How many hours a week do you work?

[Tim Hancock]

40 plus 10 hrs of commuting. Will stay late on rare occasions. While other engineers at my job often work 50 hrs, my boss knows I will quit in a heartbeat if he demands regular 50 hr work weeks from me.

My home aircraft repair business means a random 20 hr weekend and a few late nights every now and then out in my shop, but that is mostly fun for me.

[Jeff Higgins]

Should be 40. This year I have averaged 60-70. Things are hoppin' in aerospace...

[rattlsnak]

i am 7 days on, 7 days off. Usually 10-12 hour days, in a hotel, then another 10-12 day, for 7 days. It was hard at first, then i realized i only work 5 months a year including vacation, and go to some pretty cool places.

[Chocaholic]

What do you do?

[Racerbvd]

I can tell you guys don't own & run your own businesses 40 to 60 hour work weeks, what are those and what is this vacation & Sick days you guys speak of

[nostatic]

I work until stuff is done. Then I keep working until it is slightly f*cked up, then I work some more to fix it.

that's what happens when you're management *and* creative talent. Bastards...

[red-beard]

This week? Going in at 7 am and working until 8PM. Yesterday we started out at 7AM and arrived home at 9PM.

Of course there are benefits to working in Romania: Tuicã

Basically, the stuff is Plum Grappa!

Of course yesterday, I was "honored" at the construction site. They pulled out "Stalinasky" Vodka and some sort of Brandy and mixed the two in plastic dixie cups. My head still hurts, and I go back in to work in 2 hours.

[Jims5543]

My day starts a 5:45 when I wake, make breakfast and eat, while preparing my other meals for the day, I am at the gym at 6:30 and work out until 7:15-7:30. At office 5 minutes later. I go out in the field from 8 until... either 2 or 5 depending on the day.

If I am in by 2 then I am heading home by 5:00 to 5:30 if I am in by 5 then I am not heading home until 6:30 or 7:00.

My typical week is about 50-55 hours. Unless you count nights like tonight. While I have been posting on PPOT I have also been bidding jobs online. 3 of them this evening. So I logged in another 1.5 hours this evening.

The bonus is in about 1 month I will be in North Carolina for a week with my family. I will be checking work on my laptop via e-mail, while sipping coffee on the front porch waiting for the family to wake.

I am flying back to Florida for a week of work then taking my P-car and driving it back to North Carolina for another week with the family ( and dragon runs.. ha!) then we will all come back together leaving the P-car tucked away for the summer.

We will return again about 4 weeks later for who knows how long.

So I will put in 50-60 hour weeks as long as I can slip away with my family when I want to. The benefit of owning your own business and downfall at times.

[cool_chick]

A good 60 a week.

It's getting old.

[Dennis Kalma]

I must admit I think that North America is going to hell in a handbasket with regards to sustainable work environments. When I am working, I typically do 50 hour weeks, for which I am paid for 37.5 hours (not really as I am on monthly salary). This is a fair increase from where I was when I started back in 1978 where people typically actually worked only 37.5 hours...and went home at a reasonable time.

Now, people are present at work for 50 hours or whatever, but since the day essentially is open ended, people take more time for casual chatting, longer "breaks", more room for distractions and much less focus on getting their stuff done.

I actually think we are getting less done, depriving our loved ones of our time, reducing our creativity and balance by enslaving people to their "work". I see guys playing with their Crackberry at their kid's hockey game, people working until midnight to generate the 57th slide in Powerpoint that really could have gotten its message across in 5 slides if there was some focus...it makes me sick.

Personally, I am so disgusted with the parlous state of management in this country that I am having great difficulty motivating myself to ever get back to work....thankfully we have been careful and I don't have to if I don't want to....

Oh well, I could rant on forever on this topic, but then again, I AM a fixer....

Dennis

[grudk]

60 average, not including 'on call' (MD/surgeon).

[slodave]

About 10 hours this week . Still trying to get established on my own in the I.T. industry. If I can get 4-6 billable hours 5 days a week, I'd be happy. Any more and I will need to get some help.

Dave

[bell]

i'm scheduled 43.5 hours a week (tues-sat), the 3.5 hrs is paid ot (i'm hourly), sometimes more hours are available but totally up to me.

2 weeks vacation (10 days)
national holidays off
can take off a few days whenever i need to as long as it fits the schedule. it's a family business so although i've "peaked" where i can go in this company i'm giving them one more year before i relocate to north or south carolina in the spring of 2008 after i'm married.
workload is at my pace, minimal stress, and the freedom to be as creative as i want to be.

i had left this company a couple years ago to work for a competitor, at the competitor i was making $3 more per hour plus mad ot.....putting in 50-65 hours per week....paid ot....bad management....very short lunch breaks....did i mention bad management (read disorganization at it's finest).
after 4 months at the competitor i went back to the old shop, the grass wasn't greener after all, good thing i didn't burn the bridge

not counting the 4 month hiatus i've been with my company 6 years.

[gprsh924]

I'm in college and during the summer I put in 40-70 hours a week depending on how much i work caddying and catering. Last saturday i worked for 19 straight hours. But i get paid in cash so its all good

[campbellcj]

I have been doing a lot of 60-70 hour weeks lately. Today I was at a customer site 8-5, came home and worked till almost 10. It's hard to find good help these days...

[alf]

10-120 depending on what needs to get done.

I figure that my salary is a stipend and I have goals to work towards. If I could meet those goals in 10 hrs a week great, if it takes 120 so be it. Key is setting the apporiate expectations and flex time for the 120 hr weeks.

[trekkor]

My target is 6-7 hours a day, 4 days a week. ( doesn't always work out )

I love to go in between 9-10 and get home by 4.

I worked til 8 these last two nights, though.

When I first started business it was quite a bit different.
My wife would say : "Working for yourself it great. You get to choose which 12 hours a day you work".


What was the question?


KT

[TheMentat]

Used to be about 50-80... just quit today! I figured if I'm gonna be putting in time like that, I may as well be doing it for myself!

[on2wheels52]

"I can tell you guys don't own & run your own businesses 40 to 60 hour work weeks, what are those and what is this vacation & Sick days you guys speak of"

+1, but I'll wager I have more fun at work than most. 22 years now, am thinking of making Tuesday my designated day off.
Jim

[notfarnow]

Originally posted by Dennis Kalma

Now, people are present at work for 50 hours or whatever, but since the day essentially is open ended, people take more time for casual chatting, longer "breaks", more room for distractions and much less focus on getting their stuff done.

I actually think we are getting less done, depriving our loved ones of our time, reducing our creativity and balance by enslaving people to their "work".

So true. One thing I've noticed in our office is that the people who work a rigid schedule tend to be more effective. If they know they are leaving at 430 or 5, they are much more careful about how they use their time. I seriously don't think the people who are staying until 6 or 7 are actually getting more work done, it's just spread out over more hours.

Lots of posturing too. People making a point of firing out emails at 8 pm so that everyone knows they were working late.