Attitude to working hours

[MyUserName]

One of the banks I worked at enforced a 30 minute break each day, it was not a big deal. It was just a part of their H&S culture.

[tarbera]

perhaps just me

New to contracting. One thing I notice is that working hours rarely get discussed in interview. To be honest, not sure if I should in case it puts client off.

Got chance of a few contracts but one is in the city centre. Also, got young kids at home, so it'd be nice to be home before they're in bed. Traffic/parking is really bad in the city, so if I was forced to do 9-5 it'd be a nightmare and I'd end up stuck in traffic and getting home late.

So, assuming I'd rather work 8am start what to do? Discuss with client before taking the gig? Just turn up and after a few days do this and hope no-one says anything? Turn up and then discuss with client?

I guess some of you would say that client cant 'control' you (IR35 etc) and you should be able to come and go as you please (within reason).

In the few contracts I've had, its been ok. No-one really notices. Maybe its just me being a bit paranoid that if I do 8-4 then someone will moan.

If you did 8-4 or 9-5 working for me you would not be renewed, thats permie hours not prof working day

But if you came in at 11am on Monday and left at 3pm on Friday (as travelling home) and had put in the hours during the week, I would have no issues

[d000hg]

Don't worry about working hours - that's permies concern. Rock up when it suits you. So long as you deliver nobody will moan.

Maybe it should be that way but it will depend on the client and in particular the people you work with/under. Some companies just have a certain way of doing things and ruffling feathers by doing things the permies don't/can't isn't wise. Not all companies offer flexibility in the working day.

I would say when you are having a face to face interview, ask casually what their typical office hours are and if there are core hours they prefer everyone to be in. But don't make a big deal, just take note of what they say and come back to it after you get an offer.

[psychocandy]

If you did 8-4 or 9-5 working for me you would not be renewed, thats permie hours not prof working day

But if you came in at 11am on Monday and left at 3pm on Friday (as travelling home) and had put in the hours during the week, I would have no issues

Load of bollacks.... PWD is what is needed to get the job done.

If I prefer to work 8-4 'usually' then what the problem with that? Doesn't mean I won't be flexible and doesnt mean I won't work 12-14 hours occasionally if the situation demands.

If you want someone to work 10-11 hour days regularly just because you want your money worth then sorry, find some other mug.

[GillsMan]

If you did 8-4 or 9-5 working for me you would not be renewed, thats permie hours not prof working day

But if you came in at 11am on Monday and left at 3pm on Friday (as travelling home) and had put in the hours during the week, I would have no issues

If I was working for someone like that, I'd reject any renewal anyway. What difference does it make if someone does 8-4, 9-5, 10-3, 8-7 or whatever? Is. The. Work. Getting. Done. That should be the only concern.

If I manage to meet all deliverables by working a consistent 8-4 pattern, you wouldn't renew me because of the hours I kept? Hahaha, you're hilarious!

Edit - Yeah, what Psychocandy says basically.

[infosec]

If I was working for someone like that, I'd reject any renewal anyway. What difference does it make if someone does 8-4, 9-5, 10-3, 8-7 or whatever? Is. The. Work. Getting. Done. That should be the only concern.

If I manage to meet all deliverables by working a consistent 8-4 pattern, you wouldn't renew me because of the hours I kept? Hahaha, you're hilarious!

Edit - Yeah, what Psychocandy says basically.

Problem is often the 'share the pain' attitude of the permies around who resent the supposed freedoms of the overpaid consultants ;-p

[SpontaneousOrder]

If you did 8-4 or 9-5 working for me you would not be renewed, thats permie hours not prof working day

But if you came in at 11am on Monday and left at 3pm on Friday (as travelling home) and had put in the hours during the week, I would have no issues

I wouldn't work for you. My PWD is based on deliverables; i couldn't care less about hours and I couldn't care less about a client who looked at hours sat in a seat over deliverables.

[psychocandy]

If I was working for someone like that, I'd reject any renewal anyway. What difference does it make if someone does 8-4, 9-5, 10-3, 8-7 or whatever? Is. The. Work. Getting. Done. That should be the only concern.

If I manage to meet all deliverables by working a consistent 8-4 pattern, you wouldn't renew me because of the hours I kept? Hahaha, you're hilarious!

Edit - Yeah, what Psychocandy says basically.

Of course, working noticably less hours than a normal day can cause its own problems. Even if you get it all done in half a day, swanning off IMHO then just upsets the permies which is never good either.

But dont get me started on how no-one notices if your in early but everyone notices if you leave early. Sometimes I think it looks better if you're in late and then stay late.

[GillsMan]

Agree with everyone who says about how some permies can resent working fewer hours, and PC is bang on about perceptions of people who work Early-Early, vs Late-Late.

The way I deal with it is by being very generous with my time for the permies. So I'm often helping, guiding, assisting, reviewing, and generally making their lives easier as much as I can. I generally have enough capacity that on the increasingly rare occasions I'm on client site, I can sit with permies to help them out. Thus, I have their trust and they rarely question what hours I keep.

I'm sure there are down-sides to this approach and it doesn't work for all clients, but generally I find it works for me. It's not even about sucking up to the permies. It's about spreading my consultative advice, so the client can see my influence spreading through the company, and is a large reason, I think, as to why I get many renewals.

[kingcook]

New to contracting. One thing I notice is that working hours rarely get discussed in interview. To be honest, not sure if I should in case it puts client off.

Got chance of a few contracts but one is in the city centre. Also, got young kids at home, so it'd be nice to be home before they're in bed. Traffic/parking is really bad in the city, so if I was forced to do 9-5 it'd be a nightmare and I'd end up stuck in traffic and getting home late.

So, assuming I'd rather work 8am start what to do? Discuss with client before taking the gig? Just turn up and after a few days do this and hope no-one says anything? Turn up and then discuss with client?

I guess some of you would say that client cant 'control' you (IR35 etc) and you should be able to come and go as you please (within reason).

In the few contracts I've had, its been ok. No-one really notices. Maybe its just me being a bit paranoid that if I do 8-4 then someone will moan.

I always tell (not ask) about my working hours/arrangements at interview. They're always ok with it.

If anyone did have a problem (for no good reason), well, they just failed their interview with me.

Interviews are a 2 way process. Don't just turn up and bend over the table.