Post by gogreengowhite on Jul 26, 2014 8:44:29 GMT -5
Alternative title: gogreen whines about job hunting.
I've had two phone interviews this week.
The first one the HR person starts asking about hours I'm willing to work and the says this team usually works 8-6:30 and some Saturdays.
The 2nd one was with a recruiter so when she sends over the job description it says "must be willing to work nights, weekends and holidays to get the job done"
WTF?!?! These aren't even supervisor roles just basic accounting jobs.
Post by orangeblossom on Jul 26, 2014 8:56:54 GMT -5
They do, but I think it's getting harder and harder to stay in those hours, due to the electronic leash that smartphones are and the expectation that you repspond when you get an email and call.
I think part of it is the employee, who feels that they should respond, especially in the beginning, so they set unintentional and unrealistic standards that they will always do this. I don't think this is wrong per se, because jobs are scarce and you're trying to make a good impression, but I really dislike the culture of now, now, now.
Are there jobs, that you Know going in, that you'll never have a forty hour week, of course, but I think too many people and jobs are expecting people to be on at all times, when it's really not necessary.
DH is never off, it gets annoying. We were on vacation and he took a couple of conference calls and every place we visited we had to stop, so he could have af least a 15-minute call.
His situation is a little different in that his place is open 24/7, but they act like they can't do anything without him, but he also does too, which just reinforces the cycle.
Post by imojoebunny on Jul 26, 2014 8:58:58 GMT -5
I watch my neighbors leave the house about 8:30 and get home by 5:30 to 6:00 in professional jobs, but DH and I have never had a job like that. A lot of my neighbors work for the federal government (CDC), Universities, or have work from home corporate / business consulting / internet development type jobs.
When I worked in corporate finance, our staff accountants in accounting, the mid level and below managers, even if they didn't manage people always had to work long hours the week of month in close, and at year end.
My job is like this for the most part I work for the federal government. I work 8-4:30. Never do work outside of my hours. Not all government jobs are like this.
Mine is a little of both. 80% of the time I'm 8-5 but the other 20% I work 7am-11pm. Fortunately, I get to do those days from home. My job is global so I work many holidays but get comp time for it.
I agree with most of what orangeblossom said about setting expectations and being always on. Both H and I handle emails and sometimes phone calls while on vacation. I technically have zero vacation at my job, which makes it a lot harder to know what to do while traveling for personal reasons. FWIW, I am a professor and I generally leave the office by 5:30, but I work at home 3 nights a week and most weekends.
I think they are very hard to find. My current job expects pretty long hours and definitely evening work. No weekends for me yet and I hope to keep it that way. It just sucks that they give us all way more work than can be done in a 40 or 50 hour week. I am in all day training all next week and I'm pretty sure they expect me to keep on top of my other work anyway, which is going to be tough. We'll see. I was working until 8 Pm last night and still didn't finish everything I wanted to.
Being an accountant I expect to work later when necessary for month/year end. I just don't understand the 55 hour work week all the time.
We are usually slower mid-month to make up for the month-end crazy.
Do you not get a lunch break?
im always curious if people count lunch in their hours. I think very few people actually work only 8 hours including lunch. A 9 hour day including an hour lunch (whether you actually take it or not) seems more standard. Add 1-2 hours of commuting each day and I just don't get how you are supposed to have a life during the work week. It is exhausting.
Mine is 8-4 with a one hour lunch, so it's really a 7 hour day. Love the work life balance. Obviously the downside is that it's a non profit and my income is pretty low and there's really no advancement.
Being an accountant I expect to work later when necessary for month/year end. I just don't understand the 55 hour work week all the time.
We are usually slower mid-month to make up for the month-end crazy.
Do you not get a lunch break?
im always curious if people count lunch in their hours. I think very few people actually work only 8 hours including lunch. A 9 hour day including an hour lunch (whether you actually take it or not) seems more standard. Add 1-2 hours of commuting each day and I just don't get how you are supposed to have a life during the work week. It is exhausting.
Unless there is someone in town I have not taken an hour lunch in years. I eat at my desk and continue to work.
Post by Willis Jackson on Jul 26, 2014 9:43:23 GMT -5
DH works 9-5, as do his coworkers and boss. He says he's the last one in the building if he sticks around until 5:15. He does have to travel for work every few months, but it's not bad. It's only a few days.
He earns enough for me to SAH. I realize this is very rare and we are lucky.
I have never worked significant, ongoing overtime. During quarter end, or right before a board report is due, sure, but not on a regular basis. I don't plan to. DH says his company is a ghost town at 4:30. We both make good money in finance related careers.
Being an accountant I expect to work later when necessary for month/year end. I just don't understand the 55 hour work week all the time.
We are usually slower mid-month to make up for the month-end crazy.
This. I am in management in an accounting department. I try to be super flexible with my staff during the mid-month time and don't care if they end up working less than 40 hours. However, during month end they are expected to work as many hours as it takes to get the job done. That's why they're salaried. If I wanted them to work a consistent 40 hour week I would pay them hourly.
It is also a tone at the top issue. The CFO at my company works 60-70 hours a week, every week and expects me to always be available. He emailed me at 6 one night this week and expected an answer that night.
I work 8:15-5 with an hour for lunch. I never work late or on weekends. The commute isn't great, so I'm actually away from home/kids 7:30-6.
ETA: I'm not on call outside of work and am not expected to answer calls from my attorneys. If they have a question they leave a message or text and I respond whenever I can. But I am technically an hourly employee at a law firm with a large employment practice, so they discourage attorneys from contacting their legal assistants when we are not on the clock.
I work 8.5 hours a day (half hour lunch break). so whatever time I go to work, I leave 8.5 hours later. usually I work around 730 to 4 or so. Federal government. Apparently government is where its at for good work hours. (generally).
I work 8.5 hours a day (half hour lunch break). so whatever time I go to work, I leave 8.5 hours later. usually I work around 730 to 4 or so. Federal government. Apparently government is where its at for good work hours. (generally).
This. Sort of, I do the 9.5 hour version with one day off per pay period. I sometimes work extra though. If its because I'm overloaded, I get comp time. If its bc I spent half a day slacking off, I don't. Technically, I get a 30 min lunch. Usually I eat at my desk, but about once a month I go out, and may take an hour.
H is technically on call all the time. He works for the entertainment district downtown, so there are lots of Friday/Sat night calls. He generally is able to talk someone through what to do (breaker flipping), but he sometimes has to go it
Post by badtzmaru22 on Jul 26, 2014 10:37:57 GMT -5
I work 40hrs a week. It's non profit, and the hours are generally 8:30-5 with a half hour lunch. When we have events at night or on weekends, we usually get some comp time off later in ther week.
It seems like everyone on MMM works less hours than me and I work about 40-45 a week
Minus the lawyers, the non Fed lawyers outside of h seem to work terrible hours.
IRL the typical seems to be dad works crazy hours and mom stays home or works part time. I think this sucks for everyone who wants to work full time but 40 hours a week.
I feel like I have now officially achieved my dream of being "the attorney who works good hours." . Granted I am a contractor with no guaranteed salary and no benefits, but I'll take it. (And we will ignore the fact that I was on a conference call at 8pm last night while at the lake with my family...)
I cannot think of anyone I know who works 8-5. It seems like everyone either works quite a bit more than that, quite a bit less (the moms with part-time jobs), or works an average of 40-45 hours a week but not necessarily at a consistent 8-5 pace. I have a few government attorney friends who come closest to a regular 40 hour work week, but they still have weeks where they work a lot more because of trials or whatever.
I see a lot of the same pattern as @starry IRL -- dad works like 60+ hours a week, and mom works 20-30 hours a week or SAH.
Post by bluesecrets on Jul 26, 2014 10:45:25 GMT -5
I'm an accountant and do 8-4:30 with a 30min lunch. Only overtime is really in January for year end close - then it's 50 hour weeks for the first two with one Saturday. My company puts a super strong emphasis on work/life balance to avoid people constantly working.
Post by Balki.Bartokomous on Jul 26, 2014 11:04:33 GMT -5
What kind of companies are you applying to? I would not think that accounting jobs are an 8-5 job unless you work for a small company that isn't doing much except for the basics.
At my company accounting is always busy, not just during close or year end. They used to have an 8-5 job years ago when the company was simple & just kind of chugging along, but not now when we're growing so quickly. (However, the trade off is that there are opportunities for advancement & learning now & there weren't before. ) I'd try to find companies that aren't doing a lot of M&A, bank activity, etc. because IME (and DH's too) that's what drives a lot of the extra work.
I do have a friend working 40 hours on average at a larger company, but at month end she's still there until 1AM because they ship until midnight & need to report back to corporate overseas. Maybe you could focus your search on domestic corporations only.
Also, I would take whatever the HR person or recruiter is saying with a grain of salt. They don't really know the jobs as well, so they're likely just parroting some sort of generalization that the hiring manager gave them. I feel like the "must be willing to work nights/weekends" is pretty standard language in job descriptions these days even if it's not applicable every single week.
Post by sicilygirl on Jul 26, 2014 11:05:19 GMT -5
I'm an accountant (public practice tax) and I work 8-5, M-T and till 4 on Fridays with an hour for lunch that I never take, and I work at home 2 days a week. That is my schedule from April 16 - Jan 31. From Feb 1 - April 15, I work 8-7, M-T and till 5 on Fridays and then usually about 5 hours on Saturdays (work at home one weekday and on Saturday). I consider this to be a very, very good schedule for my kind of job.
H is the controller at a property management/real estate company and works 8:30-5:30 and takes an hour for lunch everyday to go to the gym.
Neither of us look at work email or take work calls outside of those hours (even during tax season for me). I think we're pretty lucky in that regard. We work in a small city, and I think that plays into it a lot. We make good money, but my college friends who are still working at big firms make a lot more but also work a lot more.
I think it's the nature of the role. I was in a close role for 5 years. Outside of monthly and quarterly closes, we had shortened daily hours. During closes, we could be there 12+ hour days + weekends.
DH works 9-5, as do his coworkers and boss. He says he's the last one in the building if he sticks around until 5:15. He does have to travel for work every few months, but it's not bad. It's only a few days.
He earns enough for me to SAH. I realize this is very rare and we are lucky.
My DH is similar. I'd say he's usually 8:30-5:15, but he also eats breakfast at work so I think the first part of his day is that.
He does have on call shifts when he could be paged at any time. He receives additional compensation for this.
His company is known for long working hours but DH is incredibly efficient and his boss is hugely supportive of family time. I think our time abroad in a less work centric culture helped DH feel comfortable setting boundaries like leaving by 5:30 unless it's truly necessary.
I keep trying to tell him that a job with good pay, work/life balance and interesting work is rare and we are fortunate right now.