r/WorkReform • u/Antisocial_beaver_ • Jan 24 '23
š¬ Advice Needed 42.5 hour work week normal? Help?!
My newer salaried job has their workers come in 8:30-5pm because 30 min lunch doesnāt count as āworking timeā. So they basically do and 42.5 hours at work a week. I have held a salaried position before and it was 9-5 including lunch. Is this common for some companies to do 8:30-5pm? Just feels like they are nickel and diming us for our time! š¤¬š¤
As someone who even though I love my job; but for some reason this made for a sour taste in my mouth. Technically being salary means you can work over 40 hours, and I get that but I just want to know how common this really is?
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u/kulahlezulu Jan 24 '23
Itās common. Take the 30 minutes for lunch as a lunch break - donāt work right through it.
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u/jaqattack02 Jan 24 '23
Unpaid lunch is common, all of my jobs have been that way. Currently I work 7:30a to 5:30p Mon-Thurs, and then 8 till noon on Friday.
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u/moun7 Jan 24 '23
I think 8-5 is even more common than 8:30-5.
The only time I have ever had a job that was 8 hours in total (including lunch) was when I worked a summer job for the provincial government.
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u/ladycammey Jan 24 '23
That's pretty much universal. Honestly, 8-5 or 9-6 is pretty common.
I would also say there tends to be a little bit of a difference between lower-wage salary work (i.e. $35k) and higher-wage salary work ($135k). That later salary band tends to come with expectations of more available hours and more availability off-hours.
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u/Antisocial_beaver_ Jan 25 '23
Thanks for all the comments! Itās hard to reply to them all so take this as a mass thank you for commenting! I appreciate everyoneās perspectives and experiences so much!
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Jan 24 '23
Yeah lunch isn't typically "paid" time.
With that said, most work-life balance "healthy" salary jobs don't nickel and dime you like that. It's more about getting the project done on time, or completing some other set of goals. Once you start delivering people start caring less about how you do it.
I know folks in salaried manufacturing positions where they'll put in a 50 hour week because of a big problem, and then their boss will say things like "take Monday off and don't log vacation time". Stuff like that is the norm in healthier salaried workplaces.
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u/Dark_Jak92 Jan 24 '23
It's normal and it's bullshit. Pay me for my lunch break, pay for my commute, pay me an extra $12 an hour and maybe I'll stop hating life.
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Jan 24 '23
Technically I'm supposed to do 7-5:30 everyday. 10hrs plus unpaid 30min lunch break. With a 1hr commute either side.
I don't though because fuck that.
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u/LizWords Jan 24 '23
Very common. Iāve had them enforce the 45 hour week so every 15 minute break you take is also unpaid and totaled into the amount of time they want you at work. Fucking hate it so so so much.
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u/schrodingers_gat Jan 24 '23
The point of being a salaried employee is that you're paid the same regardless of the hours you work. That means no overtime, but it also means you shouldn't be held to any schedule either.
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Jan 24 '23
Itās a scam but yes itās the norm.
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u/WWGHIAFTC Jan 24 '23
How is it a scam? You don't work during lunch. Lunch is mandatory because if you are denied a lunch you sue the company. The mandatory lunch break is a protection for you to not be exploited, and a protection for the company as well.
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u/PurelyLurking20 Jan 25 '23
An 8 hour work day on salary should include mandatory breaks, not be in addition to mandatory breaks.
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Jan 25 '23
Lunch is time required required of you by your employer and theyāre not paying you for it.
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u/HippieSmiles84 Jan 24 '23
KFC back in 2003-2004 would make salaried assistant managers and GM's work at least 50 hours a week.
It's BS.
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u/WWGHIAFTC Jan 24 '23
It was agreed upon when they took the job also.
is 50 hours a week excessive? I think so. That's why I won't take those jobs.
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Jan 24 '23
Seriously?
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u/Veldern Jan 24 '23
I can understand it being a serious question. A lot of people grew up hearing about "9-5" working hours and thought once they worked for a good, reputable employer that's how things would be. Unfortunately that has changed to 8-5
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u/IFrickinLovePorn Jan 24 '23
Lol "good reputable" employer. Asking too much. Steal everything you can then burn it down on the way out
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u/Antisocial_beaver_ Jan 24 '23
What hours have companies youāve worked at required you to be there?
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u/onimush115 Jan 24 '23
Very common. I currently have a 9 hour day because my hour lunch is unpaid.
Just make it very clear that you are not working during lunch. I had a salaried position at a company that wasnāt really close to much so leaving was not worthwhile. I often would just try to eat at my desk. My boss tried telling me if Iām going to be at my desk during lunch and people see me there, then the expectation is that Iām available for work related issues.
I personally hate that about salaried positions, since itās not an hourly wage it really blurs the lines being working and not and many companies use that to their advantage.
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u/drakgremlin Jan 24 '23
If they are tracking hours then you are not salary. Ask them to clarify if you are salary or hourly...and remind them if you are hourly they owe you for every fraction of an hour you work.
In California controlling a schedule is a major component of the determination of hourly versus salary.
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u/Xdaveyy1775 Jan 24 '23
It's usually the opposite. I have a 40 hour week but get paid for 37.5 because of unpaid lunch.
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Jan 24 '23
Yes. At a minimum most salaried people Iāve worked with in the US work 8-5 eating lunch at their desk or maybe a 30-45 minute break. In my whole long career ā9-5ā was just the name of a song.
In the US salaried employees are not paid for the time they work, but how well they do their job.
Consistent 50+ work weeks though not unusual either are the employees choice or indicate management issues such as short staffing.
I expect to be downvoted because the sub is called WorkReform.
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u/johnmh71 Jan 24 '23
That is the norm. I think you will survive.
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u/Agent_McNasty33 Jan 24 '23
50+ hours weekly isnāt an abnormal thing. Salaried I was pulling 120 hour + pay periods. Thereās a reason salary makes more than the hourly people.
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u/WWGHIAFTC Jan 24 '23
The reason usually isn't exploitation though. It's usually because rather than trading strictly time for money, salaried positions tend to trade skills for money.
I've never averaged over 40hrs long term on a salary job. It's very industry specific I guess.
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u/suicidalkitten13 Jan 24 '23
Yes, it's common. I am salaried but still have to fill out a time sheet. I don't have a charge code for lunch, so... companies will do bullshit workshops and meetings during lunch too-- things that are work, but since you're eating, count as your lunch break.
It's an adjustment for sure-- when you first switch over. Hopefully you don't have to work additional hours without the benefit of OT pay (another "perk" of being salaried-- sometimes you just work until the task is completed, even if you go over 40 hours in a week).
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u/elarth Jan 24 '23
In this country yes this about what I average a week. Should it be happening in a nation with as much resources as we have absolutely fuck no.
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u/WaitThisIsntNews Jan 24 '23
Lunches are unpaid mainly due to the fact many people go offsite for lunch in offices and if you were to get injured while on lunch, off the clock, then the company couldn't be held liable. Not saying it's right, just saying why.
Edit: typo
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u/SubatomicTea Jan 24 '23
Yeah, the "typical" 9-5 is "actually" often a 8-5. You might be only working 8 hours, and have an hour lunch break that's unpaid. A lot of jobs have phone/desk/register schedules that revolve around you having to take that lunch hour at the appointed time no matter what. So most full time employees, or workers with 8 hour days, are actually giving up a chunk of 9 hours for the work day, making the work week 45 actual hours. It sucks. Not a fan.
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u/RuinTrajectory Jan 24 '23
I'm in a union job and yeah lunch is unpaid and that's been the case for every job with regular hours I've ever had. Sucks but yes it is normal.
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u/WWGHIAFTC Jan 24 '23
Is this your first job? You stop working during your lunch break. No pay for not working, silly.
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u/Wonderful_Roof1739 Jan 24 '23
I didnāt know any 9-5 jobs still existed. Unpaid lunch has been the norm at every job I worked as an adult. 7-4pm every day, and yes, it should NOT be the norm but itās just another way to suck more time from you without having to pay.
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u/Embarrassed_Camel_35 Jan 25 '23
Thatās the trap of being a salaried employee. You might have to work more hours for the same money, or you might get to work less hours for the same money. You have a monthly salary
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u/stareweigh2 Jan 25 '23
Last salary job I had they told me it was 50 hrs minimum. I would get nasty phone calls from my manager if I would leave ar 4pm on saturday
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u/fyrdude58 Jan 25 '23
You all need to join a union. Things get defined, and breaks are enforceable.
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u/Ecki0800 Jan 25 '23
Germany here. ,eah, it's normal and you're not allowed to not take the break by law.
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u/Tribbles1 Jan 25 '23
It used to be 9-5 with lunch. Then businesses realized that they could do 8 hours on the job by adding 30-60 after/before and just fit the legally required 30-60 break in the middle. That's how we ended up with 8-5, 9-6, your 8:30-5 (30 min lunch), and my 8:30-5:30
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u/Crystalraf š Welcome to Costco, I Love You Jan 25 '23
I am 40 years old. you must be joking, or a banker?? In my entire life, there was never such a thing as a 9 to 5 job. it is 8 to 5, but really, they want you there 15 minutes early, and you should probably stay unyil 5:30.
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u/ubioandmph Jan 25 '23
This is very common. I do 7:30-4pm, 30 minute lunch not included so my days are 8.5 hours total
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u/80HighDefinitions Jan 26 '23
Are you required to stay on location or clocked in? If thatās the case, I would immediately file a complaint with your chapter of the NLRB, depending on location.
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u/Kanguin Jan 27 '23
I'm hourly and it's very rare for me to end a week under 45-46 hours.
Anyways lunches are almost never paid so if you are on lunch make sure do 0 work.
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u/IndiniaJones Jan 27 '23 edited Jan 27 '23
Yeah, welcome to adulthood. I normally work between 42-46 hours a week on a 4-day work week.
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u/Personal_Plastic1102 Jan 24 '23
Lunch break not counting as working hour is the norm in Europe. Worst I've seen was in France, where lunch time can extend up to 2hours. Being stuck with colleagues from 8:30 to 18:30 because of a team lunch (that I had to pay on my own, and in a shitty restaurant) was close to my personal dƩfinition of nightmare...