How many hours do you work a day? (1 Viewer)

Was reading this article about eating lunch at your desk:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...011000319.html

I fit the bill. I would say 9 days out of ten I'm eating at my desk. Of course they mainly focus on the germs that can be found there, but I was disturbed by something else.

One person they feature in the article is working regular 12-14 hour days. How can anyone do this and maintain their sanity? You have absolutely no free time whatsoever. It's also stated the man has two young children. Is it worth the extra money you might be earning if you're not even there to raise your kids?

Eating at my desk helps me keep a 40-hour work week. I can understand working extra hours where needed, especially if a company has a particular "crunch" time of year. Ten hour days would even be manageable if you're working like 8 to 6.

I guess I'm just baffled by people who seem to be "living to work" as opposed to "working to live."

I work 8:30 - 5pm, Monday to Friday, and because I work for a smaller branch of a larger company, I too eat through my lunch breaks. Now Out of that day, I probably actually work about 6hrs, the rest is dicking around like I'm doing right now posting this at work. Luckily I have an awesome boss who has no problem with this as long as the work is caught up.

I have no idea how people work a full time job, and then goto a part time job after it. I like money and everything it buys, but my time is too valuable to me. something is realy wrong with our economy if people have to work 12 plus hours a day to get by.

Im In at 11 and out at 8 with an hour or so for lunch.


Im like Peter Gibbins from Office Space.I do about15 minutes of realwork a day.But I do have lunch at my desk I have discovered how much money one can save by Brown Baggin It.

I work 8-5 but often stay late. The prime reason why alot of people are working more hours like that are traditionally because they have to. People are easily replaced nowadays so they will do what they can to stay employed especially given the job market the way it is. Most people feel lucky to have a job. I would guess most folks don't work more than 8 hours a day because they like to, it's because they have to especially if they are used to a specific lifestyle which is also part of the problem.

People are buying homes, cars etc far above their lifestyle and being in debt like that they work what they can to continue it. They could probably work less and see their family more but that would require a sacrifice they aren't willing to make.

I work 8-4 but usually work an extra hour or so once a week just to catch up on crap. I'm with mark and Russell, I also spend most of my day doing a whole lot of nothing with my co-workers. I never leave the building for lunch but im generally not doing any work while i eat.

Well even if you don't go out for lunch, most companies hopefully at least have a kitchen or dining room for employees to eat in. Up until last March, a lot of my friends at my office were working different schedules, so I tended to order something to go from our cafe and eat my desk while I browsed the web.

Since then, we've moved to a location that has no in-house meal preparation. The plus side to this has been now all of us eat at the same time in the dining room whether we go out for food or not. It's a nice break in the day to look forward to. Personally, I'll work a little longer if taking a longer lunch makes me feel more relaxed.

We don't, so me and the other guy I work with conned our boss (a big HT nut) into picking us up a TV with a built in DVD for the front area (to show product videos for customers when they come in*). Now we make it a point to watch at least an hour of DVD's a day as our "lunch".



*we don't have any dvd's to show our customers.

Sad but true. Still, working 12-14 hours extra is excessive enough for someone to stand up for their rights, IMO.

Of course he may be one of those people whose entire lifesytle and social life is being at the company. You know, the guy who spends an hour in the morning enjoying his coffee and chatting with the coworkers. Takes a two hour lunch. Hits the gym in the afternoon. Maybe puts in 6 hours of actual work even though he's logging in 12.

i never stop working. i work in my dreams. sux

larry

9-6, many times until 6:30. but i don't hate what i do (yet )

I'm typically 9 to 9.5 hrs per day, but I live real close so no commute time. I also make up for it occasionally with extra-long lunch hours when I run errands. A previous job was an hour+ commute and working 8hrs plus the 2hr total commute time was brutal.

I also don't smoke while a good portion of my co-workers do. I'm pulling an extra hour to hour-and-a-half over them in "real" work due to the butt breaks.

He is a high-priced lawyer, the article implies. Based on what I know of the legal profession, those kinds of hours are par for the course. I know a lot of young attorneys put in that amount of time when they first start out as well.

And Doctors are another story, too. I know there is a shortage of qualified personnel, but I get creeped out when I think of the prospect of being attended to at a hospital where the doctor/nurse is working a 24-hour shift.

9 to 9 some days. But thats broken up with a 2 hour gap here, and some more time here and there. No desk lunches for me!

9 PM 'til 7 AM. Lunch in my work area.

Man after reading all of this, I love my do nothing civil service job. For me it's 7am - 3:30pm Monday thru Friday, 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week and no more. Overtime is not even usually allowed here at my job. I love being able to go home and leave my work at work and not have to worry about if things are going to get done. I work for a military engineering think tank as an EE. There are days when I do nothing but talk to co-workers and post on forums like I am doing now. Other days I work steadily, but it's never anything that we must get done before we go home at 3:30. If it's not done, we will just pick it up the next day. I don't make that killer overtime, but my sanity and my family thanks me for it. I worked in the private sector for about a year one time and gladly gave up the extra money and stress that came along with that job to come back to work for the government.

I definately work to live, not live to work.

I work from 8:30-5pm. And eat lunch at my desk. I usually putz around the internet during the day between work. I always wondered how common that was.

Do you mean how much do I work during the day or how long do I show up for work each day?

Working a 40 hour week is a luxury for some people. For others working 12 hour shifts sometimes isn't enough to pay the bills.

I'd like to comment on this (the same comments I made the last time this statement came up, when, unfortunately, someone tried to apply it to "Americans" in general).

As someone who has worked private sector (60 hrs./week average) and public sector (40 hrs./week) I do not see anything wrong with "living to work". My job (same one in private and public sector) is rewarding, enjoyable, challenging and exciting. It is a position that I have wanted since I was a little kid. It requires a lot of technical know-how which I have actually earned by hard work and perseverance. I make a pretty good living and I work for one of a few "public sector" employers that turns a profit, so I don't feel guilty for sucking off the public teat. I work with personable, talented people who respect each other. The only problem I have is with management, but I always get the last word with them because, during an emergency they get to make me coffee. Because I enjoy my job, I am proud to "live to work" and can't help it if others chose a profession/career/job that is so much drudgery they dread going to it (even if they only have to "do nothing"). YMMV, but please do not think "living to work" is that much inferior to "working to live". I bet those who do the former have a lot more days with a smile on their face than the latter.

I work at a small HI END audio store Designing systems for Customers.When Its Busy I spend most of my day listening to music or watching movies with customers I also do alot of sales on the phone with customers when they call.

The other day my Boss had me go through our DVD collection and find the best demo material on each disc ( about 15 movies ) So I got to sit in our HI END Meridian Theater and go through all the movies to find the best parts. After I would mark down what chapter and what to listen for, Surrounds bass dynamics etc etc etc.


When I have down Time I like to set up systems in our 2 channel room to compare amps preamps cd players.That way when a customers asks about a piece of gear I can give him an Honest answer.


Also down time lets me go to my favorite forums and post hey Just like now.

I am one of those rare people who like their jobs.I have friends who do the 9-5 gig and are just burnt out from the grind. same thing day after day.I get to play with toys and get to meet some great people in the process.

when It comes to lunch me and the other guys like to order from a place up the street and chow down at the desk or we can take an hour to go and grab a bite.There are so many places around here that its tough to choose.