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Old 08-13-2022, 08:44 PM   #1
PaperBagger'14
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Default Your Personal Work/Life Balance

So how much is too much work? When it comes to balancing your time and life, how do you make that decision?

For me, I generally work more hours than I believe the average person does when the work is available (~60 hours per week). It is also just me and my wife, so no kids to have to prioritize around, but I do make sure she is happy as well. Do other people work extra hours to save more for vacations / activities / retirement or do you strictly work the hours your work requires and not a moment more?
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Old 08-13-2022, 08:48 PM   #2
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My job is mostly 8-4 Monday to Friday occasionally we have the opportunity to work extra shifts or overtime. Sometimes I will do it for extra cash but we are talking like 4-8 extra hours a week so nothing crazy and not very often. It’s nice to have the ability to if you want but I don’t really find the extra hours for the little bit more money ever feels really worth it to me.

But the other good thing about my job is when I’m off I don’t have to think about it at all
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Old 08-13-2022, 09:56 PM   #3
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Four-day week: Which countries have embraced it and how’s it going so far?

https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/0...t-going-so-far
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Old 08-13-2022, 10:00 PM   #4
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I'm salary so work as little as possible
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Old 08-13-2022, 10:03 PM   #5
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^^^^^

That doesn't seem to be the norm for most that I know that work for salary.
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Old 08-13-2022, 10:35 PM   #6
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I'm salary so work as little as possible
When I went from hourly to salary I had my hours capped in my contract because I was worried about being asked to work more. I had been averaging 45/week, so we agreed to keep it there.

I'm now in the process of buying the company and I anticipate my hours increasing significantly for the first while as needed. Not sure how the work-life balance will shakeout, but I will figure it out.
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Old 08-13-2022, 10:51 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14 View Post
Do other people work extra hours to save more for vacations / activities / retirement or do you strictly work the hours your work requires and not a moment more?
Self-employed with family; I work 9-5 & 10-2 daily 5x/wk. If the hours are billable that's great, if there's a lull I'm pushing just as hard, fitting in proposals and origination to fill in the gap. Balance isn't a destination, it's a frequent conversation with the spouse in the face of changes in her workload, family needs (kids, elders), etc. Objectively I should sleep and exercise more, but those are the easiest to compromise. Basically hoping to get to retirement without a major health event.
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Old 08-13-2022, 11:14 PM   #8
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Pretty easy for me. Went from hourly to salary and my base rate of pay was essentially based on my hourly rate x 40 hours plus some other perks that make it worth the jump. Essentially I work 40 hours a week. If I need some extra hours some days I'll just leave early the next. But all in all I will average 40 hours a week. The key is making sure lifestyle creep doesn't dictate you need to hustle for more than what your comfortable doing.
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Old 08-13-2022, 11:33 PM   #9
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I belong to the generation that I have dubbed the 'Die At My Desk' Generation.

One of those people who was brought up in the 'Work til you drop' environment.

My wife understands the nature of my work, but I do hope at some point it will abate somewhat. Otherwise I genuinely will.
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Old 08-14-2022, 12:09 AM   #10
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I'm hovering around 45 hours per week on a consistent basis. Not ideal, but it could be worse.





Quote:
Originally Posted by troutman View Post
Four-day week: Which countries have embraced it and how’s it going so far?

https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/0...t-going-so-far
Three of my last four jobs (four large Canadian companies) had a compressed work week with every second Friday off. It's actually great, but it only works if the company has a culture that supports people being able to disconnect on the off day. Only one of those companies (crown corporation) pulled it off successfully.

Nothing is worse than knowing that you (and your peers) have the day off, but leadership still expects everyone to dial in for hours of meetings, have their work phones with them, or be at their computers because "work still needs to get done".



All of the big Canadian companies are still too old-school to make the leap to anything less than the traditional five-day, 40-hour work week.
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Old 08-14-2022, 12:16 AM   #11
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At this stage of my career (age 56), I like where I am. I feel I have good work life balance, I like the team I work with and my direct boss is awesome. He lets me work, and does not micro-manage me.

I can manage my time to get my daughter to appoints and school. As a company this summer we moved to Friday afternoons off during summer and I get almost 6 weeks in total time off per year.

Most weeks I work my 35 hours; however, at times I put in more, and I then take some time off and I think it gets balanced out.

I would be really hard pressed to leave this arrangement.
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Old 08-14-2022, 12:40 AM   #12
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Also from the generation (and industry - work for a consulting firm) where people tend to work much more than their "prescribed hours" on average. Everyone is on salary, so you don't get paid more per day for additional hours you work, but I put in extra hours (including on weekends, though very rare now compared to much more regularly 20 years ago) when it's needed. The need could come from a deliverable due early in the upcoming week or actual activity for one of our clients over the weekend (major production deployments, for example).

When I first started, over 20 years ago, I'd work some pretty crazy hours. Had no issue with it as I was fully focused on my career and climbing the ladder in the firm. Definitely burned out a couple of times but found much better balance after about 7-8 years which resulted from moving up and being in a position to delegate but also because I made a conscious effort to bring better balance to my work-life.

I've had good fortune in my career progression so I can't argue with the results, but I also can't say it's definitely because I didn't have any work-life balance when I first started out and instead, really grinded. While I didn't get paid for extra hours ever, my total rewards including annual bonuses have accounted for it (most years but not all, lol), so no complaints for me.

Everyone approaches work-life balance differently and I firmly believe there's nothing wrong with someone who fiercely demands balance and will rarely accommodate off-hour requests, but also nothing wrong with someone who works 60+ a week. Different strokes for different folks.
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Old 08-14-2022, 03:48 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jayswin View Post
^^^^^

That doesn't seem to be the norm for most that I know that work for salary.

If you’re salary and aren’t chained to a desk 16 hours a day, dealing with emails for the other 8 and at weekends and holidays, you’re just mailing it in.

That. Or you’re one of these: https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/a...g-hr-manage-it

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Old 08-14-2022, 06:07 AM   #14
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I did things opposite to lots in this thread, I went from a salary position to hourly for 2 reasons. My OT is all double time and I can bank all of my OT at double time for more paid time off. When I was salary this wasn't an option, so for me it was about having more time off / higher earning potential.
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Old 08-14-2022, 06:08 AM   #15
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I work an average of 40 hours per week 12 hour shifts 7-7/8-8 type of schedule. The 12 hour shifts can be draining especially working four in a row. It is difficult to do other things, particularly when working on my feet for the entire time with around an hour of breaks in total. Pretty much becomes impossible to exercise or do much of anything fun.
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Old 08-14-2022, 06:32 AM   #16
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Self-employed with family; I work 9-5 & 10-2 daily 5x/wk. If the hours are billable that's great, if there's a lull I'm pushing just as hard, fitting in proposals and origination to fill in the gap. Balance isn't a destination, it's a frequent conversation with the spouse in the face of changes in her workload, family needs (kids, elders), etc. Objectively I should sleep and exercise more, but those are the easiest to compromise. Basically hoping to get to retirement without a major health event.
This is my biggest concern as well. In the summer I have more time for it, but during an academic year it is hard to find time for it. I've taken some steps to prioritize it and let some other things go in order to achieve it.

They phrase "I'll sleep when I'm dead" is one that fails to mention that if you don't sleep enough, that last part will come sooner than you want.

Exercise is sometimes the easier one because you only really need 30 minutes a day 4 days a week to maintain good cardiovascular health. If you really want to be "in shape" it takes more than that, but if you're only worried about your health it's definitely achievable in any busy schedule.

My other big concern is spending enough quality time with the kids and wife. I'm "around" but not always actively engaged with what's going on with the family. It's purely a problem of focus, but I am constantly distracted by the needs of work. I try to compartmentalize, but it is only so effective.
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Old 08-14-2022, 06:36 AM   #17
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I used to work almost as much as the company I worked for would let me. But as I've gotten older, I've realized that's a fool's game.

Now, I put in my 44 hours over 4 days, and use my time off to try to relax, rejuvenate and enjoy life.
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Old 08-14-2022, 07:03 AM   #18
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I used to work almost as much as the company I worked for would let me. But as I've gotten older, I've realized that's a fool's game.

Now, I put in my 44 hours over 4 days, and use my time off to try to relax, rejuvenate and enjoy life.
Same here. 84 hour weeks in my twenties were normal, maybe 3 days off a month. Made a lot of OT $ but now I'm so happy to just do my 4 days a week and I'm out the door the second shift is over. I'll work the optional fifth day a week here and there for some OT but other than that I'm relaxing. Life's too short

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Old 08-14-2022, 08:58 AM   #19
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I'm salaried, work an extra half hour a day in exchange for a flex day every two weeks. When our public facing offices shut for the evening, my job is done so no OT available anyway. No weekends either.

I'm one of those people who values time over money so even when I worked jobs that had OT available, I only very rarely did it.
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Old 08-14-2022, 08:59 AM   #20
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My goal is to be out of the door at 4:30. Which means I start to finish whatever I'm doing at 4:30.

I usually am out the office door by 4:45-5:00. Depending in hiw crazy the day was and the agenda for the next day I will stay until I'm 100% for the next day.

If I didn't have kids at home, different story.

Vacation has been a foreign concept, but am trying to carve some time out. If I don't go anywhere I don't recharge, so I need to see different buildings to be in a different mindset and recharge.

More money is nice, but what's the point of having more money in the bank if I'm sitting at a desk and not spending it/time with my family?
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