Anyone else think the work-day is too long?

[edandcolleen1995]

Duh

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

Nope, but complaining and longing won't get you where you want to be.

Want to be the boss and have your own flex time? Then work your way up and become one.

But sitting back and longing for something won't have it delivered to you on a silver plate.

Course your current hours and being able to surf the net while at work, sure sounds like a sweet deal to a TON of us..

 

[GeorgeG]

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?

I wish I had some answers for you. There's no real way of knowing how things will go in the future, especially when your retirement is reliant on investments.

Some years ago I read an article that predicted retirement, as we know it today, will become a thing of the past after the last of the baby boomers have retired since we boomers are basically the last to retire with guaranteed company pension plans. A well-managed self invested retirement plan is becoming the only option and the key is being "well-managed," as well as how the economy goes over future decades. Only time will tell, though. Investment counselors have been telling us for years to diversify and I'm sure that's sound advice, but a part of me also favors a personal stash.

 

[bethy]

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.

ITA! If you want to work part time and have more days off then find a part time job. If you are bored and finishing your assigned work early and sitting around then you should be talking to your boss about opportunities to take on more resposibility and maybe new challenges. Or you should be offering to help others on your team.

My DH works about 1000 of OT per year and doesn't even come close to accomplishing everything at work he should or ought to. Now those are some long workdays. And yes, he acknowledges that doing this is a choice he is making.

 

[dazeddaisy]

I do have to wonder why non customer facing roles still are required to work "9 to 5". If companies allowed more flexable hours then in theory rush hour would contain less people.

 

[bethy]

One reason there are somewhat standard hours are that 1) usually for most jobs there needs to be some sort of discourse between people. So their hours need to overlap for meetings and discussions. And 2) some people need more supervision than others to make sure they are doing their work. One way to set boundaries is to have specific work hours to encourage and help ensure accountability.

Lots and lots of people keep their own schedules and have flexibility but 99% of them have earned that privilege. They've proven to their superiors that they are accountable, will do good work, will have ownership for their work product and efficiency. That they can be trusted to earn their keep.

 

[DebbieB]

I do have to wonder why non customer facing roles still are required to work "9 to 5". If companies allowed more flexable hours then in theory rush hour would contain less people.

I work for an insurance company and we have flex time. Our "core hours" are 8 to 5 (not 9 to 5) with 1 hour lunch. We have to have staffing covered during those hours. But you can come in as early as 7:00 and leave at 4:00 or as late as 9:00 and leave at 6:00. We just have to make sure we have coverage 8:00 to 5:00 (so everyone cannot work 7:00 to 4:00). There's a mix of people who come in early and some who start late so it usually is not a problem.

I'm classified as exempt so I don't get overtime. I frequently travel to do training and that involves Sunday travel, longer days, etc.

 

[purplebelle]

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

I'd like 4 long days b/c it equals 3 days off. That would be ideal in my book!

 

[purplebelle]

Nope, but complaining and longing won't get you where you want to be.

Want to be the boss and have your own flex time? Then work your way up and become one.

But sitting back and longing for something won't have it delivered to you on a silver plate.

Course your current hours and being able to surf the net while at work, sure sounds like a sweet deal to a TON of us..

Working for 8 hours with 30 minute break is not possible. No one works on their stuff without any mental breaks.

I have worked my way up well for my age so far. I've been promoted twice in 4 years with new positions and more responsibility while attending grad school full time. I believe I've hit a ceiling where I'm at.

I don't think my company offer good paid time off at all. Perhaps that's what I should have complained about in post #1.

 

[justhat]

I don't work so I can't complain, but I know my husband would kill for a job where he could surf the internet all day! He has to be at work at 5:30am everyday and gets out anywhere between 4pm and 6pm on a regular night. If he is on late call he stil starts at 5:30am, but may not come home till 3am. If it's overnight call, still 5:30am but he can't leave till 7:30am the next day. And not one moment of downtime the whole day, other than a 20 minute lunch and 1 10 minute break. If he's there past 6pm he also gets 20 minutes for dinner, but that may not be feasible till 11pm some nights. And the overnight thing, this month, has been every 3rd night. He also works weekends, for a total of 4 days off per month. No sick days allowed either, they will come out of your vacation days (which are not chosen, but assigned to you).

So I know you're probably bored and such, but I think I'd take boredom over non-stop labor.

 

[bethy]

No way does my DH get as much as 30 minutes of break/lunch time every day. It's called being exempt. Sigh.

 

[locolala]

Try my DH's schedule.. He works what are called panamas. He works for 3 days, then has 2 off, then works 2 days, then has 3 off and the cycle continues. He switches from days to nights every month, it used to be every other week. Believe me, it could be worse!

 

[LaurenLC]

I live about 15 miles away from work, but it takes me about an hour to get there... I love you Chicago traffic!
I leave my house by 7 am at the latest and rarely leave to go home before 6 pm. It's usually more like 7-7:30..... The good news is traffic has usually died down before that.... Wow, this really makes me look forward to the winter and snow!

 

[jemgumby]

It would be nice if we could be like other places where it is common to take siestas during the day and they don't work 40 hours either. France for example is like that. Also you know we get the typical 2 week vacation a year they get like 4 weeks.....That would be nice!!! Oh they live longer too, what a surprise!

 

[edandcolleen1995]

Working for 8 hours with 30 minute break is not possible. No one works on their stuff without any mental breaks.

I have worked my way up well for my age so far. I've been promoted twice in 4 years with new positions and more responsibility while attending grad school full time. I believe I've hit a ceiling where I'm at.

I don't think my company offer good paid time off at all. Perhaps that's what I should have complained about in post #1.

You don't want hear it due to your age.. But you got it easy.

You ignore the economy, the points about tons of folks out of work, your ability to just surf the 'net while at "work"...

sorry but dollars for donuts you are under 30...

 

[pppiglet]

I have the opposite problem...way too much work and not enough time in the day to do it. I work 8-5 with an hour lunch. The day flies by. We are not suppose to work OT unless its the end of the month. I LOVE being busy though and would just be bored to death to sit there and do nothing. My last job ended up like that and then they went out of business. Luckily when I asked to be sent home early, they would allow me to go.

 

[DarthKTrava]

Try going in at 4:30AM.....

 

[locolala]

Try going in at 4:30AM.....

Yeah, I hate early mornings. Luckily DH's schedule is 7-7.. its not too terribly bad.

 

[Planogirl]

I think that it depends on the job.

I'm only part-time now thank goodness. I had to go this route because the job I have is extremely stressful and the work load is enormous. I'm wiped out after just my part-time day and it seems too long.

I do think that in some cases it might be better if people were paid by production rather than time. If course, that wouldn't work for every job.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I feel your pain. Our school is early start so I am there by 6:30 (and I am a natural night owl.) With it still being the first week, I have a lot of work to do so I have been leaving at 5 consistently every day. Then on the weekends it's off to Worlds of Fun. I work open to close tomorrow, so I will probably get home close to midnight (go in at 8:45 am) and then turn around and open the next day. It can be exhausting.

 

[Disney Darling]

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

From Timeday.org You should check it out. It's a grass roots efforts of sorts.

70 YEARS IS
LONG
ENOUGH.
You won’t read about it in the history books,
but 70 years ago, on April 6, 1933, the US
Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill that
would have made the official US workweek
30 hours — anything more would be
overtime. But today, despite a quadrupling
of productivity, most of us can’t get our
work weeks down to 40 hours.
It's TIME for a change.

and

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE? Are you, or your friends or relatives, working more now but enjoying it less? Does your family's schedule feel like a road race? If so, you're not alone. Millions of Americans are overworked, over-scheduled and just plain stressed out.

* We're putting in longer hours on the job now than we did in the 1950s, despite promises of a coming age of leisure before the year 2000.
* In fact, we're working more than medieval peasants did, and more than the citizens of any other industrial country.
* Mandatory overtime is at near record levels, in spite of a recession.
* On average, we work nearly nine full weeks (350 hours) LONGER per year than our peers in Western Europe do.
* Working Americans average a little over two weeks of vacation per year, while Europeans average five to six weeks. Many of us (including 37% of women earning less than $40,000 per year) get no paid vacation at all.

Contemporary Americans complain of unprecedented levels of busyness in everyday life. They worry about frenetic schedules, hurried children, couples with no time together, families who rarely eat meals together, and an onslaught of "hidden work" from proliferating emails, junk mail, and telemarketing calls. The Girl Scouts recently introduced a "Stress Free" merit badge for today's harried young girls.