Anyone else think the work-day is too long?

[purplebelle]

I work 8:30am-5:00pm Mon-Fri.

I leave the house at 7:20am and get home at 6pm (longer hours if I have to drive over taking the train).

By the time I get home, I'm too tried to do much else than eat, watch a little TV and go to bed.

During the slow periods, I'm sitting at work basically doing nothing (posting on disboards, ha). I wish when it were slow I was able to go home early but this isn't allowed.

I'd rather work 4 days a week (longer days, like 8am-7pm) if it meant I could have the entire Friday off.

Why do we work these hours?! I know many people have it worse than I do, but it continues to irritate me how long the work day is...

 

[lisajl]

Hey, I am right there with you! I am not sure who came up with this basic work schedule but it stinks!

 

[KandD]

I was JUST having this conversation this morning!! I think it bothers me more in the summer but today has been sooo slow at work and all I can think about is all of the things that I need to get done at home!

I would LOVE to have one weekday off a week to get things done. I have a parttime job too which is two nights a week and a few Saturdays a month. I just started it about a month ago and I already see my housework slipping.

But I totally agree, by the time I get home at night I am ready for a glass of wine and some TV and not much else!!

 

[princesspiglet]

I am so with you on this. I work from 8-5 and have to take a 1 hour lunch break. I could get all of my work done in about 3 hours, so the other 5 I am doing nothing (except for dis'ing). I think it is a waste of my time and company money that I get paid to sit here all day and basically just stare at the computer and plan my next Disney trip.

 

[jagmom]

I completely agree!

 

[edandcolleen1995]

Well considering how many people are out of work, doubt you will get any sympathy that you can sit around you job posting on disney boards..

 

[purplebelle]

I have a parttime job too which is two nights a week and a few Saturdays a month. I just started it about a month ago and I already see my housework slipping.

I have a part time job in addition to my full time job as well. I work Friday nights and Saturday afternoon time. It's hard to be motivated to do housework with the little free time I have.

Of course I'm grateful for my job -- but sometimes it's kind of a sad realization that we go to school all those years, study all those courses and end up sitting like a lump in a chair to fill in the last hour of the day or whatever.

 

[KandD]

I have a part time job in addition to my full time job as well. I work Friday nights and Saturday afternoon time. It's hard to be motivated to do housework with the little free time I have.

Of course I'm grateful for my job -- but sometimes it's kind of a sad realization that we go to school all those years, study all those courses and end up sitting like a lump in a chair to fill in the last hour of the day or whatever.

I do feel lucky to have a job as well but same as you I went to school for a long time and everyday around 3.30 everything winds down and I still have an hour and a half to sit here and think about everything else that I need to be doing!

I have always had part time jobs but this one is the first one that is taking up so much time, time will tell how well I can manage!

 

[GeorgeG]

Interesting thread. Every job is different and a lot of the responses seem to make sense if you are the employee, but maybe not so much for the employer.

For those who complain that they can get all their work done in just a few hours a day, or a few days a week, an employer might wonder if they need to pay you for a full 40-hour week.

For those who would rather work four 10-hour days a week instead of five 8-hour days, that could work for some employers, but many companies are a 5-day operation, not to mention those that operate 24/7.

Add in a long commute to any job and it raises the question of why you live so far away from the job. Of course, there are many good reasons for living where you choose, but they are not really the employers' problem. Also, shorter commutes mean shorter workdays, less cost in commuting, and a much "greener" environment.

I was responsible for scheduling a lot of employees for shift and scheduled jobs and it was impossible to make everyone happy. There were also union contract constraints that didn't seem to matter if the union employee could be off when they wanted.

For what it's worth, the 8-hour workday and 5-day workweek came about as an improvement over long hours of work, usually six days a week. Some nice overtime guidelines also came out of that change.

I like the schedule I have now, though... retirement!

 

[Chicago526]

Well considering how many people are out of work, doubt you will get any sympathy that you can sit around you job posting on disney boards..

I think the point is that it's a shame that employers can't be more flexable with work hours and just seem to stick with the 9-5 M-F standard regardless of the actual working paterns of their employees. I don't think the OP or other posters are looking for any sort of sympathy. Being grateful for being employeed these days goes without saying! It doesn't mean that no one is allowed to vent a bit about their job.

 

[Handbag Lady]

I would kill for the hours of the OP.

I work 8:30 am to 6 pm. My drive is a half-hour each way. I carpool with my husband and his office location is two miles from mine the OTHER way from home.

Getting to work is no problem. But leaving, OY. I leave at 6 pm, get to his work at 6:20 pm (I have to navigate the parking garage and traffic) and we're not home until 7 pm most nights.

 

[swandiverpatt]

Okay:

Leave house at 7:00, 26 mile drive to work
Work: 7:45-4:45/1 Hour lunch

If I do any shopping, it's done on the way home. Otherwise, I get home around 5:30 or so.

In my "previous life," I drove probably 8 miles to work, filled my car every 2 weeks, worked 8-5 with an hour lunch.

But ... my big benefit is that I get to drive through/around the Magic Kingdom on my way to work -- and yesterday was behind a truck carrying a new teacup to Fantasyland.

 

[sbell111]

Why do we work these hours?!

They pay us.

 

[princesspiglet]

Interesting thread. Every job is different and a lot of the responses seem to make sense if you are the employee, but maybe not so much for the employer.

For those who complain that they can get all their work done in just a few hours a day, or a few days a week, an employer might wonder if they need to pay you for a full 40-hour week.

I get this and I wonder myself why my company pays me to sit around doing nothing for 5 hours a day. I have asked my boss numerous times to just pay me the actual hours I work. I will come in and get my job done and then leave. He won't do that. He wants me to stick around "just in case" someone needs me. So, I sit here and Dis and surf the internet, which he knows all about. I've given him the option of cutting my hours, but he won't do it.

 

[lspst8]

I hear you, OP. And I even get to work four 10 hour days. I was at work at 6:30am this morning and I have to stay until 5pm. (And I'm working 1 hour of over-time today, so I don't get to leave until 6pm!) And I have a 1 hour commute, so this Friday is great

I do like the 4 day week --- I take Wednesdays off, so it is really like working 2 mini-weeks. Thursdays always feel like Mondays to me. I just wish I could work from home. I basically write all day, and my office phone never rings, so I really could be doing this in PJs at home or relxing at Barnes and Noble.

 

[purplebelle]

They pay us.

Duh.

I don't understand the need for long days, 5 days a week. It just seems so uniform across so many companies.

And for a PP who wrote that I am disappointed by the lack of flexibility in companies, YES, YES, YES!!! That's exactly where my frustration comes in.

My boss makes quadruple what I make and called the office to say he'd be coming in late one morning b/c his wife is working from home with a conference call so he had to watch the dog. !!! Meanwhile, my co-worker comes in 5 minutes late here and there and he's on her like a bloodhound (well, when he's in the office on time before her -- 50% of the time).

I hope people are happier at their jobs... I've started looking for a new one and appreciate, for the most part, what I have.

I just want something more fulfilling. Is that so wrong to long for?

 

[purplebelle]

I like the schedule I have now, though... retirement!

Oh, wise one... tell me retirement is still a possibility for us Gen Y-ers! I put away 15% of every paycheck into a 401k and max out a Roth IRA every year. Is there any hope for us non-pension-ites?

 

[Uuaww]

I am in my first job out of college. I work 6 days a week, 8-4. I work an average of 1 hour of OT a day. Plus I have to go back to work for an hour twice a week between 8pm and 10 pm.

 

[kirbsam]

to op. you want a shorter work day, and then say you want to work longer days 4 days per week? huh?

 

[S. C.]

2 yrs ago I was working 6 and 7 days a week 11 hour days.