How much overtime would you do?

[lizcam]

For the past couple of years I've been working 10am to midnight for at least 6-9 months of the year (when I haven't been having my knee replaced). I have the option to work 6am to midnight 7 days a week if I want but 10am to midnight 5 days a week is all can handle for long periods of time.

This, of course, nets me a pretty good living. I'm making more than twice my normal take home pay every 2 weeks and my bonus checks are around the same as 1 paycheck with over time added. I'm making what my ex and I were making combined before I left him. Obviously I'm doing it for the money.

My question is how much overtime would you do in your current job if you could set your own hours? None? 16 hours a day? Less than you work now? And why?

[gohkm]

I think that greatly depends on one's personality - there are those who live to work, and those who work to live. My father-in-law's a great example of the former - he's put heart and soul and everything into the family business for the past 50 years. My mother-in-law is forever complaining about how she wants to retire, but her husband won't let her ...

But I digress.

Personally, I work to live, even though I love my job. I used to put in 12 hour days, and think nothing of it. But after I got married, well, I leave quite promptly on the dot now, sometimes even earlier. Except when there's obvious pressing projects - financial year end close is like that, I get to put in 15 or 16 hour days while the bank closes its accounts and reports and the risk ratings come out. Don't get me started when it's time to report to the audit committee!

Nowadays, I actively strive for a work-life balance, so I can spend time with my wife, some time with my figs and paints, and of course, getting back into training!

[Arma]

I try to avoid doing any overtime at all costs. My take is this; if they need their staff to bust their asses doing extra hours.. then hire more staff. I love my job very much but the work is still there the next day, next year. I value my time with my family and my life outside of work as much as anything work related. The only time I will do OT is something user critical is down (I'm a network admin).

Also I sometimes prefer TOIL over pay IF I do any OT. (though pay is usually prefered :P)

[EricJ]

I've done 16 hours a day for 3 straight weeks before when it was crunch-time on a project...and that nearly killed me, but there was also a sense of satisfaction. Routinely I spend 10-12 hours a day, 7 days a week though. However, I do have a great situation where my job is working at my own business in an industry I love, and I work from home, so I'm in my own environment and can take 15 minute breaks in the other room on my couch, which is nice. The down side, is that I don't get paid for overtime...other than hopefully seeing the success of the business

[SkelettetS]

im with Arma on this one, i avoid it at all cost.
even if i cant buy everything i want im still happier spending as much time as possible with my family rather than work. that doesnt mean im impossible, if the job need me working overtime then of course ill be there. but not in regular basis, then it is time for the employer to hire more staff.

[Chern Ann]

I'll have to fall in with Eric on this one. Work comes first for me, but I intentionally only work in fields I enjoy.

[Dragonsreach]

I'll work overtime now when the job demands the need for it, only then.
Project implementation and installation when users are off system.
But I've done enough unpaid and unthanked overtime, to now appreciate the extra cash when it happens.

[Spacemunkie]

I don't do overtime. If I put in a few more hours on a given day, then I'll rock up later the following day or knock off early. Don't need the cash these days, so I'm buggered if i'm knocking myself out with work!

[Tercha]

I work 3 weeks "on" 1 week "off" so all the time I am at work, I work - if this involves being at the premises longer then I stay behind, even at my hotel room I am "at work" answering emails sometimes at 4am, and constantly thinking about work. fortunately there is usually a lot of time when there is not much to do so I get to go on the internet (Like now -just waiting for some project managers to turn up for a meeting)
Some people i have found are at work - but don't do work - consequently those that do - like me have lots of down time, rather than bitching that they have too much to do or have to do overtime
Of course even during my week off I sometimes get e mails that I have to reply to - but its a great job - the best I have ever had

[cyberakuma]

i used to do a job where i worked on annualised hours so each year i worked a set amount of hours each year which meant i didn't really get paid for over time as such i just got my basic monthly wages each month plus commission though once i'd worked off the allotted number of hours in theory i wouldn't have to work the rest of the year and still get paid i liked this idea as i was hundreds of miles away from family and by november with the extra hours i'd put in i'd worked all the hours i had too plus more so i should have had those hours bought back off me unfortunately the company didn't like the idea of me taking off an entire month at christmas to visit family and would rather i come in every day and just be the first to be sent home when it was slow which is great for some but left me bored most of the time so i ended up quitting being home for christmas and getting my last paycheck being the equivalent of about 2.5 months pay plus commission so i got my way in the end but it made me weary of putting in over time with a lot of jobs as they have tried to screw me over a few times

saying that though with me now pursuing a career in film it's a different story the hours never equate to the pay but it's more about getting the job done and putting the time in so that i can push myself to the higher levels needed to get what i deserve for my work it sucks as many a time i'm working for no pay or just travel compensation at times but it's what's needed to get me to my dream job and it's better than getting screwed over selling crappy caravan holidays

[Shellshock]

I don't do any these days, haven't for several years not because the extra money isn't nice, it's principal. I work for Tesco for those who know them, horrificly aggressive company that care nothing for their staff, only what they can bleed out of them so they can announce another billion on pre-tax profit that quater. They ask me every week without fail, phone me up at home, "can you come in we need your help," no, then I get spun a line how I'm letting the "team" down etc. bully tactics many collegues don't have the strength to stand up to. I've told them straight, when they invest in atleast another fulltime staff member on my department (we we're 3 around 2 years ago, now just me) to spread the workload out and for some god damn human interaction more than directing customers to stock, I'll concider being available when you need me.

[uberdark]

if i could work it, i would work 80 hours a week. plain and simple, i cannot. i have two kids and am divorced. i would have to give up my 50/50 joint custody. :/

[Einion]

If I had any choice in the matter, how much overtime I would do would depend very much on how much I wanted/needed the money and how much I enjoyed the work.

I used to work long hours where I think the peak overtime for a single week was something like 22, 24 hours, bringing the total to 59.5 to 61.5 hours, for a five-day week (that's actual working hours, in practice this meant 62-64 hrs at work). I found this soul-sucking and physically draining and I wouldn't want to do that again, even assuming I could handle it physically.

Here, unless you're in a sweet position where you're paid cash into your hand for OT (much less common these days than in the past) the taxation of overtime can very much make it seem like it's not worth your time to do it; how can you feel that effort is worth it if 40-50% of the money goes to the taxman?!

So anyway, I could live with one or two hours OT per day as a routine.

My take is this; if they need their staff to bust their asses doing extra hours.. then hire more staff.

Amen brother, amen!

Long time back I was in the position of 'suggesting' this continuously for about two or three years before the boss finally got the message and employed more staff (although even then not enough). And later, no sign that this was ever going to happen is the reason for the first and only time I ever walked out on a job... which I had hoped I could pride myself on never having done.

Einion

[supervike]

I don't get much (if any) OT nowadays. But, have had my share of it in the past. Worked with plenty of guys that we termed 'overtime hounds'.

The extra money is nice, but don't make the mistake I've seen lots of these people make. They seem to get accustomed to the OT and upgrade their standard of living. Then once the OT ends (or they burn out) they are a bit trapped with expenses and bill they shouldn't really have had.

I always treated OT as 'bonus' money, that went right to paying off something, or into the bank.

[Master of fact]

NO FRIKKEN WAY!

I used to work in transport (import/export). I started at 0730 and would HAVE to stay untill at least 7 or 8 most day's simply because it was maddness, had my lunch at the desk and nipped out for a quick pee every few hours. I didnt see my wife, son or friend's. Weekends were spent sleeping/worring about the coming week. Now im self employed and do the hours i want to do. I dont have as much money but i have no bill's (£30 mobile bill) and feel more human.

[IdofEntity]

Work fluctuates where I am. Most weeks we work 40 hours a week and no one has a complaint. About 4 times a year I spike up to 70 hours a week (usually infringing on the weekend.

It's not so much about how many hours I work Mon-Fri. I just don't like people touching my Saturday.

[uberdark]

i live in a factory town. the average worker retires at 60. works 80 hours a week before then, and dies within 4 years of retirement. i think that says something.

[tadme48]

I used to work very long hours for no extra pay in the hope of pay rises in the then future, but they never materialised as i would have liked. 2 marriages later I now work my hours and no more.

[BPI]

I work Mon-Fri 9-5 now & haven't had OT opportunities for a few years (used to do this job alone, now there are 2 of us) but I'm not complaining. Still work through unpaid lunch hour from time to time if needs be but don't begrudge it, I reckon I'm lucky not to have had my hours trimmed over the last 18 months (don't tell my boss!). As it takes me 2½ hours to travel to & from work, plus the obligatory lunch hour, work eats over 50 hours of my waking week for 35 hours pay anyway, I don't want to do more

My first job was 12 hour shifts on a factory production line (agency, not set on). I once did 3x 72 hour weeks in a row & burnt out. Needed a week to recover which made the OT pointless Would have been fine if, like the guys I was working with, there was someone at home to cook/clean/etc (mum or wife) but on my own I just couldn't keep up with everything. And that was with only a total of 40 minutes commute each day.

A decade spent working 6 days a week 9-5, with no proper breaks in retail whilst surviving on less income than if I'd just signed on also burnt me out. Having some pride is good, letting it make you ill is stupid

Fortunately I've experienced nothing like my friends who worked for a care firm, one on one with incredibly damaged kids who couldn't get on in regular group care homes, who were treated like crap. None lasted more than 5 years & all came out of it the worse for wear (some permanently I fear). There's only so much horror you can cope with when mentally strong, let alone when you're being rung 3 hours after getting home from an 18 hour shift to go back in & provide additional cover. Guess that's what you get when the lowest bidder wins out for the council contract.

If you can feed yourself & those you're responsible for whilst keeping a roof over your head you're winning. Everything else is cream, just don't make yourself sick!

Cheers, B.

[airhead]

Much younger, I'd work 50-60 hours a week.
I once had two consecutive weeks of over 100 hours each. (we were moving an asphalt plant and needed to be back up and running on Monday.) That was come home, shower, eat, sleep and go back to work.


I just racked up a huge commute on a project.
So, I'm working 9 ea 9 hour days in a two week pay period.
Free day off every other week. (and I keep my paid holidays.)

Saves wear & tear on their vehicle (thank you for that perk.)
Save burn out on me.

Normally, I would work anywhere from 8 to 10 hours a day as the project demands change.
No authorized overtime.

So, this will be a bit of a change for me as well.