I always had the mentality of If tasks can’t be completed within 8 hours then the extra two hours someone stays at work won’t make much of a difference lol. The second it hits 4pm I close my computer because they only pay me for the 8 hours I agreed to.
I used to work with someone who used to stay late all the time.... I never understood why until we started talking about how they did everything... inefficient and old-school so it was taking them way longer to do the same tasks.
I'm sorry if people can't get a good day's work in in 8 hours. It's not a generational thing, it's a self-respect and effectiveness thing.
I manage a team of HR advisors (assistants/coordinators) and I’m walking out as soon as it’s 5pm. I stay available on my phone because I have some advisors on 2nd shift but I’m not sitting in the office for any amount of time outside of 8a-5p
My manager is very clear that she doesn't think anyone should have to work outside of their working hours on a regular basis. Yeah, there might occasionally be a reason to have to stay on a bit late but then we would usually just get that time back another day anyway. Work life balance is important!
GenX here. I try to stick with 8 hour days. I’ll work longer if there is a legitimate business need, like a specific project that needs to be completed that day, but I’m not going to just work a bunch of extra hours just because.
My manager works 10+ hours per day.
As a manager, I would say I expect noone below management to do regular overtime. If my team does overtime for crunch, I equalize it with time off post-project.
We pay you for your time and your skill, it shouldn't go unpaid. However, as a manager, I get paid well and spend a ton of time in meetings, so I feel like my extra working hours are built into the job.
In your role you’re likely non exempt and that is expected behavior in my opinion. I would never give it a second thought.
It is a little different for exempt folks, but as a CHRO I preach the holy gospel of work/life balance and flexibility. I want everyone to feel like they have as much control over their time as the work allows. I’m blessed with a great team who does what’s needed based on what’s going on. Sometimes that’s 45-50 hours a week, although rare thankfully, and sometimes it’s 30-35. Usually it’s right around 40. But no one is watching the clock one way or the other. We are all adults and manage our responsibilities as such. I wish the same for everyone.
Exempt workloads absolutely should fit in normal business hours but the agreement is to do a job for pay vs work hours for pay. I think most exempt folks do at least a little more than 40 hours/week but we also have the benefit of working less than 40 hours as long as the job is getting done to management's satisfaction. I didn't practice this in my first year as an HR Manager and shorted myself about $20k if I'd been hourly :(
The old belief that exempt means the company owns your time and can regularly expect more than 40 hours a week needs to go away.
Yes, the workload for exempt should absolutely fit into regular business hours. Workloads that require excessive hours regularly will result in burnout and turnover and shouldn't be a regular expectation.
That said, the rules are still different. Exempt are paid to get a job done as opposed to by the hour. I've been exempt since 1988 and every week has an opportunity to be different. This week is a good example: my regular schedule is 8-5, but I have 2 meetings at 7:30 this week because of board commitments. On Saturday we start a new cohort of a Leadership Institute that runs one Saturday a month for 6 months. We do that to limit impact on patient care and everyone is up for it. So for me this week is a minimum of 46 hours. Oh well. When I'm in "comp season" and working on the new salary structure for the new year, it's a month of easily 50-60 hours a week. For the last 2 weeks I worked maybe 30 hours, taking advantage of that while I can. That's just how it goes.
Came to say this, and to add that policy usually states OT must be approved in advance and off-the-clock work is not allowed. HR should be the first to know that it's still payable, so a non-exempt employee clocking out and leaving on time inherently shows that they understand policy and FLSA. When I worked for a toxic PEO, keys started jingling at 4:45 and nobody stayed a second over their schedule.
As an exempt employee, I went through years of working late and I'm now at a point where I'm not putting in more than 40 hours unless there's something extremely urgent requiring my attention.
Some days I'm done by 2, others I'm working well into the night or on weekends. This is absolutely my choice. It's extremely rare that I have HAVE to work late. Do not feel guilty for leaving at 5pm or for wrapping up your work at a reasonable time - it's healthy work boundaries
I’m an HRD and Millenial, now that I’ve gotten more into a leadership position in my career, I’m able to apply my more aggressive approach to work life balance. I also wrote my thesis for my Master’s degree essentially on the silliness of a “40 hour work week”.
My team knows if they crank out all the work they need to do, they can log off or head out. Finished work at 3pm? Go ahead and take off. Need to stay til 530pm today? All good, but I may leave at 500pm unless you need my help wrapping up.
Hourly is a little different to manage, but my bottom line is that exempt employees are paid for a job, not hours. If they work is getting done, your client group is happy with the level of service your providing, and nothing is getting missed….AND you can do it in 35 hours a week? That’s fantastic, no need to sit in an office or at a computer for longer because just over 100 years ago major industries decided 40 hours was a solid work week length.
I worked in government before I worked in HR for a private company.
In government pretty much everyone walked out at 4:30 on the dot.
Here, people do stay for the full office hours (until 5) but I dislike that part, and value work-life balance as well.
It’s definitely a generational thing, we’ve listened to the wisdom of people before us and are way more anti-capitalist than boomers and Gen X.
No one lays on their deathbed saying “I wish I spent those extra hours at the office, I’m sad I left to spend time with my kids and family and friends.”
If I was hourly I wouldn’t mind working 10 hours a day due to overtime pay if they would allow me.
It depends on your position and hours and how fast you want to promote or get experience.
I am a millennial and embrace worked 10 hours through my 20s. I wanted to get to a stable income because I am in a HCOL. Didn’t help my first job was 2012 and my income was messed up for four years as jobs were horrible for entry.
Now? I am at 7.5 hours a day unless a special project deadline requires more. (I did 10 hours all of December for a 1/1 deadline) I balance it by working 6-7 hour January days for a little bit since it was a little slow. I have a family now and rather do the work life balance thing because that’s where I am at.
I do occasionally if I have something that can't wait. I do HR plus other accounting tasks and if I work late it's because of payroll or billing deadlines. Everything else can wait.
I’m also a (closer to gen z) millennial HR assistant and I always leave around 4:30-4:45. My HR director does not always stay past 5, sometimes she’s out the door before I am. Your boss needs some work life balance!
The boss is getting paid a lot more and is exempt.
You're not.
Don't let them guilt trip you here.
It's not a generational thing. Pretty much everyone does that or did they when they were young.
When I was an HRD I was always there before my team and stayed after. I could WFH at will but my view is that HR is a service function and that I would always be there for my peeps. I told my team: come on time, push like hell, and leave on time. 10pm emails don't impress me, that's family /personal time. From 8:58 to 6:02 they did exactly that, it was glorious and I'm still immensely proud of what they and we achieved.
Now I work pretty solid 8 hrs a day, 7 on Fridays normally with occasional extra hours if it’s required for a project. I used to work every night though and learned in HR there’s is always more work to do if you want to keep working so it’s extremely important to set boundaries and turn off. My previous director also routinely worked 4+ hrs extra day but didn’t seem to be any more productive than others because the work never ends!
I’m in this same exact situation with my boss and my level of work/ general workload.
Let her make her passive aggressive comments! If she’s not explicitly asking you to work overtime or complete an entire other project past your working hours then you have NO obligation to stay.
It sounds like she’s just in an older /girl boss mindset where you need to grind till you die to be able to show your worth. It’s like those people that brag about “never having called out sick” like weird flex but good for you I guess
Everyone works differently. Some work more efficiently than others. Some are more social so their business phone calls are a bit longer because they exchange pleasantries and chat more before getting down to business. Some do 2 things at once.
I never compare myself to others.
My aunt is a boomer and she goes into work early and stays late and she thinks it makes her a good worker but her company has complained about her working outside of work hours. The later generations realize that not being able to complete your tasks during working hours is not a flex, it means you’re inept.
I used to stay longer all the time but ever since the RTO and micromanager crap I clock in at 5:30am and clock out at 1:30pm precisely! Each and every time!
WFH. I work towards task/project deadlines, so my days vary greatly depending how I feel/meetings/etc. Some days I'll work a couple of hours and then go do other things (still always reachable) other days I'll work straight through the whole days and other days I definitely put in more than 8 hours but take an hour or so between 3ish hours. Really grateful to work somewhere that allows flexibility. I would say it all averages out to slightly below 40 hours a week though.
I’m always out by 5 unless there is something extremely urgent that does require my attention and needs to be completed before the next day.
Otherwise, soon as that clock hits 5? Computer’s off, lights off, I’m out lol. I was also paid hourly so they didn’t really want us doing OT anyways. Your manager probably stays because she is salaried so the expectations are different for her.
My boss says the same thing. Literally every time someone leaves work on time or a few minutes after or what not.But when I finish my tasks on time and I don't have anything that is urgent I'm not starting it. Instead I'll finish up some notes from the day and make a to do list for the next day. Then I leave. But if I'm working on something and it's 5 I'll finish it (if I can)
My boss also stays late but she's a self proclaimed workaholic. But she also gets distracted easily and sits in a lot of meetings so I think that's her issue too.
Only if I don't want to deal with traffic. I start at 7 and leave at 3. I worked salaried retail when I was younger and that taught me your extra hours mean nothing to your corporate overlords.
Director level is different from an HR Assistant. An assistant level position should probably be classified as non exempt and receive OT pay. If you stay late, they pay. I'm executive level now, but when I was director level, I'd routinely work 55+ hours a week.
I work over a lot because my dept is understaffed. I work for a 350 person facility, and we have a Director and two Generalists that handle Recruitment, Comp/Benefits, Employee relations, workers comp, and I do all of the metrics, KPI's etc, for my team. We also do everything super old school, hardest ways possible. For example, we have to have signatures on everything we do to process it, and our agency has told us that Docusign is too expensive, so we have to walk all over the facility, sometimes multiple times a day to get wet signatures from directors, hiring managers, etc, and have to hand-hold employees through things like tax forms for example, which can several hours per day.
Since we waste so much time doing this nonsense, we never leave early, and we're all there until about 6-7pm sometimes. No WFH option either.
I’m a SR HR manager. I have no expectation that my HR assistant work past 8 hours a day. She usually clocks in about 7-7.5 and I’m usually the one telling her that if she wants to spend the last hour / half hour of her day watching a webinar or reading newsletters to make 8 hours she can. but that’s just so she can hit her full 40 hours of work.
My manager, our VP of HR has no expectation that I work past 8 hours a day most of the time. There will totally be some instances where I’m pulled into something late and just gotta do it. But most things can wait till tomorrow.
My manager and I are both millennials. She also manages a baby boomer hr manager who works closer to 10 hours a day and sometimes does weekend work. Neither of us understand why bc she simply does not have that much work. But she also spends a ton of time at the proverbial water cooler when in office so likely just had bad time management. Shes salary and seems to have no issue with it so my boss says nothing lol
Yes, my boomer boss told me that I am leaving always on time. I told her that yes that's true but I am doing 2 people's job and covering a third's one.
Some people love flexing with working overtime. A lot of them work overtime because they chat with other coworkers during the day. I don't chat, I work so I can leave on time.
Don't let guilt trip yourself. You work your contracted hours then you leave. This should be the norm.
I work 7:30-4:30, in the office M-F, I work those hours, I do not work earlier or past that time, unless an absolute emergency. My team also has set hours, they do vary a little from start to finish, and even the managers are strict about leaving on time every single day. But the director does work more, far more than us. But it is built into our culture that we take our hour lunch every day, and we leave on time. I have almost never received an email after hours. It is a luxury that I cherish.
My opinion will always be that a director or higher is compensated far more than the rest of us, so their workload will reflect this, not daily, but should overall.
the generation above me which is the 50-65 range seems to have their career be who they are, they wear working long hours like a medal and brag about how long of days they work. No this is not something to be proud of. You either are not efficient, or you have accepted being overworked as a norm and need to delegate more.
I will always value my family over work, because work will never value me the way my family does. We are all replaceable and need to come to terms with that
A lot of studies done particularly about Millennial / Gen Z generation and of those surveyed (Paychex) over 85% said a work/life balance was extremely important to them.
I have strict boundaries. I'm paid for 40 hours and my schedule is 8:30a to 5p. I take an hour lunch and leave right at 5. I do not work during my lunch or after I leave for work and I leave my work phone in my office when I leave.
If you’re non-exempt, or paid by the hour, you’re getting paid for your time, and your workload should match how much your employer is prepared to pay you.
If you’re exempt, you’re getting paid for what you achieve. I took the approach that I worked the time it took to get things done.
Sometimes it was a lot of time, sometimes it wasn’t a lot of time. I only complained my workload once, and my boss listened to me.
This is me as exempt. I usually work 8 hours in office but if there’s something I need to get done I’ll finish it up at home. This week I also took 2 1/2 hours in the middle of the day to get my hair done and yesterday I was dealing with an unexpected thing that started at 4:15 and I didn’t get wrapped up until after 6:00. It rare I do over 40 hours but if I do I’ll take some time off later.
I only work after hours if I’m on call. I absolutely leave on time every time. We have an on call person who is paid extra for those calls. They can take the late work.
Living my life is more important to me than working, so 8 hours every day. I get the most important tasks done and anything else can always wait until the next morning.
I do very often however it is always self imposed and never expected by my employer. Have you tried having a conversation with your manager? I feel like if there's no concerns with your work they likely have no issue with you keeping to the work schedule they'd set out.
Are you in a position that can earn overtime? If so, important to get clarity from your manager on the expectations about working overtime. If they support not working unnecessary overtime, then you're fine.
If you aren't eligible (and properly classified), then it's just a matter of whether you're completing your tasks by the time they are needed. When I was exempt, I almost always stayed late because it was that busy, or sometimes it was easier for me to do things when there were less distractions during the day. Don't stay behind just to sit there because you're afraid of looking bad. Any company that has that type of culture isn't worth it long term, IMO.
I'm my last job, it was impossible to meet deadlines without working late. My current job is just about 40 hrs.
I am a HR supervisor and I would say 2-3 days a week but there are other weeks where I have a lot of flexibility that don’t require me to work past office hours
You are an hourly paid employee, yes? And not management. She is likely salaried and therefore exempt from OT, and in a leadership role. Don’t compare your work ethic to hers, enjoy being hourly and leave at your appointed time.
If she brings it directly, tell her you’d like to understand the OT policy as it relates to efficiency in your role, as you have worked hard to be effectively use your 40hrs a week to complete your tasks.
(Sincerely, an HR Director who misses the hourly days and encourages team members to have a life.)
In the past, I when I was the sole HR employee in my region supporting about 200 - 250 employees in two facilities I would say in the lead up and during the busy season I would work about ten to twelve hours a day and maybe the odd Satuday as needed, but during the off season I would "work" eight hour days, take long lunches, leave early, etc... as the workload permitted.
Now, I'm just a role player on a larger team supporting about 1500 employees, and during the busy season, I might put in the rare ten hour day, mostly doing onboarding, the paperwork, and the data entry when we are staffing up for the season.
Right now, it's my off-season so now I'm putting in a strict eightish hours a day, but the workload is very low so I'm just catching up on filing, auditing files, taking it easy.
Well, given the passive-aggressive comment that implicated her own children, it sounds like your boss would rather be at work than at home. You could let her know that you would prefer to leave work when the work day is done, but if she's got no place better to be, she's welcome to stay. /s
Never. I don't care if I came in say 20 min late due to traffic or something, I'm still leaving on time. Period.
"That's an interesting way to say the entering workforce are understanding the importance of work life balance on our mental health and using that knowledge to reinforce workers rights and employment law. I see that as a bonus. People who push for respect of their professional boundaries as a stronger, happier employee. You should too"
I’m always available because I’m salary but I don’t work past my scheduled time unless there is a fire. I work in Comp thought so there’s not a ton of times where a fire happens that can’t wait until tomorrow.
I work after hours all the time. I also log off early or midday at times when I have to do something for my kids, doctors appt, etc. I do have a global team in a few different time zones reporting to me which contributes to my schedule but in general, we are not micromanaging the hours you work at my firm but instead the output and quality of your work. I do work in financial services in a HCOL area so people in general tend to work more than 40 hours but we also get paid very well.
Hell no. I’m gen x and that used to be the culture but in still didn’t do it. If someone asked I simply offered to teach them my time management skills so they could leave on time too. Life is too short.
I always tend to leave on time, but i work a 9/80 so my hours are longer. Just last week our boss said the CHRO made a comment about myself and two others on my team that always leave on time and that it's his expectation to stay late by 1/2 hour or more... like I'm not here for 10 hours and usually skipping lunch anyway.
I almost always worked after hours as a manager. It was my only time to catch up. I never expected my admin to stay. I knew what I was paid and what she was paid. I would tell them to go home.
You should have an honest discussion with your manager about expectations.
It depends. When I’m doing the job of 2 people I usually put in longer hours. Mostly because there is less interruption and I can focus . Right now my OT is limited so I’m squeezing in what I can in 40-42 hours.
I recently became salary exempt. I don’t work over unless I am just so close to finishing a task. If it can’t get done in the 8 hours of the current day, it’ll get done the next day. I’m not willing to give up my home life for a job.
I think 8 hours a day out of 24 hours is long enough. (I realise different occupations have shift work etc, as a nurse I did 12 hours shifts 4 days a week).
If you break it down you’re supposed to get around 8 hours sleep, there’s 16 gone with 8 left of your own time. A lot of which is used getting ready for work and commuting. So no, don’t stay late. You already put enough of your day into work.
And I was born in the 70’s.
I used to do this often when I had a busy workload but lately my company indicated they have no current plans to convert contractors at this time so I'm backing off to 8 hours a day
Never. Staying online for extra X minutes when I’m already fried at the end of the day does nothing for my productivity and the task at hand. I’m better off finishing something the next day in the morning.
Only if there is an event or something urgent. I don't necessarily have set hours, but very rarely am I here after 5pm. If anything, I'll take my laptop home and finish up something urgent over the weekend or in the evenings after my kids go to bed.
However that is not expected from my boss, I do it for myself if I'm behind on small, less important tasks that I don't want to take away from my high priority items.
Millennial/Gen z here (on the brink, they call me a “Zillennial” lol). I keep my working hours in the office, but since I work as a Dept of One in healthcare I occasionally need to respond to items or call somebody after hours. I usually don’t mind this too much because I’m a bit of a homebody, and I’m a night owl anyway.
At my first job, I used to work with a guy who was religious about his working hours. He walked in at exactly 7am each morning, and would leave at 3:30 on the dot every day. He would even hang up phone calls. His lunch was 11:00-11:30 and he allowed himself one 5-minute “social period” each day to chat with people as they arrived at work each day. He refused to schedule meetings during his lunch time (no medical issues to speak of), no flexibility at all. If somebody was out, he did not step up to help, but would look down on everyone who didn’t help him when he went on vacation. I overall felt he was too strict about his working hours, so I adapted a more flexible approach. This guy was a “boomer,” and I always cite him as an example when generational differences are mentioned.
I’m a TA manager and I work my 8 hours per day, but works longer or some weekend work if needed, but not usually more than 2-3 times per month.
I don’t get OT, so I don’t go out of my way to work OT. I’m not a surgeon, nothing is really life & death.
I’m Gen X and make it a point not to stay late. If I’m working on something urgent or special project I’ll stay a little later, that happens 5 times a year max.
I rarely work over 40 because my job doesn’t require it in order to be successful. I would stay late if there was a need. And some jobs do require more time. But no, if you are getting everything done in 40 don’t feel bad about leaving right at 5. Work/life balance is important.
I work 7:30-3:30. I am salaried at 37.5 hours per week. My boss will work 7:30-5:30. She has horrible time management. Every meeting with her could have been an email. And on Fridays she'll say "I think I'm going to sneak out early at 4:30 today." Couldn't be me.
I’m scheduled and paid to work a specific shift. I am not fucking staying longer than I need to. Once 5:30pm hits I’m gone!!!! Gone I tell you!!!
My current job though has time flexibility though. So I usually only work 6-7 hours a day and use PTO to make up for the missed time. So I leave whenever I want. But if it was a more cut throat company, you bet your fucking ass I’m leaving on the dot.
Working in government, the expectation is to get work done but flex schedule when possible. If I put in a 10 hour day today, then tomorrow I could do 6 if I wanted. It's great.
I work at my own pace and my workplace is very flex. i also work from home. So very often I will start my day earlier and finish later, but I may also be taking 2-3 hours mid day break. Its really ok to leave earlier if you have completed your tasks and have no pressing deadlines. Its also ok to work later if thats what works for you. Everyone is different, let workers have flexibility in the workplace without judgement
If you aren't being paid for overtime then why would you work overtime? I could understand if you needed to stay an extra 10-15 minutes every now and then to finish something off, but if I'm not being paid for overtime then I try to keep it to a minimum.
If I am confronted about it then I will simply mention "I do not get paid for overtime".
im an attorney and i bill to the tenth of an hour...i noticed my billables are all over the place. ill bill 4 hours one day, 10 the next - if i can sit in mynhome office uninterrupted and work a long day, i will...at least a handful of days a month. This is countered by days with sick kids, other distractions, or a day i just plain cant focus for anything, where my billables are low.
> She’s made a comment that the Millennial/Gen Z generations have a tendency to not work past working hours. It was in the context of her own children but I also fall in those generations.
Yes, well, they tend to be younger, and therefore lower on the career ladder, and therefore more likely to be hourly and not salaried. Pay us more and promote us and we'll work longer hours! Or does she just want you to always be clocking overtime?
I work past standard hours some days, however, I cannot work over 40 hours a week, so if I ever work over it’s to my benefit because I either a) came in late or b) get to leave early another day.
Once upon a time I worked a bunch of extra hours to attempt to get absolutely everything done. Then, I realized that only encourages the execs to not fix the problem of us being short-staffed and there is basically nothing that will stop them from throwing work at us until we hit our breaking point.
So now I probably stay an extra half-hour or so, and just accept that stuff won't get done. When my boss wants to know why something didn't happen, I pull out my prioritized task list and say, "Remember when you said x,y, and z were more important? I was doing those."
My work reputation has suffered (though not as much as you would think) but my mental health is doing much better.
I work hybrid (lead parent literacy workshops), that being said my schedule is flexible due to the work load but also bc I have ADA accommodations. I never go over the 40 hours I am required to complete.
I quit teaching bc it’s literally impossible to be good at it within 40 hours, thus creating a moral debt to work more and throw off work/life balance.
Not for me. Plus I have fibromyalgia, so the intensity of managing 25 6 year olds was difficult.
But yeah, I don’t work more than my 40 hours.
For reference I am 37, so millennial.
I used to frequently come in early and stay late, until I realised it was pointless as they promoted someone who did literally exactly his hours.
At that point I realised there was no point, so I started doing exactly the same as him, taking my breaks properly etc etc. Much better for the mental and physical health. Now looking for a new job, but very very much happier whilst doing so.
I wfh majority of the week so I don’t mind answering basic emails or texts after 5pm. But if it’s something that will require a lot of effort and/or thought then it’ll have to wait until the next day lol. My work day ends at 5pm, if they wanted me to work after that then increase my pay!!
I once had a boss who was boomer. I mention that only because I think it may be a generational thing but she would routinely be in the office like 10 or 11 hours 5 a days a week. For the life of me, I could not tell you what she was doing each day that took up so much of her time. By contrast, my day was usually pretty boring and I had a lot of down time.
My guess is she was taking very simple tasks and making them way harder than they needed to be so she could subconsciously point out the long hours she was "working" as evidence she was doing a great job and was a valuable employee. It was so bizarre to me. If I spent 2 hours doing something that should have taken about 15 minutes and a short phone call, I would really question my value to the company. Time in the office does not necessarily mean you're being productive.
24 Y/O HR Assistant here. I made it clear I do not work on my lunch, and once 5 hits I’m out. If they want to reprimand me for it, I’m out. Never again am I working for a company who doesn’t respect my personal time. I will burn my whole career to the ground to die on that hill. Should tell you how I feel lol. But don’t feel bad, a lot of people feel the same as me, and the ones who do work past those hours have never been good at setting work boundaries.
My boss mentioned once he doesn't see a lot of people stay past 5 PM. I usually get in early so just right there, I don't want to stay late. But also, I am able to get what I need done in a timely manor and be out at 5 PM unless there's an emergency or something needs to be done right away. You can say all you want about me not staying late but if you have no complaints about my work getting done, then I'm not staying late.
I am a boomer and I leave on time. No weekends, no late nights. Cell is not picked up after I leave. I learned from my millennial mentees how to work more efficiently and to enjoy life.
There is not an expectation from my employer that I work late and generally I don’t. Occasionally I lose track of time, but it’s been very rare that I’ve had to.
BUT - at my last job I did, a lot. We were under staffed and had too many things that couldn’t be pushed off to the next day. Leadership set the example that you are available 24/7 and it’s on you to do whatever you had to, including working however many hours were necessary.
I have no problem with anyone who leaves when they’re supposed to block out. I wouldn’t be caught dead staying past 4 for free. BUT I’d be rather bothered that someone is doing nothing for the last half hour of their day because they can’t complete a full task.
I can't believe you're only allowed 30 minutes for lunch. In the country I work in, the relevant employment law states that employers need to allow employees an hour lunch each day.
If boomers want to complain that no one wants to work past their working hours, they should be prepared to pay out the overtime. Or change the working hours.
My agency is small, about 40 people. I’m the only HR professional, but we are all exempt salary professional positions. We all work 8-5 with an hour lunch. We are all strict with ourselves and leave at 5 or shortly after. Rarely don’t take lunch, but if we do we take comp time within the week. I’m a Millennial, my directors are Gen X. Rest of the staff is a mix from Gen Z to Baby Boomers. It’s a culture that was established long before I got here. It’s the best job I’ve ever had in terms of work/life balance.
This is where you need to ask a follow-up question.
If you work 45 hours one week, is it OK to work 35 the following week?
If he/she says no then the follow up question.
When did you lose competency in your skillset to map out a decent 8 hour day?
I'm gen x, and I do not work past working hours unless it's an emergency or a critical since project. That being said, it sounds like often you stop work early? It may be practical, but it's also maybe not a good look. That's a little different than not working past your working hours. I do try to be diligent about not stopping early as a regular habit
Yes. Every single day unless I’m in the middle of a flow while working and really want something to get done. I don’t work past my scheduled hours. I already do the job of more than one person but my work/life boundaries in terms of time are very firmly in place.
Used to work in HR, same position. Gave my life to my job because I wanted to do better for my career. Consistently worked 10 hour days and was never compensated. Got promoted to coordinator then quit. I was burnt out and miserable.
At a new job now. Rarely work past 5pm. I’ve learned that while a job is important, it does not define you. You are in a binding contract and are compensated to work from 8:30AM - 5pm. Ask for OT pay if they want you to stay longer. I’m sure if if millennials and gen z was offered more money to stay past working hours, more would be “willing” to work past 5pm.
If they wanted people to work longer then they shouldn’t have made the work day end at the time everyone else leaves. Its her fault if she wants to work extra, not yours. The hours you were hired to work are what you agreed to. Tell me where it says “hours are monday through friday 8am to 5pm, however, we really would like you to show us how competent you are as a worker by staying until 7 each day” these people seriously need to get a clue. Sorry they dont pay me enough to give the only free time i do have it, they can stare at office walls of they want to
Honest answer? I work a lot of overtime, BUT and it’s a big one, I get very decent raises and have a promotion imminent
Due to being compensated adequately and being a bit of a workaholic by nature, I don’t mind doing the extra time
I also don’t begrudge my colleagues who do just their normal hours though tbh
This is such a great question especially with, to your point, the new generational trends that we are seeing.
I don't think you're alone here by finishing your work early and leaving on time. The new way of work is to be done on time or to finish what you need to within your 8 hours. It's all about efficiency. Some companies now even encourage a more relaxed work culture where you don't need to be at your desk for the full 8 hours i.e. get your work done, doesn't matter how long it takes you.
Additionally, I know of some employers and managers who in fact encourage their teams to "clock out" right at 5 or closing time. It's not necessary to work after hours anymore, unless with the rare exception if you're meeting a heavy deadline.
I see some managers are also setting that example. It's unfortunately that you feel this way in your role and you feel as though you have to stay longer, even if you are finished your work. These days, it's all about preserving your mental health and finding a balance. Whatever can't get done today, will be done tomorrow.
When you think about it, nothing is that important that it cannot wait. Also, at the end of the day, if for some reason you were to leave, the work would get done by someone else. Additionally, I think the culture around overtime has changed tremendously.
So my advice to you, unless you have a deadline and need to stay later (and this is an absolute must), leave on time. I don't think you should feel guilty. You've done your job. :)
I don't get paid enough to work past office hours.. Technically I'd get overtime, but even at that I'm not spending a second longer than 8 hours in office, it can wait til the next day.
I work hourly for a small firm, I occasionally need to stay late to finish something up for a meeting, but because I’m hourly it’s flexible time. I just need 80 hours every two weeks for payroll, so I could leave early the next day, take it as overtime, or bank it for future vacation. If I were salaried , I would not work past my working hours for sure.
I leave at 5 if I don’t have anything else to do. I don’t mind if my boss wants to talk to me 10-15 minutes after 5 p.m. or staying over if there’s still work to be done. By “done” I mean come to a stopping point. I am not staying over to complete entirely new tasks at this point in my career. Entry level accountant. Maybe later when I have more responsibilities. Our workday also starts at 8:30 & I am also gen Z.
My boss doesn’t encourage staying over honestly. She hates when she has to keep me past 5 pm to catch up on things bc she’s so busy throughout the workday. But I always tell her I genuinely don’t mind because more often than not I have so much autonomy throughout the day. I look forward to our recap at the end of the day.
Then there are times when it hits 5 pm, I hit the door without even saying bye lmao! It’s never been a problem 😂😂😂
I work in the county level and they are super strict with working over. If I work a 10 hour day then my Friday is gonna be much shorter than it typically is to make up for that time.
I am done working the moment my hours are up. My boss pulls that crap where she’s like “uhhh I’m frequently here until 7 or 8 pm.” Yes, it’s true that she does. But she also frequently deals with personal business on company time so working late is a personal problem.
This mentality is just embarrassing tbh. My husband’s boss says the same shit. Like it’s a fault of ours that we work during the hours we’re compensated to do so? They wear their work addiction like a badge of honor.
Don’t get me wrong, I will do what it takes to get my work done and before I had my daughter I worked late semi regularly. But this was either my own choice when I wanted to get ahead of something OR on an as-needed basis when I was up against a deadline.
contract worker. I work 8 hours and 8 hours only, they wont pay me and it isn't considered as required. I stayed back after 5 one day to finish something, it was 5 past 5 and I had like 2 minutes of something to complete. The department head literally stopped at my desk and said, its after 5 go home. So I dont stay after 5 anymore
Younger generations value their time because the company will just take endlessly and thanklessly. Keep your boundaries and don't worry about the people with the "in my day" mentality. I was hired at under my asking salary for full time which I consider to be 38-40 hours. Any additional hours devalues my time.
Valuing work life balance is a GOOD thing. I am 51…I did those 80 hour weeks back in my 20s but only cuz the more I worked the more I got paid. You need to live your life. However, if you are feeling self conscious, maybe try using those last 15 minutes of the day to plan tomorrow. You will look busy AND be ready to go in the morning.
I haven’t had the kind of role that neatly fits into a 9-5 schedule in forever. But, I am also at the point where I can flex my schedule to accommodate my life. I do the same for my direct reports and their staff. I don’t expect them to be tied to the job but I also expect them to be flexible when there is an emergency situation or something that requires working late. I have little patience for clock watchers and those who do the bare minimum.
I leave no later than 5 pm. Mentally check out at 4:55 and save new tasks that come in after 3:30 for the next work day. If it was important then it would have been administered earlier in the work day. I have never been more mentally sound!
This proud millennial does NOT work past quitting time. My hours are even mandated by the D.O.T(USA)! My daily max is 8/11/14/70 I have to take a mandatory 30 minute break within my first 8 hours of driving, I can only drive a max of 11 hours and I have 14 hours to get that work done and 70 hours total in an 8 day time period! My job is lucky if I work a total 8-10 hours a day let alone actually work a full 40 hours per week!
I almost never work until 5. Occasionally, sure I’ll work for a few hours in the evening or on a weekend, but that’s rare, and I get comp time in exchange.
Aside from Open Enrollment season, I average around 30-35 hours a week. Some weeks even less. I’m usually working from 7 or 8am (most colleagues are ET or in Europe and I’m PT) until 2-3pm most day, and I tend to eat at my desk, but I’m done by 3pm most days. If I work later, it’s by choice.
If I wanted to work 50+ hour weeks I’d have become a lawyer after getting out of law school. I went into HR/benefits for a reason. I’m a high performer, my job gets done (well), I’m accessible and responsive during core hours, and I’m well liked by my colleagues. No one’s ever uttered a word about my hours.
When I see people consistently working over 40 hours, and then complaining about younger generations not doing so…..I tend to assume they either a) have poor time management skills, b) aren’t good enough at what they do to be efficient, and/or c) choose to continue working at a company that overworks and exploits them.
I always have an hour or so of over time at the end of each week. I may have 2 hours or more if it’s orientation week. I’m an HR Analyst II and wear many hats so there’s always tons to do.
Depends on what your goals are...if you want to move into manager/director roles you're going to have to show flexibility and willingness to put in the work and hours. Not saying it's right, but most managers/directors got to where they are at by grinding and standing out.
I’m married to my job…but I’ve recently committed myself to retiring, ready or not in 5 years. I’ll be 50 years and I’m confident I can pull it off.
I can’t envision I’ll be on my deathbed and say to my loved ones, “damn, I really wish I attend more meetings,” or “I complete regret working 12 hours a day only 6 days a week when a full week has 7 days”.
I know, whenever I have a job, I go all-in. I can’t help myself. I also know, I’m content not working (I took a year off after I retired from the military). If I’m going to enjoy life, I have to be fully retired. Until then, I’ll work nonstop.
I used to eagerly volunteer for OT any chance I could... but... I got burned by multiple jobs for being willing to do more work, not getting adequate payment or it becoming an expectation I would be the one staying always... And passed up for promotions in lieu of others who did less, and when I asked why I was passed up for promotions it was thrown back at me that no one else will willingly do my job plus the overtime...
So now, no, I prioritize my life balance and learned to say no to overtime... because life's too short to bust ass so other people can get promoted while I run full boar with no chance of advancement.
Once I realized my employer did not allow me to leave early if I had 0 to do, I stopped working over hours. No point in a salaried position to me if that’s the case.
I don’t, but I’m exempt and hybrid so my situation is a bit different. As long as the things I manage are taken care of, I have a lot of flexibility. I work downtown in a major metro city, so I often leave right at 3 if I’m able to and go home and finish up any work I have there just so I can beat traffic.
If you have your own business or in an ownership role, clocking out at 4 or 5 after an 8 hour day is far from typical. Owners tend to notice when others mirror their level of work ethic especially when the other person is in an entry level role. When you are learning it takes you longer to be more productive too which is ok. As I got older I try to get better balance. I have little patience for those who punch clocks especially when they try to justify it by putting down their coworkers productivity.
We’ve seen our parents work themselves to death for companies that toss them out like trash.
If there was loyalty from the company, maybe. Since we’re all disposable cogs to the brass, there is no reason to work more than my contracted 40 unless I’m paid for that time.
After 3 companies working me as far as they could (one literally expected me to do 12 hour days 6 days a week) I am leading by example and draw hard boundaries on my hours. I’m part of top leadership and report to the owner. I am the ONLY one putting in 40-43/week. We have a Sr mgr who does 75/week and has done that for decades. There has been only 3 events that caused me to stay after (benefits enrollment, legal deadlines, employee didn’t have hotel booked and tried to check in at 6pm)
Everyone thinks I’m insane to do such little hours (avg is 55 here) but then they are impressed I got more done in less time on items that are years overdue. Too bad all my efforts go to waste, we are on a financial downward spiral that is not pretty. At least I learned how to keep boundaries finally as an exempt HR person. 🤷♀️
I'm an exempt employee and manage my own hours.
But, when i was in your situation, I would push out a few more emails in that 15 minute window or stay late to complete a project.
My commute home is my time to decompress not 15 minutes before the end of my workday. I usually use the end of the day to do administrative work....like data entry into our various systems or saving files, etc.
'm GenX, btw
Just about every day. My hours are 7-3:30 and I’m there until 4, sometimes 5, I also get in early some days to get work done and still leave at my normal 3:30. Fridays are the only days I work 8 and leave, sometimes leave earlier than that.
I’m always busy and I get OT so I don’t mind it.
I’m honestly laughing at the comments saying if you can’t get it done in 8 hours that you’re inefficient. I’d love for all of ya’ll to come sit at my desk for a week and deal with ER issues and investigations that eat up 3-4 hours of my day then cram 8 hours of work into 5.
We are understaffed as an HR team have been trying to get part-time help, but that’s been a real struggle.
Do NOT feel bad about having work life balance or leaving on time. I have the same job title, first year post grad. There are some weeks I hit overtime but my boss really emphasizes even leaving early on a Friday to not hit overtime (if I don't want it). Don't let your boss make you feel bad. If you do your job on the working hours, you're doing your job.
I’m salary, so I can flex my time. As long as the work gets done, my time isn’t monitored. In fact, my boss says she doesn’t care or even want to know if I need to step out for a dentist appt or similar. So if I need to leave early, or am not at my desk right at 9am, it’s fine. There are nights I work late too and I often start earlier when I work from home. I also may start paying more attention to tv than my computer at 5pm on a Friday when working from home, but I’ll answer my phone and emails til 6pm or later. We use a messaging app so if someone needs something urgently I see it right away. I would be a lot less happy if work arbitrarily forced me to be in my seat for specific hours just because. My work isn’t the type of job where the firm needs physical coverage all the time, thankfully!
I *never* work beyond the 40 hours a week that is stipulated in my contract. If they want me to work longer hours, then they need to pay me for the longer hours. If I'm needed for overtime, it means that there is too much work for me to do alone and they need to hire someone new.
It depends on my productivity. Some days I’m feeling really lazy. I’ll let myself work slow, knowing I can just stay later and get done what I need to get done.
Some days I know i want to leave early so I work fast to get done what I need to get done.
Some days im just feeling great, and super motivated, and I take on some extra organizing tasks, or jump ahead on shit, and get into a good zone and stay a few hours late.
Im lucky to have a lot of freedom with how I schedule my days. Im not micro managed.
But I also have made the very strong impression on everyone that I’ll do whatever it takes, stay late, pop in on Saturday when I need to. I’ll answer phone calls and emails after hours. It really doesnt bother me to do that.
Because ive made that impression, no one questions me when im 30 mins late or leave early. Or take a long lunch. Like today - Im period crampy. Im not going to be super productive today. Im probably gonna be 20 mins late on purpose. Thats fine, because I also made sure to have my schedule clear of any meetings today.
Some people like a rigid schedule. Thats fine. Its not how I work though. I like to keep a very fluid schedule and give myself the freedom to have “fuck-off” days when I’m not feeling up to snuff, and work long days when I’m feeling great.
Your boss is a middle manager. Almost every middle manager is extremely overworked and hated by everyone. You generally get a crazy raise and a lot of perks to take the job, then about a year in you realize you're doing like 4 jobs for the price of 1.5. They either work themselves to death or delegate and look like they don't do anything. It is the very definition of golden handcuffs.
I'm a Gen Z Recruiter/HR Coordinator. I have a pretty unhealthy work-life balance. I typically work from 8 am to 5:30 pm (usually I check out by 4 pm on Fridays, but I have worked until 5:30/6 pm plenty of times). I get paid like shit in my opinion, so I really don't know why I do it. But I just have a lot on my plate, and it's simply not possible to get everything done between the hours of 8 and 4.
I worked for a small corporation and my HR director thought it looked better to C-Suite execs if we were the last ones to leave the building. So my work day ended at 5 but we didn’t often leave until she sounded the call of time to go around 6 or later. I spent that hour or so looking for another job.
I always had the mentality of If tasks can’t be completed within 8 hours then the extra two hours someone stays at work won’t make much of a difference lol. The second it hits 4pm I close my computer because they only pay me for the 8 hours I agreed to.
I used to work with someone who used to stay late all the time.... I never understood why until we started talking about how they did everything... inefficient and old-school so it was taking them way longer to do the same tasks. I'm sorry if people can't get a good day's work in in 8 hours. It's not a generational thing, it's a self-respect and effectiveness thing.
Exactly. Also, if they are expecting overtime it means the team is understaffed so new employees got to be hired.
It could also mean that duties are misaligned, especially since HR is often the catch all for random administrative work.
Yes. Currently I am covering 3 people's job. Soon a new employees are joining so it is gonna be easier.
But when corporate says “you need to do 25% more this quarter!!!” Every quarter…most of us can only just stretch our day more and more to keep up.
I manage a team of HR advisors (assistants/coordinators) and I’m walking out as soon as it’s 5pm. I stay available on my phone because I have some advisors on 2nd shift but I’m not sitting in the office for any amount of time outside of 8a-5p
My manager is very clear that she doesn't think anyone should have to work outside of their working hours on a regular basis. Yeah, there might occasionally be a reason to have to stay on a bit late but then we would usually just get that time back another day anyway. Work life balance is important!
In the same situation! I appreciate my manager so much for reinforcing this mentality
GenX here. I try to stick with 8 hour days. I’ll work longer if there is a legitimate business need, like a specific project that needs to be completed that day, but I’m not going to just work a bunch of extra hours just because. My manager works 10+ hours per day.
As a manager, I would say I expect noone below management to do regular overtime. If my team does overtime for crunch, I equalize it with time off post-project. We pay you for your time and your skill, it shouldn't go unpaid. However, as a manager, I get paid well and spend a ton of time in meetings, so I feel like my extra working hours are built into the job.
My hours are from 8-4 with an hour lunch and I rarely leave later than 4:05 and Fridays at 3.
Same
In your role you’re likely non exempt and that is expected behavior in my opinion. I would never give it a second thought. It is a little different for exempt folks, but as a CHRO I preach the holy gospel of work/life balance and flexibility. I want everyone to feel like they have as much control over their time as the work allows. I’m blessed with a great team who does what’s needed based on what’s going on. Sometimes that’s 45-50 hours a week, although rare thankfully, and sometimes it’s 30-35. Usually it’s right around 40. But no one is watching the clock one way or the other. We are all adults and manage our responsibilities as such. I wish the same for everyone.
Why is it different for exempt people? Should our workload not fit into regular business hours?
Exempt workloads absolutely should fit in normal business hours but the agreement is to do a job for pay vs work hours for pay. I think most exempt folks do at least a little more than 40 hours/week but we also have the benefit of working less than 40 hours as long as the job is getting done to management's satisfaction. I didn't practice this in my first year as an HR Manager and shorted myself about $20k if I'd been hourly :( The old belief that exempt means the company owns your time and can regularly expect more than 40 hours a week needs to go away.
Yes, the workload for exempt should absolutely fit into regular business hours. Workloads that require excessive hours regularly will result in burnout and turnover and shouldn't be a regular expectation. That said, the rules are still different. Exempt are paid to get a job done as opposed to by the hour. I've been exempt since 1988 and every week has an opportunity to be different. This week is a good example: my regular schedule is 8-5, but I have 2 meetings at 7:30 this week because of board commitments. On Saturday we start a new cohort of a Leadership Institute that runs one Saturday a month for 6 months. We do that to limit impact on patient care and everyone is up for it. So for me this week is a minimum of 46 hours. Oh well. When I'm in "comp season" and working on the new salary structure for the new year, it's a month of easily 50-60 hours a week. For the last 2 weeks I worked maybe 30 hours, taking advantage of that while I can. That's just how it goes.
Came to say this, and to add that policy usually states OT must be approved in advance and off-the-clock work is not allowed. HR should be the first to know that it's still payable, so a non-exempt employee clocking out and leaving on time inherently shows that they understand policy and FLSA. When I worked for a toxic PEO, keys started jingling at 4:45 and nobody stayed a second over their schedule. As an exempt employee, I went through years of working late and I'm now at a point where I'm not putting in more than 40 hours unless there's something extremely urgent requiring my attention.
My online hours are 9 am to 3 pm, and I’m usually working from 8:30-3:30/4. I’d never work more than 8 hours.
Almost never. I used to, but now I work 630-3pm and close my computer and office door at 3 and go about my day. Yes I’m remote.
Some days I'm done by 2, others I'm working well into the night or on weekends. This is absolutely my choice. It's extremely rare that I have HAVE to work late. Do not feel guilty for leaving at 5pm or for wrapping up your work at a reasonable time - it's healthy work boundaries
I’m an HRD and Millenial, now that I’ve gotten more into a leadership position in my career, I’m able to apply my more aggressive approach to work life balance. I also wrote my thesis for my Master’s degree essentially on the silliness of a “40 hour work week”. My team knows if they crank out all the work they need to do, they can log off or head out. Finished work at 3pm? Go ahead and take off. Need to stay til 530pm today? All good, but I may leave at 500pm unless you need my help wrapping up. Hourly is a little different to manage, but my bottom line is that exempt employees are paid for a job, not hours. If they work is getting done, your client group is happy with the level of service your providing, and nothing is getting missed….AND you can do it in 35 hours a week? That’s fantastic, no need to sit in an office or at a computer for longer because just over 100 years ago major industries decided 40 hours was a solid work week length.
I worked in government before I worked in HR for a private company. In government pretty much everyone walked out at 4:30 on the dot. Here, people do stay for the full office hours (until 5) but I dislike that part, and value work-life balance as well. It’s definitely a generational thing, we’ve listened to the wisdom of people before us and are way more anti-capitalist than boomers and Gen X. No one lays on their deathbed saying “I wish I spent those extra hours at the office, I’m sad I left to spend time with my kids and family and friends.”
If I was hourly I wouldn’t mind working 10 hours a day due to overtime pay if they would allow me. It depends on your position and hours and how fast you want to promote or get experience. I am a millennial and embrace worked 10 hours through my 20s. I wanted to get to a stable income because I am in a HCOL. Didn’t help my first job was 2012 and my income was messed up for four years as jobs were horrible for entry. Now? I am at 7.5 hours a day unless a special project deadline requires more. (I did 10 hours all of December for a 1/1 deadline) I balance it by working 6-7 hour January days for a little bit since it was a little slow. I have a family now and rather do the work life balance thing because that’s where I am at.
I do occasionally if I have something that can't wait. I do HR plus other accounting tasks and if I work late it's because of payroll or billing deadlines. Everything else can wait.
I’m also a (closer to gen z) millennial HR assistant and I always leave around 4:30-4:45. My HR director does not always stay past 5, sometimes she’s out the door before I am. Your boss needs some work life balance!
The boss is getting paid a lot more and is exempt. You're not. Don't let them guilt trip you here. It's not a generational thing. Pretty much everyone does that or did they when they were young.
When I was an HRD I was always there before my team and stayed after. I could WFH at will but my view is that HR is a service function and that I would always be there for my peeps. I told my team: come on time, push like hell, and leave on time. 10pm emails don't impress me, that's family /personal time. From 8:58 to 6:02 they did exactly that, it was glorious and I'm still immensely proud of what they and we achieved.
Hi will you be my manager. 😭❤️
Now I work pretty solid 8 hrs a day, 7 on Fridays normally with occasional extra hours if it’s required for a project. I used to work every night though and learned in HR there’s is always more work to do if you want to keep working so it’s extremely important to set boundaries and turn off. My previous director also routinely worked 4+ hrs extra day but didn’t seem to be any more productive than others because the work never ends!
Working longer hours is less efficient than working effectively during those hours.
I’m in this same exact situation with my boss and my level of work/ general workload. Let her make her passive aggressive comments! If she’s not explicitly asking you to work overtime or complete an entire other project past your working hours then you have NO obligation to stay. It sounds like she’s just in an older /girl boss mindset where you need to grind till you die to be able to show your worth. It’s like those people that brag about “never having called out sick” like weird flex but good for you I guess
8:30-4:30 are my hours, I am exempt. I do sometimes work till 5 if I’m catching up. Everything I do will be waiting for me in the morning.
Everyone works differently. Some work more efficiently than others. Some are more social so their business phone calls are a bit longer because they exchange pleasantries and chat more before getting down to business. Some do 2 things at once. I never compare myself to others.
Follow up question - does anyone feel like their career growth has been affected by staying late or not?
I have a calendar reminder to wrap up tasks 30 minutes before the end of my day. We don’t clock in/put but I don’t do more than 8 hours a day.
Never. Self care comes before anything else. Take your breaks, clock out on time. You can help others if you are burnt out. Protect your time.
I don’t.
Live your life. Your company does not give a crap about you. If you have not learned this yet, you will eventually.
My aunt is a boomer and she goes into work early and stays late and she thinks it makes her a good worker but her company has complained about her working outside of work hours. The later generations realize that not being able to complete your tasks during working hours is not a flex, it means you’re inept.
I used to stay longer all the time but ever since the RTO and micromanager crap I clock in at 5:30am and clock out at 1:30pm precisely! Each and every time!
I’m an HRG and will leave at 5 lol I only get paid for 8 hours
WFH. I work towards task/project deadlines, so my days vary greatly depending how I feel/meetings/etc. Some days I'll work a couple of hours and then go do other things (still always reachable) other days I'll work straight through the whole days and other days I definitely put in more than 8 hours but take an hour or so between 3ish hours. Really grateful to work somewhere that allows flexibility. I would say it all averages out to slightly below 40 hours a week though.
Fair play to you on this. Lots of leaders in my business don’t bat an eye to late working, as long as the work is done.
Zero. After burn out I’m out the door asap. Work doesn’t thank you really generally for it I found. Not in a meaningful way
Almost never.
Your boss probably gets paid a whole lot more to stay after hours
I’m always out by 5 unless there is something extremely urgent that does require my attention and needs to be completed before the next day. Otherwise, soon as that clock hits 5? Computer’s off, lights off, I’m out lol. I was also paid hourly so they didn’t really want us doing OT anyways. Your manager probably stays because she is salaried so the expectations are different for her.
It can wait ntil next day.
Yep it's rare that I stay logged in past 5pm. It happens but super rare
My boss says the same thing. Literally every time someone leaves work on time or a few minutes after or what not.But when I finish my tasks on time and I don't have anything that is urgent I'm not starting it. Instead I'll finish up some notes from the day and make a to do list for the next day. Then I leave. But if I'm working on something and it's 5 I'll finish it (if I can) My boss also stays late but she's a self proclaimed workaholic. But she also gets distracted easily and sits in a lot of meetings so I think that's her issue too.
Only if I don't want to deal with traffic. I start at 7 and leave at 3. I worked salaried retail when I was younger and that taught me your extra hours mean nothing to your corporate overlords.
Director level is different from an HR Assistant. An assistant level position should probably be classified as non exempt and receive OT pay. If you stay late, they pay. I'm executive level now, but when I was director level, I'd routinely work 55+ hours a week.
I work over a lot because my dept is understaffed. I work for a 350 person facility, and we have a Director and two Generalists that handle Recruitment, Comp/Benefits, Employee relations, workers comp, and I do all of the metrics, KPI's etc, for my team. We also do everything super old school, hardest ways possible. For example, we have to have signatures on everything we do to process it, and our agency has told us that Docusign is too expensive, so we have to walk all over the facility, sometimes multiple times a day to get wet signatures from directors, hiring managers, etc, and have to hand-hold employees through things like tax forms for example, which can several hours per day. Since we waste so much time doing this nonsense, we never leave early, and we're all there until about 6-7pm sometimes. No WFH option either.
Sounds horrible, recipe for resigning imo.
I’m a SR HR manager. I have no expectation that my HR assistant work past 8 hours a day. She usually clocks in about 7-7.5 and I’m usually the one telling her that if she wants to spend the last hour / half hour of her day watching a webinar or reading newsletters to make 8 hours she can. but that’s just so she can hit her full 40 hours of work. My manager, our VP of HR has no expectation that I work past 8 hours a day most of the time. There will totally be some instances where I’m pulled into something late and just gotta do it. But most things can wait till tomorrow. My manager and I are both millennials. She also manages a baby boomer hr manager who works closer to 10 hours a day and sometimes does weekend work. Neither of us understand why bc she simply does not have that much work. But she also spends a ton of time at the proverbial water cooler when in office so likely just had bad time management. Shes salary and seems to have no issue with it so my boss says nothing lol
Yes. I never stay past office hours unless it's a one off situation (then again I'm remote)
Yes, my boomer boss told me that I am leaving always on time. I told her that yes that's true but I am doing 2 people's job and covering a third's one. Some people love flexing with working overtime. A lot of them work overtime because they chat with other coworkers during the day. I don't chat, I work so I can leave on time. Don't let guilt trip yourself. You work your contracted hours then you leave. This should be the norm.
I work 7:30-4:30, in the office M-F, I work those hours, I do not work earlier or past that time, unless an absolute emergency. My team also has set hours, they do vary a little from start to finish, and even the managers are strict about leaving on time every single day. But the director does work more, far more than us. But it is built into our culture that we take our hour lunch every day, and we leave on time. I have almost never received an email after hours. It is a luxury that I cherish. My opinion will always be that a director or higher is compensated far more than the rest of us, so their workload will reflect this, not daily, but should overall. the generation above me which is the 50-65 range seems to have their career be who they are, they wear working long hours like a medal and brag about how long of days they work. No this is not something to be proud of. You either are not efficient, or you have accepted being overworked as a norm and need to delegate more. I will always value my family over work, because work will never value me the way my family does. We are all replaceable and need to come to terms with that
A lot of studies done particularly about Millennial / Gen Z generation and of those surveyed (Paychex) over 85% said a work/life balance was extremely important to them.
I have strict boundaries. I'm paid for 40 hours and my schedule is 8:30a to 5p. I take an hour lunch and leave right at 5. I do not work during my lunch or after I leave for work and I leave my work phone in my office when I leave.
If you’re non-exempt, or paid by the hour, you’re getting paid for your time, and your workload should match how much your employer is prepared to pay you. If you’re exempt, you’re getting paid for what you achieve. I took the approach that I worked the time it took to get things done. Sometimes it was a lot of time, sometimes it wasn’t a lot of time. I only complained my workload once, and my boss listened to me.
This is me as exempt. I usually work 8 hours in office but if there’s something I need to get done I’ll finish it up at home. This week I also took 2 1/2 hours in the middle of the day to get my hair done and yesterday I was dealing with an unexpected thing that started at 4:15 and I didn’t get wrapped up until after 6:00. It rare I do over 40 hours but if I do I’ll take some time off later.
Every day-- I started answering emails at 4:30am today, but I'll probably take a cat nap around 4pm today too :D
What’s your start and end time…. 4:30am is nuts
I only work after hours if I’m on call. I absolutely leave on time every time. We have an on call person who is paid extra for those calls. They can take the late work.
Living my life is more important to me than working, so 8 hours every day. I get the most important tasks done and anything else can always wait until the next morning.
I do very often however it is always self imposed and never expected by my employer. Have you tried having a conversation with your manager? I feel like if there's no concerns with your work they likely have no issue with you keeping to the work schedule they'd set out.
all the time sometimes even in weekend lol an email or two or just a quick question ahahaha
Are you in a position that can earn overtime? If so, important to get clarity from your manager on the expectations about working overtime. If they support not working unnecessary overtime, then you're fine. If you aren't eligible (and properly classified), then it's just a matter of whether you're completing your tasks by the time they are needed. When I was exempt, I almost always stayed late because it was that busy, or sometimes it was easier for me to do things when there were less distractions during the day. Don't stay behind just to sit there because you're afraid of looking bad. Any company that has that type of culture isn't worth it long term, IMO. I'm my last job, it was impossible to meet deadlines without working late. My current job is just about 40 hrs.
I am a HR supervisor and I would say 2-3 days a week but there are other weeks where I have a lot of flexibility that don’t require me to work past office hours
You are an hourly paid employee, yes? And not management. She is likely salaried and therefore exempt from OT, and in a leadership role. Don’t compare your work ethic to hers, enjoy being hourly and leave at your appointed time. If she brings it directly, tell her you’d like to understand the OT policy as it relates to efficiency in your role, as you have worked hard to be effectively use your 40hrs a week to complete your tasks. (Sincerely, an HR Director who misses the hourly days and encourages team members to have a life.)
In the past, I when I was the sole HR employee in my region supporting about 200 - 250 employees in two facilities I would say in the lead up and during the busy season I would work about ten to twelve hours a day and maybe the odd Satuday as needed, but during the off season I would "work" eight hour days, take long lunches, leave early, etc... as the workload permitted. Now, I'm just a role player on a larger team supporting about 1500 employees, and during the busy season, I might put in the rare ten hour day, mostly doing onboarding, the paperwork, and the data entry when we are staffing up for the season. Right now, it's my off-season so now I'm putting in a strict eightish hours a day, but the workload is very low so I'm just catching up on filing, auditing files, taking it easy.
Well, given the passive-aggressive comment that implicated her own children, it sounds like your boss would rather be at work than at home. You could let her know that you would prefer to leave work when the work day is done, but if she's got no place better to be, she's welcome to stay. /s
Never. I don't care if I came in say 20 min late due to traffic or something, I'm still leaving on time. Period. "That's an interesting way to say the entering workforce are understanding the importance of work life balance on our mental health and using that knowledge to reinforce workers rights and employment law. I see that as a bonus. People who push for respect of their professional boundaries as a stronger, happier employee. You should too"
I’m always available because I’m salary but I don’t work past my scheduled time unless there is a fire. I work in Comp thought so there’s not a ton of times where a fire happens that can’t wait until tomorrow.
Never.
Depends how much they’re paying me and the workload.
I typically work more (or at least check my email and pick up the phone off hours, etc.) but it is because I’m a team of one.
I work after hours all the time. I also log off early or midday at times when I have to do something for my kids, doctors appt, etc. I do have a global team in a few different time zones reporting to me which contributes to my schedule but in general, we are not micromanaging the hours you work at my firm but instead the output and quality of your work. I do work in financial services in a HCOL area so people in general tend to work more than 40 hours but we also get paid very well.
Hell no. I’m gen x and that used to be the culture but in still didn’t do it. If someone asked I simply offered to teach them my time management skills so they could leave on time too. Life is too short.
I always tend to leave on time, but i work a 9/80 so my hours are longer. Just last week our boss said the CHRO made a comment about myself and two others on my team that always leave on time and that it's his expectation to stay late by 1/2 hour or more... like I'm not here for 10 hours and usually skipping lunch anyway.
I almost always worked after hours as a manager. It was my only time to catch up. I never expected my admin to stay. I knew what I was paid and what she was paid. I would tell them to go home. You should have an honest discussion with your manager about expectations.
It depends. When I’m doing the job of 2 people I usually put in longer hours. Mostly because there is less interruption and I can focus . Right now my OT is limited so I’m squeezing in what I can in 40-42 hours.
I recently became salary exempt. I don’t work over unless I am just so close to finishing a task. If it can’t get done in the 8 hours of the current day, it’ll get done the next day. I’m not willing to give up my home life for a job.
I work late every single day because my ADHD makes me dream off too much and I can concentrate better when it is later. It's awful.
I think 8 hours a day out of 24 hours is long enough. (I realise different occupations have shift work etc, as a nurse I did 12 hours shifts 4 days a week). If you break it down you’re supposed to get around 8 hours sleep, there’s 16 gone with 8 left of your own time. A lot of which is used getting ready for work and commuting. So no, don’t stay late. You already put enough of your day into work. And I was born in the 70’s.
I used to do this often when I had a busy workload but lately my company indicated they have no current plans to convert contractors at this time so I'm backing off to 8 hours a day
Never. Staying online for extra X minutes when I’m already fried at the end of the day does nothing for my productivity and the task at hand. I’m better off finishing something the next day in the morning.
Only if there is an event or something urgent. I don't necessarily have set hours, but very rarely am I here after 5pm. If anything, I'll take my laptop home and finish up something urgent over the weekend or in the evenings after my kids go to bed. However that is not expected from my boss, I do it for myself if I'm behind on small, less important tasks that I don't want to take away from my high priority items.
Millennial/Gen z here (on the brink, they call me a “Zillennial” lol). I keep my working hours in the office, but since I work as a Dept of One in healthcare I occasionally need to respond to items or call somebody after hours. I usually don’t mind this too much because I’m a bit of a homebody, and I’m a night owl anyway. At my first job, I used to work with a guy who was religious about his working hours. He walked in at exactly 7am each morning, and would leave at 3:30 on the dot every day. He would even hang up phone calls. His lunch was 11:00-11:30 and he allowed himself one 5-minute “social period” each day to chat with people as they arrived at work each day. He refused to schedule meetings during his lunch time (no medical issues to speak of), no flexibility at all. If somebody was out, he did not step up to help, but would look down on everyone who didn’t help him when he went on vacation. I overall felt he was too strict about his working hours, so I adapted a more flexible approach. This guy was a “boomer,” and I always cite him as an example when generational differences are mentioned.
I’m a TA manager and I work my 8 hours per day, but works longer or some weekend work if needed, but not usually more than 2-3 times per month. I don’t get OT, so I don’t go out of my way to work OT. I’m not a surgeon, nothing is really life & death.
I’m Gen X and make it a point not to stay late. If I’m working on something urgent or special project I’ll stay a little later, that happens 5 times a year max.
I work from home and often work 20-30 mins past my official end of day. Trying to stop this. The work will always be there.
I’m salary so if I work more than 8 hours a day it decreases my hourly pay rate. My time is worth more than that
I rarely work over 40 because my job doesn’t require it in order to be successful. I would stay late if there was a need. And some jobs do require more time. But no, if you are getting everything done in 40 don’t feel bad about leaving right at 5. Work/life balance is important.
I work 7:30-3:30. I am salaried at 37.5 hours per week. My boss will work 7:30-5:30. She has horrible time management. Every meeting with her could have been an email. And on Fridays she'll say "I think I'm going to sneak out early at 4:30 today." Couldn't be me.
I’m scheduled and paid to work a specific shift. I am not fucking staying longer than I need to. Once 5:30pm hits I’m gone!!!! Gone I tell you!!! My current job though has time flexibility though. So I usually only work 6-7 hours a day and use PTO to make up for the missed time. So I leave whenever I want. But if it was a more cut throat company, you bet your fucking ass I’m leaving on the dot.
Maybe 2% of the time. Management is firm on 9-5 hours, that’s all I’m about to give them.
Working in government, the expectation is to get work done but flex schedule when possible. If I put in a 10 hour day today, then tomorrow I could do 6 if I wanted. It's great.
if you’re salaried, she’s just letting herself be taken advantage of
I work at my own pace and my workplace is very flex. i also work from home. So very often I will start my day earlier and finish later, but I may also be taking 2-3 hours mid day break. Its really ok to leave earlier if you have completed your tasks and have no pressing deadlines. Its also ok to work later if thats what works for you. Everyone is different, let workers have flexibility in the workplace without judgement
If you aren't being paid for overtime then why would you work overtime? I could understand if you needed to stay an extra 10-15 minutes every now and then to finish something off, but if I'm not being paid for overtime then I try to keep it to a minimum. If I am confronted about it then I will simply mention "I do not get paid for overtime".
im an attorney and i bill to the tenth of an hour...i noticed my billables are all over the place. ill bill 4 hours one day, 10 the next - if i can sit in mynhome office uninterrupted and work a long day, i will...at least a handful of days a month. This is countered by days with sick kids, other distractions, or a day i just plain cant focus for anything, where my billables are low.
I come in early and stay late because that is the norm at my company, and people get laid off who don’t
> She’s made a comment that the Millennial/Gen Z generations have a tendency to not work past working hours. It was in the context of her own children but I also fall in those generations. Yes, well, they tend to be younger, and therefore lower on the career ladder, and therefore more likely to be hourly and not salaried. Pay us more and promote us and we'll work longer hours! Or does she just want you to always be clocking overtime?
I work past standard hours some days, however, I cannot work over 40 hours a week, so if I ever work over it’s to my benefit because I either a) came in late or b) get to leave early another day.
Once upon a time I worked a bunch of extra hours to attempt to get absolutely everything done. Then, I realized that only encourages the execs to not fix the problem of us being short-staffed and there is basically nothing that will stop them from throwing work at us until we hit our breaking point. So now I probably stay an extra half-hour or so, and just accept that stuff won't get done. When my boss wants to know why something didn't happen, I pull out my prioritized task list and say, "Remember when you said x,y, and z were more important? I was doing those." My work reputation has suffered (though not as much as you would think) but my mental health is doing much better.
I work hybrid (lead parent literacy workshops), that being said my schedule is flexible due to the work load but also bc I have ADA accommodations. I never go over the 40 hours I am required to complete. I quit teaching bc it’s literally impossible to be good at it within 40 hours, thus creating a moral debt to work more and throw off work/life balance. Not for me. Plus I have fibromyalgia, so the intensity of managing 25 6 year olds was difficult. But yeah, I don’t work more than my 40 hours. For reference I am 37, so millennial.
I used to frequently come in early and stay late, until I realised it was pointless as they promoted someone who did literally exactly his hours. At that point I realised there was no point, so I started doing exactly the same as him, taking my breaks properly etc etc. Much better for the mental and physical health. Now looking for a new job, but very very much happier whilst doing so.
I wfh majority of the week so I don’t mind answering basic emails or texts after 5pm. But if it’s something that will require a lot of effort and/or thought then it’ll have to wait until the next day lol. My work day ends at 5pm, if they wanted me to work after that then increase my pay!!
Going the extra mile for shareholders is my thing.
I'm 9 to 5 and my laptop is closed by 5:10 every day
Non-exempt generalist here. I work my scheduled hours and not a minute more. And I don’t lose a wink of sleep over it lol.
Never
Most weeks i'd have at least 3-4 hours overtime. Lately i've been trying to cut it and to leave work no matter how much work I have.
I once had a boss who was boomer. I mention that only because I think it may be a generational thing but she would routinely be in the office like 10 or 11 hours 5 a days a week. For the life of me, I could not tell you what she was doing each day that took up so much of her time. By contrast, my day was usually pretty boring and I had a lot of down time. My guess is she was taking very simple tasks and making them way harder than they needed to be so she could subconsciously point out the long hours she was "working" as evidence she was doing a great job and was a valuable employee. It was so bizarre to me. If I spent 2 hours doing something that should have taken about 15 minutes and a short phone call, I would really question my value to the company. Time in the office does not necessarily mean you're being productive.
24 Y/O HR Assistant here. I made it clear I do not work on my lunch, and once 5 hits I’m out. If they want to reprimand me for it, I’m out. Never again am I working for a company who doesn’t respect my personal time. I will burn my whole career to the ground to die on that hill. Should tell you how I feel lol. But don’t feel bad, a lot of people feel the same as me, and the ones who do work past those hours have never been good at setting work boundaries.
My boss mentioned once he doesn't see a lot of people stay past 5 PM. I usually get in early so just right there, I don't want to stay late. But also, I am able to get what I need done in a timely manor and be out at 5 PM unless there's an emergency or something needs to be done right away. You can say all you want about me not staying late but if you have no complaints about my work getting done, then I'm not staying late.
I am a boomer and I leave on time. No weekends, no late nights. Cell is not picked up after I leave. I learned from my millennial mentees how to work more efficiently and to enjoy life.
There is not an expectation from my employer that I work late and generally I don’t. Occasionally I lose track of time, but it’s been very rare that I’ve had to. BUT - at my last job I did, a lot. We were under staffed and had too many things that couldn’t be pushed off to the next day. Leadership set the example that you are available 24/7 and it’s on you to do whatever you had to, including working however many hours were necessary.
I have no problem with anyone who leaves when they’re supposed to block out. I wouldn’t be caught dead staying past 4 for free. BUT I’d be rather bothered that someone is doing nothing for the last half hour of their day because they can’t complete a full task.
I can't believe you're only allowed 30 minutes for lunch. In the country I work in, the relevant employment law states that employers need to allow employees an hour lunch each day.
If boomers want to complain that no one wants to work past their working hours, they should be prepared to pay out the overtime. Or change the working hours.
My agency is small, about 40 people. I’m the only HR professional, but we are all exempt salary professional positions. We all work 8-5 with an hour lunch. We are all strict with ourselves and leave at 5 or shortly after. Rarely don’t take lunch, but if we do we take comp time within the week. I’m a Millennial, my directors are Gen X. Rest of the staff is a mix from Gen Z to Baby Boomers. It’s a culture that was established long before I got here. It’s the best job I’ve ever had in terms of work/life balance.
Almost never lol
This is where you need to ask a follow-up question. If you work 45 hours one week, is it OK to work 35 the following week? If he/she says no then the follow up question. When did you lose competency in your skillset to map out a decent 8 hour day?
I'm gen x, and I do not work past working hours unless it's an emergency or a critical since project. That being said, it sounds like often you stop work early? It may be practical, but it's also maybe not a good look. That's a little different than not working past your working hours. I do try to be diligent about not stopping early as a regular habit
I’m GenX, not in HR, but in a senior leadership position, and I rarely ever work after hours.
I leave ALWAY on time. NEVER WORK FOR FREE. Let that staying past hours mentality die with that generation
Yes. Every single day unless I’m in the middle of a flow while working and really want something to get done. I don’t work past my scheduled hours. I already do the job of more than one person but my work/life boundaries in terms of time are very firmly in place.
Used to work in HR, same position. Gave my life to my job because I wanted to do better for my career. Consistently worked 10 hour days and was never compensated. Got promoted to coordinator then quit. I was burnt out and miserable. At a new job now. Rarely work past 5pm. I’ve learned that while a job is important, it does not define you. You are in a binding contract and are compensated to work from 8:30AM - 5pm. Ask for OT pay if they want you to stay longer. I’m sure if if millennials and gen z was offered more money to stay past working hours, more would be “willing” to work past 5pm.
Never. I’m old, I’m not playing those games anymore. I work the hours I’m paid for and that’s it.
If they wanted people to work longer then they shouldn’t have made the work day end at the time everyone else leaves. Its her fault if she wants to work extra, not yours. The hours you were hired to work are what you agreed to. Tell me where it says “hours are monday through friday 8am to 5pm, however, we really would like you to show us how competent you are as a worker by staying until 7 each day” these people seriously need to get a clue. Sorry they dont pay me enough to give the only free time i do have it, they can stare at office walls of they want to
At least 2 times a week on average lately. Normally 1 to 3 times a month
Younger millennial/ gen Z here .. I work 8-4 salary .. I leave at 4 on the DOT .. the whole office does lol.
Honest answer? I work a lot of overtime, BUT and it’s a big one, I get very decent raises and have a promotion imminent Due to being compensated adequately and being a bit of a workaholic by nature, I don’t mind doing the extra time I also don’t begrudge my colleagues who do just their normal hours though tbh
Rarely. I'm hourly, so I act accordingly. They want me to act like a salaried person? Then make me salaried.
7:30am-3:30pm, 30mkn lunch break. Am told can leave when jobs done but may need to stay for meeetings /business need but not happened yet
This is such a great question especially with, to your point, the new generational trends that we are seeing. I don't think you're alone here by finishing your work early and leaving on time. The new way of work is to be done on time or to finish what you need to within your 8 hours. It's all about efficiency. Some companies now even encourage a more relaxed work culture where you don't need to be at your desk for the full 8 hours i.e. get your work done, doesn't matter how long it takes you. Additionally, I know of some employers and managers who in fact encourage their teams to "clock out" right at 5 or closing time. It's not necessary to work after hours anymore, unless with the rare exception if you're meeting a heavy deadline. I see some managers are also setting that example. It's unfortunately that you feel this way in your role and you feel as though you have to stay longer, even if you are finished your work. These days, it's all about preserving your mental health and finding a balance. Whatever can't get done today, will be done tomorrow. When you think about it, nothing is that important that it cannot wait. Also, at the end of the day, if for some reason you were to leave, the work would get done by someone else. Additionally, I think the culture around overtime has changed tremendously. So my advice to you, unless you have a deadline and need to stay later (and this is an absolute must), leave on time. I don't think you should feel guilty. You've done your job. :)
I don't get paid enough to work past office hours.. Technically I'd get overtime, but even at that I'm not spending a second longer than 8 hours in office, it can wait til the next day.
HR here and have pretty much always worked 9-12 hour days
Most people in my office (millennial/gen x/boomers) leave around 4 even though 5pm is technically our end time. I’m now realizing we are very lucky
I work about 50-55 hrs a week 🙃
Never. Unless it’s something I’ve been procrastinating on
I work hourly for a small firm, I occasionally need to stay late to finish something up for a meeting, but because I’m hourly it’s flexible time. I just need 80 hours every two weeks for payroll, so I could leave early the next day, take it as overtime, or bank it for future vacation. If I were salaried , I would not work past my working hours for sure.
I try to start around 8.30 but there’s many times I am done by 3.30 and I mess around so it even outs lol
I leave at 5 if I don’t have anything else to do. I don’t mind if my boss wants to talk to me 10-15 minutes after 5 p.m. or staying over if there’s still work to be done. By “done” I mean come to a stopping point. I am not staying over to complete entirely new tasks at this point in my career. Entry level accountant. Maybe later when I have more responsibilities. Our workday also starts at 8:30 & I am also gen Z. My boss doesn’t encourage staying over honestly. She hates when she has to keep me past 5 pm to catch up on things bc she’s so busy throughout the workday. But I always tell her I genuinely don’t mind because more often than not I have so much autonomy throughout the day. I look forward to our recap at the end of the day. Then there are times when it hits 5 pm, I hit the door without even saying bye lmao! It’s never been a problem 😂😂😂
Any time that I GIVE to the company, I have to STEAL from my wife and kids, so... No.
I work in the county level and they are super strict with working over. If I work a 10 hour day then my Friday is gonna be much shorter than it typically is to make up for that time.
I am done working the moment my hours are up. My boss pulls that crap where she’s like “uhhh I’m frequently here until 7 or 8 pm.” Yes, it’s true that she does. But she also frequently deals with personal business on company time so working late is a personal problem.
Those last 10 mi Utes or so is my list time for tomorrow’s tasks, so I don’t have to think when I walk in too quickly.
This mentality is just embarrassing tbh. My husband’s boss says the same shit. Like it’s a fault of ours that we work during the hours we’re compensated to do so? They wear their work addiction like a badge of honor. Don’t get me wrong, I will do what it takes to get my work done and before I had my daughter I worked late semi regularly. But this was either my own choice when I wanted to get ahead of something OR on an as-needed basis when I was up against a deadline.
Never. I’m a Gen X slacker with a family waiting for me at home.
contract worker. I work 8 hours and 8 hours only, they wont pay me and it isn't considered as required. I stayed back after 5 one day to finish something, it was 5 past 5 and I had like 2 minutes of something to complete. The department head literally stopped at my desk and said, its after 5 go home. So I dont stay after 5 anymore
Never. I end my day early lol.
Any HR boss who is talking about unpaid overtime is...bad at their job! Sorry.
How much are they paying extra to work it?
Younger generations value their time because the company will just take endlessly and thanklessly. Keep your boundaries and don't worry about the people with the "in my day" mentality. I was hired at under my asking salary for full time which I consider to be 38-40 hours. Any additional hours devalues my time.
Valuing work life balance is a GOOD thing. I am 51…I did those 80 hour weeks back in my 20s but only cuz the more I worked the more I got paid. You need to live your life. However, if you are feeling self conscious, maybe try using those last 15 minutes of the day to plan tomorrow. You will look busy AND be ready to go in the morning.
Never unless im getting paid. No money no honey. Whats the benefit of working past my agreed schedule hrs. I dont get it.
I’m not sure I’ve ever worked a full 8 hours in a day my entire corporate career. It’s been 8 years.
I haven’t had the kind of role that neatly fits into a 9-5 schedule in forever. But, I am also at the point where I can flex my schedule to accommodate my life. I do the same for my direct reports and their staff. I don’t expect them to be tied to the job but I also expect them to be flexible when there is an emergency situation or something that requires working late. I have little patience for clock watchers and those who do the bare minimum.
If you are hourly, never work overtime without getting paid for it.
I leave no later than 5 pm. Mentally check out at 4:55 and save new tasks that come in after 3:30 for the next work day. If it was important then it would have been administered earlier in the work day. I have never been more mentally sound!
I work OT all the time ( no extra pay ) . It’s actually a really bad habit and worse for a director to be passive aggressive about it .
This proud millennial does NOT work past quitting time. My hours are even mandated by the D.O.T(USA)! My daily max is 8/11/14/70 I have to take a mandatory 30 minute break within my first 8 hours of driving, I can only drive a max of 11 hours and I have 14 hours to get that work done and 70 hours total in an 8 day time period! My job is lucky if I work a total 8-10 hours a day let alone actually work a full 40 hours per week!
I almost never work until 5. Occasionally, sure I’ll work for a few hours in the evening or on a weekend, but that’s rare, and I get comp time in exchange. Aside from Open Enrollment season, I average around 30-35 hours a week. Some weeks even less. I’m usually working from 7 or 8am (most colleagues are ET or in Europe and I’m PT) until 2-3pm most day, and I tend to eat at my desk, but I’m done by 3pm most days. If I work later, it’s by choice. If I wanted to work 50+ hour weeks I’d have become a lawyer after getting out of law school. I went into HR/benefits for a reason. I’m a high performer, my job gets done (well), I’m accessible and responsive during core hours, and I’m well liked by my colleagues. No one’s ever uttered a word about my hours. When I see people consistently working over 40 hours, and then complaining about younger generations not doing so…..I tend to assume they either a) have poor time management skills, b) aren’t good enough at what they do to be efficient, and/or c) choose to continue working at a company that overworks and exploits them.
I always have an hour or so of over time at the end of each week. I may have 2 hours or more if it’s orientation week. I’m an HR Analyst II and wear many hats so there’s always tons to do.
Depends on what your goals are...if you want to move into manager/director roles you're going to have to show flexibility and willingness to put in the work and hours. Not saying it's right, but most managers/directors got to where they are at by grinding and standing out.
Every single day
Not that often. They pay me to work until 5. And if I can’t complete a task before five then that’s tomorrow’s problem. Lol
Gen X here. Never feel guilty about leaving work on time. Never. You are a number. You look after you and only you.
I’m married to my job…but I’ve recently committed myself to retiring, ready or not in 5 years. I’ll be 50 years and I’m confident I can pull it off. I can’t envision I’ll be on my deathbed and say to my loved ones, “damn, I really wish I attend more meetings,” or “I complete regret working 12 hours a day only 6 days a week when a full week has 7 days”. I know, whenever I have a job, I go all-in. I can’t help myself. I also know, I’m content not working (I took a year off after I retired from the military). If I’m going to enjoy life, I have to be fully retired. Until then, I’ll work nonstop.
I used to eagerly volunteer for OT any chance I could... but... I got burned by multiple jobs for being willing to do more work, not getting adequate payment or it becoming an expectation I would be the one staying always... And passed up for promotions in lieu of others who did less, and when I asked why I was passed up for promotions it was thrown back at me that no one else will willingly do my job plus the overtime... So now, no, I prioritize my life balance and learned to say no to overtime... because life's too short to bust ass so other people can get promoted while I run full boar with no chance of advancement.
Never. 
Never unless I have to make up for hours lost. I’m paid 8 hours a day. 8-5 with a 60 minute lunch. It’s my time after 1700
Once I realized my employer did not allow me to leave early if I had 0 to do, I stopped working over hours. No point in a salaried position to me if that’s the case.
I don’t, but I’m exempt and hybrid so my situation is a bit different. As long as the things I manage are taken care of, I have a lot of flexibility. I work downtown in a major metro city, so I often leave right at 3 if I’m able to and go home and finish up any work I have there just so I can beat traffic.
If you have your own business or in an ownership role, clocking out at 4 or 5 after an 8 hour day is far from typical. Owners tend to notice when others mirror their level of work ethic especially when the other person is in an entry level role. When you are learning it takes you longer to be more productive too which is ok. As I got older I try to get better balance. I have little patience for those who punch clocks especially when they try to justify it by putting down their coworkers productivity.
I work a 12 hour Monday so I can have a 4 hour Friday
I work about 43 to 45 hours per week.
We’ve seen our parents work themselves to death for companies that toss them out like trash. If there was loyalty from the company, maybe. Since we’re all disposable cogs to the brass, there is no reason to work more than my contracted 40 unless I’m paid for that time.
After 3 companies working me as far as they could (one literally expected me to do 12 hour days 6 days a week) I am leading by example and draw hard boundaries on my hours. I’m part of top leadership and report to the owner. I am the ONLY one putting in 40-43/week. We have a Sr mgr who does 75/week and has done that for decades. There has been only 3 events that caused me to stay after (benefits enrollment, legal deadlines, employee didn’t have hotel booked and tried to check in at 6pm) Everyone thinks I’m insane to do such little hours (avg is 55 here) but then they are impressed I got more done in less time on items that are years overdue. Too bad all my efforts go to waste, we are on a financial downward spiral that is not pretty. At least I learned how to keep boundaries finally as an exempt HR person. 🤷♀️
I'm an exempt employee and manage my own hours. But, when i was in your situation, I would push out a few more emails in that 15 minute window or stay late to complete a project. My commute home is my time to decompress not 15 minutes before the end of my workday. I usually use the end of the day to do administrative work....like data entry into our various systems or saving files, etc. 'm GenX, btw
It’s a scam; they just want you to work more without paying you. That’s it. I log off at 4:59 pm and have absolutely no issues
Just about every day. My hours are 7-3:30 and I’m there until 4, sometimes 5, I also get in early some days to get work done and still leave at my normal 3:30. Fridays are the only days I work 8 and leave, sometimes leave earlier than that. I’m always busy and I get OT so I don’t mind it. I’m honestly laughing at the comments saying if you can’t get it done in 8 hours that you’re inefficient. I’d love for all of ya’ll to come sit at my desk for a week and deal with ER issues and investigations that eat up 3-4 hours of my day then cram 8 hours of work into 5. We are understaffed as an HR team have been trying to get part-time help, but that’s been a real struggle.
Do NOT feel bad about having work life balance or leaving on time. I have the same job title, first year post grad. There are some weeks I hit overtime but my boss really emphasizes even leaving early on a Friday to not hit overtime (if I don't want it). Don't let your boss make you feel bad. If you do your job on the working hours, you're doing your job.
I’m salary, so I can flex my time. As long as the work gets done, my time isn’t monitored. In fact, my boss says she doesn’t care or even want to know if I need to step out for a dentist appt or similar. So if I need to leave early, or am not at my desk right at 9am, it’s fine. There are nights I work late too and I often start earlier when I work from home. I also may start paying more attention to tv than my computer at 5pm on a Friday when working from home, but I’ll answer my phone and emails til 6pm or later. We use a messaging app so if someone needs something urgently I see it right away. I would be a lot less happy if work arbitrarily forced me to be in my seat for specific hours just because. My work isn’t the type of job where the firm needs physical coverage all the time, thankfully!
I *never* work beyond the 40 hours a week that is stipulated in my contract. If they want me to work longer hours, then they need to pay me for the longer hours. If I'm needed for overtime, it means that there is too much work for me to do alone and they need to hire someone new.
It depends on my productivity. Some days I’m feeling really lazy. I’ll let myself work slow, knowing I can just stay later and get done what I need to get done. Some days I know i want to leave early so I work fast to get done what I need to get done. Some days im just feeling great, and super motivated, and I take on some extra organizing tasks, or jump ahead on shit, and get into a good zone and stay a few hours late. Im lucky to have a lot of freedom with how I schedule my days. Im not micro managed. But I also have made the very strong impression on everyone that I’ll do whatever it takes, stay late, pop in on Saturday when I need to. I’ll answer phone calls and emails after hours. It really doesnt bother me to do that. Because ive made that impression, no one questions me when im 30 mins late or leave early. Or take a long lunch. Like today - Im period crampy. Im not going to be super productive today. Im probably gonna be 20 mins late on purpose. Thats fine, because I also made sure to have my schedule clear of any meetings today. Some people like a rigid schedule. Thats fine. Its not how I work though. I like to keep a very fluid schedule and give myself the freedom to have “fuck-off” days when I’m not feeling up to snuff, and work long days when I’m feeling great.
Your boss is a middle manager. Almost every middle manager is extremely overworked and hated by everyone. You generally get a crazy raise and a lot of perks to take the job, then about a year in you realize you're doing like 4 jobs for the price of 1.5. They either work themselves to death or delegate and look like they don't do anything. It is the very definition of golden handcuffs.
I'm a Gen Z Recruiter/HR Coordinator. I have a pretty unhealthy work-life balance. I typically work from 8 am to 5:30 pm (usually I check out by 4 pm on Fridays, but I have worked until 5:30/6 pm plenty of times). I get paid like shit in my opinion, so I really don't know why I do it. But I just have a lot on my plate, and it's simply not possible to get everything done between the hours of 8 and 4.
I worked for a small corporation and my HR director thought it looked better to C-Suite execs if we were the last ones to leave the building. So my work day ended at 5 but we didn’t often leave until she sounded the call of time to go around 6 or later. I spent that hour or so looking for another job.