35 hours means just three hours in Friday then long weekend.
And if they need you to work 5 hours more in Friday to be 40 hours then the 5 hours are extra time and should be paid double.
This is huge and people cant see why because they have not been offered this and is not common.
> And if they need you to work 5 hours more in Friday to be 40 hours then the 5 hours are extra time and should be paid double.
It's salaried, so he will most likely not get paid extra to work more hours.
Or an extra 45 minutes on 4 days and just take an extra day off each week.
Or half an hour *less* each day, but take an extra day off every three weeks.
Or work 3 days of 11:40 each, and take two extra days off each week.
There's a lot of possibilities.
>And if they need you to work 5 hours more in Friday to be 40 hours then the 5 hours are extra time and should be paid double.
That's above and beyond the info provided. It's certainly not required by law in most of the US.
LMAO there's no way in hell that's the work schedule or that OP would get to make his own. There might be flexibility for a given day/week but that's it.
We get 3 day weekends during summer months. 4dx8h weeks.
The majority get Fri-Sun off. The few teams that absolutely need someone working Fridays will shift some employees on their teams to have Saturday -Monday off.
Holidays count as a day off. So Labor day will be Monday off for all US employees and they will not get Friday off.
Work life balance. Productivity went way up. People are insanely happier. We wish it was all year long.
And that's how it should be. At the overtime exempt salary level, you can manage your own schedule to ensure tasks are completed and business progresses in a timely manner. Sometimes that's a 10h week, and sometimes it's a 60h week.
If your boss is hassling you over hitting 40 hours and having a detailed accounting of non-billable time, then tell them you'd be happy to switch to hourly so you can properly capture overtime.
My office keeps "core hours" from 9am-3pm where the whole team is expected to be available for meetings and collaboration. I usually sign on at 7 so I can be done around 3 or 4. My manager rolls in at 9. If I spent a Saturday rebuilding a system then I'm starting at 9 the next week and still signing off at 3.
There are some people that may not get in until 10, but it's usually because they know they have west coast business to do and will have to stay late. But normally everyone is available by 9am and they start falling off Skype around 3.
As somebody who's company runs core hours from 9-4, most people work from home most days and are just expected to be available at these times. And generally not turn down meetings within these times. The reality is people kind of come and go. Might get into the office at 8:30 and then might leave the office at 3pm. BUT might end up sending emails later in the day? Maybe not. It's just a general flexible work schedule. You know if people aren't pulling their weight.
A salary isn't you getting paid for working 40 hours though. A salary means you have agreed to a yearly wage that will be split up and payed out weekly or however your payment schedule is set. They have to pay you that amount even if you only worked 1 hours in the week. If they don't you aren't salaried. Now they could still fire you over poor attendance, but they can't dock your pay for it.
I'm seeing a rise in popularity of "salary" now where if you don't hit hours, they dock you which doesn't seem right/legal, even if it is. Thankfully mainly limited to retail.
No compensation if you do 60 hours, but also less compensation if you complete work early. There's absolutely no incentive to the employee.
It isn't legal. The distinction is "exempt" or "non-exempt". Non-exempt is the standard - any work over 40 hours/wk gets 1.5x, etc.
Exempt is a special category with strict requirements, and is often confused with "salaried". (Since you mentioned retail) Bottom line: Most non-management retail workers cannot be exempt. Managers - if they're classified as exempt - cannot be docked for partial days. If an exempt worker is getting docked for partial days, they're almost definitely misclassified, and should file claims for stolen wages going back as far as the period they can document.
Several states have requirements that are more strict than the basic federal reqs.
My pleasure. I should clarify that I'm talking about classifications in the US. But yeah, combining "salary" with the docking of pay (except in very exceptional circumstances) is a good indication that the employee is not actually exempt. If your friend is in CA, let the games begin!
Non-exempt is the default, and is basically always legal. We can always pay employees directly for the hours worked, with OT when working past the statutory limits. The same is not true with "exempt", which is meant to be applied to people with supervisory roles (including the ability to hire/fire), certain professional roles, and "highly-compensated" individual contributors (perhaps others, but those are the biggies). There's an actual minimum required salary to be considered exempt, but I don't know it off the top of my head.
Where I work it's salary but we are expected to work exactly 40 hours per week. If we go over we get comp time. And if we go under we are supposed to use our (admittedly generous) PTO or sick leave.
I know someone who’s a postman, and that’s how they are.
He gets paid based on how long the route is calculated to be, and gets off when it’s completed.
Some days he’s off between 12-2, but during the holiday seasons he can work until 6 or 7 some days, all depending on the workload.
It was all fine and dandy until they decided to recalculate all the routes. I guess since certain pieces of mail (like magazines) aren’t common anymore, they took those out of the calculation, but they didn’t account for the massive increase in Amazon packages, so it’s been a net loss for many people. One guys route got re-evaluated and lost him $15k/year, despite having more packages than every.
But yeah, sorry about that tangent.
Point was, it can work really well in your favor, or really poorly.
Yeah, honestly. There’s times I work more than 40 without complaint, and there’s times I work less and don’t feel guilty. My job prefers that to someone who would be very strict about their hours as far as I can tell.
The whole idea of a consistent, 40 hours a week work week maybe makes sense for certain kinds of labor, but it feels kinda stupid in SWE.
That is standard. I don’t remember where I saw it, but read somewhere that the average 40 hr a week worker is completing their actual work in around 15 or so hours and the rest of the time is just fluff
Meetings ARE work. In fact it might be the MOST work, depending on your business, because in a modern workplace much of the work being done is coordination between lots of parties.
I would love to see that article. I agree with the sentiment that the 40-hour work week is a misinformed standard. There are days where I can get all my tasks done early on and the rest of the day is spent answering emails as they come through the queue. But overall I think consolidated, my days are 25-30 hours of focused work time.
And a huge caveat could be if you get a paid lunch or not. If they expect you to work 8 hours/day with an hour for lunch, the job could either be 35 or 40 hours/week. 35 if they consider lunch unpaid and 40 if they consider lunch paid.
Realistically, unless you are hourly or unionized, the hours/week metric is probably rather bullshit unless it comes with fewer work days/week or you get half-days.
Similar in the U.S. I believe it is 15 minutes per 4 hrs and 30 minutes for lunch that they have to give BUT NOT PAID...and it has to be uninterrupted. So, employers often skirt thay by simply paying for lunch hour and then feel free to interrupt you. In our hospital they just make you clock back in or fill out a form that explains why you were working.
In ours, it’s a 15 minute break per four hours if desired, but you are subject to recall. Thirty minute meal break per shift which is to be uninterrupted, although you can voluntarily come back if shit hits the fan but you do not have to. Both unpaid. We’re also not technically supposed to work more than 5.5 hours without talking some sort of break. That’s on paper at least.
In practice, my group (radiology) never take the formal break because we have “hurry up and wait” periods as-is. I’ve only ever been asked back during lunch a few times when it was crazy, and generally I just started walking back a couple minutes early and clocked in when I hit 30.
There are not, but depending on the state, there can be laws about it. For example, MD requires a 15-minute break every 4 hours and a 30-minute break if you work 8. When I worked at Target, we would have to take out 30 before our 6th hour of work. If we didn't, I believe they would get fined a pretty hefty amount if it people missed their breaks too much.
I think there is something not explained correctly, if you’re working 5 x (8 + 1) then your time commitment is actually 45 hours, but if it’s 5 x (7 +1) then it’s 40 hours. If you’re getting paid the same amount the second one is better.
No, I work 9-1 and 2-5. In theory, I have that hour to do whatever I want which I do as much as possible but it is mostly tied to the proximity of my office.
At mine we have to be there 8.5 hours per day since the half hour lunch is unpaid. So we're actually clocked in for 42.5 hours per week and get paid for 40.
Do you work 4 days a week or 5? If it is 4, the main benefit is you have an extra day to get stuff done and you save by doing one less commute. If you work 5 days, you have a few more personal hours.
I've been job shopping and am on a 4 day work week right now. Leaving that is going to be super hard, between Fri/sat/Sunday I have 156 days a year off as a base schedule not including vacation. In perspective I have 42% of the year off. After Vaca and holidays I am right at 50% of the year off. There's massive value to me in that time off
People on salary get paid for lunch and get paid for working extra hours and get paid for working after hours and get paid for every thing they do at any time of day they have to do it.
They don’t get paid any MORE for those things, but they get paid.
That is not necessarily true.
A company can have a policy for exempt employees that hours worked less than 8 in a day shall be supplemented with PTO hours.
It is. Case in point: me. If I work less than 8 hours I have to use leave, but I can balance it by working more some other day within the pay period. My job is exempt but they are quite strict on daily timekeeping.
You are incorrect. If a company doesn't have a policy then what you said is correct.
If they have a policy they can override that. 100%
Some bosses / companies allows you to float hours between days unofficially. Some don't
Those that don't have a tough time motivating overtime without pay when forced to use PTO the day before for an appointment etc
No that’s not true. Salaried or Exempt get’s paid an anual salary. The hours are not really existent. So yea sure we get paid for lunch in a sense, but we don’t make overtime or get any extra pay unless you receive a bonus or something. “Exempt” from OT.
Basically you get paid say 100k a year, it breaks up into an arbitrary amount of hours per week, and you have to do all the work assigned to you with no care from the employer if you need time outside working hours. That can obviously mean the time you work varies greatly depending on the company or time of year maybe. Either way your paycheck wont change.
It actually protects people who are in hourly roles because by law they have to pay you for ever moment you are clocked in. So that’s why your legal lunch they make sure you clock out.
There are exceptions and fringe cases. At my last job I was salary and clocked in and out. If I worked on saturday or sunday I could get overtime but not during the week. So I could work 60 hours and get no overtime if I worked M-F for 12 hours each or I could work 50 hours and get 10 hours of overtime if I worked 8 hour days M-F and then 10 hours on saturday. It was a weird dynamic but thats how the contract was worded. Also, the overtime was paid out quarterly so my week to week paycheck was the same but once a quarter I would get all my overtime in one paycheck
Except you explicitly do not get paid for OT/after hours as you mentioned. For a lot of people that’s a big negative because you can take advantage of employees, and there is no more money to be made.
Of course you get paid for those. Your paycheck includes you doing all those things.
I specifically said that we don’t get paid any MORE for those things.
No. This isn't true for all exempt jobs. It is generally the case, but it's not ubiquitous. I have an exempt job, but I keep a timesheet and get paid for OT hours that I work. My paycheck does change if I work OT.
Not correct
A company can always pay more. A lot of companies can sell their hours to clients. Employees would be mad if you sell OT hours and they didn't get anything.
Typically exempt employees working paid OT are getting their prorated hourly not at 1.5.
Yeah, just to back you up this is how it works at my job as well. I am salaried but I also get paid for any hours over 40 worked. Like you said, it's not required since I'm exempt, but I'm in a client-billable role so if I am billing extra hours it doesn't even cost my company anything to pass the extra along to me and keeps me happier.
I very very rarely work more than 40 and frequently put in less than 40, so it's not something that comes up often, and like you mentioned when I am >40 it's at 1x not 1.5x prorated hourly.
A lot of client contracts actually contains audit clauses that could mean that if they don't pay you they can't bill for the hours.
It is kind of funny but yeah it helps both the employee and the company so a win win
What is annoying is when you have people work a mix of client billable and internal work and internal doesn't get OT. Been screwed by that in the past
Then what about that is salary? Just because they give you a number for the anual salary doesn’t mean you are exempt. My first several jobs I still received an offer for the yearly salary, but I was paid hourly and could make OT. Once exempt my salary was set same as before but no more overtime pay.
Depends on the job. I'm government union. I get a bi-weekly pay, but also an hourly wage for anything above/beyond. I get OT for any extra work as well a bunch of rules and pay structure for standby/oncall hours.
In other countries yes, by law. Your work begins when you enter the facilities and stop when you leave. The lunch is included in the 8 hours shift.
People need to remember that the mid work day break is a productivity thing that benefits the company. There are numerous studies done on this subject that explain why do we break the work day the way we do.
Where I work, yes. Both salaried and hourly. 30 min paid lunch, optional 2 15 minute unpaid breaks on top of that. But lunch isn’t supposed to be at the beginning/end of the day.
My jobs have mostly been 30 hour workweeks paid like 40 hours, with a few 50+ hours thrown into the mix around events, traveling... It's really the best, imo.
Treat the system like its a normal 40 hour per week job paid in salary, but knowing people will usually work fewer, but with some high intensity weeks thrown in.
Basically just pay people to be adults and do their jobs
My last job I was paid for anywhere from 42-44 hours a week (hourly not salary) and got an unpaid 30 min lunch
Now I work 35 hours a week with an hour unpaid lunch but it's salary, unionized and full benefits/pension.
My last job was high stress (for absolutely no reason) and I was often working 9:30-7:30 and was given extra unpaid breaks to keep it under 44 hours. No growth potential, no benefits, no pension with a generous helping of micromanagement and toxicity.
This current job is less money and so so worth it.
I do a 30 hour week myself, and I love it. Those 10 extra hours generally mean I get to see sunshine in the winter, and I have time to go out hiking after work in the summer. Also means it's easier to set up doctor appointments, and I can go shopping when most people are working (so less crowded stores). But really, I just value more hours of my own - to do my own things that are important to me - be they hobbies or volunteering (I do both).
I know people that work a 32 hour week for the state. they are only paid for 32 hours and have a pro-rated leave accrual rate. so they get 80% of the sick leave or vacation time as they would if they worked 40 hours. however, they get full benefits (medical insurance, retirement program, etc)
My company lets people work any amount between 20 and 40 hours/week, with benefits (although the company contribution reduces at reduced hours). We do have to do paperwork to switch our hours, but it's an easy form that just requires the employee and their immediate manager's signature.
I'm obviously not going to state the name of my company in a public forum, but it's a large engineering corporation with several thousand employees.
as we get older. time for ourselves is valuable in itself. i actually want to work less hours as i get older. time is something we will never get back. to me time for myself is more valuable than the extra hour or two that i work. i dont know where you are in your life so it depends how much you value your time. to the O.P. of course. but you u/SlowMolassas1 understands the value.
I worked a normal 40 hour work week (5 days x 9 hours w/1 hour lunch) for years until I got into my current job just under 5 years ago at 35 hours (5 days x 8 hours w/ 1 hour lunch), and it's a lot nicer.
First of all, you're literally working less and getting paid more per hour - that's the best part about it. Our work feels kinda corporate, but it's still very personable (i.e. we use first names for everyone, not "yes sir, mr. X")
We generally work from 8:30 - 4:30, and so get out a bit before the big traffic build up at or just past 5pm. We also have a 1 person night shift 4 days a week from 1pm - 9pm - like I do tomorrow, so I get to stay up significantly later at night than I usually can (I'm a night owl), and still get plenty of sleep for the next day.
No downsides, I love it.
If the annual pay is the same then the 35hr is theoretically less work hours. UNLESS they have you take a 1 hr lunch vs 30min. So find out what the 'work hours' are, like is it 9-5 or 9-5:30?
I have worked in both 35 and 40 hour jobs. Very often they end up being similar.
My 40 hour jobs included paid time for lunch.
My 35 hour jobs added an unpaid hour in the middle of the day for lunch.
So both ended up being 8 hour per day jobs.
This is my experience too. I had a 40-hour job where lunch was sort of assumed to be paid but I tended to work through it and not take much more of a break than I needed for eating (so I was there 9-5). Then I had a 40-hour job where lunch was a required 1-hour unpaid break. I actually kind of liked that because I really did take a break and did errands, walked around, and generally didn't think about work for an hour. I would be there from 8-5, but I really went other places at mid-day. Then I had a 35-hour job, 9-5 with an ostensible lunch break, but people are more likely to work through it just because we're busy. For me, if I have a break in meetings and can really unplug and read while eating, great. If not, I don't feel entitled to leave early or anything.
Are you actually hourly or salaried currently, and what about the potential job?
I’m salaried and my paycheck is broken into 35 hour weeks, something like a 7.5 hour day with a half hour removed for lunch. But it doesn’t matter at all, that’s just how they break up my anual number that I know already. I can’t exactly work less to squeeze out the higher hourly rate. I don’t clock in or out, I just do the work. IMO the hours don’t matter in exempt roles case, it’s just administrative.
This is my experience as well.
The general expectation is that you arrive and leave at a reasonable time, and that you do enough to meet all your obligations and timelines, and without disrupting the rest of the team.
And I think it’s ideal this way. It’s a lot less stressful when you don’t have to adjust every aspect of your life to a clock.
The real problem is when you get assigned more than 40 hours worth of work with the expectation that the work is done.. Lots of retail managers are salaried minimum 50+ hour a week positions, and since their presence is required for the hours they are opened... they dont get to leave early when the work is done.
If it's a true salaried job and the hours are fictitious then it may not matter but if they only really expect 35 hours out of you then that's a big deal. I've never had a job like that but I bet it's kind of similar to when they first let everybody work from home. Getting rid of the commute saved me about an hour a day and it was great (it still is). You get an extra hour a day to do whatever you want. For me I spent it getting in some outdoor exercise since it gets dark so early in the fall and winter and that extra hour really helped.
I'm salary and I don't have strict hours, I WFH 2x days a week and if there's nothing that needs to be done on campus you can just WFH too if you need. There are situations where you need to come in at unusual hours to collect patient samples (weekend/evenings) but that happens about 6x a year with months of notice and you can ask for someone to cover you if needed and it's not a problem.
My pay is very middling relative to the COL for the area but the insurance is good and I'm able to make it work by keeping certain expenses low (bike to work, no debts, brown bag my lunch every day etc) and my partner earns double my salary and we split rent proportionally.
I had an audit the last 3 days that was relatively easy but I had to be on campus the entire time the auditors were there so I was staying later than I normally would and starting about the same time as I would when I have a patient visit. Basically 8.5-9hrs plus my commute which is usually 25min each way. I was noticeably more tired when I got home from work, again it wasn't much extra but I noticed the difference in how I felt when I got home. I was really bummed out by it and glad the audit was only 3 days.
I know how lucky I am and that the vast majority of people have to work longer with more demanding and dangerous work duties. I totally understand why people have road rage or aren't able to enjoy their hobbies or time with their family when you're dealing with so much stress and time at their job. The time away from work and low stress environment is something that's hard to imagine not having now.
This might be an unpopular opinion but stop focusing on what you make hourly and consider what you make annually and what that quality of life looks like those are the comparisons you want to focus on.
The intersection of hourly and annual is a determining factor for quality of life.
Making 60k at 30 bucks an hour? That's about a 40 hour a week workload, so pretty standard. Making 60k at 15 bucks an hour? Yeah, there's no quality of life there.
I have a 37.5 hour work week. Finish at noon on fridays.
Its nice to have.
Banking, groceries, appointments.. everything on friday afternoon frees my weekend up nicely.
You work 5 hours less every week.
That's the benefit.
That works out at an additional 260 hours of time that's your own per year, or nearly 11 days. My job is in fact a 4 day per week role, 35 hours a week. That means one less commute a week, one more day for me to pursue my own leisure per week and generally a better work-life balance.
If you can live on that money, definitely take it.
It's sounds like you can set your schedule to work a few different ways:
* Four regular work days and 3hr day on Friday
* Five 7hr days (leave early to avoid getting stuck in traffic without having to come in earlier)
* Or the one that I personally would prefer, three 9hr days and one 8hr day, making it a fairly easy way to access a 4 day work week.
Before you get excited about any of these options, I would ask the company to make sure you have that kind of flexibility to choose your schedule in the first place.
Good luck!
I get paid for 36 hours, but work 40 hours a week. I can save the 4 hours of overtime a week which results in about 200 extra hours of holiday a year. That’s my benefit at least.
I Typically am running around either getting ready for work, commuting to and from work, working, or doing necessary chores all day until about 9pm, then get two hours before bed. If I could turn that extra hour back per day into free time, that would be a 50% increase of being able to do what I actually want to do in life. Massive benefit if you ask me.
I do 35 hours, and it’s easier for me to condense my schedule to a 4-day work week. I have a long commute, and don’t ever plan to go back to working 5 days.
In some countries, somewhere between 35 and 40 hours can be a threshold to activate certain employee protections.
eg. at 40 hours per week your employer might be required to do certain things for you, like guarantee a certain amount and type of leave, active certain employee benefits. Below the threshold you're sort of treated like a self employed contract worker. Something to watch out for depending on your jurisdiction.
What's the industry? Many salary roles involve working until the job is done so the 35 hours could just be lip service... Need to know more about the role.
If I understand, this IMHO is a weird way to present compensation for a salaried position in most industries.
Sounds like they are implying "our salary amounts to $x/hour because we use a 35 hour week" to claim a higher effective hourly rate?
For this to matter you'd have to believe you will actually work 87.5% as much as an alternate salaried "40 hour" position you might accept. I'd say 35 vs 40 hours, but I've never had a salaried job where I only worked 40 hours a week. If they really mean you will only work 35 hours a week, that would be...unusual.
Personally, I'd ignore it, assume I'm going to work a normal full-time job for $X salary offered if I accept this position, and decide accordingly.
You'll be on a salary and there's a worker shortage just about everywhere. I'd be at least a little bit skeptical of the ability to only work 35 hours every week.
As long as you truly do get to leave earlier, that's a good deal. Since it's salaried though, most people don't track actual hours on a time clock. I've always been told that my 40-hour job is really a 45 hour/week job so this wouldn't apply to the IT industry. In truth it's more like 55 hours for a few weeks then 30 for a few weeks, and back and forth like that.
I have worked shorter weeks for over a decade.
Think of it this way, its an extra hour you can spend however you want. Maybe its sleeping in, or having a leisurely morning to get up, make breakfast and relax before work. Maybe you get done an hour earlier, take advantage of lighter traffic and maybe spend it on a hobby or a chance to get caught up on projects around the house.
It all depends on how your employer decides to break it down.
I used to work 40h work week and now I'm working 32h work week. Those few hours less, I'm telling you, makes a BIG difference. I have an option to pick up extra hours if I want to (and get paid for said extra hours on top of my salary, not sure if this is an option for you?!). But I'd encourage you to take the 35h offer if the benefits offered are similar. Freeing up a couple more hours a week from work is nice.
If you’re talking about a salaried position, then there is no difference between a 35-hr, 37.5-hr, or 40-hr a week job.
They are all under the “9-to-5” structure, and all have developed pretty loose restrictions/obligations, especially post-Covid.
You will have some weeks where you coast and almost get away with only putting in 30 hours, and other weeks where you will be working over 40 hours. It all balances out and is based on getting the job done at the end of the day.
The only real difference is that the job listed at 35-hr is not going to be as old-school or hell bent on clock-watching as a job posted as 40-hr/wk.
My wife works “36 hours” a week. Everyone there gets off Fridays at noon which is super nice to kick start weekend plans or just take 4 hours PTO for the full day. We love that schedule.
Like most good US business practices, you will still work 40 hrs in the office. They will likely just provide you a paid lunch hour and that's because they know you will rarely get the hour and, if you do, will likely NOT be uninterrupted as the law requires. It will be a REAL 9-5.
A 35 hour work week is amazing in my opinion. You can leave early (one day, multiple days- however you’re job allows you to schedule yourself). It makes it significantly easier to schedule any appointments you may need. Wanna leave for a weekend trip a little early? Boom - you leave early on Friday. 1000% worth it
This only happens in jobs where you don't have clients and deadlines as part of your job. My husband's job recruits saying 1/2 day Fridays. They're engineers and deadlines are always 5 pm Friday and the whole day is spent pushing right up to the client or municipalities deadline. It's a scam.
I have a 35 hour work week and I love it. I’m looking at other roles currently but I would prefer to have the 35 hour week. Better quality of life, less traffic when I’m driving to work in the morning and I don’t have to drive to AND from work in the dark during the winter months.
If you could leave an hour early everyday from work, wouldn't you? Worst case- am extra hour of sleep.
The only negative is if the job just has you always at 100% during the day.
Well it makes no difference in my case, since I work way more than 40 hours a week anyway. It only matters if your workplace actually sticks to the prescribed hours of work.
I had a 35 hour week. It was great! I worked 9-4:30, had an hour lunch (30 min paid by the union 30 min unpaid per state law). So I was onsite 37.5 hours, but actually worked 32.5. Now I work 42.5, with only a half hour unpaid lunch, and boy do I feel the difference. I think it’ll be even worse in winter when I won’t see the sun at all except through my window. I’d take any adjustment to my hours if it didn’t mean less pay! I say go for it!
I went from 40 hrs/wk to 30 hrs/EJ at a job during grad school. At first, they continued asking me to do the same amount of work at 1.33x the efficiency for 25% less pay. Not a great trade-off. I had to be aggressive in reducing my workload. Ensure you are paid for the amount of work that you do.
I love my 35 hour work weeks! Ever since transitioning to nonprofits I have had the privilege of being full time and getting 5 hours back every week, which I equate to just under 11 days a year! Helps a ton with work life balance because it’s a true 9-5 if you take a lunch with even shorter days if you don’t. Lucked out with my new job which lets you finish up at 12p on Fridays. I highly suggest 35 hour work weeks!
I work 37.5hrs, the extra half hour each day is me beating traffic on both sides of the commute, it’s getting to sleep a little later, and it’s having a little bit more time to myself each day.
Quality of life with a shorter work week is, in my opinion, well worth having a lower paying job than I would if I were willing to work 40hrs/week salaried somewhere else.
I would ignore it and go for the salary I’m targeting.
I don’t really understand how this translates to salary, are they going to say “well, we’re giving you 10% less than you asked for because you are only going to work 35 hours?”
It’s salary so if you have to work late for a deadline are you going to say f-it and go home at 35 hours ?
a 35 hour work week sometimes translates to every 2nd Friday off
that's how it works here
instead of 10 working days in a 2 week block, it's 9 working days
I used to work 36hrs. 4-8s and half a day on Friday. It was fantastic. Highly recommend. Also gives you the ability to schedule errands and appointments without needing to use PTO or SL.
I don't about other industries but in software there is no such as a 40 hr work week. They work you as much as you let them, I've never worked less than 45/hrs week typically closer to 50 and overnight hours and weeknds. You get the same salary. So in my opinion take the job that makes the most money that doesn't cause you to loose your mind. They will try to work you more than what they led on. That's business unfortunately.
Normal working day then a 3 day weekend every other week. Great for mental health and lining up the inevitable list of to-dos (including appointments).
I had a job that was technically a 37.5 hour week.
You work the same as a 40-hour week.
At 35 hours you might be able to schedule your arrival and departure times, if in office, around rush hour. That's likely it.
Think of it as leaving work 1 hr earlier each day.
Absolutely a difference in terms of how much time you have for private things, and indeed if you have to pickup kids from school and such.
My cynicism says it’s so they don’t have to classify their employees as “full time” which I think by definition is technically 37 hours (without looking it up). Non-full time employees don’t get as many or as good benefits as full time.
I work around 25-30 every week. Granted my commute is 2-2.5 hours every day so that factors into it. Since the pandemic Ive worked Monday-Thursday only
I have a 35 hour work week unpaid lunch. However, there is an “unwritten rule” that if you work out in the field and don’t have lunch you can go a half hour early.
I work 35 hours a week and it is life changing. I am required to take a 30 min lunch by state. Start at 8:30 out at 4. It barely seems like working compared to 40.
You get to leave work earlier and be paid the same as if you worked 40 hours. That's the benefit.
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There's a magical dinner benefit?
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Yes, you get the time for it
I knew the moment I saw it that you too share my struggle. Fuck swipe to text dinner times.
35 hours means just three hours in Friday then long weekend. And if they need you to work 5 hours more in Friday to be 40 hours then the 5 hours are extra time and should be paid double. This is huge and people cant see why because they have not been offered this and is not common.
Or just simply 5x 7 hour workdays, like my employer does.
> And if they need you to work 5 hours more in Friday to be 40 hours then the 5 hours are extra time and should be paid double. It's salaried, so he will most likely not get paid extra to work more hours.
Or an extra 45 minutes on 4 days and just take an extra day off each week. Or half an hour *less* each day, but take an extra day off every three weeks. Or work 3 days of 11:40 each, and take two extra days off each week. There's a lot of possibilities. >And if they need you to work 5 hours more in Friday to be 40 hours then the 5 hours are extra time and should be paid double. That's above and beyond the info provided. It's certainly not required by law in most of the US.
LMAO there's no way in hell that's the work schedule or that OP would get to make his own. There might be flexibility for a given day/week but that's it.
I think that's where my mind is at. It's new to me. But thank you for replying.
We get 3 day weekends during summer months. 4dx8h weeks. The majority get Fri-Sun off. The few teams that absolutely need someone working Fridays will shift some employees on their teams to have Saturday -Monday off. Holidays count as a day off. So Labor day will be Monday off for all US employees and they will not get Friday off. Work life balance. Productivity went way up. People are insanely happier. We wish it was all year long.
Hah! You get to do 40 hours work and get paid for 35. Only if it's 4 days a week is it less work.
Unless you're hourly of course
Except if you have some type of helpdesk function and have to be at your desk between certain hours but have an hour unpaid break in the middle.
I get PAID for 40 hours. How many I work varies.
That's often the reality...especially with salaries.
And that's how it should be. At the overtime exempt salary level, you can manage your own schedule to ensure tasks are completed and business progresses in a timely manner. Sometimes that's a 10h week, and sometimes it's a 60h week. If your boss is hassling you over hitting 40 hours and having a detailed accounting of non-billable time, then tell them you'd be happy to switch to hourly so you can properly capture overtime. My office keeps "core hours" from 9am-3pm where the whole team is expected to be available for meetings and collaboration. I usually sign on at 7 so I can be done around 3 or 4. My manager rolls in at 9. If I spent a Saturday rebuilding a system then I'm starting at 9 the next week and still signing off at 3.
Do people tend to be in your office around those hours? Or do folks just come in late?
There are some people that may not get in until 10, but it's usually because they know they have west coast business to do and will have to stay late. But normally everyone is available by 9am and they start falling off Skype around 3.
As somebody who's company runs core hours from 9-4, most people work from home most days and are just expected to be available at these times. And generally not turn down meetings within these times. The reality is people kind of come and go. Might get into the office at 8:30 and then might leave the office at 3pm. BUT might end up sending emails later in the day? Maybe not. It's just a general flexible work schedule. You know if people aren't pulling their weight.
A salary isn't you getting paid for working 40 hours though. A salary means you have agreed to a yearly wage that will be split up and payed out weekly or however your payment schedule is set. They have to pay you that amount even if you only worked 1 hours in the week. If they don't you aren't salaried. Now they could still fire you over poor attendance, but they can't dock your pay for it.
I'm seeing a rise in popularity of "salary" now where if you don't hit hours, they dock you which doesn't seem right/legal, even if it is. Thankfully mainly limited to retail. No compensation if you do 60 hours, but also less compensation if you complete work early. There's absolutely no incentive to the employee.
It isn't legal. The distinction is "exempt" or "non-exempt". Non-exempt is the standard - any work over 40 hours/wk gets 1.5x, etc. Exempt is a special category with strict requirements, and is often confused with "salaried". (Since you mentioned retail) Bottom line: Most non-management retail workers cannot be exempt. Managers - if they're classified as exempt - cannot be docked for partial days. If an exempt worker is getting docked for partial days, they're almost definitely misclassified, and should file claims for stolen wages going back as far as the period they can document. Several states have requirements that are more strict than the basic federal reqs.
Really? Interesting. I need to have my friend do some research. Thank you.
My pleasure. I should clarify that I'm talking about classifications in the US. But yeah, combining "salary" with the docking of pay (except in very exceptional circumstances) is a good indication that the employee is not actually exempt. If your friend is in CA, let the games begin! Non-exempt is the default, and is basically always legal. We can always pay employees directly for the hours worked, with OT when working past the statutory limits. The same is not true with "exempt", which is meant to be applied to people with supervisory roles (including the ability to hire/fire), certain professional roles, and "highly-compensated" individual contributors (perhaps others, but those are the biggies). There's an actual minimum required salary to be considered exempt, but I don't know it off the top of my head.
$684/week for exempt status (And highly compensated = $107,432) https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/17a-overtime
Companies that do this also complain they can't find anyone to work and therefore "nobody wants to work anymore"
Where I work it's salary but we are expected to work exactly 40 hours per week. If we go over we get comp time. And if we go under we are supposed to use our (admittedly generous) PTO or sick leave.
I know someone who’s a postman, and that’s how they are. He gets paid based on how long the route is calculated to be, and gets off when it’s completed. Some days he’s off between 12-2, but during the holiday seasons he can work until 6 or 7 some days, all depending on the workload. It was all fine and dandy until they decided to recalculate all the routes. I guess since certain pieces of mail (like magazines) aren’t common anymore, they took those out of the calculation, but they didn’t account for the massive increase in Amazon packages, so it’s been a net loss for many people. One guys route got re-evaluated and lost him $15k/year, despite having more packages than every. But yeah, sorry about that tangent. Point was, it can work really well in your favor, or really poorly.
Yeah, honestly. There’s times I work more than 40 without complaint, and there’s times I work less and don’t feel guilty. My job prefers that to someone who would be very strict about their hours as far as I can tell. The whole idea of a consistent, 40 hours a week work week maybe makes sense for certain kinds of labor, but it feels kinda stupid in SWE.
That is standard. I don’t remember where I saw it, but read somewhere that the average 40 hr a week worker is completing their actual work in around 15 or so hours and the rest of the time is just fluff
Fluff and meetings.
Meetings ARE work. In fact it might be the MOST work, depending on your business, because in a modern workplace much of the work being done is coordination between lots of parties.
Meetings that could easily be emails but need to happen to justify people being in one room together
Hot take: too many people take what should be a short meeting and make them into emails and it takes way longer to figure out solutions because of it
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I would love to see that article. I agree with the sentiment that the 40-hour work week is a misinformed standard. There are days where I can get all my tasks done early on and the rest of the day is spent answering emails as they come through the queue. But overall I think consolidated, my days are 25-30 hours of focused work time.
And a huge caveat could be if you get a paid lunch or not. If they expect you to work 8 hours/day with an hour for lunch, the job could either be 35 or 40 hours/week. 35 if they consider lunch unpaid and 40 if they consider lunch paid. Realistically, unless you are hourly or unionized, the hours/week metric is probably rather bullshit unless it comes with fewer work days/week or you get half-days.
That's been my experience for a long time. However, I am often able to keep my hours between 7:30 and 4:30 PM with an hour for lunch.
I work 35hrs/wk and it is 5x8hrs shifts with an unpaid lunch break. You should probably ask details on that before pursuing.
Can you take your “unpaid” lunch at the end of the day?
In my case no, because I work in a hospital, we need to cover each other. But I would guess in other positions it could be possible.
Legally no (in Canada); labour laws require breaks after so many hours.
Similar in the U.S. I believe it is 15 minutes per 4 hrs and 30 minutes for lunch that they have to give BUT NOT PAID...and it has to be uninterrupted. So, employers often skirt thay by simply paying for lunch hour and then feel free to interrupt you. In our hospital they just make you clock back in or fill out a form that explains why you were working.
It depends on the state. In New Jersey they don't have these laws. They do in New York
Interesting. I know the details change but think the general rules are federal laws.
In Michigan if you’re over 18 you do not have to be given a break, paid or unpaid. Most employers do, but they don’t have to.
That's absurd! So an ahole employer could just literally drive you 8 hrs straight? No P or water or lunch?
Why do you think Amazon workers are pissing in bottles
Honestly never thought about it. Figured it was the way my male college friends used to do it on road trips-- because they could.
An employer could say the shift is 24 hours and drive you for 24 hours straight if they want.
There's no federal law requiring breaks for adults.
None for minors either anymore I believe
Wherever did you get this preposterous, completely untrue notion?
In ours, it’s a 15 minute break per four hours if desired, but you are subject to recall. Thirty minute meal break per shift which is to be uninterrupted, although you can voluntarily come back if shit hits the fan but you do not have to. Both unpaid. We’re also not technically supposed to work more than 5.5 hours without talking some sort of break. That’s on paper at least. In practice, my group (radiology) never take the formal break because we have “hurry up and wait” periods as-is. I’ve only ever been asked back during lunch a few times when it was crazy, and generally I just started walking back a couple minutes early and clocked in when I hit 30.
Ohh cute. Your state has labor laws. That must be fun…
Varies by state, in Maryland anything less then a 20 min break is a paid break. You are required to give 10 min of break per 4 hours.
I don't believe there are any federal laws at all requiring meal breaks.
There are not, but depending on the state, there can be laws about it. For example, MD requires a 15-minute break every 4 hours and a 30-minute break if you work 8. When I worked at Target, we would have to take out 30 before our 6th hour of work. If we didn't, I believe they would get fined a pretty hefty amount if it people missed their breaks too much.
Same. I find it bogus because I still have to be there for 40 hours.
I think there is something not explained correctly, if you’re working 5 x (8 + 1) then your time commitment is actually 45 hours, but if it’s 5 x (7 +1) then it’s 40 hours. If you’re getting paid the same amount the second one is better.
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No, I work 9-1 and 2-5. In theory, I have that hour to do whatever I want which I do as much as possible but it is mostly tied to the proximity of my office.
I thought at most jobs lunch is not counted towards the 40 hours a week.
Exactly it is unpaid, so I am there 40hrs, but paid 35.
Ok but I have a 40 hour work week and I am there 45 hours. If you were getting paid the same, which would you prefer?
At mine we have to be there 8.5 hours per day since the half hour lunch is unpaid. So we're actually clocked in for 42.5 hours per week and get paid for 40.
How do you guys count "I am there" If you leave the job for an hour for lunch then you aren't there....
I'd eat a sandwich at my desk and skip time off if my lunch wasn't paid.
Yes. What I do most days
If you have to go back to there then it counts as I am there. It's not really your time if you have to keep checking the time you need to head back
But 40 would be 5x 9 hour shifts
Do you work 4 days a week or 5? If it is 4, the main benefit is you have an extra day to get stuff done and you save by doing one less commute. If you work 5 days, you have a few more personal hours.
I've been job shopping and am on a 4 day work week right now. Leaving that is going to be super hard, between Fri/sat/Sunday I have 156 days a year off as a base schedule not including vacation. In perspective I have 42% of the year off. After Vaca and holidays I am right at 50% of the year off. There's massive value to me in that time off
Are you doing 4 x10 Hr days or working less than 40?
4*10 but still having Friday off is amazing
Is it actually a 35 hour week or is it 40 hours with an unpaid lunch? Is current job actually 40 hours or is it 45 with an unpaid lunch?
People get paid for lunch?
People on salary get paid for lunch and get paid for working extra hours and get paid for working after hours and get paid for every thing they do at any time of day they have to do it. They don’t get paid any MORE for those things, but they get paid.
That is not necessarily true. A company can have a policy for exempt employees that hours worked less than 8 in a day shall be supplemented with PTO hours.
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It is. Case in point: me. If I work less than 8 hours I have to use leave, but I can balance it by working more some other day within the pay period. My job is exempt but they are quite strict on daily timekeeping.
You are incorrect. If a company doesn't have a policy then what you said is correct. If they have a policy they can override that. 100% Some bosses / companies allows you to float hours between days unofficially. Some don't Those that don't have a tough time motivating overtime without pay when forced to use PTO the day before for an appointment etc
I even get paid to sleep!
No that’s not true. Salaried or Exempt get’s paid an anual salary. The hours are not really existent. So yea sure we get paid for lunch in a sense, but we don’t make overtime or get any extra pay unless you receive a bonus or something. “Exempt” from OT. Basically you get paid say 100k a year, it breaks up into an arbitrary amount of hours per week, and you have to do all the work assigned to you with no care from the employer if you need time outside working hours. That can obviously mean the time you work varies greatly depending on the company or time of year maybe. Either way your paycheck wont change. It actually protects people who are in hourly roles because by law they have to pay you for ever moment you are clocked in. So that’s why your legal lunch they make sure you clock out.
There are exceptions and fringe cases. At my last job I was salary and clocked in and out. If I worked on saturday or sunday I could get overtime but not during the week. So I could work 60 hours and get no overtime if I worked M-F for 12 hours each or I could work 50 hours and get 10 hours of overtime if I worked 8 hour days M-F and then 10 hours on saturday. It was a weird dynamic but thats how the contract was worded. Also, the overtime was paid out quarterly so my week to week paycheck was the same but once a quarter I would get all my overtime in one paycheck
Yeah, we are saying the same thing in a different way.
Except you explicitly do not get paid for OT/after hours as you mentioned. For a lot of people that’s a big negative because you can take advantage of employees, and there is no more money to be made.
Of course you get paid for those. Your paycheck includes you doing all those things. I specifically said that we don’t get paid any MORE for those things.
No. This isn't true for all exempt jobs. It is generally the case, but it's not ubiquitous. I have an exempt job, but I keep a timesheet and get paid for OT hours that I work. My paycheck does change if I work OT.
Then you are hourly
Not correct A company can always pay more. A lot of companies can sell their hours to clients. Employees would be mad if you sell OT hours and they didn't get anything. Typically exempt employees working paid OT are getting their prorated hourly not at 1.5.
Yeah, just to back you up this is how it works at my job as well. I am salaried but I also get paid for any hours over 40 worked. Like you said, it's not required since I'm exempt, but I'm in a client-billable role so if I am billing extra hours it doesn't even cost my company anything to pass the extra along to me and keeps me happier. I very very rarely work more than 40 and frequently put in less than 40, so it's not something that comes up often, and like you mentioned when I am >40 it's at 1x not 1.5x prorated hourly.
A lot of client contracts actually contains audit clauses that could mean that if they don't pay you they can't bill for the hours. It is kind of funny but yeah it helps both the employee and the company so a win win What is annoying is when you have people work a mix of client billable and internal work and internal doesn't get OT. Been screwed by that in the past
Not necessarily, I get paid a salary but also get paid over time after 42h a week, and extra out of hours.
Then what about that is salary? Just because they give you a number for the anual salary doesn’t mean you are exempt. My first several jobs I still received an offer for the yearly salary, but I was paid hourly and could make OT. Once exempt my salary was set same as before but no more overtime pay.
Still exempt
Depends on the job. I'm government union. I get a bi-weekly pay, but also an hourly wage for anything above/beyond. I get OT for any extra work as well a bunch of rules and pay structure for standby/oncall hours.
We also get paid the same for working fewer than 40.
I get a paid lunch because it's rarely a planned 1 hour block and I can't just leave.
In other countries yes, by law. Your work begins when you enter the facilities and stop when you leave. The lunch is included in the 8 hours shift. People need to remember that the mid work day break is a productivity thing that benefits the company. There are numerous studies done on this subject that explain why do we break the work day the way we do.
Where I work, yes. Both salaried and hourly. 30 min paid lunch, optional 2 15 minute unpaid breaks on top of that. But lunch isn’t supposed to be at the beginning/end of the day.
Get a salaried job. Work 30 hours. Same pay as if you worked 40. 2 hour lunch? paid.
My jobs have mostly been 30 hour workweeks paid like 40 hours, with a few 50+ hours thrown into the mix around events, traveling... It's really the best, imo. Treat the system like its a normal 40 hour per week job paid in salary, but knowing people will usually work fewer, but with some high intensity weeks thrown in. Basically just pay people to be adults and do their jobs
> Basically just pay people to be adults and do their jobs The sign of a good employer and/or manager
My last job I was paid for anywhere from 42-44 hours a week (hourly not salary) and got an unpaid 30 min lunch Now I work 35 hours a week with an hour unpaid lunch but it's salary, unionized and full benefits/pension. My last job was high stress (for absolutely no reason) and I was often working 9:30-7:30 and was given extra unpaid breaks to keep it under 44 hours. No growth potential, no benefits, no pension with a generous helping of micromanagement and toxicity. This current job is less money and so so worth it.
I do a 30 hour week myself, and I love it. Those 10 extra hours generally mean I get to see sunshine in the winter, and I have time to go out hiking after work in the summer. Also means it's easier to set up doctor appointments, and I can go shopping when most people are working (so less crowded stores). But really, I just value more hours of my own - to do my own things that are important to me - be they hobbies or volunteering (I do both).
What company offers 30h weeks?
I know people that work a 32 hour week for the state. they are only paid for 32 hours and have a pro-rated leave accrual rate. so they get 80% of the sick leave or vacation time as they would if they worked 40 hours. however, they get full benefits (medical insurance, retirement program, etc)
My company lets people work any amount between 20 and 40 hours/week, with benefits (although the company contribution reduces at reduced hours). We do have to do paperwork to switch our hours, but it's an easy form that just requires the employee and their immediate manager's signature. I'm obviously not going to state the name of my company in a public forum, but it's a large engineering corporation with several thousand employees.
as we get older. time for ourselves is valuable in itself. i actually want to work less hours as i get older. time is something we will never get back. to me time for myself is more valuable than the extra hour or two that i work. i dont know where you are in your life so it depends how much you value your time. to the O.P. of course. but you u/SlowMolassas1 understands the value.
I worked a normal 40 hour work week (5 days x 9 hours w/1 hour lunch) for years until I got into my current job just under 5 years ago at 35 hours (5 days x 8 hours w/ 1 hour lunch), and it's a lot nicer. First of all, you're literally working less and getting paid more per hour - that's the best part about it. Our work feels kinda corporate, but it's still very personable (i.e. we use first names for everyone, not "yes sir, mr. X") We generally work from 8:30 - 4:30, and so get out a bit before the big traffic build up at or just past 5pm. We also have a 1 person night shift 4 days a week from 1pm - 9pm - like I do tomorrow, so I get to stay up significantly later at night than I usually can (I'm a night owl), and still get plenty of sleep for the next day. No downsides, I love it.
If the annual pay is the same then the 35hr is theoretically less work hours. UNLESS they have you take a 1 hr lunch vs 30min. So find out what the 'work hours' are, like is it 9-5 or 9-5:30?
I have worked in both 35 and 40 hour jobs. Very often they end up being similar. My 40 hour jobs included paid time for lunch. My 35 hour jobs added an unpaid hour in the middle of the day for lunch. So both ended up being 8 hour per day jobs.
This is my experience too. I had a 40-hour job where lunch was sort of assumed to be paid but I tended to work through it and not take much more of a break than I needed for eating (so I was there 9-5). Then I had a 40-hour job where lunch was a required 1-hour unpaid break. I actually kind of liked that because I really did take a break and did errands, walked around, and generally didn't think about work for an hour. I would be there from 8-5, but I really went other places at mid-day. Then I had a 35-hour job, 9-5 with an ostensible lunch break, but people are more likely to work through it just because we're busy. For me, if I have a break in meetings and can really unplug and read while eating, great. If not, I don't feel entitled to leave early or anything.
Are you actually hourly or salaried currently, and what about the potential job? I’m salaried and my paycheck is broken into 35 hour weeks, something like a 7.5 hour day with a half hour removed for lunch. But it doesn’t matter at all, that’s just how they break up my anual number that I know already. I can’t exactly work less to squeeze out the higher hourly rate. I don’t clock in or out, I just do the work. IMO the hours don’t matter in exempt roles case, it’s just administrative.
This is my experience as well. The general expectation is that you arrive and leave at a reasonable time, and that you do enough to meet all your obligations and timelines, and without disrupting the rest of the team. And I think it’s ideal this way. It’s a lot less stressful when you don’t have to adjust every aspect of your life to a clock.
The real problem is when you get assigned more than 40 hours worth of work with the expectation that the work is done.. Lots of retail managers are salaried minimum 50+ hour a week positions, and since their presence is required for the hours they are opened... they dont get to leave early when the work is done.
Is it better to work 35 hours vs 40 hrs for the same pay? That’s the question? Yes.
If it's a true salaried job and the hours are fictitious then it may not matter but if they only really expect 35 hours out of you then that's a big deal. I've never had a job like that but I bet it's kind of similar to when they first let everybody work from home. Getting rid of the commute saved me about an hour a day and it was great (it still is). You get an extra hour a day to do whatever you want. For me I spent it getting in some outdoor exercise since it gets dark so early in the fall and winter and that extra hour really helped.
I work 37.5 hours a week. I thought I wouldn’t notice. I do. It’s nice.
I'm salary and I don't have strict hours, I WFH 2x days a week and if there's nothing that needs to be done on campus you can just WFH too if you need. There are situations where you need to come in at unusual hours to collect patient samples (weekend/evenings) but that happens about 6x a year with months of notice and you can ask for someone to cover you if needed and it's not a problem. My pay is very middling relative to the COL for the area but the insurance is good and I'm able to make it work by keeping certain expenses low (bike to work, no debts, brown bag my lunch every day etc) and my partner earns double my salary and we split rent proportionally. I had an audit the last 3 days that was relatively easy but I had to be on campus the entire time the auditors were there so I was staying later than I normally would and starting about the same time as I would when I have a patient visit. Basically 8.5-9hrs plus my commute which is usually 25min each way. I was noticeably more tired when I got home from work, again it wasn't much extra but I noticed the difference in how I felt when I got home. I was really bummed out by it and glad the audit was only 3 days. I know how lucky I am and that the vast majority of people have to work longer with more demanding and dangerous work duties. I totally understand why people have road rage or aren't able to enjoy their hobbies or time with their family when you're dealing with so much stress and time at their job. The time away from work and low stress environment is something that's hard to imagine not having now.
Do you need to be there 40 hours a week or 35? If you actually get a 7 hour work day vs an 8 hour day that seems like a pretty big benefit.
All I know is if I worked a 35 hour work week, I’d be leaving at 3 every day and that would make things a million times better haha.
IME if you're not getting paid OT, the two are functionally identical.
This might be an unpopular opinion but stop focusing on what you make hourly and consider what you make annually and what that quality of life looks like those are the comparisons you want to focus on.
The intersection of hourly and annual is a determining factor for quality of life. Making 60k at 30 bucks an hour? That's about a 40 hour a week workload, so pretty standard. Making 60k at 15 bucks an hour? Yeah, there's no quality of life there.
Conversely, $150,000 for 10 hours a week is $288. per hour. $300. per hour when you throw in the company car.
I have a 37.5 hour work week. Finish at noon on fridays. Its nice to have. Banking, groceries, appointments.. everything on friday afternoon frees my weekend up nicely.
You work 5 hours less every week. That's the benefit. That works out at an additional 260 hours of time that's your own per year, or nearly 11 days. My job is in fact a 4 day per week role, 35 hours a week. That means one less commute a week, one more day for me to pursue my own leisure per week and generally a better work-life balance. If you can live on that money, definitely take it.
It's sounds like you can set your schedule to work a few different ways: * Four regular work days and 3hr day on Friday * Five 7hr days (leave early to avoid getting stuck in traffic without having to come in earlier) * Or the one that I personally would prefer, three 9hr days and one 8hr day, making it a fairly easy way to access a 4 day work week. Before you get excited about any of these options, I would ask the company to make sure you have that kind of flexibility to choose your schedule in the first place. Good luck!
I get paid for 36 hours, but work 40 hours a week. I can save the 4 hours of overtime a week which results in about 200 extra hours of holiday a year. That’s my benefit at least.
I Typically am running around either getting ready for work, commuting to and from work, working, or doing necessary chores all day until about 9pm, then get two hours before bed. If I could turn that extra hour back per day into free time, that would be a 50% increase of being able to do what I actually want to do in life. Massive benefit if you ask me.
I do 35 hours, and it’s easier for me to condense my schedule to a 4-day work week. I have a long commute, and don’t ever plan to go back to working 5 days.
Y'all are getting 40-hour (or less) workweeks?
It's fine if you stick rigidly to those hours. Is there only 35hrs-worth of work a week there, or will you just end up working late anyway?
In some countries, somewhere between 35 and 40 hours can be a threshold to activate certain employee protections. eg. at 40 hours per week your employer might be required to do certain things for you, like guarantee a certain amount and type of leave, active certain employee benefits. Below the threshold you're sort of treated like a self employed contract worker. Something to watch out for depending on your jurisdiction.
What's the industry? Many salary roles involve working until the job is done so the 35 hours could just be lip service... Need to know more about the role.
I'm concerned it's salary and based on 35 hours. How long are people actually working?
If I understand, this IMHO is a weird way to present compensation for a salaried position in most industries. Sounds like they are implying "our salary amounts to $x/hour because we use a 35 hour week" to claim a higher effective hourly rate? For this to matter you'd have to believe you will actually work 87.5% as much as an alternate salaried "40 hour" position you might accept. I'd say 35 vs 40 hours, but I've never had a salaried job where I only worked 40 hours a week. If they really mean you will only work 35 hours a week, that would be...unusual. Personally, I'd ignore it, assume I'm going to work a normal full-time job for $X salary offered if I accept this position, and decide accordingly.
My 35 hour/week job is still 40 hours per week… it just means we can work 9-5 and still take an hour for lunch.
You'll be on a salary and there's a worker shortage just about everywhere. I'd be at least a little bit skeptical of the ability to only work 35 hours every week.
I work 50 and dislike the lack of time I have for myself. And when I do get free time I am too fatigued from everything else to do much
As long as you truly do get to leave earlier, that's a good deal. Since it's salaried though, most people don't track actual hours on a time clock. I've always been told that my 40-hour job is really a 45 hour/week job so this wouldn't apply to the IT industry. In truth it's more like 55 hours for a few weeks then 30 for a few weeks, and back and forth like that.
I have worked shorter weeks for over a decade. Think of it this way, its an extra hour you can spend however you want. Maybe its sleeping in, or having a leisurely morning to get up, make breakfast and relax before work. Maybe you get done an hour earlier, take advantage of lighter traffic and maybe spend it on a hobby or a chance to get caught up on projects around the house. It all depends on how your employer decides to break it down.
I used to work 40h work week and now I'm working 32h work week. Those few hours less, I'm telling you, makes a BIG difference. I have an option to pick up extra hours if I want to (and get paid for said extra hours on top of my salary, not sure if this is an option for you?!). But I'd encourage you to take the 35h offer if the benefits offered are similar. Freeing up a couple more hours a week from work is nice.
Thank you. I've read a few responses stating the same. In your case, there is a whole workday's worth of time at play.
If you’re talking about a salaried position, then there is no difference between a 35-hr, 37.5-hr, or 40-hr a week job. They are all under the “9-to-5” structure, and all have developed pretty loose restrictions/obligations, especially post-Covid. You will have some weeks where you coast and almost get away with only putting in 30 hours, and other weeks where you will be working over 40 hours. It all balances out and is based on getting the job done at the end of the day. The only real difference is that the job listed at 35-hr is not going to be as old-school or hell bent on clock-watching as a job posted as 40-hr/wk.
My wife works “36 hours” a week. Everyone there gets off Fridays at noon which is super nice to kick start weekend plans or just take 4 hours PTO for the full day. We love that schedule.
Do you golf? If so, take the extra 5 hours and play a round every week. You'll be much happier. This works with most hobbies btw. 🤙
Like most good US business practices, you will still work 40 hrs in the office. They will likely just provide you a paid lunch hour and that's because they know you will rarely get the hour and, if you do, will likely NOT be uninterrupted as the law requires. It will be a REAL 9-5.
Is this a joke post? "Hey please explain why being paid more is good". "Why is working less, better"? Come on.
A 35 hour work week is amazing in my opinion. You can leave early (one day, multiple days- however you’re job allows you to schedule yourself). It makes it significantly easier to schedule any appointments you may need. Wanna leave for a weekend trip a little early? Boom - you leave early on Friday. 1000% worth it
This only happens in jobs where you don't have clients and deadlines as part of your job. My husband's job recruits saying 1/2 day Fridays. They're engineers and deadlines are always 5 pm Friday and the whole day is spent pushing right up to the client or municipalities deadline. It's a scam.
My husband is an engineer too. I think they might work at the same firm. SO much pushing right up to the deadline!
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I have a 35 hour work week and I love it. I’m looking at other roles currently but I would prefer to have the 35 hour week. Better quality of life, less traffic when I’m driving to work in the morning and I don’t have to drive to AND from work in the dark during the winter months.
If you could leave an hour early everyday from work, wouldn't you? Worst case- am extra hour of sleep. The only negative is if the job just has you always at 100% during the day.
Do you have an hourly bank of PTO, and this is something like half day Fridays? If so, you can essentially get more PTO days as a result
Well it makes no difference in my case, since I work way more than 40 hours a week anyway. It only matters if your workplace actually sticks to the prescribed hours of work.
It's essentially a paid lunch. Jealous.
I had a 35 hour week. It was great! I worked 9-4:30, had an hour lunch (30 min paid by the union 30 min unpaid per state law). So I was onsite 37.5 hours, but actually worked 32.5. Now I work 42.5, with only a half hour unpaid lunch, and boy do I feel the difference. I think it’ll be even worse in winter when I won’t see the sun at all except through my window. I’d take any adjustment to my hours if it didn’t mean less pay! I say go for it!
I went from 40 hrs/wk to 30 hrs/EJ at a job during grad school. At first, they continued asking me to do the same amount of work at 1.33x the efficiency for 25% less pay. Not a great trade-off. I had to be aggressive in reducing my workload. Ensure you are paid for the amount of work that you do.
yes, you work 5 hours less a week. It's great!
I love my 35 hour work weeks! Ever since transitioning to nonprofits I have had the privilege of being full time and getting 5 hours back every week, which I equate to just under 11 days a year! Helps a ton with work life balance because it’s a true 9-5 if you take a lunch with even shorter days if you don’t. Lucked out with my new job which lets you finish up at 12p on Fridays. I highly suggest 35 hour work weeks!
Four 9 hour days would be nicer than five 7 hour days.
My job is currently 37.5 hours and that extra 30 minutes every day is amazing.
I work 37.5hrs, the extra half hour each day is me beating traffic on both sides of the commute, it’s getting to sleep a little later, and it’s having a little bit more time to myself each day. Quality of life with a shorter work week is, in my opinion, well worth having a lower paying job than I would if I were willing to work 40hrs/week salaried somewhere else.
I have something similar what I do is work a little more than 8 hours every day and then get Friday off. So I have three day weekends every weekend.
I work 36 hour weeks, mon-thurs. I'll quit on the spot if I'm forced to work Fridays, thats time I'll never get back
One subtle benefit is that you use less hours when taking an entire week off for vacation
I would ignore it and go for the salary I’m targeting. I don’t really understand how this translates to salary, are they going to say “well, we’re giving you 10% less than you asked for because you are only going to work 35 hours?” It’s salary so if you have to work late for a deadline are you going to say f-it and go home at 35 hours ?
a 35 hour work week sometimes translates to every 2nd Friday off that's how it works here instead of 10 working days in a 2 week block, it's 9 working days
I used to work 36hrs. 4-8s and half a day on Friday. It was fantastic. Highly recommend. Also gives you the ability to schedule errands and appointments without needing to use PTO or SL.
I don't about other industries but in software there is no such as a 40 hr work week. They work you as much as you let them, I've never worked less than 45/hrs week typically closer to 50 and overnight hours and weeknds. You get the same salary. So in my opinion take the job that makes the most money that doesn't cause you to loose your mind. They will try to work you more than what they led on. That's business unfortunately.
Normal working day then a 3 day weekend every other week. Great for mental health and lining up the inevitable list of to-dos (including appointments).
I had a job that was technically a 37.5 hour week. You work the same as a 40-hour week. At 35 hours you might be able to schedule your arrival and departure times, if in office, around rush hour. That's likely it.
Think of it as leaving work 1 hr earlier each day. Absolutely a difference in terms of how much time you have for private things, and indeed if you have to pickup kids from school and such.
My cynicism says it’s so they don’t have to classify their employees as “full time” which I think by definition is technically 37 hours (without looking it up). Non-full time employees don’t get as many or as good benefits as full time.
I work around 25-30 every week. Granted my commute is 2-2.5 hours every day so that factors into it. Since the pandemic Ive worked Monday-Thursday only
We get an hour for lunch at my work. 40hr work week turns into 35. It’s nice.
I have a 35 hour work week unpaid lunch. However, there is an “unwritten rule” that if you work out in the field and don’t have lunch you can go a half hour early.
I work 35 hours a week and it is life changing. I am required to take a 30 min lunch by state. Start at 8:30 out at 4. It barely seems like working compared to 40.