Reply to: Should you do long hours just because the company's employees do long hours?

[PerfectStorm]

Made a right impression by my last hiring manager - in an office full of presentees, I'd leave at 4:40PM every day to get the 5PM train.

I was coming in at 8:30 so I said I wasn't leaving early, if anything it was 10 minutes additional work I was giving them every day!

He was flabbergasted.

[edison]

I worked on one contract pretty much doing from 7am to 10pm(Covered APAC/EMEA and the company was based in the US) and weekends on a massive program of work and delivered and then got screwed over because of politics and didn't get the hours back for weekends because I was committed to delivering the project. And I feel like a fool for doing it.
Never again.

Why did you assume you would be getting any hours 'back'? What was written in your contract in terms of working hours? Did it say that weekends would also be billable? It's usually a bland statement about 'a professional working day'...

It's surely one of the first things you would check in a contract - what work/time is billable to the client?

if you didn't then I think you were being rather naive.

[WTFH]

I can do 8 if 3 of them are in the pub talking about work

Are the other 5 in the pub NOT talking about work?

[GhostofTarbera]

8 hours? Screw that - 8 is an exception when things are super busy.

I can do 8 if 3 of them are in the pub talking about work


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[Old Greg]

No. I find refusing to do this from the off, and cheerily explaining why, nips it in the bud (all the way up to renewal, or not!)

Lives are made miserable by over-dedication to work. We do have lives as well.

You'll note that if the client makes you fill in timesheets (blah blah permies blah IR35) then they'll often tell you its an 8 hour day on there. Well, what's good for the timesheet goose...

8 hours? Screw that - 8 is an exception when things are super busy.

[Surrey Contractor]

I worked on one contract pretty much doing from 7am to 10pm(Covered APAC/EMEA and the company was based in the US) and weekends on a massive program of work and delivered and then got screwed over because of politics and didn't get the hours back for weekends because I was committed to delivering the project. And I feel like a fool for doing it.
Never again.

[BolshieBastard]

Funny old world, contracting. When I worked away from home, I never had any issues regarding time and hours. Some of it was pre IR35 so there was never this nonesense anyway.

I only ever managed to bag one contract close to home which was in fact only an 8 mile journey. The 2 Project Managers I worked with were great, one a contractor, one a permie but had been a contractor.

But, the senior PM who was a permie, his first word's on meeting me were 'Oh good, a local contractor who can work long hours!' I just smiled and said I always work professionally.

I never did work 'long' hours and they extended me twice to project delivery.

[PerfectStorm]

No. I find refusing to do this from the off, and cheerily explaining why, nips it in the bud (all the way up to renewal, or not!)

Lives are made miserable by over-dedication to work. We do have lives as well.

You'll note that if the client makes you fill in timesheets (blah blah permies blah IR35) then they'll often tell you its an 8 hour day on there. Well, what's good for the timesheet goose...

[boxingbantz]

Hi,

Recently I have seen some varying work cultures through consulting.

With a previous client in the countryside the work was quite flexible as long as you did your 37.5hrs a week. I know this doesn't apply as a contractor.

In the current project the client is Spanish, the team I work with usually start at 9am and work until 7.30pm. Lunch is usually at 2-3pm.

The company is based in the UK and the UK workers tend to leave by around 5.30pm but it's a interesting mix.

So should you do long hours just because the company's immediate employees do long hours? Or stick to your standard schedule as a contractor?

An issue also is they have no idea how to manage tasks and time it takes to complete it.

These people who do these long hours also live closer to the office i.e. 5mins from the hotel, or 20min bus ride away whereas as a contractor you might have 45-90min commute every day.

Thoughts?

You work at Telefonica don't you.

[dx4100]

EDIT -just realised how old this thread is... moving on...

[WTFH]

Out of interest, did you forget your “HealthyProtein” account password?

[WTFH]

Would you work from 9am until 7.30pm every day just because permies do?

No.

But I’d INVOICE from 9am to 8pm if I was on an hourly, had the opportunity, and it suited me.

[NotAllThere]

Would you work from 9am until 7.30pm every day just because permies do?

Seriously? You reply to responses to a thread that you started over a year ago? Let it go...

[Amanensia]

Would you work from 9am until 7.30pm every day just because permies do?

Not just to keep the seat warm, but in general I will do what is necessary to get the job done. I really don't understand the clockwatching attitude some people have. I mean, sure, if you have a train to catch, or fixed family commitments or whatever, that's fine. But the argument I hear here quite often about "protecting your rate" and so on I really just roll my eyes at.

[ChrisHadfield]

Would you work from 9am until 7.30pm every day just because permies do?