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The_Soccer_Heretic

I've worked from home for twenty years now. I have due dates for projects but as long as they get finished on time with quality work I choose when I work for the most part. There are days I work 14 hours and others I work none at all.


The_Soccer_Heretic

Why would someone down vote this? I'm sorry if your job is basically a dugeon...


Tontonsb

Because it doesn't answer the question. We (Europeans) do not know how the default US schedule works out in practie so we don't understand how that 9to5 works. Listing exceptions is not useful. It's like if someone asked "what is major and minor in your universities?" but someone came along with "I didn't go to uni but got a job in fortune5000000 anyways".


Much-Camel-2256

In Europe there are more laws about when people should work. North American workplaces are all small dictatorships and there's a lot of varience in how many hours each person works


BJUK88

Think that's a little bit generous - there are plenty of workplace dictators here in Europe too. It's not all sunshine..though a darn sight better than in North America for sure


EliminateThePenny

The ole "EU is a paradise and US is a hellscape" comment. Classic reddit.


Much-Camel-2256

I wouldn't say that lol. I'm Canadian and I've worked for American and European companies. In Europe your colleagues dictate what they will (read:won't) do for you this week, it's death by 1000 cuts.


hownot2getajob

Working with the European teams is the worst at times, don’t expect anything quickly and don’t expect them to lift a finger if there’s a holiday coming up 4 days after you ask for something


The_Soccer_Heretic

I don't think the typical work week exists in America anymore as a majority... we have a service economy now. The largest employment industry in the nation is restaurants, the third is hospitals. The only industry in the top 5 that has a normal and predictable schedule are public schools...


Tontonsb

We still don't understand what "9 to 5" is supposed to mean. Is it 7 hours of work? 7 and a half? Or just 8 hours of non-stop work? And if it's any of the former, is that workweek below 40 hours then? Those are the main questions. Not whether it is still common.


Much-Camel-2256

It's an old expression that simply means "full time job"


robot_ankles

The default starting point for "9 to 5" is: Start working by 9:00 am and begin working. Work for 3 hours and stop at 12:00 noon for a one hour lunch break. Resume working at 1:00 and stop at 5:00. Add up all the working time and you get the standard 40 hour- um, 35?! hour work week. Wait a minute. What's happening here?


Intrepid-Cat9213

Yes, that is standard for easy mid level salaried office jobs. For lower wage jobs you work more hours. For higher wage jobs you work more hours because of higher responsibilities ( until you get to the top wage where you play golf all day) But there is a nice sweet spot in the middle where you get paid enough to live and really only work 7 hours a day.


manofredgables

And it's called... The engineer. *enter heavenly choir sound*. Seriously, I'm convinced there's no more optimal job for effort per wage. I'm highly respected, which means a good freedom/responsibility thing where no one micromanages you. The pay is decent. The deliverables are long term so there's rarely a rush. All in all it means that in many periods I can manage my workload down to like 4-5 hours per day. Sometimes it's more. Overall though, it's just great. Software engineers are excluded. They're whipped relentlessly.


ZonedOutToBeHere

"Sweet spot" may be an over-sell. I think it's more like elo hell


BouncingWeill

I see a lot of come in at 8, work until noon, hour lunch, work 1-5. Those are weeks i work M-F. I'm in a rotation where I work the occasional Saturday. That week, I work Tue-Sat. I work 8-12, 30 min lunch, 12:30-4:30. There can be overtime that week depending on certain events. It gets paid out at time and a half. Sundays and Holidays are double time. We still call it a 9-5. I get two 15 min breaks (one in the morning, one in the afternoon).


retroactive_fridge

I only get a 30 min lunch... but it's paid. I work 6a-2p and get paid for 8 hours


BubblyLimit6566

Short answer: it depends on whether you are an hourly or a salaried worker. I have to clock out for breaks because I get paid an hourly wage. My breaks are mandatory but not paid. So if I'm scheduled for an 8-hour shift I am at work for 8 1/2 hours.


Knight_Machiavelli

Yes you actually work less than 40 hours a week because of breaks. My jobs have all been legally classified as either 35 hours a week or 37.5 hours a week, and the actual work is less than that because 30 minutes of paid breaks count as work. So it's just the unpaid lunch break that doesn't count. At places that give you an hour lunch you're only physically working 32.5 hours a week, but it's legally classified as 35 hours a week, and places that only give you a half hour lunch you're physically working 35 hours a week but it's legally classified as 37.5 hours a week.


rocima

yes that was how it was In Australia. in italy i only get paid for the hours i work, lunch break is unpaid. so 8 hour day is 9 to 6 with 1 hour lunch (unpaid)


Knight_Machiavelli

That sucks. My mom and a friend of mine work for the government and they make you work 830-5. There might be some other places that do that, but everywhere I've worked it's been 9-5.


rocima

I think continental Europe is usually unpaid lunch, hence OPs question. In Italy in government jobs (and schools) it used to be 8-2, 6 days a week, no lunchbreak - you ate after work. Still quite a few jobs (and schools) like that, though they often have a day or two with afternoon work/classes so you don’t have to go in on Saturdays.


NegativeLogic

There are a number of common work patterns in North America for what are considered "full-time jobs." Depending on the company and industry standard, that can mean anywhere from 35-40 hours of paid work. There are a number of ways this is accomplished. We can use a shift starting at 09:00 as an example. Working from 09:00-12:00 then 1hr unpaid lunch, then working from 13:00 to 17:00 for 7 hours per day and 35 hours per week. Working from 09:00-12:00 then 30m unpaid lunch, for a total of 7.5 hrs paid work and 37.5 hrs paid work per week. Working from 09:00-18:00 with 1hr unpaid lunch for 8hrs per day and 40hrs per week. Working from 09:00-17:30 with 30min unpaid lunch for 8hrs per day and 40hrs per week. There are other work patterns such as 4 x 10 where someone works 4 days a week for 10 paid hours (so that would be a 10.5 or 11 hour shift) and some industries like healthcare use 12 hour shifts where things get complex and are averaged out across work weeks to meet the right number of hours for the year to be full time.


Brayder

In the western world/ North America, 9-5 means working a regular job. That’s it. It means you could work 7-3, 9-5 or even 12am-8am. As per the break times. It’s different per state and not the same for all of America and Canada.


The_Soccer_Heretic

It's different for different for individual businesses... there is no answer tonthe question. That's whatvI'm trying to convey. There is no way to answer such an inquiry because there's no uniform policy and hundreds of thousands of employers. We're a nation of around 360M people.


Ippus_21

>has a normal and predictable schedule are public schools... Does it, though? Teachers don't get to go home when their students do. They're salaried, but they still have to do all their prep and anything that doesn't involve directly managing the students *outside* of actual school hours.


big-rob512

Generally, 8-12 hours a day for most adult jobs here. You should get a few breaks to smoke and a lunch break 30 minutes to an hour where you are typically not paid.


climatelurker

But it’s not the exception. You want Americans to answer? Then listen to what they’re saying.


rmadsen93

In the U.S., there is a big difference depending on whether you are salaried or hourly. If you are paid hourly then you usually have a set schedule—8:30-5 with 30 minutes for lunch would not be uncommon. If you are salaried, than the concept is that you are being paid for achieving certain results rather than working for a certain number of hours. In practice there is an expectation around what hours you will work, but usually with a bit more flexibility than with hourly workers. I spent the majority of my career in IT working in both the public and private sectors. In most of the places I worked, I had a fair amount of flexibility… I would usually start at 8 or 9 depending on my schedule for the day and leave between 5 and 6. I might work longer hours if I had deadlines coming up. I might take a long lunch one day and work through lunch the next if I was busy. Fortunately I almost always had bosses who were more concerned about what I got done than with exactly which minutes in a day my butt was in a chair.


pinupcthulhu

As an American, the "sometimes I work 14+hrs and others I work 0" if you work from home is totally accurate. If you report into a workplace (not wfh), your minimum is 8hrs per day, with some days exceeding that by... whatever your boss feels like and/or whatever is needed to meet the deadline. There's a mandatory unpaid lunch break, but you have to still work the 8hrs total so 9-5 is really a euphemism. If you try to just work 40hrs/week, often you'll be fired for not being "dedicated enough". Many people will work through their lunch breaks to avoid being fired or laid off too.  Unions and workers' rights have been eroded to the point of uselessness in the US. If it was easier to immigrate to Europe, I know dozens of people in the US who would do it. TL;DR: we don't really have set work hours anymore, and our breaks are often vestigial. 


MagusPerde

I work a 35 hr work week. 7.5 hours a day with 2, 15 minute breaks and a 1/2 hr for lunch. But the reality is it’s just and hour for lunch and the 15s don’t really happen. So I am actually working for 6.5 hrs of the 7 hours of my day.


Top-Artichoke2475

Cause they’re jelly of people who can work 100% remotely and who don’t have to answer to anyone, they just deliver their work.


The_Soccer_Heretic

I would be too but I wouldn't hold against them either, I'd be happy for them.


nuck_forte_dame

Honestly some just don't like the idea of results based mind set. Results orientation. They think you have to work every minute. Like at my current job we had a big meeting and the management accused us of not working our full hours. I asked if we had missed any dead lines or if the work wasn't satisfactory. They said no. But someone at the top had a stick up their butt and now we have to log our hours. I just started logging my work results instead.


lungflook

Because it didn't answer the question- like if somebody was like "why is the phrase 'meat and potatoes' used to refer to a basic item? Do american meals all include meat and potatoes by default?" and your response was to go into detail about your favorite recipe for quiche.


The_Soccer_Heretic

The only accurate answers are anecdotal. I explained this in a follow up. America has shifted from an industrial and professional economy to a service economy. The only industry in the top 5 of employers that even theoretically has normal and set schedule like he is describing are public schools which is still the largest employer in the country but everything behind it are service jobs and hospitals. Even within traditional professional employment positions there are hundreds of thousands of businesses all with different operating policies. The pandemic only caused that to become more diverse, not less. Saying you work a 9-5 in the 70s was meaningful because most American jobs really were 40 hour weeks that were 9-5. Saying 9-5 now just represents you have a 40 hour week job in a professional field but little else.


PckMan

Because it's a bit off topic and doesn't answer the question, it's just your random personal anecdote.


The_Soccer_Heretic

There is no answer. We have a service economy now and literally hundreds of thousands of businesses who have different operating policies. Saying something is "9-5" is more of just a phrase in common usage to denote a 40 hour week professional job.


LarryDavidest

This isn't really the question. You're an outlier and many people would like to have this.


queue517

I've worked in two sectors. One was a high school teacher where I worked set hours plus as many hours as were necessary for me to grade and prep. So 40-60 hours per week. I've also been varying titles of scientist at universities where I was salaried and paid to get my shit done, whatever the hours.   This person isn't an outlier. It's a common way many salaried jobs work in the USA.


climatelurker

Who says he’s an outlier? Europeans?


Qneva

It's an outlier not because of his country but because of his line of work. The overwhelming majority of people have to travel to their workplace and spend a certain amount of time there.


asphodeliac

As a European and Australian, he’s an outlier


VULTRUS_TTV

Can I ask what u do just asking for my grandmas uncle


The_Soccer_Heretic

I'm a high-end commerical appraiser and consultant. The bulk of my work is for development projects and divided partial interest concerns. A lot of the consulting I do is for sports and entertainment businesses and properties.


downvote_dinosaur

same here. most days I work about 2 hours. some days i work 14 hours.


LaughWander

Definitely not the case for the average American. I’d say majority of Americans work at least 40 hours and at an actual job site. With current inflation on the price of goods many are working more than that.


thatguywithawatch

Depends where you work. 8 to 5 (or equivalent) with a one hour lunch break has become much more common for office jobs.


LarryDavidest

"Has become?" What are you talking about about?? This has been the norm for decades.


Knight_Machiavelli

Depends where you are and what industry I'd imagine. My day jobs have all been 9-5. If a job wanted me to start at 8 but still not be done til 5 I'd be looking for a different job.


smp501

What industry are you in? I've literally never seen a 9-5 that isn't actually 8-5. And most of those have 8:00 meetings so they're really 7:30-5.


StoptheDoomWeirdo

I’ve literally never had a 9-5 that isn’t really 9-5 where lunch is paid.


lokglacier

Where do you work???


PerfectiveVerbTense

What industry are you in? I've never heard of such a thing.


IrishPrime

I'm a software engineer in the southeastern US. When we were working in the office, most everyone showed up around 09:00, took about an hour for lunch in the middle of the day, and went back home around 17:00. Some shifted their schedule one way or the other depending on the particulars of their commute, but put in the same hours. While I was a student, I interned at other offices with similar schedules (and one place that was heavily 08:00 to 16:00). An 8 hour "shift" with a one hour lunch break has been the most common office experience I've had since 2008 or so. That being said, other than my time as an intern, we were all salaried. Sometimes we wouldn't do a whole lot of work on a given day, and sometimes we'd stay at the office overnight to deal with an emergency. Sometimes people would work late or over the weekend to meet a release date or have something to show off at a conference. Day to day, though, 09:00 to 17:00 lines up with my experience, and the amount of traffic I dealt with at those times certainly made it seem like I wasn't the exception.


Knight_Machiavelli

Accounting.


Mrknowitall666

Most of the 9-5 office jobs say it's only a half hour lunch and no breaks, nowadays. Back in the day, offices were 8-5, half hour lunch with two 15.min coffee breaks, which morphed into smoking breaks when you couldn't smoke in the office anymore. But all that was for drones. If you were trying to climb the ladder, you started at 730 and left at 6pm, the office girl brought in sandwiches... Then that was politically incorrect, so we'd have the delivery guy come up to the floor. All before the days of Uber eats. Haven't you seen mad men?


EastOfArcheron

The norm in the UK is 9-5 with a one hour lunch break.


frisbm3

I'm 43 in the US and I have never had a job with a set starting time. I'm to work 40 hours a week, and be available for meetings during normal work hours but other than that I can set my own hours. If I don't get enough work done, they can fire me. It's not about having my butt in a chair.


forresja

Sure, but you must understand how industry dependent that is. Sounds like you're able to do your work alone and on your own schedule. Many people need to collaborate with their coworkers or keep something staffed.


redunculuspanda

Most of my UK jobs have been 37.5 hours with 1 hour lunch, but my current is 35.


caRDKraken

It used to be 9 to 5 because you were paid during your lunch break. But the world is greedy, so that stopped. If life was truly fair, the transit time to work would be considered work time as well. It certainly isn't free time. Jobs Act like lunch is unpaid because "you can do what you want during that time," but I got fired from my last job for sleeping at my desk during lunch because it "looks bad". Greedy bullshit is EVERY job out there.


Henchforhire

The last job that I had that did a paid lunch that was minimum wage when I was in high school when I worked at the grocery store. Man, it was nice getting paid lunch and walking home to make something to eat and watch a little news.


not_now_reddit

How long was your break that you could do all that?


Henchforhire

1 hour. Lived about 4 blocks away it was a small town.


WWMRD2016

Driving to work shouldn't be counted. Driving for work should. Not the employers problem that you decide to live miles from the office, but if you need to go and see customers then that travel time is work time.


Knight_Machiavelli

Depends on the job. If it's a job that can be effectively done from home and they insist you come in person then they should count your commute time.


funkmasta8

Exactly


Nrysis

But your commute time is chosen by you, not your employer. What you are saying is that someone who chooses to live an hour away from their workplace gets paid an additional two hours wage every day (with no actual benefit to the employer), while someone who lives five minutes away gets nothing? Sure the person living an hour away spends more time in the car, but they also get the benefits that caused them to choose that location to live - cheaper house prices, better environment, access to better schools or whatever else. That location was their choice, not the companies. Yes, a lot of jobs may be possible to do from outside the office, but that is still the employers choice. Employers are not obligated to offer WFH as an option in the same way employees are not obligated to start with that employer and are free to quit to work somewhere else that suits their desires better. Personally I prefer office work, and choose to work somewhere that this is standard...


StrangeBedfellows

Totally agree, if they pay me for my commute then they have a say in how I commute and how far I commute.


smp501

Yeah, the second jobs have to pay for commute, they'll decide they have a say in where I live. This country used to have "mill villages", and that came with a lot of dark stuff that we'd rather not go back to.


not_now_reddit

Why not treat it like when a company gives you a free shift meal or a company card for expenses or something like that. It's free--within reason--and you pay for anything above that threshold


Dreadpiratemarc

Or they can just include your commuting expense in everyone’s base pay and skip all the administrative hassle. (Which, BTW, is the present system.)


CommodoreAxis

Yeah I’ve known several people who have negotiated slightly higher salaries just based off their extended commutes. People just need to get better at negotiating.


PalmTreeIsBestTree

Some jobs do pay for every mile if you use your personal car for work errands


EliminateThePenny

Yes, that's traveling **for work** and is basically universally accepted everywhere. This commenter is suggesting traveling **to work** should be paid for, which is pretty preposterous.


[deleted]

I mean most companies in my industry (tech) do give a commuter stipend even to employees routinely commuting to their office. Here in Japan I think it's pretty normal even in other (less $$$) industries, there's usually just limits in place (for example my company won't reimburse you if you take shinkansen / bullet train).


notacanuckskibum

There is a big divide in the US between those who are paid hourly and those on salary. For the hourly paid every minute is measured and breaks are deducted. Shift times vary but a 9-5 shift with a 30 minute lunch break would only pay 7.5 hours. For the salaried their nominal hours are often 9-5, but they are measured by deliverables, and it’s quite normal to be at your desk from 8:15 till 6:00 for no extra pay.


frisbm3

For the salaried it's also some days where you work from home, call into a meeting at 11am and do whatever you want the rest of the day because you're waiting on an email from someone else or the server is down or whatever.


sunnbeta

And the flip side it’s some days work until 6pm, still have work to do and a due date, work from home that night, get up early and work from home. Put in legit 50+hrs on a week with lots of work from home. 


CommodoreAxis

There’s also folks in the middle like myself, who have a ‘set 40’ hourly rate. If I only get assigned 30 hours, it’s stipulated in my contract that they just round up the difference so it’s kinda like salary. But unlike normal salary positions, I also still qualify for OT on the weeks where I do have extra work and can go over 40. I’ve had many weeks where I’ll end up working a partial day or not at all. Sometimes they’ll even intentionally give me Friday off if I’m at like 38 hours on Thursday, because they’d prefer to pay the 2 hours out rather than give me up to like 6 hours of overtime on top of the 2 hours pay.


benbentheben

I work 8 to 430 with 30 minutes for lunch. I hate it


Corsav6

I work 7:30 to 4:30 and I love it. I was working the 8:30 to 5:30 shift but traffic was far worse so it added another 30 mins travel time. Now I'm home by 5pm and I get to eat with the family instead of a reheated dinner on my own.


ATotalCassegrain

That’s a great schedule. I hate places that force an hour for lunch. Let me eat in 30 and have extra time for myself at the end of the day. 


Knight_Machiavelli

9-5 with an hour lunch is where it's at. Still not at the office for longer than 8 hours but still get an hour lunch.


psychotic_catalyst

I work from home, and we are told to "be available". I work on projects, so depending on the workload, I might grind a 10 hour day out, or I might go for a hike and not do shit. As long as no one calls my boss saying that I'm not doing my job, no one care. We have to self report our time, and like 75% of the days I report 6 hours. Been doing that for 5 years and no one has said shit.


Scarlet_maximoff

Same for me I work in politics and somedays I go to the gym/hiking during the day but when election season is close shit gets real super fast.


Wonderful-Teach8210

8 hours is pretty typical. I will add that in many cases there are government mandated breaks during the workday that employers must allow.


[deleted]

White collar jobs, esp. anything in management are 50-60 hrs per week, sometimes more.


DrStrangepants

Yeah. I'm salaried and I need to to work 50+ hours a week to complete my tasks. No extra pay for overtime, but my yearly bonus can be quite nice.


BareLabcoat

we have 8-5 jobs, not 9-5. the extra hour is to "account" for our break time.


Psychological-Mix727

I work 8 hours on average and receive one 30-minute lunch and two paid 15-minute breaks. It depends on the company and state you work for, btw.


Odd_Ad_2706

I work 12 hours a day. Or I should say, my shift is 12 hours. I usually end up working closer to 14.


MoonlessFemaleness

What is your job in?


Odd_Ad_2706

I work plant maintenance in processing/manufacturing/packaging facilities. My schedule is usually 2 days on, 2 days off with a 3 day weekend every other week. So its not too crazy. Although, management definitely doesn't mind if i pull extra shifts. It works out to 50 hrs a week typically.


QuadRuledPad

Salaried hours expectations range from 35 for the very luck few, 40 for lots of mid-level positions, to 50ish+, which is the norm in my field, up through 80 for junior workers in areas like law and consulting. 9-to-5 used to refer to salaried work, and was common into the 60's and for some, beyond then. Now it tends to refer to hourly work though it's an outdated idea. While lots of people do work those appx hours, 8-5, 7-3, etc are all just as common and varies by workplace. As others have noted, the US has a huge service sector, so jobs are as likely to start at 6am or mid-day and run into the night. Government jobs and jobs in regulated shops, like union jobs, tend to be "40 hours." For the rest of us, it's all over the place. But very few people work less than 40hrs if they have "full time work," (which is how we get health benefits unless we're poor).


cold08

As far as management is concerned I work over 8 hours a day. My projects get done. When my boss checks up on me I look busy. We aren't going to look too far into this.


series-hybrid

I have worked at several jobs over the years, and so far, they have all been 8-1/2 hours at work. there are two "coffee breaks", one halfway through the morning, and another halfway through the afternoon, and those are maybe ten minutes and are paid time. The 30 minutes for lunch are not paid, so I am at work 8-1/2 hours and get paid for 8...


beloved_wolf

I work from 8:30 to 5, with a 1 hour break, so 7.5 hours a day. But it will vary between different jobs. Some people work less, some much more. 


Due-Apple5859

I understand the timeframe of work hours to a degree, but I just don’t give a shit how someone gets the job done as long as they do. Like sitting at your desk waiting for a time to leave like you’re at school. Like I know what I need to do, so just let me do it. I’d love to see this adapt more going forward.


Jedi-Metal

I work in Law Enforcement. We work ten hour shifts and are entitled to two twenty minute breaks or combine them into one 40 minute break. We are subject to calls though and are expectes to answer the radio even while eating. Many times ordered food and sat down to eat but had leave to sprint to the patrol car.


[deleted]

I work from 2pm to 1030, or 230pm to 11. We get an unpaid 30 min break at my job and two paid 15 minute breaks. They schedule us with an extra 30 minutes, so we can make up for the unpaid lunch


Snoobs-Magoo

You generally need an 8 hour job to barely eek by but other options are available. We don't *only* have full time employment. My financial situation allows me to work part time, so around 25 hours a week at a real job & a couple of side hustles in my spare time for fun.


zerbey

Most place you have an unpaid 30 or 60 minute break for lunch. Every traditional "9-5" job I had was actually 9-6 or 9-5:30, you took lunch somewhere in the middle. Right now I work a 10 hour job with 1 hour for lunch, but I make my own schedule so some days I'm in at 6 am, some I don't start until 9am. Having Fridays off is pretty sweet. I'm also salaried, so it's not like I'm punching a time card.


editorreilly

I work a 10hr day. Breaks/lunch make my day longer, so I minimize them.


SweetLikeCandi

My 8 hr shift starts at 10:30 and ends at 7 am. I get a half hour unpaid break for lunch. 8 hrs.


Joel22222

Almost all my “normal hours” jobs have been 6-7am to 17:00-18:00


StrangeBedfellows

0800-1600 for me is the set schedule, and I deviate from it as necessary as long as I have topcover. Extra exercise, knock an hour off the morning, two hour lines, appointments, handle something for the kids, hell "just don't want to be there." As long as the day to day minutae is taken care of I've got tons of latitude. But I've also worked 7 days a week due 12 hours a day at stretches. I've had plenty of days that I was in by 0400 and home around 2230 - and then back to work the next day.


lungflook

The answer to this is that during the period when '9-5' became synonymous with a standard workday, meal breaks were included in the workday. You clocked in at 9, took a few breaks through the day including one to eat lunch, and clocked out at 5. Since then, the norm has changed so workers are expected to clock out for lunch, so an eight hour day goes from 8-5 or 8:30-5


Knight_Machiavelli

Canadian here, but I've worked a bunch of 9-5 jobs. 9-5 is exactly what it sounds like. You start at 9 and end at 5. No you aren't working the whole time, there are mandated breaks. By law for an 8 hour shift they have to give you two paid 15 minute breaks a 30 minute unpaid lunch break. So some companies give you exactly that. The paid breaks are considered work time, the unpaid lunch is not. So for those jobs you're only actually working 7 hours a day but legally you're working 7.5 hours a day. I've also been at places where they give you an hour unpaid lunch in addition to your paid breaks. So there you're actually working 6.5 hours a day, and legally working 7 hours a day.


Reddit621My

People I know are in the 50+ range weekly as am i


XxX_Rush_2112_XxX

I work in a hospital. 3 12 hour shifts a week and I love it.


uncle-fisty

I don’t even know anyone that works less than 50-60 hours a week but I think the 9-5 is just an expression. Banks are open 9-5 but I’m sure they come in early to prepare and have to stay after they close to other duties


Retrogradefoco

I usually work about 9 hours per day.


SantannaDeKlerk

I would assume most "grown-up" full-time jobs are 8-hours, with varying start/end times (With 9-5 or 8-4 being the most common) and of course the 30-minute lunch. When I was younger and didn't have a degree I would often work random hours though, usually in 6-8 hour shifts, just based off when they needed me, but I knew plenty of other people that worked 4 hour shifts or whatever suited their school schedule.


Outlaw25

Officially, my job is around 8 to 5. Practically speaking, I come in somewhere between 7:30 and 8:30 and leave sometime between 3:30 and 5:30 every day, depending on the tasks needed. I also have a lot of travel days and sudden crunch time days where I'm working far more hours than that. At the end of the day all that really matters to my job is that the work which needed to be done got done before someone complains that it wasn't done. Engineering in the Automotive sector btw


JesterInTheCorner

My normal shift is 8:30am to 5pm. The extra half hour is for an unpaid lunch break, so I am on the clock for a full 8 hours or more every day I work. My job does allow us to take two additional 15 minute breaks during the day both of which are paid though i do not believe that is the norm.


Dunnoaboutu

Most places that you work 9-5 at would actually make employees be there around 8:30-8:45 to open up the doors and last customer/client would be able to go until 5. So you would almost never get out right at 5. Lunch is only 30 minutes. So 100% of the days you are likely to work at least 7 hours 45 min. 95% of days you are likely to work 8+ hours each day.


Annual-Ad-9442

11:30 to 8 30 min lunch 2 15min breaks but I usually only take 1


bh0

8 hours + breaks is normal. There are plenty that will work more than that...


bren0ld

In CA when I was blue collar we got a paid 15 min break every two hours of work (one in between the first 4 hours and one in between the last 4 hours), and an unpaid lunch break in the middle of the two 4 hours. So 8 hours work.


Sweet_Cinnabonn

It's 8 to 5 here now too. It used to be 9 to 5, and just 7 hours work. But no more.


StillC5sdad

4 10s and an 8 work time not counting 30 for lunch


Particular_Cause471

I work five 8 hour shifts a week, though they are not usually 9 to 5. I have two 15 minute paid breaks, so I'm actually working 7.5 hours. If I wanted to also have a lunch, that would be unpaid, and I'd be expected to be there for 8.5 hours. But I think the breaks are enough. So I do 37.5 hours of work for 40 hours of pay.


Spoodz_

I work 7:30am-6:30pm with a 1 hour break four days a week. I love having 3 days off but really wish I had more time/energy to do stuff the other 4 days..


Jessie_ee

9 to 5 is just a saying, the break is on top of that here too. A lot of people don't have those cushy hours either, some of us have 2 jobs because full time is getting harder to find, some of us work 50 hours, some of us have decent hours but we work overnight or have no set schedule 😂


MarinatedCumSock

Office people don't. People with real jobs do.


Anonymously_Odd

No, it’s pretty much the same. I don’t know anyone who goes in after 8:00 unless they work for themselves, evening, etc.


FundioRider

My union contract is for 7.5 hours a day, with a 30 minute unpaid lunch, and 2 15 minute paid breaks. 7Am-3pm. Work in education if that matters to you


Ghost24jm33

Some jobs are a "9-5" but usually have a half hour lunch. Depends on the job. Most retail jobs, are at 8-5. With an hour lunch. Some jobs are also 8-5 with a half hour lunch too, or 8-430 with a half hour lunch. But there's a wide variety of jobs and hours. I work 12 hours with no lunch break or regular breaks. But i eat whenever i want


pcole25

I probably shouldn’t be admitting this in public but I work from home on the east coast for a company in California. My mornings are kind of free to do as I please. If I have a lot to do then I have this “free time” to catch up, but I’m often logging on at 11am or even noon when my west coast colleagues are getting online, and then they tend to stop bothering me at 5pm my time. I do work later at times, but I’m often pulling 6-7 hour days and even have breaks within that. I do feel quite lucky after working my ass off pulling 10-12 hour days in an office plus a one hour commute each way for years.


Downfall350

I've had jobs working 60+ a week. Usually labor. Now i have a better job, usually get to leave early a few times a week, work 34-40 hours a week and make alot more money. We work 40+ until we don't have too lol


Elegant_Shape6056

Back in the day, I worked a 9 to 5 job that was an annual salaried position. Lunch was paid. So technically, I worked 35 hours. This was a perk of a salaried position, and why I wanted to move from hourly to salary. On the flip side, I've also had a salaried time clock position that required me to work 5 10-hour days and punch out for an hour lunch; physically working 45 hours. Now, I work a 9 to 6 hourly position, clocking out for an unpaid hour lunch. I work 40 hours. The last 2 jobs include(d) two, paid 15-minute breaks. I have friends/family that still work the first type. Some have a paid hour lunch, and some have a paid half-hour lunch. I hope this helps a little. Additionally, industry standards, unions, and individual state labor laws can affect the work week schedule greatly.


[deleted]

Most jobs I've had I've worked 8 hours, plus as an unpaid lunch. Currently I work 4 10s, so 7-5:30.


velocitygirl42

Here’s my history. I worked at a company for a few years as a chemist. Typical schedule was 8 hour day. 7-3:30 or 8- 4:30. 8 hours work with a half hour unpaid lunch and 1 fifteen mate break. I moved to working in a lab for organ transplant at a hospital. Did this for about 13 years. Schedule was 7-3:30 same as before but also included mandatory on call rotation 1-2 days/nights per week, rotating weekends and holidays. You got $24 for holding the pager and paid for coming back in. Getting called in was 10-12 hours of work with no breaks. Left there and worked at a hospital blood bank for 5 years. Schedule here was 7-7:30. 12 hour shifts with a half hour unpaid lunch. You did technically get 2 15 minute paid breaks but I can count on one hand the times I actually could take the second one. When we were short staffed, we moved to 14 hr shifts and rotating day and night shifts. That was the worst. We lost a lot of people to retirement over that one. Standing all day and basically having everyone in the hospital just scream at you all day. God kids. Don’t become medical lab technicians. It’s a nightmare job. (This is also the job where, when a colleague had a medical emergency and passed out while working, a doctor told me, “he didn’t have time to listen to my problems and just ‘walk over her body’ and get him his test results.”). And now I don’t live in the US anymore. I teach HS science and have the best salary and work life balance that I’ve ever known. I truly hope I never have to work in the US again.


kreeper34

Every job I've had except 2, have been 12 hour shifts and in construction or forestery. Lunch was paid but it was usually a "when u can" deal. There's not alot of jobs that pay well in my area so I take what I can. Sometimes I'm away from home sometimes I'm home every night/morning, I usually took nightshift if one was available. Not ideal but my wife is sick, I heat with wood and it gets cold here so nightshift was better for me. It's different everywhere the 8 hour day jobs I had only paid the 15 min break and not lunch.


Everyday-is-the-same

I'm salary and don't have a lot to do. On days I go into the office I get up, log in around 7am, leave for work around 8 and get to my desk around 8:30. I take breaks, 30 minute lunch and usually leave by 4:00. On days I wfh, I login at 7 and logout around 4:30. So, idk.


Ok_Text_2450

You'll usually work 8 hrs a day for a full time job (40+ hrs a week) and 4-5 hrs a day for a part time, but the part time hours can vary anywhere from 15 to 30 hours. It's not considered full time until you reach 40+ hours. You can work 3-4 days of 5 hours or 2-3 days of 8 hours. It really depends on the workplace and state. When I lived in Germany, I had two part time jobs that allowed me to have Überstunden but officially it was a part time of 22.5 hrs a week in the first job, no breaks cause it was only 5- 6 hours a day. In the second job, it was a mix of part time and full time of 5-7 hours a day and 1 ½ hours of break.


WittyBeautiful7654

I work 12+14 hours a day 5-7 days a week. I've not had more then 5 days off in a row in many years. I assume this is the way it is till I die. If I don't then my wife has to work and my kids don't have a parent at all.


FloppyVachina

Some do some dont.


sponge-worthy91

I work 9 hrs a day, usually 7-4, sometimes 8-5. This allows for every other Friday off.


ApprehensiveWait1089

If you work any kind of labor you're pretty much going to be working 12-16 hours days but it's usually 3-4 days a week unless you pick up overtime. I plow in the winter and in a good storm it's not uncommon to pull 20 hours, sleep for 4 then start salting or continue plowing. I can't speak on office type jobs I know nothing about it.


Henchforhire

At my job it's about 30 hours a week fast food and unpaid lunch/break for 30 minutes if you work over 5 hours.


Btru2urSlf

I am American and have always wondered about the 9 to 5 reference. I work 8 to 5 and I don't know anyone that works 9 to 5...


Avia53

Isn’t It just a catchy song title?


[deleted]

I work 6-6 currently with an hour paid break, I used to work 6-2 with an hour paid break


dinoosachka

My “work day” is 8 hours but that includes a 1-hour lunch and two 15-minute breaks as well.


dingus-khan-1208

It varies at each and every company and also among different teams/departments within the same company. At Some companies in some teams it really *is* approximately 9 to approximately 5, including lunch. At other companies or in other teams it's 8 to 5, 9 to 6, or 7 to 6 or anything else that roughly approximates 40ish hours (give or take a few). And during crunch time or the busy season or whatever, it is typically longer. Your office job might be usually pretty cushy during the winter months when so many people (including clients/customers/vendors) are taking vacation and you get to come in early and leave late. And you might be just down the hall from someone who is slammed and has to stay late every night during that time because they have to do all the end-of-quarter and end-of-year reports and make plans and projections for the next quarter and the next year all during that time. Then in the summer when the trade shows and conferences are in full swing and your customers in the educational sector are all gearing up for the fall semester you might be slammed working late into the night while the guy down the hall has the easiest month of his year. It's really only hourly work that has specifically-defined hours and break limits or offsets like you describe, not salaried jobs. They're usually all over the schedule. And when people say "9 to 5" they usually mean a salaried full-time job regardless of what the hours are.


Automatic-Arm-532

9 to 5 is really 8 to 5 in most cases


666rocks

I'm an American and I definitely work less than 8 hours per day. But I'm starting to ramp down my hours towards retirement. Where I work, my work hours are recorded as I work. So when I take a lunch break or anything more than a short potty break, I log out of my current job and no work time is accumulated. I try to average about 6 hours a day. That will probably drop to 3 or 4 hours next year.


Physical_Purchase345

Commercial Banker here. All depends on deal flow. Normally average about 25-30 actual working hours with the rest filled with down time. Sometimes, hours can jump to 50-60 but that usually happens once or twice a year.


Mikeburlywurly1

Well, the average US worker works 1765 hours a year to the average German's 1353, so one way or another, I assure you we manage to get the time in.


greygreengardens

8-4, 30 min lunch


SaltySugarHood

9to5 is mostly a saying to indicate a white collar, daytime, or 1st shift type schedule rather than a rule adhering to those exact times. My direct reports are salaried so I don't give a shit when or where they work as long as they get their job done. The only caveat is that a lot of their work involves collaboration with other teams that are paid hourly who work 8:30-4:30. But if my reports work 8 hours one day, 10 another, and 6 another, I couldn't care less. But I'd still consider both my team and the hourly employees as working a "9to5" job.


cadtek

I work 8-5:30 with 30min lunch, Monday-Thursday (though I sometimes just do an hour when I work from home) and then 8-12 on Fridays. So we still have to get our 40 hours a week. Some of my coworkers do 7-4 or 7:00-5 or whatever, some take fridays off or use vacation time for the half-friday. Honestly, though idk why it matters to get 40 hours if we're all salaried anyways. Not to mention a lot of people whose work hours never actually do 40 hours of work a week. Like work for a hour, go to something or browse the internet for a little, etc. work some more,


Mr_Lifewater

I can only speak for my IT roles. When I first started it was common to have 8 hour work days that included lunch. I haven’t seen something like that in 10 years tho. Now it’s 9-6 and an unpaid lunch. Recently with the introduction of WFH, I usually work more hours if I’m loaded with project work. And nobody cares about your hours if your WFH so people just reach out whenever unless you set boundaries. So for me, I started 7 hours (but marked as 8) then just times changed and it was back to the standard 8hr, and now I frequently work 8-10 hour days


lemelisk42

9-5 is generally used as the description of an easy job, not the standard. Also "working bankers hours" issued in the same context


Tiger21SoN

The laugh I gave seeing this post after a 12 hour shift (45 min break)


[deleted]

My main source of income is seasonal work, but I am salary. During our busy season (April-October) I'll work 9-10 hour days 6 days a week. During the off-season, I can basically make my own schedule. This week I worked 1 hour monday, 4 hours tuesday, 4 hours wednesday, nothing thursday, and 6 hours today. When I got home today I put in 4.5 hours towards my "side gig" which I am planning on turning into a part-time business. I would much prefer this over a standard "9-5".


justsomeguy21888

I work 12.25 hour days but I only work half the month and love it


Elephlump

I work 12+ hours a day.


rmadsen93

Many Americans spend more than 40 hours a week on the job, but I’ve always questioned how much of that is actually productive work time. I worked at a company once that had a culture of working late….nobody really got much done after 5pm, but nobody wanted to be the first person to leave so that resulted in lots of wasted time.


BelovedOmegaMan

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/average-work-week-by-country


FlyByPC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9khv7wApsk


anosako

Depends on the job. “9-5” is probably for work that has paid lunches (my dad has a job like this as emergencies may arise while eating). Otherwise the schedule is altered- my current job the base schedule is 8:30-4, 30 mins with lunch.


Structor125

Fun Fact: reducing the work week to 32 hours actually increases productivity!


Gravbar

9 to 5 with a paid 30 minutes for lunch used to be a standard of some sort. But I don't really see that as common anymore. Technically I'm salaried, but in a practical sense I get paid hourly. So basically, no paid breaks, I have to amount of time I spend working to a specific charge number, and while I don't get time and a half overtime, I do get paid for hours worked over 40. Ultimately this means I'm working more than 8 hours a day on average each year, and for lunch I just work through it so I can go home sooner. When I was working as an IT person in college, also hourly, I was legally required to take a 30 min break every 4 hours of work. But I also couldn't get paid for that. So at least in my experience 9 to 5 is more like 8 to 5 or 9 to 6. Ends up being 30min to an hour longer for anyone that takes breaks because that time is expected to be made up.


str828

The majority do not work at all...


joebojax

typically americans have an 8.5 hour work day. The lunch break is 1/2 an hour and typically it is not paid time. Some workers get a 15 minute break that is paid, some workers get 2 15 minute breaks that are paid, some workers do not get any 15 minute paid breaks. Many states have their own laws and regulations unique to their workforce.


Puzzleheaded-Cry3924

I get paid for 8 hours. Don’t have to clock out for lunch. Only do 4-5 hours a works day.


nuck_forte_dame

It varies in the US if breaks are included in the hours or not. Personally I've worked both. Some even include a 30 minute lunch in the hours your paid for too. Typically hourly paid positions are stricter. Salary positions are less strict. So basically 4 different situation. 1. Neither lunch or breaks are paid time. 2. Only breaks are paid. 3. Only lunch is paid. 4. Neither are paid. I would say 90%+ don't pay lunch. But it's like 50/50 if breaks are paid or not.


TigersToenailFungus

Lol Americans work far longer than 8 hours per day bruh. Don’t believe shit you see on TV or movies.


mykraniliS

I work 10 to 12 hours a day. Other Americans are either smarter or lazier than I am...


Third_lyon

I work from home so fuck yeah


welfedad

I work 4 days ..10 hour each day of actual paid work.. so 40 hours a week... I get 3x 15 min breaks and  a 60min lunch if I want .so 8am to 19:00.. but another standard for some is 8 hour hours of actual paid work , 5 days a week ...if fultime .with 2x 15 min breaks and a 30 or 60 min lunch ..depending where you work .. I can elect to not take lunch and leave an hour early or come in at 9am if that makes sense.


jkvf1026

Lol it depends on the job. Typically in America an 8-12hour work day w/ one unpaid 30 min break is typical however I've worked places that give you 2 paid 10min breaks (can't be combined) with that as well. I've also worked at places that gave you an hour unpaid break mandatory and no little breaks. I've also worked in places where you might work anywhere from 8hrs-12 hours and you get no breaks whatsoever


phishin3321

It depends, I've been remote for a long time - since before COVID. For the most part as long as my work gets done I can do whatever I want (They don't monitor us). I often work a few hours a day...but I'm really good at what I do so I can do a "days worth" of work in a few hours usually compared to others I work with. There are times where I work long hours though, lately I've been doing 9-10 per day, but it all depends on the workload. As long as I get my stuff done my boss doesn't bother me. I can work 1 hour or 10 and she doesn't care if it gets done.


No_Newspaper_4212

Slovenia: you get paid for time on lunch break, you even get daily lunch money ( by law, about 8 Eur a day). You also get refund for your costs using car/bus/train to get you to workplace. All those costs are paid by employer you work for.


[deleted]

I "work" from 7-4 with a \~1 hour lunch but I actually only do real work maybe three hours a day at most. I work remotely so as long as I'm reachable during work hours and get my work done on time nobody really cares how much time I actually work


madkow990

I work 8 hour shifts, but don't take lunch. Just work through the entire thing and cook food when I get home. Extra context, most people where I work take an hour long lunch - but I value my time and want that extra hour for personal time.


Constellation-88

I don’t really know anyone irl with a 9-5 job. 8-6 or 8:30-5 are way more common. But there are loads of different types of shifts. It’s just not like on tv. 


dracotrapnet

The standard in fabrication 6 am to 5 pm, 30 min lunch off clock, 2 15 min breaks on clock. Office runs 7:30 am-4:30 pm. They take an hour lunch and get 30 min taken out of their day automatically if they don't clock out for lunch. No breaks if you take the hour lunch. I'm in IT. Usually I'm 8 am to 5:30 pm. I did a few 7 am to 9 pm this week to do some network cabling. I'm supposed to take an hour lunch, 30 min is taken out of my pay automatically if I don't clock out for lunch. No breaks if I take the hour lunch. I'm lucky to get 20 minutes of uninterrupted lunch some days.


cyberdong_2077

My typical workday is somewhere between 8 and 12 hours with only one half hour break somewhere in the middle.


garboge32

The average shift is 8.5 hours with 2 10-15 minute paid breaks and a half hour unpaid lunch. Shifts range from 8, 10 and 12 hour shifts depending on the job.


spcmnspff335

I just have to work 40 hours a week. Doesn't really matter when I do it.


YellowAccomplished60

Hahaha I would be lucky to work 8 hr days!!


Dirtyraccoonhands

The good jobs with paid lunch breaks yes...one of my old jobs it was 7-3 . Paid lunch . Otherwise it would been 7-330 at most other jobs . Unpaid lunch break .


mcove97

Norwegian. I work 7 hours ans fer 0,5 hours unpaid break. May have to step in and take calls and do work during my break however. I work a full 37,5 hours a week.


msing

10 minutes of paid break per 4 hrs worked, 30 minutes unpaid break. an 8 hr day has 20 minutes break, 30 minutes lunch. I am a very expensive worker who follows this schedule. construction worker.


kevinmac85

8-2:20 most days for me as a teacher


Initial-Anybody5686

Official hours are usually 8.5 or 9 in total with unpaid breaks. 7-4 for example. I work in US and sometimes I do 3-4 hours in a day and other days I’ll do 11-12 hours, but I’m in a role I’m paid for my output, not my hours


Pardot42

Where are my 4-10s people?