40 Hour Work Weeks
Posted by MMAHipster@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 155 comments
How many of you have ever worked 40 hour work weeks? Thinking back, I did for maybe three or four years in my late teens/early 20s. I hit management (retail) when I was 22 or so and it’s been 50 - 60+ ever since. With never more than a half hour (unpaid) lunch break ever since. I’m lucky enough to be a small business owner now and even though I regularly work 12 hour work days and some stretches of 7+ days without a day off, at least all the work I put in goes toward my bottom line and not to some rich CEO asshole.
MMag05@reddit
21 years in the USAF working CyberSecurity. Recently retired from it and transitioned to doing the same thing as a federal employee. When I joined the military my only caveat was if they wouldn’t let me into cyber or medical I wasn’t joining. My father, prior Army, told me it would be the best option military wise for my mental health, schedule and family life.
With the exception of a couple week long exercise operations a year and a deployment always worked 9 hours a day with an hour lunch M-F. Paired with federal holidays off and 30 days of vacation a year. Pretty much goes for the job I’m in now except it’s 3 weeks vacation as federal employee because of military time. My dad was right and I’m glad that listened to him since I rarely ever did as a teen.
aqaba_is_over_there@reddit
I get double dipping the Mil and Civ retirement. You could make a killing working for a contractor.
MMag05@reddit
My wife and I talked about it. It came down to a few factors though. One nothing was immediately available in our location. We moved a lot through my career and my wife sacrificed a lot of her career and had to say goodbye to numerous friends holding down the fort and supporting me.
She has a solid job now where we’re at that she really enjoys and makes great money along, with a good group of friends. If we moved she’d have to start all over again. Me myself I’m tired of moving as well and just want to establish roots. Heavily weighted as well was our kids as moving is hard on them as well with friends and school.
On the government side I had an easy way in as a direct hire, via networking, at the same location I retired out off. I grinded while in and was pretty much handed the job on retirement because of my work ethic. My supervisor is also super relaxed about the hours so long as I put in my 8. Gives me plenty of flexibility for bringing the kids to school, attending events of theirs or taking care of personal business. Can’t find that same flexibility with contracts.
Last it was just stability. I’ve seen numerous contracts terminated or manning cut on them over the years to feel confident taking on work as one. Pair that with all above and add that I get 21 days vacation is why I went the route I did. Sorry for the long post to essentially say sometimes it’s not all about the money.
Geechie-Don@reddit
Retired Coast Guard and there was no such thing as a standard work day lol. I remember detecting/chasing/catching/detaining drug traffickers and that op lasted damn near 30 hours. That was one of many. I did go to the AFSNCOA when I made 7, great times. I always recommend USCG or AF 😎
MMag05@reddit
I’ve had some Coastie friends over the years and they always had demanding work schedules. Almost all of them though always seemed to really enjoy it. Unlike my Sailor friends who are always salty no matter the situation. I’d agree USCG or AF are the way to go. Probably even at the USSF now seeing it’s mostly all prior AF for the leadership and hosted on prior AF bases. From one vet to another thanks for your service.
Geechie-Don@reddit
Same to you brother! Be safe out here.
ClimtEastwood@reddit
Damn other than vacations I think I have worked over 40 since I was 19. I don’t really know anything else though.
Inevitable_Pride1925@reddit
I’m a nurse I’m scheduled 40 hours 2x12 and 2x8. My target goal is to put in about 40 hours a month of OT.
Due to being a single parent and how my week is structured I generally have limited days to pick up that overtime so more often I manage about 20-30 hours a month. But I have about 400 hours of paid time off between sick time and vacation each year.
So between PTO, scheduled hours, overtime, and call. I maybe work an average of 45-48 hours a week.
cloudydays2021@reddit
I worked 37.5 hours/week for some time, then shifted to a different position in that same company and was expected to work 50+ hours/week, not taking a break, etc. Honed my skills there for a few years and jumped ship to a company that has work/life balance listed as one of their benefits and they live up to it 100%. Four day workweek, three day weekends every week as long as our work is complete. I’m American and so is the company but it truly feels like I work for a European business with the way we are treated. It’s awesome.
jschmalfuss@reddit
4 day work week is the dream.. my union proposed moving to a 4 day 10 hour shift schedule instead of the standard 5 8's, it got voted down and it wasn't even close.
cloudydays2021@reddit
Ugh, sorry to hear that. I can’t believe it wasn’t even close! Do the majority of your fellow union members skew a bit older? I find that older people get really hung up on the five day workweek thing. As if the same amount of work, packaged into fewer number of days, isn’t of the same value.
I got chewed out by a relative about my work schedule. It was embarrassing for them.
Rat_Master999@reddit
Only for the last 25 years or so...
heaven_and_hell_80@reddit
Yeah, it's about 21 years straight for me. I did have a few months where I had to provide care for a relative, when I was able to work part time remote, but that's about it.
DirtyPuppyToucher@reddit
After getting used chewed up and spit out by all these companies that think you should bend over backwards. I will never work more than my 40 on salary. If someone has a problem with it, they can pay OT. Salary isn't supposed to be 'work at a lower rate of pay' because you will do more but we aren't paying more.
jschmalfuss@reddit
I'm supposed to work 40, I get paid for 40.. I've been barely putting in 35 and no one seems to notice
poofyhairguy@reddit
Yup, I say all the time I have a European work schedule (around 32 hours a week).
That has limited my earnings, but honest fuck doing the boomer thing of working 50+ hours a week to stack up some pile I might never get to spend before I die. I would rather enjoy every day a little more.
I mean nothing against OP, but this is where I lean more Millenial and less Gen X. Saw too many old men work like dogs their whole like and die like two years into retirement only for their heirs to spend all that "hussle" on something stupid like a second house or a bass boat.
Helgafjell4Me@reddit
Same here. I'm salary, 40 is the expectation, but I shave some off being late in the mornings and leaving a couple hours early on Friday. I don't clock in or out, so no one is really tracking it, and my boss doesn't mind cause I get my stuff done.
sambashare@reddit
Do you come in through the side entrance so Lumberg can't see you?
KarisPurr@reddit
Same
explosiveburritofart@reddit
Same here
imfirealarmman@reddit
This is the way. I always make 40hrs and work somewhere between 35-40. Not my problem they can’t find enough things for me to do, or I’m good e ouch that I finish a 4 hour task in two hours.
aftershave_cabinet@reddit
Same. I have a sort of "on call for emergencies" for those other 5 and there's only been 2 emergencies in 6 years.
BillPaxton4eva@reddit
Tell me about it. I might work 20 of my 40 and people seem perfectly happy with my results. Not rocking the boat.
karma_aversion@reddit
Dang, your username made me sad. I miss him. :(
albauer2@reddit
Same.
Odd-Improvement-1980@reddit
Former federal government employee here. 40 hours meant 40 hours. Overtime was paid if you did more than 8 hours on a given day.
I used to work as a chemist and, by the nature of what I worked with, I couldn’t take my work home. It was great.
Traditional_Entry183@reddit
Most of the time.
I was promoted to a management position in my mid 20s where the expectations were around 45 hours. I'd been there four years, knew people who were already in that role, and trusted that it should be about that most of the time.
Unfortunately almost immediately after getting promoted and transferred, the company did a major restructuring which was awful for all employees, many were laid off, and I ended up being required to work 50-60 and sometimes more, with zero OT. Oh and they also ended bonuses completely, which had typically been very significant.
After two years of this, I decided I couldn't live that way, and requested another transfer and a demotion, and accepted the pay cut that came with it, because it was an hourly position, and I'd either go home at 40 or get paid time and a half.
BigT_TonE@reddit
Last year I started working 32 hours a week and I love it, dont want to go back to 40 either.
Educational_Resist42@reddit
I’ve been working in IT support for 20 years, never worked more than 40 hours a week.
Top-Web3806@reddit
I’m hardly even hitting 40
MrsEmilyN@reddit
I worked 40 hour weeks until late summer 2023.
I now work 32 and will never go back to full time.
Wrong-Jeweler-8034@reddit
I made the mistake of going into teaching - I have no idea how many hours I work but is way more than 40 unfortunately. There’s a lot of grading and lesson planning that happens evenings and weekends. Sure, I could use exactly whatever I did last year but each year is a different set of learners so that’d be doing them no favors. As a society we’ve allowed the 40 hours a week boundaries to be completely destroyed.
Zestyclose_Goal2347@reddit
Just curious, can you use AI to help with grading and lesson plans? I'm always curious to see how it can be used to make our lives easier. And for evil haha
jschmalfuss@reddit
It starts with grading papers, ends with the machines taking over.. I've seen too much sci-fi to think it'll happen any other way
TechnicalEntry@reddit
Not arguing that it’s a tough job, but you do get the summer off right?
Wrong-Jeweler-8034@reddit
We don’t get paid for it - and some of us don’t get it off entirely. Curriculum work etc. Plus if we didn’t have the time off we’d all quit. Schools can be toxic places to work and kids are draining. I had a different career before this and now I understand why we need summers off.
madogvelkor@reddit
I remember seeing one of my teachers selling cars at a local dealership one summer... Though another would do things like go to Africa for a month over the summer so I'm not sure where she was getting her money.
Wrong-Jeweler-8034@reddit
I have a summer job too - it’s definitely a little belittling in some ways.
Some people I work with have spouses that make good money, or parents that gave them a good start (paid for college, their house etc)
Puzzled_Loquat@reddit
Same here. Tho I try not to bring work home but I get to work over an hour before I need to and get most of my work done then.
Wrong-Jeweler-8034@reddit
I keep trying that but my district is about an hour away so I definitely don’t want to go in earlier than I already do :/
Puzzled_Loquat@reddit
Definitely a difference. I have a 6 minute commute.
HotSteak@reddit
I work 70 hours every other week (7 on-7 off)
Pinkkorn69@reddit
I work 40 most weeks. Sometimes, I might hit 45, but I'm salaried and have incredible flexibility at my job. So I can come and go for appointments and such.
I had a second job for a long time for extra cash and such, and then I worked 60 - or 70 hour weeks.
As long as we get our projects and job done, our boss doesn't count time.
ExpressDevelopment41@reddit
Worked in automotive (parts/service). (\~1.5 hour commute | \~60 hours/week | 1 hour unpaid lunch | \~50k/year)
Worked "part-time" retail. (15-minute commute | \~60 hours/week (scheduled 30) | 30-minute unpaid lunch/usually interrupted | $7.45/hr)
Did IT refreshes. (30-minute commute | \~20 hours/week (scheduled 40/paid 40) | 1 unpaid hour lunch | \~$17/hr)
Moved to help desk. (\~1 hour commute | 40 hours/week | 1 unpaid hour lunch | \~$25/hr )
Became a sys admin. (WFH | 10-100 hours/week | lunch optional | \~$100k/year)
Ok_Immigrant@reddit
When I was working in the US during my wealth building years, it was normally 50-80 hours per week. Retired early and left the US. Got antsy and started working effectively part time again, officially around 37.5 hours but was closer to 20-30 hours. That was nice, but then another opportunity came to me that sounded more interesting but ended up being around 40 at first but eventually went closer to 50. And now doing remote consulting work that has blown up to 40-50. Not sure how much longer I'll be doing this. I'd like ideally just to do something part time. The common denominator with the longer hours jobs was they were either in the US, or for companies with customers in the US, or, as is the case with my consulting work now, the client is a US company.
Muderous_Teapot548@reddit
I don't work more than 40 hours unless something is down. Bottomline - this job isn't worth dying for and I don't work for free.
Inspi@reddit
40 hour weeks most weeks for the last 13 years.
Traveled for work a lot for about 6 years before that which involved truly insane hours.
Hey_Bossa_Nova_Baby@reddit
Salaried employee. Sometimes I put in 40 hrs/week, sometimes it's more like 30 hrs/wk of work + 10 hrs/Netflix. I don't think I ever work more than 40 in a week. I'm sorry that this is your reality. This sucks.
ZurEnArrh58@reddit
I've been salaried in multiple different jobs over the last 20ish years. So, I haven't worked only 40 hours in 20 years.
FreedomSquatch@reddit
As I’ve gotten older I’ve realized that I can n always make more money but I can never make more time. I’ve been trying to work less these days so I can actually enjoy life. I’m currently negotiating a new position with a 4 day work week with my company. I have no kids and me and the wife don’t have high expenses. I need time to have fun, dammit! I know that on my deathbed I will not be wishing I had worked more hours each week.
ghunt81@reddit
I've never worked more than 40, except for a stint at my old job where we had a huge project and worked several months with tons of overtime. Had a month and a half of 80 hour/7 day work weeks in there, it fucking sucked.
Wonderful-Elephant11@reddit
I’m a union millwright and I still usually only work 40 hour weeks unless I want to make some extra cash. I used to break my back with overtime, but my kids are growing up so I don’t do nearly as much.
tagehring@reddit
My dad was a union elevator mechanic, and he’d always volunteer to be on call during holidays because he got triple time if he was called out. Since his company didn’t do holiday pay or PTO (he got a “vacation check” every year where it was paid out in one lump sum), it worked out in his favor usually. I only remember him not being at a holiday once, when we got a rare snowstorm in SE VA and it took him 6 hours to get home from a call that should have taken an hour.
tl;dr RIP union bennies.
OllieFromCairo@reddit
Solidarity, dude. Union jobs rock.
tagehring@reddit
I do a solid 40, but I’m not salary. That’s due to change shortly and I expect it will go up afterwards. But I work for a company that’s actually good at work-life balance for the most part and my job isn’t the kind that really would have a lot of OT anyway, so it works.
lurker512879@reddit
some days are not as intense as others, in the less intense days i spend them coding/learning how to use gpt and learning from its mistakes - which feels like playing around sometimes.. other times shit is coming from all directions and i want it to slow down and stop.. feast or famine.
Scalytor@reddit
I am American and I've only ever worked 40 hour weeks. On extremely rare occasions I've gone up to 43 hours. I consider myself extremely lucky because I am a software developer and all through college people made it feel like 90 hours a week was going to be the norm. I work strictly 8 hour days, Monday - Friday, with ample holidays and PTO.
KiniShakenBake@reddit
I did for a hot minute when I was in the corporate world, but I've rarely been able to work that few hours in a given week. I even worked 40 hours per week during college in my last two years. It was a horrible idea, but I did it because I needed to.
My one non-negotiable was that I always had one day off every week. It's usually Saturday. I did it when I worked retail. I did it when I worked schools/swimming lessons on the side, and I do it today as an insurance agent running my own agency. I also don't answer the phone after business hours and I don't work on the weekends. I've also drawn my line at Federal holidays, because everyone else at the home office is closed, and we need time off, too.
So I shut the office down and pay my staff anyway.
Weekends are key to my sustainable practice. Absolutely key.
Taanistat@reddit
I work 45 as a mandatory minimum every week. Most weeks are more than that. Some are 60+, but that's only a couple of times per year.
And yes, I know that legally, they can't force more than 40 on me, but company culture expects it.
Moist-Rule-8116@reddit
40 hours what do you do after Wednesday?
SweaxyCatLady@reddit
At least 40 hours a week for the past 17 years. In my younger days also put in a lot of OT. As I got older, I realized that by doing so much OT I was sacrificing a lot of the precious little amount of time and energy I have to live with a good quality of life. So I try to stick with 40, no more, no less.
MaxCherry64@reddit
If Americans continue to tolerate these ridiculous hours, and see working extreme hours and make work their whole life, then it will never get better.
Mountain_Ladder5704@reddit
Eh. I don’t work 40 hours typically, but I’m very efficient at my job so I perform far better than my peers and just don’t tell my boss that info.
Username_NullValue@reddit
I’m in tech. I’m salary with an expectation to be in the office 40 hours, but we work 9 hour days and have Fridays off, and we can also work from home. I get my stuff done, everyone is happy, and nobody really “watches hours”.
Colossus-of-Roads@reddit
I mean, I haven't worked as many as 40 in a long time (I tend to hover around 37.5) but then again, I'm not American.
madogvelkor@reddit
I'm an American and that's been my standard schedule for over 20 years.
timbreandsteel@reddit
Also not American lol. I work part time, and am a sahd part time.
Morriganx3@reddit
I am US-ian, and I usually work 40 hours. There are a few specific things we do that require more hours. A few weeks out of the year, but that’s not the norm.
I also prioritize time over money, though, and I’m not professionally ambitious. So I’m not in any kind of management position and I hope never to be!
Oryx1300@reddit
Same - I am Canadian and work 35 hours a week with occasional extra hours for events or travel. But then I can take time back to compensate for that.
missworldly@reddit
Same here, between 32 and 35 hours for me. I work in corporate and manage a team of 5. Also, not American
punkdrummer22@reddit
Same here. Been 35 hrs for like 16 years now
madogvelkor@reddit
I did a bit on summer breaks in college. Then after college I worked about 50. For the past 20+ years I haven't worked over 38 though.
Then_Increase7445@reddit
I have for the past nine years. Before that it was less. The only time I worked more than 40 was when I was a seasonal wildland firefighter in college, which could be well over 100 hours a week. After college I left the states.
Round_Structure_2735@reddit
As a radiologist, I work 7 on / 14 off. During the on week, I typically work about 70 hours. It averages to around 23 hours a week.
Also have 2 kids. Even with my spouse being stay-at-home, I do a lot of transporting, cleaning, dishes, laundry, etc.
B4SSF4C3@reddit
35-40 my whole life.
BigPoppaStrahd@reddit
I’m not allowed to work past 40 hours, I’m not ALLOWED!
Seriously my job wants me out before I hit over 40 hours. Overtime is allowed if needed due to emergency work, but if the emergency work is on a Monday and I have to stay late for it, I have to cut some other day
sundayfunday78@reddit
I’ve worked 40 hrs/wk for the last 15 years or so. No overtime expected. I’m M-F too, never thought I’d be here but it works for me. No evenings, no weekends and no holidays. 3 weeks paid vacation, 5 sick days/yr. The “grown up” job I never knew I wanted lol.
Icarus_Jones@reddit
That is insane! Never work more than 40 hours for anyone other than yourself. You don't get those hours back, so unless you're getting paid more for them, you are only giving your life away to build someone else's dream.
Seriously read "Your money or your life" by Vicki Robin. It will change your perspective on the time you have left to you and what you want to spend that time on.
Civil_opinion24@reddit
I work 37.5 hours a week on paper.
In reality...it's less.
illinoishokie@reddit
40 a week average, incredibly well paid if I go over that. Union jobs are awesome.
paradisiacfuzz@reddit
I worked 40 in a week a few times. Once in the nineties I would pull 60 hour weeks but I was napping in the tall weeds for 40 of those hours. I’d weed whack till my pants got dirty so the boss wouldn’t get suspicious and then straight to “bed.” I was considered a hard worker at that job. My Mom was friends with my boss and he talked me up for a few years after I left.
Most of my life has been 25-30 hours but recently I’ve been able to whittle that down to 15-20 hours a week. I am definitely poor but debt free. I always tried to stay low for Medicaid. I’d be poorer if I worked more and paid for insurance.
Technical-Brain8294@reddit
I did... Monday to Thursday lol...then went in on Friday for OT
GimmeFalcor@reddit
I teach ….. so ten hour days ( including drive time and unpaid extra time at work for ten months) five days a week. Then two months off paid. It’s insane.
EverEatGolatschen@reddit
I actually worked more like 45 in my tweens, after that i had established myself well enough to slow down to about predictable 40. Working 9-5 as they say is not that bad. - never really been the live ot work type AND european.
I-DONT-EAT-MY-POOP@reddit
I'm a therapist so I work 24 hours a week.
No-Championship-8677@reddit
My company does 37.5 hour work weeks. But then again it’s retail so it feels like a million hours 😂
emeraldrose484@reddit
I mean, some weeks it might be more than 40 - the work need to get done and I don't want to leave it to "future me" to be stuck with it next week. Some weeks maybe slightly less as I have some days that may not be as busy or I'm not quite as focused (like right now, I'm scrolling Reddit and responding to this thread instead of doing any of the 10 things I'm supposed to).
I'm much more aware of work/life balance these days. While working from home, my laptop does not leave my home office and desk area except in very extreme circumstances. Having that separation is important.
truthrises@reddit
Yeah, you know who made sure people have 40 hour work weeks? Labor unions.
Labor unions have been much weaker during our lifetime than during previous generations due to "Right to Work" laws. Many new tech industries don't have unions even in states where they are allowed to collectively bargain.
Glass-Marionberry321@reddit
I might have done a few 40 hour work weeks in the past, if I worked extra to help out. I was considered full time at 33-34 hours 4 days a week for most of my career. Now I barely work (pick up a shift only when I want to) and stay home with my son and also help my sister take care of our mom. I worked part time for corporate dentistry for about 1 year. Awful experience and they micromanage you. Better to work for an actual dentist who owns his/her own practice.
SBSnipes@reddit
I've had 3 FT jobs:
Hotel Maintenance: scheduled 40, usually worked 45ish if I was on-call that week
Teaching: easily 50+ hours/week of work
School IT: Started 35 hours with occasional OT, then they bumped everyone to 40, still OT at beginning of school year or for projects, but mostly \~40.
HratioRastapopulous@reddit
I still maintain that the majority of office work can be done in 6 or less hours. Making people work 40 hours a week in this day and age is arbitrary.
It has adjusted down over time thanks to strong labor movements and strikes, but most jobs simply do not necessitate 8 hours in the office for the work to get done. Imagine getting off work at 1 or 2pm, how much happier you’d be.
blue-marmot@reddit
I was in the military. On deployment, it was 12 hours a day, 6.5 days a week, so almost 80.
At home it was probably always around 50.
I'm a Tech Lead Manager at a Big Tech company now, I'm sort of always working. Hopefully I'll be able to retire by 55 at least.
cwm13@reddit
I try not to work more than 40, but I'm frequently the on-call datacenter engineer for the hospital, so I have pretty frequent unpaid after hours calls. Its infuriating.
My dad was a union crane operator. He regularly worked 7/12 turnarounds for months at a time, but that was always with extra compensation. Prevailing wage + time and a half over 40, double time on Sun (and maybe Sat?) and holidays.
Illustrious_Profile6@reddit
When I started my job they would get 60 hours out of me and pay me for 40 because salary, after the pandemic and the whole work from home infrastructure (for my employer) was held together by my efforts and I decided that 40 hours was enough and they needed to pay me 40 percent more to do that.
They did. Once work from home stopped and they made us come back into the office I decided that my commute should be counted into those hours because I can do my job from home and if they want to waste my time and money with a commute they can pay for it.
CaptShrek13@reddit
I think this totally applies to whatever field you're in. I've been in construction for 17 plus years now, and it varies from season to season. Our CDL drivers are limited to 60 hours so that's pretty close to what they average during peak season. I've got some guys that haven't worked an hour for the last 2 plus weeks because of snow in Midwest. I'm lucky in my position that I average 48ish all year long.
sweet_jane_13@reddit
I worked 60-90 all through my 20s (in restaurants) and completely burnt myself out, physically and mentally. Now I'm in my 40s and can barely handle 30. It's not freaking worth it, I wish my 20yo self had known that.
shiftdown@reddit
Do you mean hours I'm on the clock or hours I'm actually working?
Lornesto@reddit
I mostly work 40 hour weeks. That's plenty enough work for me.
danceswithsockson@reddit
Mine is more reversed. In the beginning I worked at least 56 hours a week, frequently a lot more. There was a summer I worked 5am to 10 pm five days a week and another 16-20 on weekends. Now, I have trouble imagining more than 40.
Pankosmanko@reddit
My old job was 44 hours a week like clockwork, but it was four days a week so I liked it
LOTRugoingtothemall@reddit
I’m technically 9-5ish but there are times where I won’t have much to do mid-day but then I’ll have to come back on at night to get some things done. Overall probably about 45 hrs though
Baked_Potato_732@reddit
I’ve averaged 60 hour weeks for years. But I’m hourly and it’s all voluntary. Hard to turn down $55k in overtime and another $10k in on-call pay.
Abidarthegreat@reddit
Almost 3 years ago I moved from working in a hospital lab at least 40 hours a week to hospital IT.
In IT I work maybe 20-25 hours a week. More if needed, less if I feel like it. I told my boss how weird it was to not have to work as much and he told me that we are paid for our expertise, not our output. That as long as project deadlines are being met and everything runs smoothly, we can chill.
I've never been so happy at work since I used to work as a projectionist at a movie theater snoozing between shows (and I get paid 7 times more now). It's great.
christophersonne@reddit
most of my life that was the goal, but until about 5 years ago that was laughable - I have usually done closer to 80h workweeks. I burned out (I'm in software) about 5 years ago, and now I work MAX 40 hours, but honestly it's probably closer to 30, and much of that is not busy - I'm just senior enough that I can fix some things 10x faster than inexperienced people might.
Your life is short, if you're still around -stop working so much. the Grind is absolute horseshit, and you will not be on your deathbed looking back and saying "boy I wish I spent more time at work doing stuff to make other people richer".
OllieFromCairo@reddit
I'm union. If they want me to work more than my contracted hours, they have to show me the money, and I'm allowed to say "No."
ImaginationAnxious29@reddit
I work part-time and have most of my adult hood minus some occasional crunch times I had extra work. Wife stays home with kids. I own my land outright and am working on CC debt, no more student loans. Spending my time with the kids is most important, but also before kids being present and not working was gold for my mental health. Waiter at night human by day
Automatic-Pick-2481@reddit
When I first started I worked way more than 40 but that was like 25 years ago. These days I work much less than 40.
boredlady819@reddit
I work 4 10s w Mondays off. i can do everything i need to do in a few hours per week. Shhhh.
spanky_macdoogle@reddit
I’ve worked more than 40 for as long as I’ve had a “career” career. But it doesn’t bother me. I might be the only person who feels that way
Fluffy-Mud1570@reddit
I haven't worked 40 hours a week since I graduated from law school. It's more like 50 or so for me. Then again, this is also elective as I choose to work that schedule. However, I can't turn down business because life if really expensive!
CallipygianGigglemug@reddit
I'm salary IT. I rarely work 40 hours.
Rogue_AI_Construct@reddit
I only work 40 hour weeks. I’m a professional in a white collar job who works from home. Some weeks I work over 40 hours/week, but for the most time, I stick to 40.
GeetarEnthusiast85@reddit
It's varied over my career but I'm in a really good place right now. I get paid for 40 but I work more like 25ish hours. I feel like I landed a dream job. I support cloud apps for an entertainment company that hosts events like concerts and sports.
nochumplovesucka__@reddit
40 a week.
No more, no less.
I did a lot of overtime in my 20s and 30s. Uncle Sam takes the half of the time and a half you make on overtime. Totally NOT worth it in my opinion
I worked a job once where all of our overtime was paid in cash at our hourly rate (not 1½x), amd a few guys complained that we weren't getting time and a half. So the owner Tool all overtime back to payroll, in the books at time and a half. We made exactly the same as getting paid cash at our usual rate for all of the overtime.
The "half" of time and a half literally all goes to taxes. I watched how it all works in real time. Those guys were idiots,shoulda took the cash. They realized after the first check.
Helgafjell4Me@reddit
This is a common misunderstanding by people who don't understand how taxes work. You don't get taxed more if you work overtime. If it bumped you to the next tax bracket, it may have seemed that way on your check, but it all washes out at the end of the year when you do your taxes. There is no 50% tax on overtime.
R0botDreamz@reddit
Worked 30 hours a week from 10th grade all the way through college. For about 7 years I either worked or went to school or both every day. With work, class time, studying, commuting and the occasional group project I'd clock about 70-100 hours a week. 7 years!
When I graduated and got my first full time career job M-F with weekends off I had no idea what to do with my time.
mel060@reddit
I’ve been working 50-60 hours/week for most of my career. Maybe 5% of weeks I get away with 40. I’m burned out.
Shtoolie@reddit
I don’t mean to brag, but I feel like I really hit the jackpot in the job department. My work weeks average 40 hours, and I make mid six figures. I’m a lawyer.
Most lawyers work a lot more hours than I do, but I’m extremely efficient. I could also make a lot more money if I were willing to work longer hours, but the trade-off isn’t worth it for me.
KatuahCareAVan@reddit
Been working 40 since 2006.
yodellingllama_@reddit
Self-employed solo practicing criminal defense attorney. My schedule isn't completely set--my boss is sort of an asshole about consistency ;)--but I would estimate I average about 40 hours per week. If I'm in trial, it is more (sometimes a lot more, approaching 100 hours over seven consecutive days). But some weeks I'm able to come in 30 minutes late and leave an hour early and take an extra half hour for lunch lunch Monday through Friday and take of Saturday and Sunday entirely.
aqaba_is_over_there@reddit
I've been pretty standard on 40 except for one project that took about six months and I was working 50-60 hours with weekend work.
I got a bonus and I think it helped me land a promotion. I was younger and early in my career.
I know work 35 hours hours a week. We get an hour lunch and are expected to be available between 8-4.
I'm senior enough now that if I started having to regularly work over 40 hours I'd look for another job.
Helgafjell4Me@reddit
I've had my current manufacturing engineering job for 14 years and have only had to work overtime a few times. Most of the time, I probably average 35 hours as I get to leave early on most Fridays when there's no production, and I'm often 15 to 30 minutes late coming in in the morning.
piscian19@reddit
As a teen for financial reasons I always sought out jobs that paid overtime and put in as many hours as they'd give me. I'm salary now so I could tell you, it's all "emotional hours". like I get up and get on my computer and start working around 8-10 and somedays I'm burnt out and stop working around 3-4, some days I'm working until 1130 at night. Just depends on what I'm doing. I try to take an hour in between meetings to eat some food.
Ineedavodka2019@reddit
I have never worked a 40 hour work week. It has always been ft at 35-37.5 hours. Still to much as (obviously) I’m not busy.
jaqattack02@reddit
I've been working primarily 40 hours weeks since I was like 18. There will be the occasional long week, but they aren't very common.
forprojectsetc@reddit
Mostly 40 hour weeks with very occasional OT.
I’ve been hourly on almost every job I’ve had. Most companies really don’t want to pay OT unless there’s no way around it.
poodog13@reddit
My entire career.
Msheehan419@reddit
40 hours would be a vacation for me.
Intelligent_Flow2572@reddit
Hover around 35-45 depending on the week, with some outliers beyond 45.
noronto@reddit
The highest standard week I ever worked was 5x9 for a couple of years. Then I went to 4x10s (but worked overtime). Switched to 5x8 (no OT) and now I have settled in at 3x12 (no OT) and hope to never lose it.
Secure-Force-9387@reddit
I'm lucky if I get to work 40 hours. I've been in HR for 15 years and my last few companies have been start-ups, or very young companies. For the last 8-10 years, I've been one of one or a few HR people who not only has to do HR, but has to build out everything for HR. Now, I'm part of Executive Leadership, so I'm working almost around the clock.
mac117@reddit
I currently do. Got in with the country government and our union mandates we work no more than 40 hours a week. I have no complaints and am grateful
djsynrgy@reddit
I've been very lucky, so far: None of my jobs expected (or were willing to pay for,) more than 40.
That said, since commuting inexplicably remains not counted towards one's time "on the clock", there have definitely been some jobs where it was effectively 60+, when factoring in transit: At an hour each direction, 5 days a week, that's 10 hours a week; I've had many jobs where the commute was closer to two hours each way -- not because of distance, but because of traffic. 😭
jelloslug@reddit
I can count on one hand how many times I have worked over 40 hours in a week in the last 25 or so years.
CoffeeHQ@reddit
32/week, for the last… 15 years?
tallulahtaffy@reddit
I worked 50 - 60 hours/week for 10 years in the chaotic tech start-up world. Got burned out, laid off. I insisted on part-time for a year at my next job to recover. It crept back up to 40 hours.
giabollc@reddit
I used to work 40 hour weeks in the summer when I was 14 and 15. $4.50/hr.
sofa-king-loud@reddit
My normal schedule is 36 hrs one week, 48 hrs the next and that repeats. My schedule is (12hr days) work 2 days, then 2 days off, work 5 days, then 5 days off, and that repeats. I absolutely love my schedule personally.
throwawayfromPA1701@reddit
I work a 40hr work week. Don't put in extra time after that. I've never worked more than that.
VisibleSea4533@reddit
My previous career was retail management, work week was 50 hours salaried, and then went down to 45. Switched careers to a 40 hour a week office job, and for the most part that is what I work but I never say no to overtime (I’m hourly).
Dandruff83@reddit
36 for the past 18 years. 40 max when we were tight on staff.
DerangedGinger@reddit
I started at 60 hour work weeks, added in on call and then 80 hours on a big project. It broke me and now I work 40.
Admirable-Pear1752@reddit
Up until I just decided to get a second job (25yo daughter is getting married to a friend she's had for 4 years, so their engagement will be short--no time to save up for a wedding), I made it a point to ONLY work 40 hrs unless a deadline demanded it. I have 5 kids, so spending time with them is important to me.
MlsterFlster@reddit
Almost the inverse. I also hit retail management in my early 20's. The company that I worked for only had part-time employees, except for management. So when I got promoted I was working 50+ hours a week, but then they started tightening down. We lost hours, and when someone would leave we didn't replace them. At one point I was managing 30 people, 50 hours a week. And when I left it was 12 people, and was scheduled for a hard 40. Still got OT when I had to work more, but they were not happy about it.
Sweet_Priority_819@reddit
I worked exactly 40 in low level office jobs in the 00's then less than 40 in healthcare starting 2011. Rarely would I choose extra shifts that put me over 40. Usually it was 24-30/ week.
no_clever_name_yet@reddit
When I worked at a factory we were STRICTLY a 40 hour week. Five 8 hour shifts. Breaks were twice a day for 20 minutes. Paid breaks.
Unless it was busy season and then we’d work two hours a day overtime. At time and a half.
Dakkin4@reddit
I work 40 hours or more every week.
Voluntary_Perry@reddit
I spent over 20 years in the restaurant business in my younger days, never were the weeks only 40 hours. As a manager I would push 60 regularly.
3 years ago, I switched industries. I now work a real 40 hour a week job. It's absolutely incredible! Two days off in a row and they are the same days every week! You know, a weekend! I learned a lot from the grind, but I am also glad to be done with it.
Oraistesu@reddit
In my 25+ years of working, there have been a total combined maybe 5-7 years where I've worked 40 hours/week.
I've had a few 80+ hours/week jobs that I'd never do again (restaurant management), mostly 60-65 hours/week, but I'm the last 5 years, I've been 45-50 hours/week (making more money than I ever have), and I'm so much happier. Of course, I also have a 45 minute commute to work, so there's another 7.5 hours/week on the road, but I listen to audiobooks, so I've still reclaimed that as my personal time in a sense.
Advanced-Power991@reddit
was doing 40 hour weeks not that long ago till someone screwed stuff up, now we are stuck doing 58 hour weeks till the problem gets fixed, and hourly ass I refuse to work salaried
prix03gt@reddit
I'm a billable contract employee. I'm not allowed to bill more than 40 hours in a week unless I get prior approval. The only exception is if I am out on a work trip. Those trips normally involve cramming 2 months of work into 2 weeks, so those tend to be more like 60-80 hour weeks....
I worked retail when I was in college, and it was miserable for so many reasons.
TurboJorts@reddit
I'm a staff guy at a company that hires lots of contractors (its the nature of the business as most major projects run for 6-8 months). I work a 40 hour week unless there's a major crunch, and if that happens I'll bank any extra days and take them off later.
While I am a little bit jealous of OP owning their own thing and working for themselves... the GenX slacker part of me is very happy to cash a cheque and not worry about where that cash came from.
jeep_jeep_dude@reddit
I to own a small business and experience weeks were we put in 14+ hour days. Thankfully that's not a regular thing!
The rewarding parts have been not missing events with the kids, time with family, and we can schedule off say Thursday through Tuesday during slower times.
And, like you stated.... all the profits go to us and not the Warren Buffet's or Black Rock's of the world.
SoloMotorcycleRider@reddit
Over 20 years ago, I used to average 90hrs a week while going to school full-time. I somehow managed to have some semblance of a social life. I wouldn't be able to do it these days. I'm a union truck driver now and work an average of 40 to 50 hours a week, and have been on the graveyard shift with various companies since 2007.
TransportationOk657@reddit
When I worked at a factory in my youth, it was usually 40 hrs (with the occasional Saturday), but beyond that, I've always worked 50+ hrs/week. As I get older, I wish I could work less and spend more time with family and friends (or just for me/leisure time). We need a much better work/life balance in the U.S.