a boss was being a pain about it.

A 9 am start means you need to be ready to start work at 9 am Not walking through the door at 9 am
@insancerre purely depends on where you work. I have flexi time so I can start at whatever time I arrive really. And the same applies to finishing times. As long as I have done 8hrs then all is good!

@wedwewerpink
That’s nice
But the op was asking about people contracted 9-5 not those working flexibly

[quote insancerre]@wedwewerpink
That’s nice
But the op was asking about people contracted 9-5 not those working flexibly[/quote]
I'm contracted to 40hrs a week, which is set shifts and a salary
My start time is 8am and I have to be on my computer and at my desk ready to start at 8am. It takes 5 mins I would say to log in so no, not paid for that. Logging out is all of 30 seconds but you are logged in until 5pm exactly

Similar to retail work, bar staff, waitressing, you need to be ready and on the shop floor for your start time

My boss often makes me late for work by calling me with requests on the way in, causing me to stop walking/take notes, no one apart from me and him know this happens and it's annoying.

So I walk in later than I should but doesn't mean I've not been working

@marieantoinehairnet

My boss often makes me late for work by calling me with requests on the way in, causing me to stop walking/take notes, no one apart from me and him know this happens and it's annoying.

So I walk in later than I should but doesn't mean I've not been working

In this situation I would consider I had started working the moment he started talking!

My contracted hours are 8-5,
I aim to get in for 8, but often arrive by 8:15, start work around 8:30

I offset this by either working through lunch or late when needed.

It’s generally seen as flexible so not a problem

Logged in and ready to start at 9am and log off at 5pm.

For me it means ready to work so get there a few minutes before.

I had a conversation with someone at the bus stop this week who was bemoaning how often the park and ride were missing out scheduled services meaning that buses were sometimes leaving every 30 minutes rather than every 15. She said her bosses were telling everyone to catch an earlier bus and she was outraged that they said that. I said nothing but I actually always aim for two buses earlier than theoretically necessary because the traffic can be bad and so can the buses. I didn't feel that was outrageous, but there are definitely different schools of thought on this. However, people who are habitually late in do get noticed for doing that.

I'm contracted from 9-6 and arrive 30 minutes before my start time. I expect my team to be ready to start at 9 and take a fairly dim view of anyone coming in at 8.59 and then faffing about getting organised. I do however not expect them to work past their finish time, when it's home time I shoo them out to go and unwind.

@HeddaGarbled

This is all work IMO. Refusing to work unpaid hours doesn't make someone lazy. More likely they respect themselves and their own time

I genuinely have never worked with someone with this attitude.

I wonder whether it’s the type of job that makes a difference. Annual salary versus hourly pay rate?

I think management attitude is an important factor.

In my previous job, which was much more relaxed, they were flexible and understanding about unforseen family commitments, willing to look at long term changes of work schedule from staff's pov as well as from their own, and to use and develop the skills of all their staff beyond the constricting boundaries of their job descriptions if it was beneficial to all involved.

My current job, same field, different organisation is very much the opposite.

Suffice to say I was significantly more flexible and obliging about my start and finish times and taking on extra work/responsibility at my last job than I am at the current one.