When did the 9-5 become 8-5?

[Pagusas]

So glad I'm passed that point in my life: I and my staff at my job work when there is work to do, and I send them home when we finish up. Most weeks that 20-30 hours of work, one or two times a year that's 60 hours a week, but they all love it. I don't believe in keeping people in seats because they are scheduled to work 7-4. So most days we all show up at 7, and by 1 I'm sending them home. Luckily my executive staff fully supports my management style.

 

[Josh5890]

I work 8-4:30. With a 30 min unpaid lunch. I would not enjoy an hour lunch tbh. I'd rather get home sooner.

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That's what I thought before I started my current job, but I've learned to utilize my hour lunch to my benefit. You would be amazed how many simple tasks you can get done in an hour that you would normally do after work or on your day. Like you said, I'd rather get home sooner. I don't want to have to stop at the grocery store on my way home if I can help it.

 

[nicoga3000]

8-430, 1 hour lunch. Paid for 40 as a salaried employee. Just expected to put in extra time as needed to keep production up.

 

[BasilZero]

Whenever I saw people say 9-5 I always got confused because to me its always been 8-5 and 9-6.


Its always been 8-5. 8 hours + 1 hour lunch break.

8am to 12pm (first half of the day - 4 hours)
12pm to 1pm - lunch break - 1 hour (State required - I use this hour to watch anime or play a game via one of my portables (PSP, DS, 3DS) since i only eat two meals a day (breakfast before work and dinner after work)
1pm to 5pm (second half of the day - 4 hours)


Edit: Oh 9-5 for those who dont take a break....I guess? Well I live in a state where its required so lol

 

[Tequila Mockingbird]

Pfft, part timers.. I work 12 hour shifts with one hour unpaid lunch and two 15 minute paid breaks. But I do only work 7 days a fortnight so it averages out to 37.5 hours a week. Yay, NHS.

The admin staff do work 8 hour shifts tough, and most can choose between working 7–3, 8–4, or 9-5. If I ever move to admin I'd take the 7-3 option.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

I work 8:30 to 5 (or 9:30 to 6 some days) and my lunch break is a state-mandated hour. I wish I could just eat at my desk.

 

[Orayn]

I'm salaried 8:30 - 4:30 with a paid 20 minute lunch break that they don't really enforce. Might occasionally stay after 4:30 if I get a phone call at 4:29 or have some project I need to finish, but I'm never expected to. I also don't take anything home at all.

I consider myself pretty lucky in that regard, a lot of my friends who are salaried have on-call time or get voluntold to stay late a lot.

 

[hiredhand]

For me it's technically 8 - 15.30 including paid 30 min lunch but pretty much everyone works 8 - 16 on Monday-Thursday and leaves earlier on Friday.

 

[Scarlet Spider]

Even though I don't have to I work from 7 to either 3:30 or 4:20pm when I'm scheduled for 9 to 5

 

[Zorg1000]

7 to 530 here with about an hour commute each way

 

[williamthegoat]

I'm salaried with no set schedule. I usually start at 8:15ish and leave around 3:30.

I don't miss 8-5 at all.

 

[Z-Beat]

One of those hours is my lunch break

 

[John Doe]

Are you including commute to/from work?

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Nope, that makes it even worse.

 

[Deleted member 26697]

845-430 for me with a 30min unpaid lunch break (UK).

 

[thesoapster]

I've pretty consistently worked 8-4:30 (or like 7:45-4:15...whatevs). 30 mins for lunch plus two 15 minute breaks...yeah, adds up to about an hour for lunch if needed. Also the amount of time people around me fart away talking about sports...hah. I'm getting my work done.

 

[The Artisan]

Well actually is 45+ hours but we have a hour of lunch so 45+ 5 of lunch.

Or 9 hours of work and 1 hour of lunch in a day.
Any job in a office is like that is very rare to see otherwise.

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I see. That's kind of how it was at the job I did that was 8-6 but I never really got to take a whole hour for lunch anyway. Maybe like 30 or 45 max but it didn't feel like a full on break.

 

[mddover]

I worked as a store employee and later in corporate for a used bookstore chain, and we had 7 hour workdays with an additional 1 hour paid lunch. I believe they still do that, but the lunch is no longer paid - instead they bumped up everyone's wage so that they make the same amount even though they're only paid for 7 hours now.

 

[baron doggystyle von woof]

Remember when early/mid-20th century, economic experts predicted that due to the rate that technology advances and thus productivity, a 15-hour work week would be very common. Instead, our shareholder overlords reap those rewards and we're still desperately clinging on to 40 hours, many people even more than that. Ah yes.

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Yep. It's gets even worse. When women joined the job market around the 70s, shit just got more expensive . Now you need two salaries to buy a house and live a good middle class life.

 

[Nepenthe]

8-5:30, here unless someone is nice and sent me home. 42.5 hours a week sucks.

Frankly we allowed this shit to happen because we insist on rewarding our bosses with the devaluation of our work by working longer hours for stagnant pay, in the hopes that our undying, slovenly loyalty will let us in on some of that sweet, sweet capital too.

Spoiler

Narrator: The workers were never rewarded.

 

[TalonJH]

When lunch wasn't included in an 8 hour work day probably?

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Came to say this.

I eat lunch while I work and go home early.

 

[Angelus Errare]

Can't wait for 9-9 to become the new standard and for the serfs to convince themselves and everyone else it's better bc they'd rather be working than having a life as they'd have "nothing to do". Meanwhile the corporate overlords just nod their head and continue to suppress wages arguing that raising wages would mean they'd have to shift over to automated workers as they do that anyways, with the idiots agreeing with them bc they don't realize they're underpaid themselves.

 

[Frankfurter]

Currently working a typical 40 hours week (Germany), which means 8 hours per day on average and 40-60 minutes of mandatory break (everyone can choose the length themselves). I think the lunch break is incredibly important actually.

But overall, 8 hours per day is too much imo. Countless studies also show that productivity tends to fall of a cliff once you cross ~25-30 hours per week.

Edit: Welp, forgot the 9-5 etc. thing. Actually, the company I'm working in just has a "core time" where you have to be in (ca. ~8.45 - ~15.45 except Fridays where you can leave earlier). Outside of that, it's up to you and your boss to organize your times accordingly.

 

[Dennis8K]

Because they can squeeze more out of people because nobody rebels against the system anymore.

Students and workers used to rebel against professors and employers. Now they submissively suck up to them and accept their versions of the truth.

 

[Repgnar]

I work 7:30 - 16:00 5 days a week. I do have the option though of arriving 30 minutes before or after to start my shift without letting anyone know and I can flex my 30 minute unpaid lunch to be longer to work around appointments. Really happy with my schedule. Once I'm here long enough i'll be able to telework too.

 

[DavidDesu]

Mate I'm currently doing a 14 hour and 25 minute shift with 1 hour of that my unpaid break. Admittedly I'm on a 35hr contract and not doing much overtime this week so I'm getting extra days off but.... it's a long ass shift. Finishing at 5 everyday guaranteed would be nice with presumably weekends off too...

 

[Deleted member 23381]

7:30 - 3:24 are my technical hours inc a 30 minute lunch, but it doesn't really matter since I can come in and bounce whenever I want outside of specific meetings. As long as you aint taking the piss who cares.

 

[opticalmace]

I try to work 7:30-4:00 (30 min lunch break). Though sometimes I more or less just skip lunch and go home a bit early instead. Our work has cheap catered lunches from tues-fri, which is really convenient.

 

[Kieli]

Remember when early/mid-20th century, economic experts predicted that due to the rate that technology advances and thus productivity, a 15-hour work week would be very common. Instead, our shareholder overlords reap those rewards and we're still desperately clinging on to 40 hours, many people even more than that. Ah yes.

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Now we need two-income households to maintain the same standard of living as our parents. It's also the first generation where our peers seem to be doing worse than our parent's generation.

 

[Kieli]

when employers started abusing the idea that working longer as part of company culture isn't something to try curb. As much as they insist that nobody is judging you if you leave early, if everybody else in the team is staying behind and you're the one that leaves it doesn't need your bosses to judge you when your fellow employees do.

I work in an industry that's 6:30 to 5:30/6 every single weekday and sometimes saturdays. They give me half day fridays and guaranteed no saturday work every other week like if this made up for it. It doesn't. But it's a prestigious company and I got promoted to a prestigious position that was another milestone in my career goals so I am sticking around until this current project ends and getting the fuck out to a company in a position where 8 hour work days is the norm.

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Does the pay match the prestige, or will the prestige eventually get you into a position that pays very well?

For me, work culture == stress >> pay >>>> prestige.

 

[2PiR]

never? first time hearing it

 

[Version 3.0]

For me, about 20 years ago, when I took my first salaried job.

Why didn't I resist? Because it was a big raise, and I had no way to resist other than staying poor.

 

[Massicot]

My current job is (somehow) 8-4 with paid and flexible lunch. But I'm taking a new job next week where it looks like that isn't the case. I'm actually really bummed about it, lol.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

Does the pay match the prestige, or will the prestige eventually get you into a position that pays very well?

For me, work culture == stress >> pay >>>> prestige.

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Right now considering various circumstances I'm making more doing this work in this industry in the current position then I could in a different company in the same industry in a similar one. It We tend to stick around working in places with relatively low cost of living (non major cities, south/central US) and that I have a solid permanent home situation which means most of my wages and extra payment goes to just one location.

The industry I am in as a whole works long hours and weeks in the field/non office positions. But at the same time, field experience is highly valuable to eventually make it to higher up management positions. I have reached a position in a prestigious oil/gas construction project that could very likely help me reach something more office based in the near future where hours are more straightforward even if the overall pay isnt as good if I stuck in the same company/industry. If I could work 40 hour weeks for the same or close to the same pay I am doing now for 60-70 hour weeks that's a win. If I could use my experience to go to an industry that pays fairly well (tech, oil/gas) then that's an even major win. The latter industry is within my grasp for certain project positions, and the particular experience I am gaining is even more useful as it's an area always highly demanded for but not many want to use.

I get that many value work culture/stress over pay and it'll depend on the individual. Some folks like myself are willing to be more stressed out early on in our careers if it means solid experience we can use to get elsewhere and comfier jobs that value said experience. I can sell myself more easily now that any college stuff doesnt matter at this stage in my career.

 

[Forerunner]

I work 9:30 am to 6:00 pm. Sometimes we get out earlier and sometimes later (but I get OT, so I don't mind). It just depends on the day. I like the schedule besides the traffic when getting off, especially if I get off around 5 pm, it's a nightmare.

There is also a 4:30 am to 1:00 pm, I hate it. Luckily I don't have to work it that often because everyone wants it. It's nice because you are guaranteed to get out on time and it's still early to enjoy your day. However, I'm not fond of waking up around 2:30 am and sure you get out early, but then you are tired and going to bed around 6-7 pm. lol

 

[Sexy Fish]

Have it 8-4:30 with a half an hour unpaid lunch and two fifteen minute paid breaks.

Beats working retail or food service for sure.

 

[warp]

god bless america where the average corporate drone thinks taking a 2 week long vacation is something worth bragging about

 

[kamineko]

I assume the 80's decline of the US labor movement, but idk

 

[Tetrinski]

The guy who came up with the 8 hours work day justified as: 8 hours to work, 8 to rest, 8 to yourself. By time to yourself they mean house chores, commuting, satisfying basic needs like shower and eating and maybe a couple actual hours to yourself.

It's broken because most people could do it in less hours, automation is only making it worse and companies could save lots of money from actually not opening their offices on fridays, but you're an unpromotable lazy idiot if you point any of this out.

 

[jfkgoblue]

I work 8-4:30. With a 30 min unpaid lunch. I would not enjoy an hour lunch tbh. I'd rather get home sooner.



I don't know anyone that has catered lunches, and we all have 30 minute unpaid lunches. In the US

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In my experience, blue collar jobs typically take 30 minute lunches and white collar/professions take an hour.

 

[FallenGrace]

5am till 1pm for me.

Depends on the job I guess

 

[Mathieran]

In my experience, blue collar jobs typically take 30 minute lunches and white collar/professions take an hour.

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That makes sense, I don't really know many white collar workers

 

[Tylore]

I work 8-4:30. With a 30 min unpaid lunch. I would not enjoy an hour lunch tbh. I'd rather get home sooner.

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[snail_maze]

I tend to do 8 to 17 and then leave at 12 on fridays

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

god bless america where the average corporate drone thinks taking a 2 week long vacation is something worth bragging about

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Any improvement in employee benefits according to my dad is "socialism". It's great. The benefits he currently has are not "socialism". But expanding them, yup, definitely socialism.

 

[SolidSnakeBoy]

Usually do 10-5 with an hour lunch. But I'm salaried so it varies.

 

[impingu1984]

When did it become a thing.... Fuck knows I do 7.5 hours between 7:00 - 19:00 on Flexi time..

 

[Darryl M R]

10-3 in the office and I take work home. I'm young in my career where I can do longer hours in the evening for a fast track, but I don't want to stay in any office too long.

I mostly do working lunches or team lunches.

 

[Opto]

My boss's boss instituted that and the result was two people quitting. Now it's back to 9-5 even with lunch

 

[Chasex]

Keep at it, work your way up the ranks, gain skills that give you the leverage on your employer, and eventually things will get better. We all know that America isn't changing it's labor dynamics anytime soon. Only way to beat the system is to beat it yourself. Fuck working a strict 8-5 or worrying about when to take lunch or how long it will take. Sitting around doing nothing while waiting for a clock to tick past an arbitrary number is bullshit. The good companies don't micromanage their employees like that.

 

[I Don't Like]

I'm technically 9-6 but I show up at 10 and take an hour for the gym around 330. My boss doesn't care.