How many hours per week do you work?
How many hours per week do you work?
(OP)
Along the lines of commute time (thread731-125181)...
(Which I should add is fun to read!)
How many hours are engineers working per week?
And...
How flexible is your schedule? (Are you an "8-to-5"er or were you able to choose your hours?
I'll go first,
40hrs per week (99% of the time)
8am - 5pm M-F
(But of course I'd love for my scheudle to be more flexible. I'm curious as to what the rest of you are living day-to-day; and are you lovin' it?!)
(Which I should add is fun to read!)
How many hours are engineers working per week?
And...
How flexible is your schedule? (Are you an "8-to-5"er or were you able to choose your hours?
I'll go first,
40hrs per week (99% of the time)
8am - 5pm M-F
(But of course I'd love for my scheudle to be more flexible. I'm curious as to what the rest of you are living day-to-day; and are you lovin' it?!)





RE: How many hours per week do you work?
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
All in all here it depends directly on who you rdirect manager is. My boss is really laid back and has a get the work done sort of attitude.
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
We have a fair bit of flexibility, and give a lot in return. If we want a late start it is rarely even questioned. It's not especially uncommon for us to start work in the small hours, or work through 'til midnight if we are on a particular task. There's no overtime but we get a reasonable salary by UK standards and there is a fair bit of unofficial lieu time.
We work a lot of weekend days during the long maintenance outage season - 11 turbine-generators over four months - and that can become a bit wearing. Last year I ran a major project on site where my team worked a fortnight of 16-18hr days culminating in a 25hr commissioning nightmare. I was asleep before my colleague had driven me home and I took the rest of the week off and booked no holiday. Overall a massive net loss in hours worked against hours paid, but we had the satisfaction of a tough job done exceptionally well. The sacrifice we made has saved us a lot of callout time since, and I got a nice achievement award too.
The work/life balance is a bit skew at the moment, so much so that I'm exploring the job market. For the first time in my career money has slipped to second place behind getting some quality time back, so things must be serious!I have some tough decisions ahead I think.
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If we learn from our mistakes,
I'm getting a great education!
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
"The work/life balance is a bit skew at the moment, so much so that I'm exploring the job market. For the first time in my career money has slipped to second place behind getting some quality time back, so things must be serious!I have some tough decisions ahead I think."
I've found myself in the same boat earlier this year. I took a leap of faith and ended up with a great job that is less stressful and time consuming than my previous job. So take that leap!
Good Luck!!
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
Regards,
An apathetic slacker Gen-X'r
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
I used to work 7:15 to 4:00. Now my official hours are 9:00 to 6:00 but I usually work through lunch and leave earlier (except when I still stay till 6, 7, 11 because I'm on a roll). My ideal hours would be noon to 6:00 and then two other hours to be made up sometime between 1 and 6 AM, but the bureaucracy doesn't allow that much flexibility even though I'd be much more productive that way. (Technically I'm violating the rules by skipping lunch.)
Hg
Eng-Tips guidelines: FAQ731-376
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
Regards,
An apathetic slacker Gen-X'r
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
5 hr Friday's.
Chris
Sr. Mechanical Designer, CAD
SolidWorks 05 SP3.1 / PDMWorks 05
ctopher's home site (updated 06-21-05)
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
The office is officially 80/9 (80 hours in 9 days with alternate Friday's off). Monday through Thursday is 8 am to 6 pm. Working Friday is 8 am to 5 pm. No official comp time policy. I would guess most people here are salaried like myself.
My schedule is a bit more flexible because I have to put in some long days in the field (10-14 hours) two or three times a week. I take off early on Tuesdays and whenever I have an excess of hours. The boss doesn't complain as long as I find someone to go to any scheduled inspections in my absence. It's handy for the times when I am taking classes. I generally can't manage to take off all OT hours and lose them at the end of the month.
If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
Have you read FAQ731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
Overall, the "emergency" overtime averages out between the scheduled outages in Fall/Spring, and our summer and winter availability to generate electricity. Usually, during the summer months I can slip out on Friday's. The only difference with my job is that I am in a corporate support/oversight function to our Power Plants and am on-call 24 hours a day/7 days a week. It really is not as bad as it sounds, but I have worked at least once every scheduled holiday with the exception of Christmas Day over the last 24 years.
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
Jeff Mowry
www.industrialdesignhaus.com
Reality is no respecter of good intentions.
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
Finishing time varies between 1400 and 2100, usually 1700.
Cheers
Greg Locock
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
averaging out over the year our shift system works to an 1820 hours system,thats 5 seven hour days a week average.
Hmmm it seems longer....
Rugged
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
At the moment, due to company financial restraints, I am working a straight 40 hrs/wk, 7:30-3:30, Mon-Fri. and I’m loving it. It’s like being on vacation. In normal times, my work week would be between 50-60 hrs, 6 days on a regular basis week in week out. This time is split between design work and plant floor. If Sat. was construction supervision, I was in for 6:00, if it was design time, come in whenever. During plant shutdowns which are typically 2 weeks in July and 2 weeks at Xmas, it is 14 straight 12’s starting at 6:00 except for Xmas day and Boxing day. These times are almost 100% plant floor time on construction supervision.
The longest stretch at one time during construction was 93 straight 12’s. The longest single day was 18 hrs supervising 2 shifts of construction. I should add, that there is no way that I would attempt to spend these kind of hours solely on design work as I think that would be a recipe for disaster.
I thrived on it, made lots of money and still have a good family life. In retrospect, would I do it over again, NO! Have 6 years to retirement at 65 but who knows. I’m not much into building bird feeders and model planes.
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
That's it. Don't mind if the phone rings early or during lunch time, though. Also, I spend a lot of time thinking about how to solve a problem or reading to learn new things.
No flexibility is allowed in how we set our hours, even to the point where they think we should go to a doctor after hours. Actually I don't mind. I like things regimented. I get up the same time each day, leave the house at the same time, and have a pretty good idea what I need to do doing the day. Always have a list, even at home. This avoids surprises and emergencies. Some people thrive in chaos but I can't deal with it, so I have my work-arounds in order to get by.
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
Good point... "I should add, that there is no way that I would attempt to spend these kind of hours solely on design work as I think that would be a recipe for disaster."
In the past I've been requried to stay late frequently to finish tasks. Usually I'd end up loosing sleep over it and realize a mistake, which means I have a re-do to take care of first thing the next morning. When I don't have time to unwind in between shifts I generally don't sleep well, and you can bet I'm not producing my best work under those conditions. THANKFULLY that is no longer the story of my life!
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
In 30 years, I have never worked a single hour of overtime that was either necessary or productive. Now I don't want any or the money either. You can't buy back your life.
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
I have done several four month stretches of 12 to 16 hours x 7 days over the years. Lots of years of 12 to 18 hours x 5 days. No OT or comp time. That's why I don't record vacation days anymore. Except I stay close to the allocated amount. Some years there was no vacation time taken.
Don't ask me to work saturdays in hunting season. I've only worked maybe four in 27 years. Sometimes you draw a line.
In case you think it has been a crazy schedule I took vacation last week to make hay. Sun up to sun down. Back here to rest up. If it was easy everyone would do it. And yes I checked email three times a day.
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
I usually put in between 42-50 hours a week. My hours are not set in stone, and I usually come in between 5:30 and 6:30 in the morning and leave around 4:30.
However, if I roll in at 8:00 or 8:30 it is no big deal. I work a little later, or just make sure I am in very early the next day.
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
Brian
Pressure Vessels and Autoclave Systems
www.mcabeeconstruction.com
The above comments/opinions are solely my own and not those of McAbee Construction.
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
corus
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
all of them!
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
Vacations are Monday through Friday, so the Saturday before and after can be a workday.
Thanksgiving holiday is Thursday and Friday, but Saturday is a workday.
I worked for a turd who believed this, and several of the people in the department went along with it. They were also subject to coming in for so-called routine emergencies while on vacation or would cancel a vacation after they had the plane tickets. I am talking about drafters and designers, not people in high positions of responsibility.
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
But I generally start work anywhere from 6 AM to 7:30 AM and leave around 4:30pm, I don't function well in the evenings.
If the phone rings too much during the week I pick up a couple of hours Sunday mornings before the family gets up.
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
I am also in the power industry so Spring and fall are busy.
12-14hrs a day 7 days a week for 4-5 months straight with a 2 month lull and then it starts again. The hours can be unpredictable. My boyfriend use to call me if he was going to bed and I wasn't home yet. Just to check if I was dead in a ditch. Now he knows I am out in the shop with problem or spending the night on a Turbine Deck.
I may have an addiction.
I think about work 24/7 I even dream about it.
I think it is typical for Engineers to think about work even when they are not in the office.
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
Call me untypical then cause once I walk out the door I leave work on my desk. I work to live, not live to work. I don't know many people if any who on their deathbead wished they had more time to work...
Brian
Pressure Vessels and Autoclave Systems
www.mcabeeconstruction.com
The above comments/opinions are solely my own and not those of McAbee Construction.
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
Hg
Eng-Tips guidelines: FAQ731-376
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
My current position is very flexible. I usually come strolling in around 9am and leave by 6pm. There is about 20% travel (which is compensated by comp time) where I usually work 50 hrs / week. No need to pump up the hours, in my mind, to get the bosses brown blessing. If something absolutely must be done then fine, otherwise I am out the door after 8 hours. My first job taught there is more to life than work - go experience it.
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
Been there on the three-figure working week. Six weeks of that and my team were virtually fighting in the office because we were all so cranky and exhausted. Productivity plummeted. Dropping back to the low 90's was a welcome respite.
Work never comes home with me, other than stuff in my head which I definitely do bring home and analyse. I'd rather work late and finish a job at work than bring it into my home. Once you cross that line it is difficult to step back across it.
I've been asked by the IT guys 'Do I want a laptop instead of a desktop PC at my next scheduled computer upgrade?'. Why? So I can work at home? No way.
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If we learn from our mistakes,
I'm getting a great education!
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
Spend about another 35/wk here
TTFN
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
If I work extra hours my company gets my time for free. Years ago, after working MANY extra hours for several employers with no reward (not even a "thanks" in most cases), I finally settled to 40hrs per week. Yes, I did work some "free overtime" at my current job but my employer figured that if extra time needs to be worked to meet schedule then the salaried engineer is expected to "pitch in" to help the common good. This is the EXPECTATION (of course the engineer has no input to the schedule; management made planning blunders or pushed down the poorly understood requirements that created the extra work!).
Tunalover
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
The company I work for has a fairly nice 37.5 hr/week flexi-time system with one day off a month in lieu if your balance allows it.
Holiday entitlement varies from site to site. For us in the UK it's 5 weeks, plus 1 extra day/year for each 10 years in service. For the US employees it's 3 weeks, plus an additional 1 week per year after 7 years in service. Holiday time around the Xmas break is given gratis to the Americans, giving them the equivalent of about 5 weeks per year. Not bad for an American employer.
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
But, of course, it's pretty clear that if you consider sick time as company-sponsored free time, you'd make sure that you got your fair share.
Naturally, it would also be almost a statistical certainty that the days that hourly personnel were sick would fall on Friday or Monday.
TTFN
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
I suspect that, as in other countries, people are commonly afflicted by the incurable virus, weekenditus. I somehow don't think this affects hourly paid workers more than wekly or monthly paid staff. Though once you become a manager I believe that the disease golfitus commonly occurs on Fruday afernoons. Again, incurable.
corus
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
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If we learn from our mistakes,
I'm getting a great education!
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
Corus I am not sure that is true, well I am sure it is not true in my case, despite being on Salary any sick pay is at the companies discretion (although they have always paid it) however anyone on hourly pay does not get paid if they are off sick.
Whether my company is breaking the law I have no idea
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
We usually get an hour for lunch, although I typically take 1.5 hours and make up some time at the end of the day by sticking around until 5:30 or so. I'm more productive at the end of the day, and the company has no problem with it.
During the winter, or slower periods, I sometimes work about 35hrs a week. This is nice because I can devote a little more time to my own projects during that time.
I've got 3 weeks vacation/year, a few pers. days, and I think, 15-20 sick days per year. I've never used a sick day in my five years there though. I try to keep myself healthy, and I also think that's one reason the company is willing to allow me to work with more flexibility. They've never really come out and said that though.
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
I checked the rules on sick pay in the UK http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/23069019/
This shows who is not entitled to get sick pay. I don't think this refers to hourly paid workers as such, but to self employed people. Perhaps individual companies add to these existing laws.
corus
RE: How many hours per week do you work?
What threw me was your comment “In the UK there is no loss of earnings for being ill” even I earn a little bit more than £68.20 per week.