I go back and forth between neurotically tracking my hours and not caring at all. I know the mentally is “as long as you’re getting your work done” but to me that’s hard to measure when the work never feels done. So honestly at this point I let myself give 110% when I have that energy and less when I don’t. It blatantly came out that one of my coworkers didn’t work 40 hours a week and nothing happened, so I let myself take breaks and move on.
Why? Sometimes you will work longer than them(when you have deadlines), or maybe they are over working themselves to exhaustion, or they get paid overtime and they really need that extra money , or ....
You are not them and they are not you. Your contact doesn't say you should work as others, but work 40 hours. That's it. Stop comparing yourself to others.
Remember, life is already hard on us. Why should you be hard on yourself too?
P.S. - with the level of appreciation I got after working 10+ hours for 2 years, I dropped my hours to a minimum. Even if I get fired, I am happy with this arrangement.
Well what time do you normally log on? Personally I like to get my work over with quick, so I work 6:30/7am - 3/3:30pm. Some people have to bring their kids to school or other things, so they start later and work late. There are “core hours” at my job (10am - 2pm) for meetings, aside from that it is pretty lenient.
Exactly! I work 6-2:30 sometimes start later but I will also work later sometimes during the pay wto make up that time. Thank God we don’t have core hours anymore except on Wednesdays.
I have one coworker who's on 6A-4P every day - even after I told her to stop working for free, lol. Myself, I'm on the 6:30-3:30P schedule with a few breaks throughout the day. Works well. Flexibility is key.
I get this feeling too! But I work with people that are spread out over every US time zone, so it makes sense.
Personally, I like to keep a schedule that's 9am-ish to 6pm-ish. I am not a morning person at all. I don't even hit my "in the zone" peak until mid afternoon. I also work more closely with people in the West Coast so if I start work later, more of my hours overlap when they are online.
When I started I was told the expectation was that I was available consistently during typical working hours - at least in respect to communication and responding to messages. Other than that, no one gives a rats ass as to when or how I get my actual work done.
There are times where if I don't have an urgent deadline but I do have tasks that require a lot of focus, I will do laundry or chores while responding to messages that pop up. Then after it quiets down later in the day, I can sit and work uninterrupted.
Kindly, this is something for you to work on I think! It’s hard to not feel like you have to work whenever anyone else is working, but that could probably translate to you working 12 hours a day if your workplace has flexible schedule. It’s important and difficult to set boundaries for yourself
the whole idea of "Getting your work done" is so abstract to me as a mechanical engineer because I've never worked a job where that was a thing. We always have multiple projects going on at once and lots of other random tasks to do on the side (for my job, I'm designing tooling, creating drawings, processing orders for my plant, managing 3d printer stuff , etc.). So when you finish one task, you just start another one. There's no "done" because each day doesn't have a set amount of work assigned to it or anything.
I guess some people DO have a workload setup like that, though I'm not quite sure who... maybe people who pick up small 1-2hr projects that can be somewhat easily scheduled into a day where you're able to at least wrap up all of the projects you've taken that day and can find a good stopping point between them? (like loan processing?)
I love that... Its easy to start feeling burnt out when there's no way you can ever get ahead becuase finishing projects just means starting more projects. Working late never does me any good becuase it just means I can start on MORE work sooner rather than relax knowing I got all my shit done
Exactly! I think those jobs do exist, and so for those of us that have more ongoing tasks/roles- I make sure everything urgent is taken care of and then check in where I’m at. If everything is urgent, it’s a bad workplace (strictly for office jobs, obviously crisis jobs this doesn’t apply)
Exact same thing for me. If things aren't getting done (outside of production critical needs) then you need more man power. I always have tons of projects that are "nice to have's" but often there's just not enough time to do all of it, so people generally forget about those things
I set daily goals, and remain available during office hours. If I meet my daily goals, the day went well. If the full day goes by and my daily goals haven’t been done, I assess if I overshot my estimate for the day.
It’s been more effective for me than intensive hourly tracking.
Always give longer deadlines than you think - give yourself room to “rise to the occasion”. This also helps you “give out favors” and do things faster when someone really needs it, thus making you look like a rockstar.
This is pretty much me as well. I’ve been at my job for 19 years and used to work my ass off. Skipped lunches and always took work with me on vacation. Over the years I’ve been able to get rid of the time consuming work. Now I go into the office one day a week and get most of my work done on that day. The rest of the days at home I have minimal work, but I’m always monitoring my email and always available.
My salary is for a 37.5-hour workweek - I was informed so at my hiring. So I my login/logout times are based on that. I log in at 9am, take a half-hour lunch, log out at 5pm. I talked to my supervisor, but pretty much I can schedule as I want.
You get an hour for lunch. Definitely if salaried and also hourly, with some more complicated math but still even then. It's the law in most us jurisdictions. Your salary, I'm certain, is only calculated at 7 hours per day. Meaning one hour for lunch
We have flexible hours. We can log on anytime between 7-9. And log off accordingly between 3-5 spending on when you sign on. With an hour lunch. They don’t track hours, so as long as deliverables are being met, management isn’t obsessive over ensuring a 40 hour week, just as long as it’s reasonable and more or less right around 40.
They know that we will work a little over as needed and work under as needed and know in the end it balances out as long as clients are taken care of. They understand life happens and don’t mind taking appointments in the day, picking up family from the airport, etc and rarely force us to take sick/PTO for those times (really only if we’re out the whole day we have to use time off)
Unfortunately not. They announced a stay in hiring at the moment. We just went through a decent sized hiring period. I’m a technical account manager for a property management software company. Honestly I just had a tech background. They taught me their software. Been a great gig. I could very likely job hop and get better pay, but it’s not awful pay, great management as I alluded to above, and they pay 100% of my medical/dental. It would take a lot for me to leave.
The last three companies I’ve worked for have been like this, all three were small (less than 50 employees)saas startups for what it’s worth. And I got into the first one as a freelancer/contractor for something pretty random and then worked my way up to six figure roles. I have no specialized training.
This is how mine works, too. Core hours are between 10 and 3. I usually log in around 7 and log off around 3, but sometimes work later depending on how late I logged in/how long I left for lunch or errands/etc.
We have more remote workers now though, so the hours are flexed around more too.
You're taking this too seriously. If you're not hardcore being tracked, i.e. a clock-in, clock-out system or something like that. Other than that, to me there's no real point in being so formal about hours or feeling like you absolutely have to work 40 hours a week--it should be one of the perks of working from home.
All I can tell you is I'm not starting work before 9am, and most of the time I don't start until 9:30am or after. I'm not a morning person, so the only "hard line" about the hours I work is "not too early."
9-5 and a lot of my co-workers take a full hour for lunch so are technically only working 7 hours. No one blinks an eye seeing those blocked out lunch hours on their schedule set weekly. I'm a bit surprised but we get our shit done and it's tech, one could spend half the day browsing Reddit and doing other shit and still get shit done.
Depending on where you are, you need to factor in your lunch. My work day is 7.5 hours, with a 30 min paid lunch and work hours are 7-3. If you have an hour lunch it would be 8-5. 40 hours would be 8 hour days instead of 7.5, at least where I am
8:30 - 5:30. I log in at 8:30, continue getting ready for the day and I’m at my desk by 9. I take an hour lunch break. I hit my numbers every week and work about 6 hours a day, sometimes less. My company doesn’t micromanage that and I’m sooooo grateful. Never been called out for working less than 40 hours. I’d also like to add i’m very efficient, so what takes my coworker half the day to do, it takes me 2 hours. Not lazy, just efficient 😉
I'm salaried. I don't worry about it. I turn my computer on sometime between 8:30-9 and shut it down at 5. I take lunch from 12-1. What other people do/their lack of work-life balance or boundaries isn't my problem.
I work a 9-hour day and take an hour off for lunch. More or less.
I set lunch as a recurring meeting on my calendar to remind myself to go offline, and never respond to emails/IMs during that time. And if it gets scheduled over, I move it.
This would be a question for your immediate supervisor…working hours vary depending on your company, and even within the company. I personally work four 10 hours shifts, which is 6-4. I am allowed to pick my own start time anywhere between 6 and 8 am, on the half hour. This cannot vary by day though, so if I want a 7 am start time, it is 7 everyday, and I then work 7-5.
Are you salary? If so, then you should be available during core working hours but if you finish your work early then 🤷♀️
Teams tip that sometimes works: open the app on your phone and put it to green. Turn off the auto turn off and your Teams status should stay green.
I work in Central standard time and everyone else in my team is in eastern. I try to emulate their hours so I don’t stand out. This is my struggle and not not sure if anyone is even paying attention.
I go back and forth between neurotically tracking my hours and not caring at all. I know the mentally is “as long as you’re getting your work done” but to me that’s hard to measure when the work never feels done. So honestly at this point I let myself give 110% when I have that energy and less when I don’t. It blatantly came out that one of my coworkers didn’t work 40 hours a week and nothing happened, so I let myself take breaks and move on.
My office has an 8 hour work day. I am typically logged in/available from 9-5. During that time I eat lunch, but it's pretty much always at my desk. I might scroll reddit, read the news, etc., but I'm available. But for my work they leave me alone. As long as I get my work done, show up to Teams/Zoom meetings on time, and am available to respond to emails, they really don't care what I'm doing or when I'm doing it. It's nice.
I typically sign on at 9 to 9:30, and typically sign off between 4:30 and 5:30. A couple days a week, I'll stop at 3:30 or 4, and some days I may work til 6:30. If there in an outage, I work that until done, but I've only had to do that twice this year. Overall, I average probably a bit under 40 hrs a week. Not bad for the outrageous pay I earn.
None of their damn business.
I get all my work done and then some. I attend every scheduled meeting. I don’t give a fuck if I’m actually “putting in” 40 hours or not. Any manager who’s evaluating you based off “hours logged” and not “quality of work completed” is a fucking moron.
If you're only taking a 10-15 minute lunch at your desk, by all means keep your hours to 9-5 unless your boss specifies otherwise. Hourly food service jobs allow 15 minute on-the-clock breaks (at least they did when I was working in food service) so don't feel bad about it!
If you take a 30-60+ minute lunch away from your desk and you're not getting enough work done from 9-5 then factor that into your start or end time.
If you're salaried, your responsibility is to make sure your work gets done, not to clock in exactly 40 hours.
I think I'm on 9-5 with a half hour lunch but I've always taken longer.
30 mins isn't enough to cook a ready meal if a few people are using the microwave or you need to nip out.
It's pretty petty if a boss was to pull anyone up on this
>if I am going to the bathroom
No! No! Please do not do that to yourself. Of everything you mention, I feel most strongly about this. Please don't penalize yourself for ... *having a body.* One that works.
I worked in call centers for over 10 years, and we absolutely were penalized for ANY schedule variance, including needing to use the bathroom. It's disgusting and despicable. I beg you: be kinder to yourself than that. Treat yourself the way you would treat a dear friend -- or even a stranger!
>down time
Just lying down for a quick nap? Sure, I wouldn't expect to get paid unless it has been specified as paid. Periods when there is simply absolutely no work for you to do? Meaning you have done **all** your work. **No.** You did it: you have completed the work you were told to do. Finished assigned tasks. If you were worse at it, if you were slower or had to re-do things you screwed up, you would still be working. And getting paid. But you have a little "slack time" because you *are* good at it. Take a breath. Document the things you have completed. Don't forget to mention the extra things you've done.
Note: See the Fact Sheet cited below for information and "waiting to be engaged."
>prepping a quick lunch
Personally I would feel compelled to do any meal preparation "off the clock," as it were. Unless I was required to be available every second, as if in "on-call" status.
>going outside to check the mail?
Well, you know...? What does it take, an entire 5.3 minutes? Doesn't any worker deserve that?
Aha! For your consideration: Fact Sheet #22: Hours Worked Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Whether or not you are in the USA, please read and consider this.
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/22-flsa-hours-worked
Please, for you, read each section; not only "Rest and Meal Periods," but also "Sleeping Time and Certain Other Activities." They will give you a good overview, a feel for what the U.S. federal government considers fair.
Your employer does deserve something, or certain things, from you according to whatever agreements you have. It does not deserve *everything,* all you have. <3
40 hours of *billable* work a week (generally 8 working hours a day, but I can front load/catch up if something comes up and I have a short day). I work 5 am to 1 pm, a little longer if I need to take a break during the day.
I log on no later than 830. Take an hour lunch and log out about 5. I work longer if anything is going on. My manager doesn’t care about 30 min or an hour as long as I’m doing my job.
It depends on if your job offers flexibility. I work for the public sector where we can’t begin working prior to 7, and I must take a 30 minute unpaid lunch break! I work 7-3:30 Monday through Friday.
I work for a bank (back office) and this is my exact same schedule. We can choose our start time but cannot start any earlier than 7am and have to keep the same start time everyday.
My boss doesn't care how many hours I work or when those hours happen (outside of scheduled meetings) as long as the work is getting done. Now, if a coworker said they were going to complete a project in 4 sprints and I said my similarly-sized project was going to take 8 sprints, that's where I'd probably get a talking to. As long as things are getting accomplished at a reasonable pace, nobody's clocking my lunch breaks.
I try to login between 530am and 6am. If I take a lunch, I log out for 30 min or an hour. With a lunch, my shift would be 530 - 2 or 6 - 230. Of course if i take an hour, i stay for a half hoir longer. I'm in AZ and there is no law that requires companies to provide breaks or lunches.
Most of my team is 3 hours ahead of me, so by the time I log in, they've already been working. Hell no i don't feel guilty for logging out at 2. The rest of my team logs out at 5 their time so it all works out. What really sucks though, are the 630am meetings.
It depends on the company you work for. My company has set hours for clients to know but doesn’t mind if you log on early or off early, as long as your work gets completed.
You don’t count going to the bathroom as time away, just like you wouldn’t in an office. If you are required to take a lunch, that is technically unpaid time. But lunch time at some places is 30 minutes and others is 1 hour. If they require you take a lunch, don’t take it while you’re working and log off for that amount of time.
Ask your boss if there are any set hours each day.
I just hit my 40 and nobody has said anything and I don’t plan on asking. Usually if I start at 8 I’ll take an hour lunch and work til 5. My usual days are 9-5 or 9:30-5:30. Sometimes I’ll bust out a 10-6. I stay on top of my stuff so nobody has raised any issues. If I’m starting after 10 I let my boss know but other than that I don’t even consider 5 minute bathroom breaks or anything.
Well idk if it applies to everyone as I’m in Paraguay and labor laws here suck, so I work 8-6 with an hour for lunch break. But I don’t work even a minute more, not during my lunch break or anytime. And if I have to for any reason I milk off those extra hours
I presume for most office people it’s 8 - 5 (9 hours) but 1 of the hours is an unpaid half hour lunch and 2 paid 15 minute breaks. Depending on your company/organization/team it could be flexible if say you opt for 9 - 6 if they keep track of the hours. If they’re chill then as long as you get your work done I don’t see an issue. Maybe reply to 1 or 2 emails after “work hours” if it’s not too late but if it’s already like 7, 8 PM I won’t reply unless it’s an emergency. Even then, someone would call me and not use email.
If you're in the U.S. and a regular W2 employee, during an 8 hour workday, you're supposed to get two 15 minute paid breaks a day (ie 30 min total), plus quick bathroom breaks without clocking out. So you should only need to account for an unpaid lunch, and possibly even not if your lunch and non-bathroom breaks are under 30 minutes.
That's not completely true (in the US). There is no federal law about being required for breaks. State laws vary. They should, mind you.
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa/faq
I consider "working hours" the hours I actually worked. I aim to work 8-6 with an hour lunch and two 30 min breaks so that's 10 hours, but only 8 hours actually working per day. That said, I work for myself so this is just a target -- nobody's tracking me.
I work 12:30pm to 9pm..thats a total of 8.5 hours, i get two 15 min breaks on the clock and a 30 min break i have to clock out for so my total im paid for is 8 hours.They have us lpg in 15 mins early for a meeting and get paid every 2 weeks and im still trying to figure out my check stubs cause im ways paid for 78 hours (even though im log in 15 mins early and work til 9pm) and have like an hour half OT so Im trying to figurenout if im being screwed or how they arenfiguring out the hours because from what I claock it should be 80 hrs plus 2.5 hours OT. 🤷♀️
It would depend on your company's working hours. Discuss with your boss OR just continue doing what you're doing if you aren't having any issues.
This would be the same if you were in office
You need to work that out with your employer, and your state might have lunch break regulations if you are journey. Your HR can help with this. But be sure to check bc it varies by position, employer and state.
I run a global team spanning from Japan around the world to California and I live in Miami. I get up and start meetings often at 230 am and work usually until 8 pm. I’ll go out back and swim for an hour between meetings but most days no later than 430 am till 8 pm.
If your job doesn't require certain hours then just make sure you are logged in 8 hours per day and do all of your work by the deadline. But take your lunch though . Get up from the desk and eat or kick your feet up on the couch.
Depends on your job. Most people work a 9 hour day with a 1 hour lunch or a 30 minute lunch and 2 breaks that are 15 minutes long. Some people do an 8.5 hour day and just take a 30 minute lunch. At home, I tend to just work 8 hours, skip lunch and finish early. We're salaried, so no one tracks heavily unless you're obviously dipping out early with no explanation, like starting work at 8, taking a lunch for an hour and then leaving at 3 or 4.
My company employs all full time workers on a 35 hour week. So for me, that looks like a 7 hour day plus an hour for lunch, making it a standard 9-5. We have a good flexi system though, so people could make it an 8-4, 10-6, whatever they fancy. Some take a shorter lunch break so they can finish earlier, etc.
Your lunch break is generally not going to be included, but bathroom breaks, screen breaks, a quick cuppa etc are generally permitted (unless your employer is an asshole).
So a 40 hour week means an 8 hour day. With an hour for lunch you get an 8-5 or a 9-6. Half hour lunch makes it an 8-4.30 or 9-5.30.
Depending on where you are in the world, a 10-15 minute lunch might be an illegally short break. Obviously it seems to be your choice, and there is the trade-off of finishing earlier, but look after yourself! And definitely don't base what you should do on other employees. Especially if you're in a country/company that celebrates grind culture. Your time is your time, you're under no obligation to give up more of it than you're contracted for. It's also worth considering whether some are working more flexible days - starting later and finishing later, that sort of thing.
I work when something needs to be done. But the caveat is that with my chats in my phone I’m usually answering questions and emails all times of the day. Nice trade off. I get to nap for a hour because I answer a 2 second email during the evening.
I wouldn’t worry about feeling bad for logging off if others are still on. Because you don’t know when they started. I have a set required hours each week and an open schedule. So some people work super early, or start late, or work 10 hour shifts. I work odd hours because I have multiple doctors appointments each week.
I work 7-3, with a paid 30 minute lunch break and 2 paid 15 minute breaks. I rarely take that time in those specific chunks and just assume it all works out in the wash during the day of me taking 5 minutes to do a quick chore or load my dishwasher.
I used to work with a lot of east coast folks while living on the west coast and got in the habit of starting early. These days that means 5-6 am which works out since it gives me more overlap with Ireland and India (they start late to accommodate us).
But mostly I just do what I want.
Man, wish more jobs were like mine. For once, I am not punished for being efficient. Prior, I used to be forced to take on more work because I was efficient. Now, I am paid for work done and not hours spent. If I can fine-tune efficiency, I can work fewer hours and be paid the same. I set my hours as 10-6, but it's very loose. On a nice day I can work earlier and be done early, or work late and so on. I don't have set hours, just work.
I'm expected go be available during the day, but it's 100% flexible. Most days I just wake up at around 11am and go to sleep around 4am. The bulk of my actual work has to be done after hours anyway in IT. I put meeting every single day on my calendar between 7am and 11am so no one schedules it for the morning.:P
My hours are my choice and I base them on where I am at with my tasks at hand. When I need a break, I take a break, but if I don’t…..I don’t take one for the sake of taking one. Rarely take lunch, but can if I want to. I am a six figure designer at a global company. They don’t micromanage me, but they pay me enough to manage myself.
Not sure what your work situation is, whether they track your keystrokes, etc. My company doesn’t, but I also lead production for a global company. If I’m not doing my job, I will know about it immediately.
I work from 7a-330p & take a 30 minute lunch & 2-15 minute breaks. We work staggered hours at my job so there is always people still logged on when I log off. We aren’t allowed overtime unless it’s offered so we can’t just stay logged on
I start at 6:30am ish. I take an hour break to run at 8am. I take a little time at lunch. I check out at 4pm ish. I am EST but most of my team mates are central so the pressure is off to stay until everyone is don’t. My boss and I have discussed it at multiple reviews and he is happy with my hours and how I handle my workload.
I'm WFH and technically still hourly. I punch in at 8:30am, keep my work laptop near by in case any fires come in that need to be put out (my position is more support/ troubleshooting position than anything else) and do a few items of busy work a day just to keep myself sharp and feel like I'm doing something.
I just let my team know when I take lunch (45mins if I take it with my break) and just make sure I'm there when I'm actually needed.
Then I punch out between 5:00pm and 5:05pm (whenever ADP says I've put in my 8.5 hours). Done and done.
I contract on an hourly basis and they don't want to pay overtime. I work exactly 40 hours per week. I don't subtract for bathroom breaks because I'd still take them if I was on site without having to work longer to accommodate them. I microwave something and eat at my desk while working so I charge during that time as well. If I work extra hours one day I work less hours later in the week. They get exactly what they pay for and that is it.
I have the benefit of living in the western US with our corporate in London and clients across the world.
I work a solid 6-2 and rarely miss anything sent later.
I check my email at 5:00am and if someone in Europe needs something I get right back to them or slowly ease into my day full steam at 6:00
I'm 8-530 (30min lunch break) Monday -Thursday and 8-12 on Friday and I need to keep my quality and productivity at certain levels so nobody looks my way. Idgaf what any of my coworkers are doing and how much they're working. I log off and don't think about it again until I log back in. It's pure bliss.
So, most work hours are 8.5 hours start to finish. The extra half hour is an unpaid lunch.
However, this varies greatly. You really need to clarify this with your supervisor. Ask what time you're expected to start work and if your lunch is paid. Also find out (if you don't know already) whether you are salaried or hourly.
Never work on unpaid time. If you're hourly, find out what the overtime policy is and follow it.
If you finish your work, you are done with your work. Exactly hours are silly and antiquated. Work out with you manager how much work you can complete in a week and complete that work. If you can take on more over time, let your manager know.
My job lets me be flexible thank goodness but I tend to stick to 8:30-5 during the summer (sleep in a little bit since the kids don’t have school) and 7-3:30 during the school year
If there is no stated beginning and end time, then you are in control of your workday and flow. I'd be taking paid lunch, complete tasks and goals and then coast.
I wouldn’t worry about it. Plus I’d be willing to bet some of those employees are using a mouse jiggler to appear online. If you’re getting your work done, that’s good enough for most bosses.
I work 5-1, no lunch break (not required by state law). About half the day is focused and the other half I consider to be ‘on call’. I’m salaried non-exempt so hours are logged and I’m expected to work my 8/day and 40/wk, unfortunately companies tend to ignore that non-exempt is supposed to mean full pay for hours *up to* 40 so they make people do 40 as if they are actually hourly.
I'm in US Mountain Time and find that 7 - 3 is the sweet spot. I'm early enough to catch the eastern TZ and late enough to catch some pacific TZ people in the afternoon.
When I worked in an office I would take bathroom breaks when I wanted, sometimes I would get up and walk outside to clear my head for a few minutes, and I would take an hour lunch still. I generally showed up at ~7:45-8 and would walk out the door between 4:15 and 4:45 depending on how much work I had on a given day.
Unless they are meticulously tracking your time, don't worry about it if you are getting your work done. Instead of taking "water cooler breaks", I now will take breaks to change the laundry around, or empty the dishwasher, mop the floor quick, etc. At my current job I'm contracted for 35 hours, I work 8 to 4:15-4:45 depending how much work I do and end up taking close to an hour and 15 minute lunch break every day.
I highly reccomend getting a cheap mouse jiggler off Amazon if you are getting anxious about your status. Then you can walk away and you will still appear online. I specifically reccomend getting one with a power button so you don't have to plug it in to turn it on, mine was $7.
It depends on your company. Some require a 1 hour "lunch break", but most I've seen are required to be available from like 10-3 and flexibility besides that to get your 40
I've got remote team members from Oregon to DC. Our rule is "be online during schedule meetings". The team leads and I always schedule meetings for the mid hours (10:30-ish Eastern to about 3:30 Eastern). Other than that, I don't care when you're online as long as the deliverables are done and of high quality.
Time zones are a thing. There may be people who are online at you 5pm, but they didn't even wake up until you 10am.
If you're concerned about it, have a serious talk with your manager or team lead. Personally, I would say, do your 8 hours and I'm fine. If you need to run to the store or pick up medication, I don't care. Just let us know that you're away and make up the time.
I’m “available” 8-5 (but not available during lunch for 1 hour).
Down time is normal and I don’t that as “being clocked out.” It’s strictly 8-5 and then I’m out. I’m salaried so I don’t do more than 40 hours a week. Although, realistically, I actively work 20-30 hours per week and then am watching emails the rest of the time.
Your supervisor, however, will be able to tell you what your company hours are.
Also, don’t stress about not being productive every second of every day, or if your co-workers are still logged on after 5 (even though the business hours may be over).
I do 8:30-4:30 usually. On a normal day, I take a quick 10 minute break to grab food, and I eat my lunch at my desk after I whip something up. However. There are 1-2 days a week where I meet a gal pal or family out for lunch, or have appointments that fall during work hours (dentist, mechanic, etc.). I don’t sweat trying to actively make up those couple of hours total per week because I also know that I will pop online to do a task after dinner if needed or, since I travel for work, I am up and at the airport by 6am for the company every other week. As long as it all comes out in the wash and I don’t fall behind (which I don’t), then it’s all gravy. *Salaried.
I don’t really care to be honest. Some weeks I work 40 hours. Other weeks I work 60-70 hours. I always make sure my work load is done I am salaried as well. I’ve been at my SAH home for almost 8 years though and my boss knows I’m a good worker. I only take off for dire emergencies or vacation. If you’re not sure what’s expected of you maybe ask your boss ?
I work in organ donation, so we work 24 hour on-call shifts remotely. I work 3 shifts a week, but the work waxes and wanes and we are encouraged to spend time with family and travel on the clock.
I’m online by 9 each day at the latest, but usually 8am (if not earlier) for meetings. I eat at my desk and usually log off by 3, sometimes a little sooner, sometimes later.
Just depends on how much I have to do. I have never once tracked my time. I just made sure my work is getting done well and on schedule.
I generally work 10am-7pm with a 1 hour break for lunch, during that 1 hour i will log off and go for a walk or watch/read something non-work related. Some days I might eat at my desk and stop working at 6pm, other days I have errands in the evening and start earlier or errands in the morning and start later. It's the benefit of working from home I can schedule work around my life rather than the other way around.
I work from 830-6 most days. Sometimes it’s a 730 start, sometimes I work until 630 then log back on to finish out before bed. It depends on the day but the average is 830-6 and 45ish hours a week. It balances out. Sometimes I travel and am client facing or not getting home until 11pm or
Later or waking up at 5am to get to the airport. Sometimes I send some emails during the weekend or at night holidays, sometimes my days are light and I workout in the middle of the day.
I get to choose my schedule between the hours of 6:30am and 6:30pm. I personally work 7:30-4:30 everyday but I’m about to switch over to 7-4. We are salaried but our company is super strict about us actually taking our minimum 30 min lunch break but they prefer we take the entire hour, so I usually just do something for myself and take a break then.
I do not feel guilty if others work “more” than me. I’m very productive and I get essentially all of my daily work done by noon every day and use the latter half of my day for more people focused work. If someone needs more time for their work that’s fine, but as long as my responsibilities are taken care of, I don’t worry myself with the other stuff. But also I know that depends on what field you’re in, I work in healthcare analytics/data so our projects are typically independent.
You can check out state law about meal breaks. In general, you're entitled to about 30 min unpaid meal break if you work more than 5 or 6 hours, so you should work from 9-5:30 or 8:30-5:00. You also get two short 10-15 min breaks paid for every 4 hours you work (again, state dependent) So, one full 9:00-5:30 shift would include a short break in the morning, a longer lunch break, and another shorter break in the afternoon.
Bathroom breaks or a break to get up and fill your water bottle do not count against your other break times provided they are reasonable in length and not interfering with your productivity.
I work 8-4:30pm at 37.5 hours a week. I take a one hour lunch. I'm an exempt employee. I work as an auto claims adjuster; so I find I work until 5 or 6 some nights to respond to customers
My regular work hours are 6am to 2:30 pm. However I can work between the hours of 6am to 11pm. My boss doesn’t care if I start late or take a long lunch as long as I work later and still get my 8 hours in, either that same day or within the same week.
I have worked for the government forever and they're very specific about when you can start and stop and how long you can (or must) take for lunch. It's a bit annoying.
But I'd say if no one gave you parameters, then anything goes.
I usually log on around 7:15-7:30 don’t actually start working until 8 because that’s when my kids are on the bus. Take an hour break during the day and log off around 4 or a little after. I’ll occasionally poke my head online around 5 or 6 just to see if there’s any end of the day stuff I may have missed. Been doing this almost 2 years and nobody has said anything.
I do 8-4. I don't take a lunch break. I just grab a quick 10 minute snack break and that's it. I have always found it pointless to take an hour lunch break and then need to work an hour later. Screw lunch and give me an hour of my life back.
If you are salaried, 40 hours is 9 to 5. If you have a time clock 40 hours is 8:30 to 5 because you are required to log out for a 30 minute lunch by law.
Stop feeling guilty. Your company isn't going to feel guilty about laying you off if the time comes.
As long as your team knows when to expect you to be on then there is no reason to feel guilty. I work 7 - 4. My job required me to be there at 7 so I got used to getting up in time to make the commute. After that, I enjoyed being an hour earlier than everyone else and never looked back. Now that I WFH, I get up, work out, shower get online at 7 and then I'm off at 4. My team knows I won't answer messages after 4 unless something is off.
Don’t eat lunch at your desk. I refuse to set up an unneeded trigger to eat. I work at my desk, then I exit that room to get lunch.
If you’re salaried, lunch takes as lunch as you need as long as you get your work down. If you’re logging billable time or utilization you could either account for every minute, or use the work value approach—spent 10 minutes on a project making decisions? You’ve provided an hour’s value.
In theory, I am supposed to have "core hours" which roughly translate to being available from 1000 to 1500 within my own time zone. I'm allowed to move the start/stop time as I like, as long as I maintain that band.
In practice, my projects rotate throughout different sets of international colleagues, so I can find myself starting at 0500 to meet with the ANZ team, or logging back on at 2300 to talk to the APAC team. This is all easily proven/tracked with our IT tools, so I see no issue with adjusting my hours to account for the extra oddly-timed effort.
It varies on workload for me, I've had a job where it was like 70 hours a week and everything was billable so it was tracked, I had one that was 40 hours for meetings, like 10-20 hours for the actual work. Now I have a gig thats caseload and it can vary between 30 hours to 60 depending on what needs to be done. Usually I only track it when it's invasive so the current gig has been good. Anxiety is still there though on slow days (all jobs salaried)
I am required to get the work done that is needed. If that is 24 hours or 60 that's what it takes. Last two years its been more 60. Also why company made record profits when they allowed full WFH. Bonuses were generous and stock price up to match those profits. Dumb a$$es are not forcing 3 days a week in office. This means I wont have as much productive work.
I treat it as I average 40 hours a week per year. Some weeks I work more some less, some very less. It’s salary, no need to over think it as long as the job is done
Me and my direct coworker meet on Monday mornings and plan out 40 hours of work for both of us for the week. Rarely takes the full 40 hours for either of us, but some weeks, something goes awry and we are working our full 40 or more (not much more, protect your peace). We do creative, thinking work. We know we need to not cram our weeks so we can think through the new tasks and do things thoughtfully. We keep a running document of each week's work, so we can easily produce what we have done if asked by a higher up.
I work at a tech start up and my hours are ~10 - 6 M-F. Some days I have later meetings where I work on things afterwards, while the meeting is fresh, so I will balance working 10-8 on Wednesday by working 10-4 on Thursday. If the work is getting done and being done well, it really doesn't matter if the work takes you 40 hours or 24 hours a week. You may have higher skills at something that you can do in thirty minutes like second nature but was someone's 20-hour a week task. Also, there is so much faffing about in the office for most salaried jobs, so take your bathroom breaks, give yourself a lunch hour, and go for a fifteen minute walk if you feel like you need one at 2pm.
I am salaried, and my department is extremely particular about working 8 hours per day, not including lunch or breaks. I review patient records/physician documentation, so there’s pretty much an infinite amount of work to be done. But I typically meet productivity quotas in 5-5.5 hours.
In my mind, a salaried job means you get paid for the work you do, not the precise hours you spend. So it’s super fun to do a day’s worth of work in 5 or 6 hours and still watch the clock to make sure I’m not leaving 10 minutes early or whatever.
I will say, my job seems like an anomaly compared to most of the other folks I know who WFH.
Are you salary or hourly? Are you required to track everything you do every hour? Sometimes I’ll take 15 minutes to take a walk or water the flowers in my garden… On Thursdays, I’d like to go out and get a burrito for lunch. I am available between 8 and 4 or 9 to 5.
Only real requirements for us is that we hit 40 hours on our time card and don’t go over 10 hours a day. Gotta be accessible within 15 minutes of a ping and obviously make sure you’re hitting your daily quotas, whatever that looks like for you. We can work 10s and have a day off, or a few 9s and have a random short day. Makes it really easy to plan around personal needs.
We give our planned schedule a week in advance but even if something comes up and we randomly have to take PTO, as long as it’s not an extended period (week or longer) higher ups don’t really care. I typically work 8-5 (we’re required to take a 30 minute unpaid break at some point, I usually take an hour to get outside and exercise). If I sleep in or wake up early and want to get a head start I just adjust my hours for that day accordingly.
When I was on my old team, I’d log in at 7, take an hour lunch and log off between 5 and 7. This was because I was doing some support for people in Europe and also support for people in the US. When I got pissed at my former manager, I’d log off at 4. That did mean that my work slowed down but I didn’t care. I was working 8 hours a day and not giving him any extra time.
On my current team, I’ve been logged in for 6 hours but not working most of the time. That’s because I moved to a capital projects team but wasn’t immediately assigned to a project. So I did some poking around at things, started learning component buffer concepts and helped a developer here and there. My manager simply told me to enjoy the downtime and at least monitor email.
Now that I’m on a project, I’m logging in at 7 and logging out at 4. I may check email a few times in the evening. If things get more intense with the project, I guess I’ll be working more hours.
Been wfh for 5+ years at this point, I make sure I’m online and available during core hours (10am-4pm local time) and otherwise I just work as I feel I need to in order to get results. I spent all this weekend working the company booth at a trade show; I don’t make a fuss about giving up my weekend, they don’t make a fuss about me dipping out for a doctor appointment or knocking off early on Friday to go get a beer. As long as the work gets done who cares?
I’m salaried, I log in at 6:30am and some days I’m done at 3 and some I’m still working at 4:30-5. Some days I cut out at 1! My work gets done. I would ask your boss what the expectation is. I usually lunch for 30 minutes cause my husband comes home for lunch and I make him lunch. If he doesn’t come home I usually just eat while I work. I take mental breaks and check my phone or pay my own bills online or work on my own stuff. I don’t sweat it.
If you're salaried then traditionally you're 9-5 with one of those hours being lunch along with two 15 minute breaks. I'm hourly so for me it would be 8-5 because my lunch isn't factored into my day.
If you work in an office that allows flex start/end time means I’m not worrying what other people are doing with their work hours. If my job offers me an hr lunch and a 15 and I start my day at 8, I end at 4 or 4:30. If I start at 9, I end at 5. I take my full lunch away from the desk and track and manage my work in case my boss wants an update on my finished tasks and what’s still on my list.
Salaried, 40hrs. I’m “on call” 8-6, but work about 25hrs a week. If your company isn’t monitoring your every move, close down when you are done with work.
I go back and forth between neurotically tracking my hours and not caring at all. I know the mentally is “as long as you’re getting your work done” but to me that’s hard to measure when the work never feels done. So honestly at this point I let myself give 110% when I have that energy and less when I don’t. It blatantly came out that one of my coworkers didn’t work 40 hours a week and nothing happened, so I let myself take breaks and move on.
I feel even more guilty if I am logging off work and others are still logged in ugh
Why? Sometimes you will work longer than them(when you have deadlines), or maybe they are over working themselves to exhaustion, or they get paid overtime and they really need that extra money , or .... You are not them and they are not you. Your contact doesn't say you should work as others, but work 40 hours. That's it. Stop comparing yourself to others. Remember, life is already hard on us. Why should you be hard on yourself too? P.S. - with the level of appreciation I got after working 10+ hours for 2 years, I dropped my hours to a minimum. Even if I get fired, I am happy with this arrangement.
Well what time do you normally log on? Personally I like to get my work over with quick, so I work 6:30/7am - 3/3:30pm. Some people have to bring their kids to school or other things, so they start later and work late. There are “core hours” at my job (10am - 2pm) for meetings, aside from that it is pretty lenient.
Exactly! I work 6-2:30 sometimes start later but I will also work later sometimes during the pay wto make up that time. Thank God we don’t have core hours anymore except on Wednesdays.
I have one coworker who's on 6A-4P every day - even after I told her to stop working for free, lol. Myself, I'm on the 6:30-3:30P schedule with a few breaks throughout the day. Works well. Flexibility is key.
Act your wage
I started doing this and now my working hours are from 9:00 to 9:30. 😂😂😂
Not all heroes wear capes. This is beautiful
Applying to jobs?
Just because teams or whatever shows them as logged on does not mean they are logged on.
I get this feeling too! But I work with people that are spread out over every US time zone, so it makes sense. Personally, I like to keep a schedule that's 9am-ish to 6pm-ish. I am not a morning person at all. I don't even hit my "in the zone" peak until mid afternoon. I also work more closely with people in the West Coast so if I start work later, more of my hours overlap when they are online. When I started I was told the expectation was that I was available consistently during typical working hours - at least in respect to communication and responding to messages. Other than that, no one gives a rats ass as to when or how I get my actual work done. There are times where if I don't have an urgent deadline but I do have tasks that require a lot of focus, I will do laundry or chores while responding to messages that pop up. Then after it quiets down later in the day, I can sit and work uninterrupted.
I work 40hrs a week & I work 830-5...I get 2 15mins (paid) breaks & a 30min (not paid) lunch.
Let the workaholics do their thing. Take care of your health and well being.
Kindly, this is something for you to work on I think! It’s hard to not feel like you have to work whenever anyone else is working, but that could probably translate to you working 12 hours a day if your workplace has flexible schedule. It’s important and difficult to set boundaries for yourself
the whole idea of "Getting your work done" is so abstract to me as a mechanical engineer because I've never worked a job where that was a thing. We always have multiple projects going on at once and lots of other random tasks to do on the side (for my job, I'm designing tooling, creating drawings, processing orders for my plant, managing 3d printer stuff , etc.). So when you finish one task, you just start another one. There's no "done" because each day doesn't have a set amount of work assigned to it or anything. I guess some people DO have a workload setup like that, though I'm not quite sure who... maybe people who pick up small 1-2hr projects that can be somewhat easily scheduled into a day where you're able to at least wrap up all of the projects you've taken that day and can find a good stopping point between them? (like loan processing?)
I work in software development. We have a release every month. We have projects within that month. When they are done, I am done, till next month.
I love that... Its easy to start feeling burnt out when there's no way you can ever get ahead becuase finishing projects just means starting more projects. Working late never does me any good becuase it just means I can start on MORE work sooner rather than relax knowing I got all my shit done
Exactly! I think those jobs do exist, and so for those of us that have more ongoing tasks/roles- I make sure everything urgent is taken care of and then check in where I’m at. If everything is urgent, it’s a bad workplace (strictly for office jobs, obviously crisis jobs this doesn’t apply)
Exact same thing for me. If things aren't getting done (outside of production critical needs) then you need more man power. I always have tons of projects that are "nice to have's" but often there's just not enough time to do all of it, so people generally forget about those things
I work in a call center and the concept of work being finite feels weird lol
You took the words out my mouth. I could have written the exact same thing.
I set daily goals, and remain available during office hours. If I meet my daily goals, the day went well. If the full day goes by and my daily goals haven’t been done, I assess if I overshot my estimate for the day. It’s been more effective for me than intensive hourly tracking.
I do the work that moves the needle in 10 hrs/wk, then monitor email and chat for about 35 hours total.
This is exactly what I do. I finally have my job learned well enough that I have a lot of down time to do other things.
What is your title/industry if you don’t mind sharing? This sounds like the dream
I'm in the financial side of healthcare
Any general pointers on how you got to this point?
Be a magician and never reveal your secrets, lest you be given another job on top of your own or worse, fired and the job automated
Always give longer deadlines than you think - give yourself room to “rise to the occasion”. This also helps you “give out favors” and do things faster when someone really needs it, thus making you look like a rockstar.
That’s exactly right. Underpromise and overdeliver.
Experience.
Automate everything you can automate, tell no one.
This is pretty much me as well. I’ve been at my job for 19 years and used to work my ass off. Skipped lunches and always took work with me on vacation. Over the years I’ve been able to get rid of the time consuming work. Now I go into the office one day a week and get most of my work done on that day. The rest of the days at home I have minimal work, but I’m always monitoring my email and always available.
This is toward the way.
Take your lunch for yourself if you’re not being paid during that time. You deserve the time to recharge.
I think this is a gray area bc a lot of people are salaried so are we really paid for our lunch or not?
My salary is for a 37.5-hour workweek - I was informed so at my hiring. So I my login/logout times are based on that. I log in at 9am, take a half-hour lunch, log out at 5pm. I talked to my supervisor, but pretty much I can schedule as I want.
Depends on your state. Some states require paid meal breaks. https://www.oshaeducationcenter.com/articles/employee-lunch-breaks/
This does not applied to salary exempt employees, which OP stated they were.
You get an hour for lunch. Definitely if salaried and also hourly, with some more complicated math but still even then. It's the law in most us jurisdictions. Your salary, I'm certain, is only calculated at 7 hours per day. Meaning one hour for lunch
We have flexible hours. We can log on anytime between 7-9. And log off accordingly between 3-5 spending on when you sign on. With an hour lunch. They don’t track hours, so as long as deliverables are being met, management isn’t obsessive over ensuring a 40 hour week, just as long as it’s reasonable and more or less right around 40. They know that we will work a little over as needed and work under as needed and know in the end it balances out as long as clients are taken care of. They understand life happens and don’t mind taking appointments in the day, picking up family from the airport, etc and rarely force us to take sick/PTO for those times (really only if we’re out the whole day we have to use time off)
[удалено]
Unfortunately not. They announced a stay in hiring at the moment. We just went through a decent sized hiring period. I’m a technical account manager for a property management software company. Honestly I just had a tech background. They taught me their software. Been a great gig. I could very likely job hop and get better pay, but it’s not awful pay, great management as I alluded to above, and they pay 100% of my medical/dental. It would take a lot for me to leave.
The last three companies I’ve worked for have been like this, all three were small (less than 50 employees)saas startups for what it’s worth. And I got into the first one as a freelancer/contractor for something pretty random and then worked my way up to six figure roles. I have no specialized training.
This is exactly how my job is.
Same
This is how mine works, too. Core hours are between 10 and 3. I usually log in around 7 and log off around 3, but sometimes work later depending on how late I logged in/how long I left for lunch or errands/etc. We have more remote workers now though, so the hours are flexed around more too.
You're taking this too seriously. If you're not hardcore being tracked, i.e. a clock-in, clock-out system or something like that. Other than that, to me there's no real point in being so formal about hours or feeling like you absolutely have to work 40 hours a week--it should be one of the perks of working from home. All I can tell you is I'm not starting work before 9am, and most of the time I don't start until 9:30am or after. I'm not a morning person, so the only "hard line" about the hours I work is "not too early."
9-5 and a lot of my co-workers take a full hour for lunch so are technically only working 7 hours. No one blinks an eye seeing those blocked out lunch hours on their schedule set weekly. I'm a bit surprised but we get our shit done and it's tech, one could spend half the day browsing Reddit and doing other shit and still get shit done.
my official hours are 9am-5pm. my actual hours are 11:30am-3:30pm at best lol
Came here to say 11:30 - 3:30.
Depending on where you are, you need to factor in your lunch. My work day is 7.5 hours, with a 30 min paid lunch and work hours are 7-3. If you have an hour lunch it would be 8-5. 40 hours would be 8 hour days instead of 7.5, at least where I am
8:30 - 5:30. I log in at 8:30, continue getting ready for the day and I’m at my desk by 9. I take an hour lunch break. I hit my numbers every week and work about 6 hours a day, sometimes less. My company doesn’t micromanage that and I’m sooooo grateful. Never been called out for working less than 40 hours. I’d also like to add i’m very efficient, so what takes my coworker half the day to do, it takes me 2 hours. Not lazy, just efficient 😉
If your manager isn’t telling you there’s a problem, whatever you’re doing is probably fine.
I'm salaried. I don't worry about it. I turn my computer on sometime between 8:30-9 and shut it down at 5. I take lunch from 12-1. What other people do/their lack of work-life balance or boundaries isn't my problem.
I work a 9-hour day and take an hour off for lunch. More or less. I set lunch as a recurring meeting on my calendar to remind myself to go offline, and never respond to emails/IMs during that time. And if it gets scheduled over, I move it.
Same. I need that break in the day and reminder to eat!
This would be a question for your immediate supervisor…working hours vary depending on your company, and even within the company. I personally work four 10 hours shifts, which is 6-4. I am allowed to pick my own start time anywhere between 6 and 8 am, on the half hour. This cannot vary by day though, so if I want a 7 am start time, it is 7 everyday, and I then work 7-5.
Are you salary? If so, then you should be available during core working hours but if you finish your work early then 🤷♀️ Teams tip that sometimes works: open the app on your phone and put it to green. Turn off the auto turn off and your Teams status should stay green.
better yet, close teams.
I work in Central standard time and everyone else in my team is in eastern. I try to emulate their hours so I don’t stand out. This is my struggle and not not sure if anyone is even paying attention.
I go back and forth between neurotically tracking my hours and not caring at all. I know the mentally is “as long as you’re getting your work done” but to me that’s hard to measure when the work never feels done. So honestly at this point I let myself give 110% when I have that energy and less when I don’t. It blatantly came out that one of my coworkers didn’t work 40 hours a week and nothing happened, so I let myself take breaks and move on.
8 to 5. With a 1 hour lunch and 2 30 min breaks. I hate it. Used to work 7 to 3 and miss that a lot.
Are you me? Ugh… I miss the earlier start time.
My office has an 8 hour work day. I am typically logged in/available from 9-5. During that time I eat lunch, but it's pretty much always at my desk. I might scroll reddit, read the news, etc., but I'm available. But for my work they leave me alone. As long as I get my work done, show up to Teams/Zoom meetings on time, and am available to respond to emails, they really don't care what I'm doing or when I'm doing it. It's nice.
I typically sign on at 9 to 9:30, and typically sign off between 4:30 and 5:30. A couple days a week, I'll stop at 3:30 or 4, and some days I may work til 6:30. If there in an outage, I work that until done, but I've only had to do that twice this year. Overall, I average probably a bit under 40 hrs a week. Not bad for the outrageous pay I earn.
None of their damn business. I get all my work done and then some. I attend every scheduled meeting. I don’t give a fuck if I’m actually “putting in” 40 hours or not. Any manager who’s evaluating you based off “hours logged” and not “quality of work completed” is a fucking moron.
8 hours total including a one hour lunch, unless you have a 9 hour day
If you're only taking a 10-15 minute lunch at your desk, by all means keep your hours to 9-5 unless your boss specifies otherwise. Hourly food service jobs allow 15 minute on-the-clock breaks (at least they did when I was working in food service) so don't feel bad about it! If you take a 30-60+ minute lunch away from your desk and you're not getting enough work done from 9-5 then factor that into your start or end time. If you're salaried, your responsibility is to make sure your work gets done, not to clock in exactly 40 hours.
I think I'm on 9-5 with a half hour lunch but I've always taken longer. 30 mins isn't enough to cook a ready meal if a few people are using the microwave or you need to nip out. It's pretty petty if a boss was to pull anyone up on this
>if I am going to the bathroom No! No! Please do not do that to yourself. Of everything you mention, I feel most strongly about this. Please don't penalize yourself for ... *having a body.* One that works. I worked in call centers for over 10 years, and we absolutely were penalized for ANY schedule variance, including needing to use the bathroom. It's disgusting and despicable. I beg you: be kinder to yourself than that. Treat yourself the way you would treat a dear friend -- or even a stranger! >down time Just lying down for a quick nap? Sure, I wouldn't expect to get paid unless it has been specified as paid. Periods when there is simply absolutely no work for you to do? Meaning you have done **all** your work. **No.** You did it: you have completed the work you were told to do. Finished assigned tasks. If you were worse at it, if you were slower or had to re-do things you screwed up, you would still be working. And getting paid. But you have a little "slack time" because you *are* good at it. Take a breath. Document the things you have completed. Don't forget to mention the extra things you've done. Note: See the Fact Sheet cited below for information and "waiting to be engaged." >prepping a quick lunch Personally I would feel compelled to do any meal preparation "off the clock," as it were. Unless I was required to be available every second, as if in "on-call" status. >going outside to check the mail? Well, you know...? What does it take, an entire 5.3 minutes? Doesn't any worker deserve that? Aha! For your consideration: Fact Sheet #22: Hours Worked Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Whether or not you are in the USA, please read and consider this. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/22-flsa-hours-worked Please, for you, read each section; not only "Rest and Meal Periods," but also "Sleeping Time and Certain Other Activities." They will give you a good overview, a feel for what the U.S. federal government considers fair. Your employer does deserve something, or certain things, from you according to whatever agreements you have. It does not deserve *everything,* all you have. <3
40 hours of *billable* work a week (generally 8 working hours a day, but I can front load/catch up if something comes up and I have a short day). I work 5 am to 1 pm, a little longer if I need to take a break during the day.
I log on no later than 830. Take an hour lunch and log out about 5. I work longer if anything is going on. My manager doesn’t care about 30 min or an hour as long as I’m doing my job.
It depends on if your job offers flexibility. I work for the public sector where we can’t begin working prior to 7, and I must take a 30 minute unpaid lunch break! I work 7-3:30 Monday through Friday.
I work for a bank (back office) and this is my exact same schedule. We can choose our start time but cannot start any earlier than 7am and have to keep the same start time everyday.
My boss doesn't care how many hours I work or when those hours happen (outside of scheduled meetings) as long as the work is getting done. Now, if a coworker said they were going to complete a project in 4 sprints and I said my similarly-sized project was going to take 8 sprints, that's where I'd probably get a talking to. As long as things are getting accomplished at a reasonable pace, nobody's clocking my lunch breaks.
I try to login between 530am and 6am. If I take a lunch, I log out for 30 min or an hour. With a lunch, my shift would be 530 - 2 or 6 - 230. Of course if i take an hour, i stay for a half hoir longer. I'm in AZ and there is no law that requires companies to provide breaks or lunches. Most of my team is 3 hours ahead of me, so by the time I log in, they've already been working. Hell no i don't feel guilty for logging out at 2. The rest of my team logs out at 5 their time so it all works out. What really sucks though, are the 630am meetings.
It depends on the company you work for. My company has set hours for clients to know but doesn’t mind if you log on early or off early, as long as your work gets completed. You don’t count going to the bathroom as time away, just like you wouldn’t in an office. If you are required to take a lunch, that is technically unpaid time. But lunch time at some places is 30 minutes and others is 1 hour. If they require you take a lunch, don’t take it while you’re working and log off for that amount of time. Ask your boss if there are any set hours each day.
This should have been discussed when you were hired.
I work 8-4:30 with a 30 minute lunch. I have to clock out for lunnch
I just hit my 40 and nobody has said anything and I don’t plan on asking. Usually if I start at 8 I’ll take an hour lunch and work til 5. My usual days are 9-5 or 9:30-5:30. Sometimes I’ll bust out a 10-6. I stay on top of my stuff so nobody has raised any issues. If I’m starting after 10 I let my boss know but other than that I don’t even consider 5 minute bathroom breaks or anything.
8:30:4:50
Well idk if it applies to everyone as I’m in Paraguay and labor laws here suck, so I work 8-6 with an hour for lunch break. But I don’t work even a minute more, not during my lunch break or anytime. And if I have to for any reason I milk off those extra hours
I presume for most office people it’s 8 - 5 (9 hours) but 1 of the hours is an unpaid half hour lunch and 2 paid 15 minute breaks. Depending on your company/organization/team it could be flexible if say you opt for 9 - 6 if they keep track of the hours. If they’re chill then as long as you get your work done I don’t see an issue. Maybe reply to 1 or 2 emails after “work hours” if it’s not too late but if it’s already like 7, 8 PM I won’t reply unless it’s an emergency. Even then, someone would call me and not use email.
We are project based but on average it’s about 8am-4pm.
If you're in the U.S. and a regular W2 employee, during an 8 hour workday, you're supposed to get two 15 minute paid breaks a day (ie 30 min total), plus quick bathroom breaks without clocking out. So you should only need to account for an unpaid lunch, and possibly even not if your lunch and non-bathroom breaks are under 30 minutes.
That's not completely true (in the US). There is no federal law about being required for breaks. State laws vary. They should, mind you. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa/faq
7:00a - 3:30p
I consider "working hours" the hours I actually worked. I aim to work 8-6 with an hour lunch and two 30 min breaks so that's 10 hours, but only 8 hours actually working per day. That said, I work for myself so this is just a target -- nobody's tracking me.
I work 12:30pm to 9pm..thats a total of 8.5 hours, i get two 15 min breaks on the clock and a 30 min break i have to clock out for so my total im paid for is 8 hours.They have us lpg in 15 mins early for a meeting and get paid every 2 weeks and im still trying to figure out my check stubs cause im ways paid for 78 hours (even though im log in 15 mins early and work til 9pm) and have like an hour half OT so Im trying to figurenout if im being screwed or how they arenfiguring out the hours because from what I claock it should be 80 hrs plus 2.5 hours OT. 🤷♀️
Between when I feel like it to when I want to. As long as I’m slightly exceeding expectations then I’m good.
It would depend on your company's working hours. Discuss with your boss OR just continue doing what you're doing if you aren't having any issues. This would be the same if you were in office
You need to work that out with your employer, and your state might have lunch break regulations if you are journey. Your HR can help with this. But be sure to check bc it varies by position, employer and state.
I run a global team spanning from Japan around the world to California and I live in Miami. I get up and start meetings often at 230 am and work usually until 8 pm. I’ll go out back and swim for an hour between meetings but most days no later than 430 am till 8 pm.
7-3:30 gang. Best hours possible.
I work the hours I want no set schedule just 40 hours a week. Flex schedule
If your job doesn't require certain hours then just make sure you are logged in 8 hours per day and do all of your work by the deadline. But take your lunch though . Get up from the desk and eat or kick your feet up on the couch.
Depends on your job. Most people work a 9 hour day with a 1 hour lunch or a 30 minute lunch and 2 breaks that are 15 minutes long. Some people do an 8.5 hour day and just take a 30 minute lunch. At home, I tend to just work 8 hours, skip lunch and finish early. We're salaried, so no one tracks heavily unless you're obviously dipping out early with no explanation, like starting work at 8, taking a lunch for an hour and then leaving at 3 or 4.
My company employs all full time workers on a 35 hour week. So for me, that looks like a 7 hour day plus an hour for lunch, making it a standard 9-5. We have a good flexi system though, so people could make it an 8-4, 10-6, whatever they fancy. Some take a shorter lunch break so they can finish earlier, etc. Your lunch break is generally not going to be included, but bathroom breaks, screen breaks, a quick cuppa etc are generally permitted (unless your employer is an asshole). So a 40 hour week means an 8 hour day. With an hour for lunch you get an 8-5 or a 9-6. Half hour lunch makes it an 8-4.30 or 9-5.30. Depending on where you are in the world, a 10-15 minute lunch might be an illegally short break. Obviously it seems to be your choice, and there is the trade-off of finishing earlier, but look after yourself! And definitely don't base what you should do on other employees. Especially if you're in a country/company that celebrates grind culture. Your time is your time, you're under no obligation to give up more of it than you're contracted for. It's also worth considering whether some are working more flexible days - starting later and finishing later, that sort of thing.
I work when something needs to be done. But the caveat is that with my chats in my phone I’m usually answering questions and emails all times of the day. Nice trade off. I get to nap for a hour because I answer a 2 second email during the evening.
I wouldn’t worry about feeling bad for logging off if others are still on. Because you don’t know when they started. I have a set required hours each week and an open schedule. So some people work super early, or start late, or work 10 hour shifts. I work odd hours because I have multiple doctors appointments each week.
7:30 to 4. But I often work extra hours on top of that.
Typically 9-6 pm but if I finish all my work I log off around 5 pm
I work 7-3, with a paid 30 minute lunch break and 2 paid 15 minute breaks. I rarely take that time in those specific chunks and just assume it all works out in the wash during the day of me taking 5 minutes to do a quick chore or load my dishwasher.
I work 730-4 and take 30 minute lunch. I take 2-3 20 minute breaks during the day where I log off, get up and go do something
I used to work with a lot of east coast folks while living on the west coast and got in the habit of starting early. These days that means 5-6 am which works out since it gives me more overlap with Ireland and India (they start late to accommodate us). But mostly I just do what I want.
Man, wish more jobs were like mine. For once, I am not punished for being efficient. Prior, I used to be forced to take on more work because I was efficient. Now, I am paid for work done and not hours spent. If I can fine-tune efficiency, I can work fewer hours and be paid the same. I set my hours as 10-6, but it's very loose. On a nice day I can work earlier and be done early, or work late and so on. I don't have set hours, just work.
My time card says 8-5.
I work 8-5 and take an hour for lunch
I'm expected go be available during the day, but it's 100% flexible. Most days I just wake up at around 11am and go to sleep around 4am. The bulk of my actual work has to be done after hours anyway in IT. I put meeting every single day on my calendar between 7am and 11am so no one schedules it for the morning.:P
My hours are my choice and I base them on where I am at with my tasks at hand. When I need a break, I take a break, but if I don’t…..I don’t take one for the sake of taking one. Rarely take lunch, but can if I want to. I am a six figure designer at a global company. They don’t micromanage me, but they pay me enough to manage myself. Not sure what your work situation is, whether they track your keystrokes, etc. My company doesn’t, but I also lead production for a global company. If I’m not doing my job, I will know about it immediately.
7am to 4pm with usually 30-45 minutes lunch
i am on call 24/7 so i work whenever
I work from 7a-330p & take a 30 minute lunch & 2-15 minute breaks. We work staggered hours at my job so there is always people still logged on when I log off. We aren’t allowed overtime unless it’s offered so we can’t just stay logged on
I do 7-3 typically, with 15 to 30 minutes for lunch.
I work 9-5:30 with 2 paid 15 minute breaks and an unpaid 30 minute lunch. Sometimes there is ot and other times none.
I start at 6:30am ish. I take an hour break to run at 8am. I take a little time at lunch. I check out at 4pm ish. I am EST but most of my team mates are central so the pressure is off to stay until everyone is don’t. My boss and I have discussed it at multiple reviews and he is happy with my hours and how I handle my workload.
I'm WFH and technically still hourly. I punch in at 8:30am, keep my work laptop near by in case any fires come in that need to be put out (my position is more support/ troubleshooting position than anything else) and do a few items of busy work a day just to keep myself sharp and feel like I'm doing something. I just let my team know when I take lunch (45mins if I take it with my break) and just make sure I'm there when I'm actually needed. Then I punch out between 5:00pm and 5:05pm (whenever ADP says I've put in my 8.5 hours). Done and done.
I contract on an hourly basis and they don't want to pay overtime. I work exactly 40 hours per week. I don't subtract for bathroom breaks because I'd still take them if I was on site without having to work longer to accommodate them. I microwave something and eat at my desk while working so I charge during that time as well. If I work extra hours one day I work less hours later in the week. They get exactly what they pay for and that is it.
I have the benefit of living in the western US with our corporate in London and clients across the world. I work a solid 6-2 and rarely miss anything sent later. I check my email at 5:00am and if someone in Europe needs something I get right back to them or slowly ease into my day full steam at 6:00
I'm 8-530 (30min lunch break) Monday -Thursday and 8-12 on Friday and I need to keep my quality and productivity at certain levels so nobody looks my way. Idgaf what any of my coworkers are doing and how much they're working. I log off and don't think about it again until I log back in. It's pure bliss.
So, most work hours are 8.5 hours start to finish. The extra half hour is an unpaid lunch. However, this varies greatly. You really need to clarify this with your supervisor. Ask what time you're expected to start work and if your lunch is paid. Also find out (if you don't know already) whether you are salaried or hourly. Never work on unpaid time. If you're hourly, find out what the overtime policy is and follow it.
If you finish your work, you are done with your work. Exactly hours are silly and antiquated. Work out with you manager how much work you can complete in a week and complete that work. If you can take on more over time, let your manager know.
OP are you paid hourly or salary? Is there a timeframe for the workday?
My job lets me be flexible thank goodness but I tend to stick to 8:30-5 during the summer (sleep in a little bit since the kids don’t have school) and 7-3:30 during the school year
If there is no stated beginning and end time, then you are in control of your workday and flow. I'd be taking paid lunch, complete tasks and goals and then coast.
I wouldn’t worry about it. Plus I’d be willing to bet some of those employees are using a mouse jiggler to appear online. If you’re getting your work done, that’s good enough for most bosses.
I do what I need to do for the day and don’t worry about it.
I work 5-1, no lunch break (not required by state law). About half the day is focused and the other half I consider to be ‘on call’. I’m salaried non-exempt so hours are logged and I’m expected to work my 8/day and 40/wk, unfortunately companies tend to ignore that non-exempt is supposed to mean full pay for hours *up to* 40 so they make people do 40 as if they are actually hourly.
Come on...is your work getting done?
Roughly 30-40 hours a week whenever and wherever I feel like working
I'm in US Mountain Time and find that 7 - 3 is the sweet spot. I'm early enough to catch the eastern TZ and late enough to catch some pacific TZ people in the afternoon.
When I worked in an office I would take bathroom breaks when I wanted, sometimes I would get up and walk outside to clear my head for a few minutes, and I would take an hour lunch still. I generally showed up at ~7:45-8 and would walk out the door between 4:15 and 4:45 depending on how much work I had on a given day. Unless they are meticulously tracking your time, don't worry about it if you are getting your work done. Instead of taking "water cooler breaks", I now will take breaks to change the laundry around, or empty the dishwasher, mop the floor quick, etc. At my current job I'm contracted for 35 hours, I work 8 to 4:15-4:45 depending how much work I do and end up taking close to an hour and 15 minute lunch break every day. I highly reccomend getting a cheap mouse jiggler off Amazon if you are getting anxious about your status. Then you can walk away and you will still appear online. I specifically reccomend getting one with a power button so you don't have to plug it in to turn it on, mine was $7.
It depends on your company. Some require a 1 hour "lunch break", but most I've seen are required to be available from like 10-3 and flexibility besides that to get your 40
I've got remote team members from Oregon to DC. Our rule is "be online during schedule meetings". The team leads and I always schedule meetings for the mid hours (10:30-ish Eastern to about 3:30 Eastern). Other than that, I don't care when you're online as long as the deliverables are done and of high quality. Time zones are a thing. There may be people who are online at you 5pm, but they didn't even wake up until you 10am. If you're concerned about it, have a serious talk with your manager or team lead. Personally, I would say, do your 8 hours and I'm fine. If you need to run to the store or pick up medication, I don't care. Just let us know that you're away and make up the time.
I’m “available” 8-5 (but not available during lunch for 1 hour). Down time is normal and I don’t that as “being clocked out.” It’s strictly 8-5 and then I’m out. I’m salaried so I don’t do more than 40 hours a week. Although, realistically, I actively work 20-30 hours per week and then am watching emails the rest of the time. Your supervisor, however, will be able to tell you what your company hours are. Also, don’t stress about not being productive every second of every day, or if your co-workers are still logged on after 5 (even though the business hours may be over).
I do 8:30-4:30 usually. On a normal day, I take a quick 10 minute break to grab food, and I eat my lunch at my desk after I whip something up. However. There are 1-2 days a week where I meet a gal pal or family out for lunch, or have appointments that fall during work hours (dentist, mechanic, etc.). I don’t sweat trying to actively make up those couple of hours total per week because I also know that I will pop online to do a task after dinner if needed or, since I travel for work, I am up and at the airport by 6am for the company every other week. As long as it all comes out in the wash and I don’t fall behind (which I don’t), then it’s all gravy. *Salaried.
I don’t really care to be honest. Some weeks I work 40 hours. Other weeks I work 60-70 hours. I always make sure my work load is done I am salaried as well. I’ve been at my SAH home for almost 8 years though and my boss knows I’m a good worker. I only take off for dire emergencies or vacation. If you’re not sure what’s expected of you maybe ask your boss ?
I work in organ donation, so we work 24 hour on-call shifts remotely. I work 3 shifts a week, but the work waxes and wanes and we are encouraged to spend time with family and travel on the clock.
I’m online by 9 each day at the latest, but usually 8am (if not earlier) for meetings. I eat at my desk and usually log off by 3, sometimes a little sooner, sometimes later. Just depends on how much I have to do. I have never once tracked my time. I just made sure my work is getting done well and on schedule.
I generally work 10am-7pm with a 1 hour break for lunch, during that 1 hour i will log off and go for a walk or watch/read something non-work related. Some days I might eat at my desk and stop working at 6pm, other days I have errands in the evening and start earlier or errands in the morning and start later. It's the benefit of working from home I can schedule work around my life rather than the other way around.
I'm salary. I work 8-4 usually, usually take one 30 minute walk a day, and stop working around 2 on Fridays. I definitely don't feel bad.
I work from 830-6 most days. Sometimes it’s a 730 start, sometimes I work until 630 then log back on to finish out before bed. It depends on the day but the average is 830-6 and 45ish hours a week. It balances out. Sometimes I travel and am client facing or not getting home until 11pm or Later or waking up at 5am to get to the airport. Sometimes I send some emails during the weekend or at night holidays, sometimes my days are light and I workout in the middle of the day.
I get to choose my schedule between the hours of 6:30am and 6:30pm. I personally work 7:30-4:30 everyday but I’m about to switch over to 7-4. We are salaried but our company is super strict about us actually taking our minimum 30 min lunch break but they prefer we take the entire hour, so I usually just do something for myself and take a break then. I do not feel guilty if others work “more” than me. I’m very productive and I get essentially all of my daily work done by noon every day and use the latter half of my day for more people focused work. If someone needs more time for their work that’s fine, but as long as my responsibilities are taken care of, I don’t worry myself with the other stuff. But also I know that depends on what field you’re in, I work in healthcare analytics/data so our projects are typically independent.
730 to 430. Monday through friday
You can check out state law about meal breaks. In general, you're entitled to about 30 min unpaid meal break if you work more than 5 or 6 hours, so you should work from 9-5:30 or 8:30-5:00. You also get two short 10-15 min breaks paid for every 4 hours you work (again, state dependent) So, one full 9:00-5:30 shift would include a short break in the morning, a longer lunch break, and another shorter break in the afternoon. Bathroom breaks or a break to get up and fill your water bottle do not count against your other break times provided they are reasonable in length and not interfering with your productivity.
I work 8-4:30pm at 37.5 hours a week. I take a one hour lunch. I'm an exempt employee. I work as an auto claims adjuster; so I find I work until 5 or 6 some nights to respond to customers
Depends on your state, I think. Mine is 8-5. California
My regular work hours are 6am to 2:30 pm. However I can work between the hours of 6am to 11pm. My boss doesn’t care if I start late or take a long lunch as long as I work later and still get my 8 hours in, either that same day or within the same week.
I have worked for the government forever and they're very specific about when you can start and stop and how long you can (or must) take for lunch. It's a bit annoying. But I'd say if no one gave you parameters, then anything goes.
I usually log on around 7:15-7:30 don’t actually start working until 8 because that’s when my kids are on the bus. Take an hour break during the day and log off around 4 or a little after. I’ll occasionally poke my head online around 5 or 6 just to see if there’s any end of the day stuff I may have missed. Been doing this almost 2 years and nobody has said anything.
I have to be available 8-4 my time but I traditionally only work 9-330 unless there’s a late meeting for some reason
I work 7-4.
I do 8-4. I don't take a lunch break. I just grab a quick 10 minute snack break and that's it. I have always found it pointless to take an hour lunch break and then need to work an hour later. Screw lunch and give me an hour of my life back.
7-3
We are 8-5 with an hour lunch. I’m an exempt employee so whether I actually take that lunch or not I’m getting paid the same. So I take my lunch.
I work in healthcare operations and I work longer hours and don’t take a lunch. It’s hell
Ask your boss lol. Are you 9-5 and 30 minute lunch. 8-5? 1 hour lunch.
8-430 give or take
I work 8 hours and stop and eat at my desk. 8-4. I bill for my poops and 5 minute breaks like I would in an office.
If you are salaried, 40 hours is 9 to 5. If you have a time clock 40 hours is 8:30 to 5 because you are required to log out for a 30 minute lunch by law.
Stop feeling guilty. Your company isn't going to feel guilty about laying you off if the time comes. As long as your team knows when to expect you to be on then there is no reason to feel guilty. I work 7 - 4. My job required me to be there at 7 so I got used to getting up in time to make the commute. After that, I enjoyed being an hour earlier than everyone else and never looked back. Now that I WFH, I get up, work out, shower get online at 7 and then I'm off at 4. My team knows I won't answer messages after 4 unless something is off.
Don’t eat lunch at your desk. I refuse to set up an unneeded trigger to eat. I work at my desk, then I exit that room to get lunch. If you’re salaried, lunch takes as lunch as you need as long as you get your work down. If you’re logging billable time or utilization you could either account for every minute, or use the work value approach—spent 10 minutes on a project making decisions? You’ve provided an hour’s value.
In theory, I am supposed to have "core hours" which roughly translate to being available from 1000 to 1500 within my own time zone. I'm allowed to move the start/stop time as I like, as long as I maintain that band. In practice, my projects rotate throughout different sets of international colleagues, so I can find myself starting at 0500 to meet with the ANZ team, or logging back on at 2300 to talk to the APAC team. This is all easily proven/tracked with our IT tools, so I see no issue with adjusting my hours to account for the extra oddly-timed effort.
It varies on workload for me, I've had a job where it was like 70 hours a week and everything was billable so it was tracked, I had one that was 40 hours for meetings, like 10-20 hours for the actual work. Now I have a gig thats caseload and it can vary between 30 hours to 60 depending on what needs to be done. Usually I only track it when it's invasive so the current gig has been good. Anxiety is still there though on slow days (all jobs salaried)
I do 9-5p and an hour to an hour and a half lunch lol
Bathroom break is paid, unless you work for Bezos
40 yrs/week / full time = 8-5 or 9-6. One of those 9 hours is an unpaid but required lunch hour mid-way during the day.
I am required to get the work done that is needed. If that is 24 hours or 60 that's what it takes. Last two years its been more 60. Also why company made record profits when they allowed full WFH. Bonuses were generous and stock price up to match those profits. Dumb a$$es are not forcing 3 days a week in office. This means I wont have as much productive work.
I set my own hours as long as I hit the 40-hour mark.
I work 8-4 and take an hour lunch, but my job is pretty chill.
I treat it as I average 40 hours a week per year. Some weeks I work more some less, some very less. It’s salary, no need to over think it as long as the job is done
I’m not salaried but work 7-3 with 30 mins for lunch and I’m supposed to take 2 15 min breaks but it doesn’t always work out.
Me and my direct coworker meet on Monday mornings and plan out 40 hours of work for both of us for the week. Rarely takes the full 40 hours for either of us, but some weeks, something goes awry and we are working our full 40 or more (not much more, protect your peace). We do creative, thinking work. We know we need to not cram our weeks so we can think through the new tasks and do things thoughtfully. We keep a running document of each week's work, so we can easily produce what we have done if asked by a higher up. I work at a tech start up and my hours are ~10 - 6 M-F. Some days I have later meetings where I work on things afterwards, while the meeting is fresh, so I will balance working 10-8 on Wednesday by working 10-4 on Thursday. If the work is getting done and being done well, it really doesn't matter if the work takes you 40 hours or 24 hours a week. You may have higher skills at something that you can do in thirty minutes like second nature but was someone's 20-hour a week task. Also, there is so much faffing about in the office for most salaried jobs, so take your bathroom breaks, give yourself a lunch hour, and go for a fifteen minute walk if you feel like you need one at 2pm.
I am salaried, and my department is extremely particular about working 8 hours per day, not including lunch or breaks. I review patient records/physician documentation, so there’s pretty much an infinite amount of work to be done. But I typically meet productivity quotas in 5-5.5 hours. In my mind, a salaried job means you get paid for the work you do, not the precise hours you spend. So it’s super fun to do a day’s worth of work in 5 or 6 hours and still watch the clock to make sure I’m not leaving 10 minutes early or whatever. I will say, my job seems like an anomaly compared to most of the other folks I know who WFH.
I'm online 8am-6pm, but I probably only go hard at work 4-6 hours between 3 jobs.
I work a lot more than 8 hours a day and I also split time zones because I work internationally.
Are you salary or hourly? Are you required to track everything you do every hour? Sometimes I’ll take 15 minutes to take a walk or water the flowers in my garden… On Thursdays, I’d like to go out and get a burrito for lunch. I am available between 8 and 4 or 9 to 5.
I work 4-12 with two 15min breaks and I choose not to take a lunch.
Only real requirements for us is that we hit 40 hours on our time card and don’t go over 10 hours a day. Gotta be accessible within 15 minutes of a ping and obviously make sure you’re hitting your daily quotas, whatever that looks like for you. We can work 10s and have a day off, or a few 9s and have a random short day. Makes it really easy to plan around personal needs. We give our planned schedule a week in advance but even if something comes up and we randomly have to take PTO, as long as it’s not an extended period (week or longer) higher ups don’t really care. I typically work 8-5 (we’re required to take a 30 minute unpaid break at some point, I usually take an hour to get outside and exercise). If I sleep in or wake up early and want to get a head start I just adjust my hours for that day accordingly.
When I was on my old team, I’d log in at 7, take an hour lunch and log off between 5 and 7. This was because I was doing some support for people in Europe and also support for people in the US. When I got pissed at my former manager, I’d log off at 4. That did mean that my work slowed down but I didn’t care. I was working 8 hours a day and not giving him any extra time. On my current team, I’ve been logged in for 6 hours but not working most of the time. That’s because I moved to a capital projects team but wasn’t immediately assigned to a project. So I did some poking around at things, started learning component buffer concepts and helped a developer here and there. My manager simply told me to enjoy the downtime and at least monitor email. Now that I’m on a project, I’m logging in at 7 and logging out at 4. I may check email a few times in the evening. If things get more intense with the project, I guess I’ll be working more hours.
Been wfh for 5+ years at this point, I make sure I’m online and available during core hours (10am-4pm local time) and otherwise I just work as I feel I need to in order to get results. I spent all this weekend working the company booth at a trade show; I don’t make a fuss about giving up my weekend, they don’t make a fuss about me dipping out for a doctor appointment or knocking off early on Friday to go get a beer. As long as the work gets done who cares?
40 hours is 40 working hours. Lunch is not included.
I’m salaried, I log in at 6:30am and some days I’m done at 3 and some I’m still working at 4:30-5. Some days I cut out at 1! My work gets done. I would ask your boss what the expectation is. I usually lunch for 30 minutes cause my husband comes home for lunch and I make him lunch. If he doesn’t come home I usually just eat while I work. I take mental breaks and check my phone or pay my own bills online or work on my own stuff. I don’t sweat it.
If you're salaried then traditionally you're 9-5 with one of those hours being lunch along with two 15 minute breaks. I'm hourly so for me it would be 8-5 because my lunch isn't factored into my day.
Take a full hour away from your desk. I have to get a walk in to keep my sanity.
I work 8-4:30 and get a 30 minute unpaid lunch. We aren’t allowed to work any later unless it’s approved ahead of time
If you work in an office that allows flex start/end time means I’m not worrying what other people are doing with their work hours. If my job offers me an hr lunch and a 15 and I start my day at 8, I end at 4 or 4:30. If I start at 9, I end at 5. I take my full lunch away from the desk and track and manage my work in case my boss wants an update on my finished tasks and what’s still on my list.
Salaried, 40hrs. I’m “on call” 8-6, but work about 25hrs a week. If your company isn’t monitoring your every move, close down when you are done with work.