Rigid Work Schedule 1

[Lion06]

I wanted to get a quick poll from users. I currently work for a large Structural Engineering Firm that affords me the opportunity to work on many interesting jobs and be exposed to all aspects of structural engineering. I love everything about my job except for the work hours.
Our office hours are 8:30 - 5:30 and other than coming in at 8 and leaving at 5, there isn't much flexibility in the hours. I can, of course, leave if I have something to take care of at home, but I would love to come in at 7-7:30 and leave at 4:30. Other places I have worked have had much more flexibility in the schedule. At my last place of employment, I routinely went in at 6:30 and left aroun 4.
There are several factors that contribute to my wanting different hours, not the least of which is my commute. If I could work earlier, I would shave about 15-20 off of my drive each way.
What is the norm out there as far as work hours go and flexibility?

 

[Senselessticker]

My first job was very flexable. So long as I was generally in the office (or out in the field), between the hours of 9am and 3pm (M-F and assuming I didn't miss any 8am meetings.... then any way I choose the work my 40 was acceptable to my boss. I generally worked 9 or 10 hour days early in the week and took off early on Friday (usually around 2)

Now my schedule is very strict 4-10's (7:00 to 5:30). I'm not sure which work schedule is better. I don't like the schedule being so rigid now....but I really enjoy have every Fri off!!!

 

[kchayfie]

We are supposed to start at 8:45, break at 12:30 for lunch, come back at 1:15 and finish at 4:45. If you're on the stairs at quarter to 4 you fear for your life in the stampede. The number of cars in the car park come half 5 can be counted on one hand (from an office employing about 300). If you call the switchboard over lunchtime, you won't be put through to whoever you are trying to call (although you can ask for a direct dial number and call back!)

Flex time is usually brought up once every couple of years and the directors blame the parent company for not allowing it. Remote offices around the company seem to get away with it though.

I work on the theory that I am a professional and I'll get all the work done that is asked of me (including arriving at 7am to travel to meetings on site if necessary). So I usually arrive at 9am and leave about 6pm. I get more done in that last 75 minutes than in the whole day up to then. If I am ever pulled up on arriving late I'll join the 4:45 stampede and my work will suffer accordingly.

 

[zcp]

Just make sure you are there the same hours as your boss and your boss's boss. Part of being in the network is the face time. If you are seen "coming in late" or "leaving early", your career will suffer. Take it from the experienced PERCEPTION IS REALITY.

ZCP

http://www.phoenix-engineer.com

 

[Ussuri]

I used to work for a large multi national firm of consulting engineers. The management were often asked about introducing flexitime but they always refused saying it did not suit the company. Our hours were 9.00 to 5.30 (1 hour for lunch). There was a little flexibility at local levels but no policy.

The cynic in me thinks the reason the company never offered it was because of all the 'free' hours of work they got from employees. They claimed that they needed all their engineers in the office at the same time, but other companies managed it.

In reality most staff came in before 9.00 and left after 5.30, but were only paid for the 7.5 hours. The company got the rest for nothing. If they had flexitime the staff would start working out how many additional hours they worked and take them back on Friday so they could leave early. Or maybe I am just delusional.

 

[Lion06]

One other thing I should probably mention is this - another reason I have been a little reluctant to ask about flex time is that the director of engineering lives about 1.25 hours away. He does work from home frequently, but is 1.25 hours away nonetheless.
I appreciate all of your input in this topic. I think I am going to wait until my 1 yr review and bring it up then (provided my 1 yr review goes as well as my 6 month review).

 

[HDS]

http://www.cleanaircampaign.com/

In Atlanta things are so bad there is a government office dedicated to promoting ideas like flex time to reduce traffic. They have a section on their web page about how to get your employer interested.

One thing that fixed hours allow is car pooling. Is there anyone that lives near you? I've worked in the same office as my room mate before and we had to take different cars because the hours were not predictable.

 

[JStephen]

Seems to me that flex time would allow more people to carpool that fixed hours, if they wanted to do it.

Another thing that comes up is lunch- 1 hour is fine for those that like to go eat, but I'd rather eat at my desk and then go home 45 minutes earlier. But that seems not to be an option.

 

[Lion06]

We actually get a catered lunch for free everyday at 12:00

 

[IAAWVU05]

My employer sets hours from 8:00- 5:00 with a one hour lunch. We are allowed to take as short a lunch as we want and leave earlier. Also, the employer allows us to bank up to 4 hours compensatory time on any day over 8 hours. Though we have to work at least 40 hours a week unless we can balance the deficit with previously banked compensatory time. In theory, one is allowed to work 9 hour days and take friday afternoon off, but it's considered faux pas within the establishment.

 

[Theophilus]

From the different perspective of the one-man band:
I normally need to average four billable hours of work per day (M-F) each week. Super flexible. Sounds like a piece of cake, but for what I count as billable is fairly narrow. Plus, I have to do all my own promoting, web management, accounting, etc. on top of the design work (that peripheral stuff really adds up).

Where I previously worked (real job), we were supposed to be on-site by 8:00 am and I often didn't leave until 6:30 - 7:00 pm M-F. No compensation for time beyond 40 hrs/week. Needless to say, I decided I didn't need that crap anymore.



Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reason trumps all. And awe transcends reason.

 

[AggieYank]

I work for a small structural office. The official hours are 8:30 to 5:30. It is strict in general, though you can take off early / come in late for unique situations. I should add that the real hours are more like 8:30 to 6:30.

 

[whyun]

In: before your boss gets in
Out: after your boss leaves

 

[atlas06]

Quit, get another job, and tell them the reaosn for leaving.
PS: Don't look back. Anyone not willing to accommodate his/her employees does not deserve to have those employees.

 

[ajack1]

There are pluses and minuses to flexi time.

Whilst it is true some people get more work done without the constant hassle of a busy office, others view this as time to drink more coffee, surf the net and generally be slack.

It is easy for a company to make a rod for its own back, in the UK at least you have to be seen to not favour an individual, so if you let Fred start early for whatever reason you have to let anyone else that wants to, or else it is discrimination and heaven help you if that becomes racial or sexual.

Security is also an issue, unless the premises are manned (or should that be personed?) 24/7 do you give everyone a key that might possibly be the first in or last out? If you do watch your insurance prices rocket, if you don’t is it really flexitime or just moving your hours? What happens the one morning that the people that normally start early decide to come in at 8.00 and someone is left in the car park for two hours?

Another downside is heating and lighting, if you turn an eight hour day into the office being open twelve watch those bills rise, anyone who has been in the position of “turning the lights off” will know how careful everyone is to ensure all none used items are turned off, yeah right.

Do you deal with companies in different time zones? If so does this affect the amount of time you can actually contact each other? Also for meetings or even personal contact it cuts down the time people are together and depending how flexible a company is you can actually create a situation where 4 key people are never together or only for a few hours a week.

On the plus side you will probably have a happier work force and certain people will be more productive, but there are down sides as well. Each company will view this differently, but it is not necessarily them just being bloody minded.

 

[Theophilus]

Obliquely related--how is time spent while at the office:

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2089590,00.asp?kc=EWNAVEMNL020207EOAD

Plus a link or two regarding my Generation X. ..don't be the solitaire guy.



Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reason trumps all. And awe transcends reason.

 

[Heckler]

In: before your boss gets in
Out: after your boss leaves

Then I would end up working 13 hours a day. That's just crazy thinking

Best Regards,

Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
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o
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(In reference to David Beckham) "He can't kick with his left foot, he can't tackle, he can't head the ball and he doesn't score many goals. Apart from that, he'

 

[noel0589]

my last boss was the worst. he was an unrealistic old school asian workaholic. needless to say, i quit after a year. He said we could work on "flex-time" outside of normal 8am to 5pm. So I came in at 7am but when I tried to leave at 4pm, he says "flex time" doesn't mean I can leave early. It only means i can come in early. that guy was an idiot.

 

[rmw]

My companies office hours are pretty rigidly fixed at 8-5. It is possible to get off to do the occasional Dr's visit, bank stop, etc if not abused. While they have recycling bins for paper, when quizzed about saving the planet by heeding the government's admonition to let all employees who could work from home do so one day a week, they would have no part of it.

My job requires a lot of travel. All who travel know that it can involve brutal hours at times; flights at 6:00 AM means arriving at the airport sometimes as early as 4:00 AM, and flights back sometimes get you in as late as midnight. Most flights to the southern hemisphere are all night flights.

I am about to stipulate to them that if the companies hours are to be rigidly adhered to, then 8-5 is 8-5, and that means no more early or late flights, much less overnight flights.

I am tired of them having it both ways.

rmw

 

[atlas06]

rmw,
I hear you man, in other countries, employees have a travel stipend (a per diem per day in addition to all expenses paid-the cost of taking a man away from his family). In the US, it appears that employers think that employing someone is doing him a favor, and therefore they can ask all they want.
Well, that's how we also have two weeks of vacation, while the rest of modern world has four weeks.

Your 8-5 request will not fly, it will only irritate the boss (and I mean really irritate), I think you should ask for comp time instead, or better yet, extend your stay by a couple of days at the company expense, or ask that your spouse be with you on a trip, fly the night before the meeting (bring fatigue, jet lag, at the meeting as the sole reason), etc..
I've found that employers can be responsive that way. They are somehow willing to compensate in "nature".

Now, if you look at it from the boss's perspective, he is looking at 30 plus guys doing a super bowl pool, and being Monday morning quarterbacks at the water cooler, he adds up 30 guys wasting four hours each on Friday and Monday (240 hours down the drain) just to talk superbowl, and you get his picture on things, so he figures, asking you to travel on your own time is only pay back time.

You may be the good guy paying for the bad guys, stay cool man, don't irritate the boss.

 

[ubrben]

At my current job (motorsport tier 1 supplier), we have two options 7.30 - 3.30 Monday to Friday or 8.30 - 4.45 Monday to Thursday and 8.30 - 3.30 on Friday. Lunch is half an hour 12 - 12.30

My previous company (Military aerospace) was fully flexitime. You had to be in for the core hours of 9.30 - 12.30 and 2.30 - 4.30. Otherwise it was free reign and you could finish at 12.30 on a Friday and have a "flexi day" off per month on top of the 25 days annual holiday plus the other bank holidays that aren't taken out of your holiday allowance. Fitter, happier, more productive....

Oh BTW - that company is making the US presidential helicopter when the current one is decommisioned.

Ben