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How many hours per week do you work?

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?!)

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

After 24 years in the Consulting Engineering business (Building Design) I learned to control the panics (poor management on other peoples' parts do not make for emergencies on my part).  I usually do about 43-45 hours per week on average, 40 hours goes on the timesheet since I don't consider the 30-45 minutes a day dealing with e-mail and e-filing to be "billable hours".  Usually get in the office about 7:05AM, usually out of here by 5:45PM, sometimes drag the notebook home on weekends to work on proposals and presentations.  The company here has a banked time option so overtime hours go into the banked time account, so if I wanted to take a couple long weekends, it can be done.  I don't mind it at all, I'm on a direct express bus home and it stops about 4 minutes from my home and right across the street from the office.  No commuting stress for me.

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

Uhhh.. 40-45 average hours. I'm here between 7:30 adn 8 till after 4:30 and as late as 7pm. On thursdays I'm an audio engineer till 2am. so on fridays I might not get in till 8:30 or so.

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?

I work in power generation. My hours are usually about 40/wk, a few more than contract but not enough to worry about. Lunch should be an hour althought I often spend mine working, but I don't worry about taking five minutes back at the start or end of the day.

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.

----------------------------------

If we learn from our mistakes,
I'm getting a great education!

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

(OP)
Scotty - Well said...

"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?

I physically spend 40 hours a week at work.  My company has generous flexibility which all of us employees take full advantage.  But I spend a lot of time thinking about work when I'm not at work!  I've had jobs in the past where it was a manditory 45 hr/week for salaried folks.


Regards,

An apathetic slacker Gen-X'r

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

Typically 40-45.  The occasional surge of more, but we get hour-for-hour comp time and I am not shy about taking it.

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?

My company has it set up with the State (CA) that our work hours are 8.5 hrs/day and we work 6 hours on Friday.  It's nice getting off early on Friday....get a jump start on happy hour.


Regards,

An apathetic slacker Gen-X'r

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

7am till 5pm with every second Friday off, and an extra banked day every 8 weeks.  Love the long weekends with my kids.

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?

The "office" work day is 8am-5pm, the shop runs 24hrs Monday-Saturday, one shift on Sundays.  I'm usually here 7:20am-5pm.  About 2-4 weekends a year I'll have to come in on a Saturady for 4 hrs, depending on maturity of a project (working in product development).

"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?

work for myself from the house...avg 70+ hrs per week...it is always busier in the summer...avg 50+ other times of the year.

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

On average about 45 hours/week. I would agree with the assessment by ScottyUK, that we are pulled in numerous directions in the Power Generation business during unit outages (scheduled overhauls) that can vary from 6 weeks to 8 weeks (depending on the scope of overhaul work). During this time, I do work some overtime depending on problems found or critical-path inspections that need to be performed on our equipment. Time is money in our business.

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?

Official hours are 8:00AM - 6:00PM (self-employed), but often spend between 35 and 70+ hours, depending on workload, per week.  This depends on how much time is "counted" on piddly, behind-the-scenes stuff that must be done, but doesn't pay.  Also busy in the summer.


Jeff Mowry
www.industrialdesignhaus.com
Reality is no respecter of good intentions.

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

I work 37 hours a week. My starting time is 'before 0930 please'. In practice in summer it is more like 0700, in winter 0830 seems a bit of a struggle.

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?

1820 is the magical figure....

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?

In my business, Car Assembly Plant, hours are unpredictable. Sometimes life is the same.

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?

40
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?

(OP)
haggis,

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!    To those who it is, "Get out or BURN out" as I like to say!

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

In the first years of my career it was company policy to work hafl day on Saturdays, needed or not. Most people spent it reading magazines and BS'ing.

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?

Pretty much 8-4:30 now and that's flexible.

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?

My current employer is very flexible.  

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?

Generally flexible hours (within +/- 1 hour of standard office hours) averaging between 43 and 45 hours per week.  When project "season" comes along with new launches the hours jump up accordingly.

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

7-5 Monday through Friday, although I am on call pretty much 24/7.  Shutdowns and such can involve 14 days of 14-16 hour days.

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

At least 50 hrs/week on average, M-F starting at 7 a.m. until...sometimes more, sometimes less.  Very flexible so as to run needed errands, pick up sick children, take needed "breaks" and a day or two off here and there.  Non-salaried, so the OT is nice!

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?

MJR2, I'll bet you don't check email during hunting season. Some things have to be sacred.

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

(OP)
Wow, so many of you are pulling heavy work weeks.  I hope you are also being happily compensated for your time.  Seems to me that a lot of engineers are "work-a-holics" by nature...

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

40 hours a week, but we work nine hour days which acculumates time to have every other Friday off.  I figure what's one extra hour a day compared to a three day weekend.

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

36.5 hours though I do sometimes think about work while sat on the toilet. Management don't compensate me for this overtime work however as they already consider it as time off in loo.

corus

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

Typical week is 40 to 45 hours, but the normal schedule is 9 hours a day with every other friday off. I love that. I also work outages and emergency call outs occasionally, so averaged over a year it is probably more than 50 hours per week.

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

I’m a site based R.E. working contractors hours 7 to 7 Monday to Friday with one Saturday in the month. Dame those long summer days.

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

If you don't count time asleep, and if you include time spent driving to or from work, I think I'd have to say...

all of them!

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

I work in a manufacturing facility and the typical day starts between 5 and 5:30 AM, usually out around 4:30 PM Monday thru Friday (the plant operates 24/7). We alternate weekend coverage, so I work 9 hours on Saturday and Sunday every fifth week but get an extra Friday off the next week (god I love those three day weekends).  I don't get any overtime pay, but there is a fair amount of flexibility with the schedule if you need to take care of something (doctor's appointments, etc.).

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

Anyone ever seen this before-

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?

Our typical work week is 37.5 hours (My average week is 40-50 hours).  8:30-4:30 during the winter, 8-4:45 M-T, 8-12:30 F during the summer (I will sometimes take Friday mornings as well to compensate for the OT).

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 suppose to work 40hrs.  Salary no over time.  
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?

geekmaiden,

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?

geekmaiden--is it a safe bet that during the "lull" it doesn't correspondingly drop well below the 40 hours?

Hg

Eng-Tips guidelines:  FAQ731-376

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

My first career was 80-115 hrs per week. No kidding! Needless to say it about killed me, especially for straight time overtime. The next jobs were 40hrs per week with occasional few extra hours.
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?

Buzzp,

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.

----------------------------------

If we learn from our mistakes,
I'm getting a great education!

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

Work about 35/wk so I can drop off and pick up kids...



Spend about another 35/wk here

TTFN

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

My US company has no comp-time policy at all.  Also, having switch jobs three years ago (and with 17yrs in the business!) I get 2weeks of vacation per year. The company gives something like 1.5 hrs per week of paid leave which is supposedly adequate to cover sick time and all other personal needs.  Compare this to the French who get an average of 9weeks of vacation per year (putting aside personal leave time).

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?

Hours of work & holiday entitlement...

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?

For hourly employees, it used to be quite amazing that they would often end the year having been sick exactly the alloted amount.

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?

In the UK there is no loss of earnings for being ill (for permanent employees), although salary is reduced after 6 months illness, and contracts terminated after 12 months, I believe.

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?

Totally curable. Just illegal in the civilised world!

----------------------------------

If we learn from our mistakes,
I'm getting a great education!

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

I am presently working on a large refinery expansion job, and am working 18 12 hour days followed by 4 days off. I have been on this schedule for 3 months now and there are approximately 4 months left in my contract, which will probably be extended. Long hours but great bling-bling.

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

In the UK there is no loss of earnings for being ill (for permanent employees)

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?

About 40hrs/week, 8:ish (in the words of my manager) to 5:00.  Last week, I did work 42hrs.  I'm still on an hourly rate schedule.

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?

We have some flexibility, and there is no expectation for working more that 40 unless an emergency happens.  I just make sure I stay on the plus side of 40. I am often at the work site longer hours checking out this site or reading technical journals.  Not necessarily stuff that will benefit my employer directly, but will make me a better EIT.

RE: How many hours per week do you work?

ajack1,
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?

Thanks corus, I was aware about statutory sick pay that companies have to pay, this is the same if you are salary or hourly.

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.

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