Work/Life Balance - How many hours a week do you work?

[Squirlz]

We run a business out of our home, selling herbal supplements for animals on the internet. My Wife developed a line of dietary supplements, salves and tinctures when she was raising dairy goats, before we met. I work 4-5 hours a day filling orders and keeping inventory.

Before we met almost 9 years ago I had 40 hour/week Engineering type jobs that I was good at but hated. I was laid off from my last job literally days after our romance began.

All our products are actually human quality, but dealing with the FDA would be a whole new kettle of worms.

 

[prprincess]

For you guys who have desk jobs but don't have anything to do, do you have to try to look busy? Or can you get away with reading a book or surfing the net or something?

At my job it's feast or famine...mostly famine. I pass the time by reading/posting here or on Reddit. I also play on my phone alot because I can hide it, and read books online. I usually keep a "work" related site up in case someone sneaks up behind me.

 

[indimom]

I worked 60 hours a week for years, but mostly from home, so it was a lot but manageable. (I ran a licensed home day care so my kids were with me, and it was usually getting quiet by the time DH got home, so we still had a good amount of family time.) The real bonus was no nights or weekends.

As an RN, I now work 36 hours a week on a surgical unit. Currently, I'm working nights because the incentive was too nice to pass up with a college age kid and another nearing that point. I can pick up overtime pretty much any time I want to... which isn't often, lol. But I do when it fits my schedule.
While I work fewer hours, there are days at a time where I don't see my family much, since I'm pretty much sleeping, working or commuting.

DH typically works 40-46 hours a week. There are occasions when he'll work more, like the last two weeks where he worked 56. But those are rare and he does get paid overtime for it. He also receives 3 weeks and 3 days of comp time. Next year, he will be at 5 weeks.

 

[powellrj]

Before I retired I worked 7:30-5:00. I did all the kid stuff because dh's job was a nightmare. He was a small format salesman for a major soft drink company. He would leave at 5am and get home around 10pm. Every time he got a new boss, the hours would get longer. In the beginning it was a great job, by the end he was almost dead. He didn't feel like he could leave because he was too old to find another job. Finally an old coworker called and offered him a job in the field he use to work in. He retired from his job and took the new job at 45 hours a week and we are both much happier.

 

[Marchand63]

Usually 56, since I pick up overtime when I can. DH is usually about 60. Although his varies since his is a job you can't leave until work is completed.

 

[iivye]

I'm a CPA and used to work in public accounting (for ten years) and my work weeks were generally a minimum of 40 and often went as high as 60 in our busy tax season. A year ago I left and went to work for a manufacturing company. I now only work 40 hours a week and love it! I will never go back to working more than 40 hours a week. I found that working more than 40 hours was extremely stressful and often I would come home with a bad attitude. Home life is so much better now.

 

[EveDallas]

OP here - it's been interesting reading everyone's responses. I don't think I saw any 60+ hours a week responses. Which is good!

I saw someone post they are looking for a new job. I've been at my company for 20+ years and I've decided it's time to leave. In the last 3 years our company has changed so much and definitely not for the better. It's really quite sad. I'm not the only one here that feels this way and we've already had people leave. I'm not looking forward to the job hunting process but it's time.

Well that's because I didn't respond yet. I work two jobs so I average 60 - 70 hours a week. During the week, I barely have time to do more than shower, eat, and fall into bed. Luckily both jobs are M-F so I do get the weekends to do whatever needs to get done. I don't like it but with a brother in kidney failure I do what I have to do to pay the bills.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I value family time and work to live and not live to work. I never stay more than 40 hours. I use all 6 weeks of vacation time. I never miss my kids events. My department is very understanding of family and personal time.

 

[Kitty 34]

I'm retired but when I subbed I worked up to 36 hours a week.

 

[kmb584]

I work a lot. I'm a nurse in a specialist physician's office and the posted hours are 8:00-4:30, but that's just not reality. I'm there by 7:20 am to get the rooms stocked and set up for the day ahead and don't end the day until the doctor is finished. That's often anywhere from 6:00 - 8:30 depending on just how far behind he is (we see a lot of emergency patients sent over from the ER in addition to the 40-55 scheduled patients). This week is an exception as my mom is in the ICU at Thomas Jefferson after having surgery for a brain aneurysm. That leaves me and me alone in town (2.5 hours from TJUH in Philadelphia) to pick my daughter up from after school, which ends at 5:30. A normal work week for me is anywhere from 50-62+ hours.

 

[disneychrista]

Roughly 40. The BIGGEST issue I have is that even though I "get" 5 week of vacation a year i usually only get to take half that.

 

[dazedx3]

I work 37-40 hours paid and 6-10 unpaid, 1 week vacation and no other benefits.

 

[kuhltiffany]

Paid work? 0
Volunteer work? Anywhere from 3 to 10

DH and I planned it from the very beginning that we would always live on his income. It means we do not have a fancy house or new stuff, we share a car, make meals at home and are very purposeful with how we spend money. I will occasionally pick up a part-time/contract/flexible job if we need extra money for something specific (like our Alaska trip last year), but there's no way I would return to a full time job and not be able to pick my kids up from school, look after them when they are sick, go on their field trips, enjoy the summer with them, etc. We tried it once for a few months when the kids were small, but it was not worth coming home tired, making dinner, getting the kids to bed, then wasting weekends shopping/cleaning/running errands. We had more money but no time to enjoy it!

 

[lovemygoofy]

I'm a suicide prevention program manager for the Army.
I try to stay around 50 hours a week. Some weeks are more than that especially when I'm on 24/7 crisis intervention call two weeks a month. I try to balance when I reach more than 50 by taking extra hours off the next week if possible.
I'm typically in my office by 715 and out by 5pm. I do work lot of weekends and try to balance that with a day or two off in the week but it just depends on my calendar.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

50-70 hours a week when I was hourly. Now that I'm back on salary, I average about 45. Our "8 hour day" is 8-5 with a built-in unpaid hour lunch (DW has a paid lunch). I try to avoid staying late & coming in on weekends. I don't mind coming in early (up to 3 hours) or taking a short lunch if necessary.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Nowadays it's only about 20 hours.

When I worked in advertising, I was working 50 - 60 hours a week and going slowly insane.

 

[Klayfish]

I work in auto insurance claims leadership. I work roughly 45 hours per week. Before we had kids, I put more hours in. But now with 3 active kids, family is priority. I work my tail off when I'm at work, but I've also made it clear that my family comes first and I refuse to be the kind of dad that misses all his kids' activities because he's working. My employer is very supportive of this, I'm lucky.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

40 hours at work. Maybe another 10 a day total at home checking work e-mail.

I actually worked for one company that had it in the handbook that you could not be at work, or be working more than 10 minutes before, or 10 minutes after your scheduled shift unless your were assigned overtime

CYA. You never want an ex employee coming back claiming they weren't paid for all their work. I have to remind my boss all the time NEVER to allow the hourly folks to so ANYTHING off the clock.

 

[DawnM]

35-45 hours per week, depending on the week. I typically work 35-38 hours per week but occasionally it is more.

 

[Uncranky Donald]

Currently 20hrs a week stage hand/bartender. I am on sabbatical. Before this November I worked anywhere from 40-70hrs a week, I co-own, manage,work at a 200 capacity music venue & bar. I am officially burned out from 8years of this, hence the sabbatical and return to random freelance work until I acquire my mind back