How many hours a week do(es) your breadwinner(s) work?

[luuknam]

IT, about 40, but she is sometimes called in the middle of the night to fix something. When she first started at this company she worked much longer hours, got excellent reviews, and then they decided to not give her a raise at all (admittedly, they didn't give anyone a raise that year, but she was hired at a lower salary with the promise that if she performed she'd get a significant raise), so she decided that in that case, she'd work 40 hours.

[Butter]

My guy's commute time is however long it takes him to walk from upstairs (where the bedrooms are) to downstairs (where he works).  Maybe 10 - 15 seconds? Longer if he stops by the fridge to grab something first.  :lol:

 

Starting in a week or so at least two days of the week my husband's commute will be... well... 10 feet?  From the bed to his desk which is in our overly large bedroom (26x18... big enough for a king size bed, two bedside tables, a dresser, a chair, a loveseat, and my husband's huge L-shaped desk with room to spare).  Working from home is a sweet deal if you can get it.

[Lady Florida.]

Mine works for a civilian contractor on a military base. So, he's in the private sector but the customer is the government. When you work for someone who bid on a contract, they don't want to pay overtime if they don't have to. If he does stay at work to get something done, it's on our dime. He doesn't do that often though. 

 

He's mid-level management but on hourly pay, not salary. Some management positions are salary based, but his is among those that are not. It's odd how they do things there. We're fairly solid middle class.

 

He works pretty much 40 hours unless there's a launch, then he might work 60-70 hours that week. Launches, especially if it's one he's responsible for, throw his schedule all off since he'll go in early or stay late, plus there are things they have to do several days before and after one.

 

BTW, he wasn't working this last launch when it blew up and no, he doesn't work for SpaceX.

[redsquirrel]

DH works in academia administration. He is supposed to be there 8-5, but he rarely leaves at 5 and almost never takes lunch. He is constantly answering emails (even right before bed) and spends many evenings preparing presentations or writing articles. I would say he is edging up on the 60 hours a week range, but some weeks it is closer to 45 for sure. He also really likes his job a lot, so usually it's not a big deal.  He used to do some consulting work, for extra money, but he has a new job and it pays more and takes up much more of his time.

 

He gets several weeks of vacation time, the university closes from Christmas eve until Jan 2nd so almost everyone gets that off, plus maybe three more weeks? He often has to take long weekends etc or he is going to lose his vacation time. He also gets some holidays off, like he gets this Friday off for the 4th of July, he gets a Thanksgiving break, Memorial day  etc. He also gets personal time, family leave time and lots of sick time.  

[Shellydon]

DH works 65-70 hours most weeks.  Management Engineer.  One of my frustrations is that people making minimum wage feel they should have our same standard of living only working 35-40 hours a week ( a sentiment I've seen expressed locally many times over).  I would gladly take less money each year and get to see my DH more.  As it is, he leaves the house at 6 am, gets home at 7 or later, frequently works weekends. 

[swellmomma]

Oh gosh the meetings lol.  I work in child care, At one location generally I am just very part time staff, though this summer I am in charge there and will be working way more there.  The other place I am the assistant director.  Between the 2 places I have 3 staff meetings a month, 2 programming meetings, plus meetings with parents, with extended services for children with disabilities etc. Almost all of those are held after 6 pm when the daycares are closed.  And then I have the rest of my programming to do, toy cleaning, arranging the room, the grocery shopping for the program etc.  I can't do my job and do all of that within regular working hours, so that means some days I work 12 hour days.  I leave my house at 7 am on a good day I am home by 630pm, some days not till 9 or 10.  Thankfully I have some say in when meetings are scheduled, so I try to have them on Tuesday nights when my kids are at cadets and in town anyway.

 

 

[creekland]

DH works 65-70 hours most weeks.  Management Engineer.  One of my frustrations is that people making minimum wage feel they should have our same standard of living only working 35-40 hours a week ( a sentiment I've seen expressed locally many times over).  I would gladly take less money each year and get to see my DH more.  As it is, he leaves the house at 6 am, gets home at 7 or later, frequently works weekends. 

 

Couldn't he switch to one of those shorter hour lower wage jobs?  It seems it would be worth it based upon your priority for time over money?

 

Making tons more money isn't everyone's goal and there's nothing wrong with that.

[Tsuga]

DH works 65-70 hours most weeks.  Management Engineer.  One of my frustrations is that people making minimum wage feel they should have our same standard of living only working 35-40 hours a week ( a sentiment I've seen expressed locally many times over).  I would gladly take less money each year and get to see my DH more.  As it is, he leaves the house at 6 am, gets home at 7 or later, frequently works weekends. 

 

I don't think the minimum wage debate is about salaries. I'm willing to bet your DH, like me, makes at least 5 times per hour what minimum wage makers make. That is a lower-middle class salary. So you double that and you're okay, so you put in the hours.

 

But there is a reason we don't all go work at McD's  to work a cushy 30 hour week!

[Shellydon]

Couldn't he switch to one of those shorter hour lower wage jobs?  It seems it would be worth it based upon your priority for time over money?

 

Making tons more money isn't everyone's goal and there's nothing wrong with that.

 

Only if he switched to something entirely out of his degree.  He has switched jobs (and took a 40% pay cut), but very quickly got identified and placed as a company leader at his new job. 

[raptor_dad]

My dh works about 90+ hours a week and he is a 2nd year resident. Last month, he literally had 2 days off and was working 16 hours a day otherwise. In the last year, he worked Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Halloween night, and 4th of July night. His salary is low enough to qualify us for WIC, although we live in a low COL area and own a comfortable house. It won't get better in the next 5 years at least, but it works for us. Homeschooling allows us to prioritize family time when he is available. This weekend, in fact, he is off for 3 days which is totally unheard of for us and we are planning on making the most of it!

 

I know this is still common some places :( I just wanted to observe, this is illegal in several ways. ACGME has *REQUIRED* the following since 2003[1]:

 

 

1. An 80-hour weekly limit, averaged over 4 weeks, inclusive of all in-house call activities;
2. A 10-hour rest period between duty periods and after in-house call;
3. A 24-hour limit on continuous duty, with up to 6 additional hours for continuity of care and education;
4. No new patients to be accepted after 24 hours of continuous duty;
5. One day in 7 free from patient care and educational obligations, averaged over 4 weeks, inclusive of call; and
6. In-house call no more than once every 3 nights, averaged over 4 weeks.

 

The osteopaths have similar but not identical requirements.

 

What you describe clearly violates 1 and 2.

 

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_resident_work_hours

[SparklyUnicorn]

One other thing about work hours in regard to quality of life is that commute times make a big difference. For the first few years DH was working his current job, he drove a little over an hour each way and rarely did the extra networking, etc. activities that he could have been doing because he wanted to get home to us. Now his commute is 15 minutes each way with heavy traffic. He's technically spending more time on work-related activities, but we have more time as a family than we did when his commute was longer.

 

Yes this is huge.  Some people don't mind long commutes or working a lot.  I'm not trying to make a sweeping generalization.  But I think a long commute can really add to the work time.  That is something that is very important to my husband.  To not have a long commute.  So his commute is about 10 minutes.

[DhanyaCali]

DH works 40-60 hours a week doing carpentry. Never brings work home with him. <3 the Carpenters Union, they have blessed out family!

 

 

 

EDIT his commute is 70-120 mins each way. All the jobs are in and around Boston.

[SparklyUnicorn]

 

What prevents him from doing his job though are meetings! 

 

My husband complains about the same thing.  For awhile they were on a kick of this agile crap.  My husband was so frazzled about the whole thing he started looking for another job.  They dropped agile.  He's a much happier person and not looking for a new job anymore.

[freeindeed]

Dh works between 50-60 hrs. per week but gets paid for 40 hrs.  :cursing:

[idnib]

65-75 but he works mostly from home so there's zero commute time in addition to those hours, and when he does have off-site meetings he tends to schedule them in the middle of the day to avoid rush hour. Also, some of that time includes his own projects, not the company's.

[MeaganS]

I know this is still common some places :( I just wanted to observe, this is illegal in several ways. ACGME has *REQUIRED* the following since 2003[1]:

 

 

The osteopaths have similar but not identical requirements.

 

What you describe clearly violates 1 and 2.

 

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_resident_work_hours

That's true and his program is pretty good about it. Last month he had a weekend off right before the month started, worked 13 days, had a day off, and then worked 6 days with a day off and then worked 13 days and a weekend off. So maybe I did the math wrong and he did have 4 days off, it just seemed like less because of the distribution. My bad. His required hours are within the limits, but in order to do his job well and remain impressive enough to hopefully get a fellowship in a few years, he often goes in even earlier (last month averaged about 4 am) to give him more time to understand his patients before rounds and work on a research paper on the side in an effort to get some publications under his belt (which I included in his overall hours). I'm not even counting studying in that. So yeah, legally, his program is good and dh doesn't always work this much, but he does more often than not. Now that he's pgy2, in our program, I've heard that the rotations every other month aren't as bad, so we'll see.

[Jean in Newcastle]

In honor of this thread dh was just called into work early.  

[luuknam]

In honor of this thread dh was just called into work early.  

 

In honor of this thread, my wife says everybody is already leaving work, and will have tomorrow off. Woohoo! (Of course, she should work a while longer still since she didn't start work till 11:20 today).

[Jean in Newcastle]

In honor of this thread, my wife says everybody is already leaving work, and will have tomorrow off. Woohoo! (Of course, she should work a while longer still since she didn't start work till 11:20 today).

Dh works tomorrow.  

[MeghansMom]

My DH is off his regular job for Fri until Tues. However, he will work his second job from six pm till close on Fri and Sat and from 11:30am till pre-close on Sun and Mon.

[creekland]

Hubby's off at a township meeting tonight.  After that, he's done working until Tuesday.

 

He also took most of today off getting our (large) yard and part of one of our fields mowed, then went grocery shopping with me.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Dh's boss told him it was fine to take a sick day and stay home on my birthday today.  Awesome!

 

 

[Arcadia]

Dh's boss told him it was fine to take a sick day and stay home on my birthday today. Awesome!

Happy Birthday!!!

 

My hubby's immediate boss told him to take time off for family birthdays instead of using annual leave as well.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Happy Birthday!!!

 

My hubby's immediate boss told him to take time off for family birthdays instead of using annual leave as well.

 

Yeah at the moment they aren't very busy so it's not such a big deal.

 

They get tomorrow off for July 4th.  So, four day weekend.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Dh works tomorrow.  

Quoting myself to say that dh is also working Saturday - the fourth of July in the US.  He's not working these days because his boss is mean or anything or because he's a workaholic.  He's in healthcare.  Sick people don't get to stop being sick for holidays and neither do their caregivers.  Just part of healthcare!  

[creekland]

 Sick people don't get to stop being sick for holidays and neither do their caregivers.    

 

This is another thing I'd change if I were elected Grand Pumba of the Universe...

 

Just saying...

 

Since I'm not likely to get the position anytime soon, I'll offer my thanks to all who work doing much needed jobs on the holidays - health care, law enforcement, etc.

[MrsWeasley]

My husband works construction, so it's pretty erratic. He can sit for a few weeks, and then he can work 70 hour weeks for months on end.

[Rachel]

Right now things are slow for my husband and he works 45-50 hours per week. When he's traveling or kicking off/finishing a project it's closer to 60.

[Jaz]

nm too difficult to figure, but this is an interesting thread

[LucyStoner]

We get by in a HCOL area without putting in long hours or having very high wages. My husband works 32 (because he is in school) and I bill 10-20 hours a month. When he is done, I expect he will work 40. I am ramping up my business to be more income over the next year. Even with taking on more clients (referrals from a colleague who is retiring), I still expect to work a max of 10-15 a week for the next several years.

 

Before I quit my FT non-profit job I was working 35-45+ per week and my husband was working 24-32 per week. That paid the mortgage on a modest home and allowed us to save and take several vacations a year. The income cut we took to accommodate homeschooling a child with autism means we downsized to an apartment and trimmed other things but we really have nothing to complain about. Our income will fully rebound with my husband finishing school and more than double the most we ever made when I ramp up to closer to FT when the boys are older.

 

We definitely could have earned a lot more money over the last decade had that been our objective function or necessity. It has not been, partially by choice and partially by sheer necessity of having a child with special needs. We found that money could not replace time when it came to our son and getting him the best available help.

[Upennmama]

My husband get to work around 9 and leaves around 5:15. He definitely spends at least an hour a day either getting lunch, working out, or doing other non-work activities. He does need to work at home for an hour or two now and then, but not reliably. 

 

ETA- My husband commutes about 35 minutes, usually on his bike. It's longer if he takes the subway, and when he rides his bike he gets exercise for free, so it's a win-win. 

[Tsuga]

Yeah at the moment they aren't very busy so it's not such a big deal.

 

They get tomorrow off for July 4th.  So, four day weekend.

 

We don't get paid, as federal employees, if we take a sick day off before a paid holiday. Then the paid holiday also becomes an unpaid holiday. The goal is to reduce the use of sick days as holiday extension mechanisms. This sounds even for four-day weekends, and even with a doctor's note, even if you're dead.

[Joker]

We don't get paid, as federal employees, if we take a sick day off before a paid holiday. Then the paid holiday also becomes an unpaid holiday. The goal is to reduce the use of sick days as holiday extension mechanisms. This sounds even for four-day weekends, and even with a doctor's note, even if you're dead.

 

A good number of employers give this Friday off as a paid holiday for July 4th since it's on a Saturday, so it's not considered taking extra days around a holiday. I can see where it might cause problems if one usually works Saturdays, though.

[LucyStoner]

A good number of employers give this Friday off as a paid holiday for July 4th since it's on a Saturday, so it's not considered taking extra days around a holiday. I can see where it might cause problems if one usually works Saturdays, though.

My husband works at a hospital and most everyone works some holidays. They just give each employee a bank of PTO for vacation, sick and holidays. It's a lot of time because they give about 2 weeks sick, 2-4 weeks vacation and another 2 weeks equivalent for holidays most office workers get off. Certain union members get extra pay for holiday shifts. My husband gets double time for working on the 4th of July for instance. Some holidays he volunteers to work because 2x pay is an incentive. Because he never calls out, we can take some nice, long family vacations (usually camping on the cheap).

[kroe1]

That's true and his program is pretty good about it. Last month he had a weekend off right before the month started, worked 13 days, had a day off, and then worked 6 days with a day off and then worked 13 days and a weekend off. So maybe I did the math wrong and he did have 4 days off, it just seemed like less because of the distribution. My bad. His required hours are within the limits, but in order to do his job well and remain impressive enough to hopefully get a fellowship in a few years, he often goes in even earlier (last month averaged about 4 am) to give him more time to understand his patients before rounds and work on a research paper on the side in an effort to get some publications under his belt (which I included in his overall hours). I'm not even counting studying in that. So yeah, legally, his program is good and dh doesn't always work this much, but he does more often than not. Now that he's pgy2, in our program, I've heard that the rotations every other month aren't as bad, so we'll see.

Enjoy your time with him now. It gets much worse for most after residency.

[Carrie12345]

Possibly as little as 30, occasionally 100+.  Some days are at home, some have a 4 hour in-traffic commute, some involve staying on-site.  No set business hours at all. It sucks, but he's about to become a partner, so there's that.

[Caroline]

Is this new? I worked for the federal government and my father worked for the federal government and neither of us have ever heard this rule. My dad worked for them his entire career and never heard this rule. He retired in 2004.

 

We don't get paid, as federal employees, if we take a sick day off before a paid holiday. Then the paid holiday also becomes an unpaid holiday. The goal is to reduce the use of sick days as holiday extension mechanisms. This sounds even for four-day weekends, and even with a doctor's note, even if you're dead.

[City Mouse]

We are in an interesting situation here. For the first time since we were married, My salary is higher than my DH's, and our medical insurance is through my job instead of his. I am a teacher at an online charter school. I work at home mostly, so I have no commute most days. When I have to go to the office for something, it is 2hrs each way. I generally work around 50 hrs per week on a 10 month contract. A lot of traveling is required In the spring semester.

Although I am counting down the days/years when I can stop working in public education, my job allowed my DH to be able to quit a very stressful and time sucking job and go to something that he really enjoys.

My DH gets paid overtime for anything over 40 hrs. When I am traveling, he will often volunteer for overtime. He also has a small part-time job with the local Boy Scout council that is limited to 40 hrs per month. He would really like to switch careers and work for the Boy Scouts full time, so this allows him to get his foot in the door.

[Hkpiano]

DH works about 50 hours per week, sometimes from home, sometimes downtown at his office, and about every other week is traveling for a few days. He has a work cell so occasionally will answer texts and emails in his down time although he will often leave the work phone home if we're on a date or something like that. He is salary + commission so that is extra motivation to be available when his sales reps need him!

[Splash]

My Dh does three things. Self employed landlord is our primary source of income and that can be a lot of time or a little depending on time of year but at least 40 hrs. Secondary job is part time supervisor from theoretically 3am to 9 am. This varies from month to month. In November and December he can go in as early as 12:00 am and come home at 12:00 pm. He does this so we have excellent health insurance and it gives him flexibility to attend the kids events. Dd has huge medical costs monthly. It also pays our taxes. For fun he referrees basketball about three to eight hours a week. We also have beef cattle we raise. Dd helps with that as she loves working with the cows. My husband is happiest when doing something physical. When dd was stable, oldest doing well and other kids on track I told him it was time to do something he enjoyed and he chose basketball referee. Funny guy. I have no idea how many hours that adds up to honestly. He naps a lot too

 

I do the bookkeeping and billing.

[sarawatsonim]

He is in tv/film and the hours vary depending if the show is mostly filmed in studio or if it is a travel show (different locations around the city/area). If it is mostly studio then the hours are usually around 80 hours a week. Since starting this new show he is working an average of 90-96 hours a week because they have a new location almost every day. Hello overtime and turnaround pay ;)

 

Edited to add: my husband is not "in" actual tv and movies, he works behind the scenes. He is the locations guy that finds places and sets up where they are going to film. I didn't want to make is sound like he was a tv star ;)

[dirty ethel rackham]

Dh works 50 - 60 hour weeks.  They have flex time at work so he can choose his start time (between 7 and 9 am.) Although most of his coworkers get in later, Dh prefers to get in early so he can get some stuff done before he is called into meetings.  He rarely leaves on time because of those meetings, which are often later to accommodate those who get in later.  .