What's an acceptable work week?

Aabidano · Post by **Aabidano** » October 2, 2006, 11:44 am

Just had yet another discussion with my boss on what a "regular" work week should be. 40-50 hours is fine by me, anything above that and I think management needs to take a look at things and make adjustments.

In a crunch there are exceptions, I've done a lot of 80-100 hour weeks. The occasional ~60 doesn't really bother me too much if there's a non-idiotic reason for it. Massive overtime is no way to go as a general rule and keep your people productive over time though.

Marbus · Post by **Marbus** » October 2, 2006, 11:46 am

My work week usually runs 45-50 and I don't think that is too bad. When it's less than that I feel like I've had a break! I don't mind 60+ every now and then, like 2 weeks ago, but when it goes on for months on end I too expect something to be done.

Luckly my company has been decent about that the past couple of years. Up until then we were running 50+ every week and usually 60+ for about a year, at which point we were all about to quit. Guess it was the threat that corrected the problem.

Marb

masteen · Post by **masteen** » October 2, 2006, 3:48 pm

Anything more than 6 hours a day, and I get grumpy, and I'll be damned if I'm working on Saturday and Sunday. GOD MADE THOSE DAYS FOR FOOTBALL, YOU FUCKING HEATHENS!!!

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » October 2, 2006, 4:59 pm

I have 40-45 hour weeks. I spend more time with my coworkers than I do my wife and child. Which I think is a sad thing.

Ideally, and I think I posted on the merits of this years ago on these boards, that it should be a 30 hour work week as the standard. I know that it will never happen but I can dream.

kyoukan · Post by **kyoukan** » October 2, 2006, 10:27 pm

with all the things we have to modernize workflow, the average work week should be no more than 25 hours. unfortunately the easier things get, the more shit companies pile on you to make money for their already extremely wealthy shareholders.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » October 2, 2006, 10:53 pm

I think 40 max is acceptable if you're salary. And that's not an option on the poll! 50 is fine if they are paying overtime otherwise forget it. My time is mine.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 2, 2006, 11:57 pm

If you subtract the time at work that I'm surfing the net, I probably work less hours a week than Peter Gibbons.

XunilTlatoani · Post by **XunilTlatoani** » October 3, 2006, 8:15 am

Gotta love XP (extreme programming)

http://www.extremeprogramming.org/rules/overtime.html

Our office is a ghost town after 4:30 and we're rated in the top 20th-percentile in productivity for software projects.

Lynks · Post by **Lynks** » October 3, 2006, 8:29 am

8 hour days, 5 days a week. I would have to say 40 hours and no more. I wouldn't do anything under 30 either.

Al · Post by Al » October 3, 2006, 9:23 am

My week is a scheduled 42 hours. No forced OT, but there is OT if you want it on our short days... My work week is odd because we have to keep the kiln running 24/7. I work Thurs-Fri 8h, Sat 7h, Sun/Mon AM 11h, Mon/Tues AM 8h. It's not a bad shift because I put in 6 1/2 hours on my Saturday (Tuesday), so it's all time-and-a-half, then there are 2 hours of OT because it is a long week. My weekends are short, but my checks are big.

sarlen · Post by **sarlen** » October 3, 2006, 9:27 am

40 to 45 on salary is fine, much more then that on to regular of a basis they need to compinsate a bit more.

Chidoro · Post by **Chidoro** » October 3, 2006, 12:00 pm

from an in-office vantage point, I agree w/ you Aab, excess of 50 approaching 60 should be the exception. The problem is, I know that both my wife and I, as well as a number of other people on this board are always in contact w/ work be it by blackberry/voicemail checks. I try to walk my leg humping dachsund nightly as it gives me a chance to catch up or respond to voicemail & e-mail. My wife checks her own crackberry during commercial breaks if we're lucky enough to sit down and watch tv after our infant is asleep. And it's all done so as not to be overwhelmed when you actually show up the next day at the office. And you do it because you know that the people who are competing with you at your office or a competitor's office whom are making what you make are doing the exact same thing.

I guess people decide whether the extra time being in constant touch is worth it. To me, it's a whole lot easier to perform in this manner than to be spending overtime selling shoes or answering tech support problems. That's the kind of ot that would drive me nuts because it isn't even remotly stimulating.

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » October 3, 2006, 12:24 pm

I work 40 hours, Mon-Fri. I'll never work weekends or Holidays again.

I work to live, I don't live to work. Don't get me worng, I like my job an all, but I'd just rather be doing other things. I give 100% while there, but as soon as it's my time to go home, I'm out the fucking door so fast it'll make your head spin.

My job will always have work, and lots of it. I could work 60 hours a week then come in on Monday and it will be the same as normal. It's like being a mailman. It just never stops no matter how much "extra" you try and do, so you have to set limits for yourself or else you'll go crazy and kill all your co-workers before turning the gun on yourself in a psychotic bloodrage.

Now, within 2 years now I'll be able to code from home. I'll have a quota that I can fullfill within a 7 day work week. I code whenever I want within that week, as long as my quota is filled. I really look forward to busting my ass the first 3 days, then jacking off for 4 days straight. Hell, my work performance would increase by at least 30% if I had no interruptions at work like phone calls and chasing down phantom charts from the 1920s. Our fucking clerks need to do thier goddamn job. I have no idea what they'll do when us coders work from home.

Anyway.... 40 hours, no more.

Deward · Post by **Deward** » October 3, 2006, 3:27 pm

I work salary. I won't work over 40 hours a week. If I work more than 8 hours in a day then I comp it with a long lunch on another day. If I had a choice I would only work 25-30 hours per week. I would get the same if not more work done because I would be happier from spending more time with my family. I envy my wife who only works two days a week and gets to watch our son grow up.

The farming life is startign to look better and better. I need to plant about 3000 more grape vines to make that a reality though.

masteen · Post by **masteen** » October 3, 2006, 3:55 pm

Al wrote:My work week is odd because we have to keep the kiln running 24/7.

Do you work at the Pottery Barn?

miir · Post by **miir** » October 3, 2006, 4:07 pm

37.5 hours/week.
On contract so I get paid hourly.

Marbus · Post by **Marbus** » October 3, 2006, 4:25 pm

Chid hit it right on the nose

Luckly though I can work from home which means I don't have to give up time with my family, just sleep time for myself once they go to bed. However since I got my Blackberry I have found that I work less and less from home and only actually log in when I have to. Before I would check things and think "well I'm in now, might as well work a little" now I can check my BB and say "it has to be done" or "hell it can wait until tomorrow." People complain about Blackberries but I've found that mine has actually given me some of my life back.

Marb

Al · Post by Al » October 3, 2006, 8:48 pm

masteen wrote:
Al wrote:My work week is odd because we have to keep the kiln running 24/7.
Do you work at the Pottery Barn?

No, I work in a factory producing electro-static (or lightning) arrestors. In particular, I run the machines that make the disks inside the arrestors. The kiln that bakes these disks takes almost a week to bring up to temperature, so it only gets shut down when it's broken. The company figures that if it is going to be running, they may as well have parts going through it, meaning there have to be people there to put the parts in and take them out.

Siji · Post by **Siji** » October 4, 2006, 8:26 am

All of the replies above of, "I won't work more than 40 hours a week" are one of the big reasons that work is outsourced.

Not an insult, just what I think is fact. Pay an American premium wages for 40 or less hours, or pay someone in a 3rd world country a third of that for 80 hours. You do the math.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » October 4, 2006, 12:43 pm

You are probably right Siji. But those same companies make all of their money off the US for the most part, so the government should be putting some ridiculous tax (like 75%) on anything they import/export so that this is not a viable option for these companies.

Aabidano · Post by **Aabidano** » October 4, 2006, 1:12 pm

Funkmasterr wrote:the government should be putting some ridiculous tax (like 75%) on anything they import/export so that this is not a viable option for these companies.

They do, the rate varies by nation, just having a meeting with an overseas coworker one or both of you could potentially be liable for import\export tariffs, duties, etc... Not that anyone follows it all that closely.

A lot of warranty return items we trash insted of repairing, it's not worth the cost of the item to send it to and from another country to have it repaired. It's not possible to make "commodity stuff" here and stay in business.

The company I work for is global, it's a constant balancing act to determine where to get work done. Many times we do things in the states becasue all things considered it's cheaper to do so. There's also a lot of federal and contractual restrictions on what work, and information pertaining to work can and can't be exported. All of the larger\technically advanced countries have essentially the same rules. It's a huge PITA, but also one of the reasons I'm still employed.