The Hours We Work

[KSUowls]

So, I was complaining to my wife that I was tired of working until 10 and 11pm every month, and that my friends who are NOT in corporate finance didn't understand my plight.

She too has always been shocked by how late our busy nights regularly are. Then we started wondering, do other people in my role put in these late nights during the busy time each month?

I'm also curious what a late night looks like for other professions. I would also be interested to see what it looks like for other finance people.

So for me, I started today at 9am, and it I am now wrapping up for the day at 11pm. I usually have 2-3 nights like this every single month, and it's been that way for my entire career. Not always until 11, sometimes we finish around 6 or 7 pm, but I have also stayed up until 4am (and then back at it at 7am)

[CM Hooe]

When I was working in indie video games, it was not uncommon to push late into the night and sometimes weekends to get work done.

More often than not, it was my own passion putting me into these situations and not something I was asked to do by my employer; people who get into the video game industry are typically fans of video games who are highly motivated to make video games. Sometimes, though, there was mandated "crunch" where we'd all stay in the office for long periods of time, even sleeping in the office, to try to get stuff done. It's kinda what was necessary at the time, there was not much money available at all for a mobile video game startup in Richmond VA in the late 00s. Everyone there knew how much work was left remaining on the project and how many weeks of money were remaining before no one got paid, so everyone understood what we all had to do to make it.

Undoubtedly the best manager I ever worked under at a video game company was the one in Los Angeles who would walk up to my desk at 7 PM and tell me in no uncertain terms that I needed to go the **** home lmao.

These days? I'm no longer in games, instead I'm working a strict 40 hours a week for a large international software company which promotes and prioritizes work-life balance of its workers. It took me a long time to admit to myself that I don't have the time, energy, or patience to grind at the expense of the rest of my life away from work anymore, but my mental health has improved dramatically since I put my pride and ego in check and reached that conclusion.

[Ghost Of The Year]

I worked 55-60 hours a week from around 2011 to 2022 but I haven't been over 45 hours the last two years and I hope I never have to go back to massive OT ever again. It was fine when I was young but now I need the time away more than the money. All that OT was what used to make me a SOB to be around but now I dare say I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and doggone it, people like me. I never would have said that 5 years ago. The one thing it took me too long to learn, noone on their deathbed looks back with regret, thinking "I wish I would have spent more time at work." I realize sometimes it can't be avoided but you really can't put a price on your sanity.

[JHamilton9]

Working around college athletic schedules, I've noticed how my work schedule has shifted due to the expansion of cable networks and streaming services. Early in my career, working evenings outside of basketball season was rare. If my school wasn't on tv, the start times would always be in the afternoon.

Now, if our game isn't selected by a network to air during the day, we will always start at night. Football games are the most grueling, with me starting my day 5 hours before kickoff and ending 4-5 hours after the game has ended.

Gatorade is my friend.

The exhausting scenario is when I have an evening soccer game, followed by a 12 pm football kickoff the next day. That involves me doing the soccer game, then sleeping on campus or in my car, showering at the gym, and then doing the football game.

I still enjoy the mental aspects and interactions involved with the work, but over the last year, my body has been getting more aches and pains and needing longer recovery times.

[Gotmadskillzson]

At one point I use to be over this distribution center as one of the managers. My hours were 8pm to 10am 4 days a week every week. Did that for about a year, that was a no for me. I was on my feet the entire time walking on very hard concrete floors. Was getting between 35K to 45K steps a night.

[LowerWolf]

My first newspaper job, I was a one-man sports department. Friday nights in the fall were fun; I typically started at 11 a.m. and didn't finish until about 6 a.m. on Saturday. It was a small town and I didn't want to live there, so I also had a one-hour commute. Good times. I did get Mondays off though.

One time, had a scholarship signing at 8 a.m. on a Friday. Had to travel for my game that night, so I was on the clock for a straight 24-hour shift. Ate dinner during halftime of the game I was covering. HR bitched about me for that. "Even if you're still working, you need to clock out for an hour." Or, I don't know, maybe I shouldn't have been working 24 hours straight?

We also only got three holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year's Day - there. If Christmas and NYD fell on a weekend, it was tough luck. And we worked a double shift the day before Thanksgiving due to all the Black Friday ads. Again, good times.

Later newspaper jobs were better. Go in about 4 p.m. and work until 2 a.m. Had to work holidays a lot, "weekends" were like a Tuesday/Wednesday and you could forget about taking time off during football season. But hey, at least the pay sucked too.

I don't love corporate life, but it's pretty typically a M-F, 8-5 gig. Taking time off is no problem. Had a project drop out of the sky and had to work until 7 one night last week. That doesn't seem too bad.

It's always funny to me that I don't work near as hard as I did in my newspaper days, but get treated a lot better and get paid a whole lot better.

[slickdtc]

Quote: Originally Posted by LowerWolf

It's always funny to me that I don't work near as hard as I did in my newspaper days, but get treated a lot better and get paid a whole lot better.

This is the realization everyone should eventually have. And I do think it’s important to “pay your dues.” For me, that meant logging weird hours and getting paid poorly in service jobs after I graduated HS and into my early 20s. I used the skills I picked up there, combined with my own intelligence and common sense, to jump on new opportunities that provided yet more skills and experiences to continue building myself up. Eventually, the things I had done were enough to reach positions where I didn’t have to punch a clock, log mass OT, or work late in to the night.

Working late, OT, etc is a young man’s game. Let the fresh faces put in their time to eventually get to the place where people who are 10+ years in to their careers.

I’ve found myself in pretty good situations through a combination of luck, determination and smarts. But I don’t forget those days slingin’ pies into the wee hours. I just knew I didn’t want to do that forever or break my body down pushing and lifting heavy objects. I had more to give and someone was going to find me as the “diamond in the rough.”

Every now and then, I’ll have to log on after hours and I do check my emails on my phone, but it’s usually out of personal responsibility than being forced to. I am in the most stressful position I’ve ever been in, but I’ve assessed it to be worth the money, time & benefits. Everyone should evaluate their situation and decide if it’s how they want to continue on or if it’s a time for change. I wouldn’t want to change my schedule up now for anything.

[superjames1992]

I used to have a job where I’d work until at least 10 a few times a month, to midnight at least once a month and every few months I’d work even later (my record was 3 am). That was one of the impetuses for taking the job I have now, though.

Hours were around 50 hours a week or so on average (though some week a lot more), which doesn’t sound that bad, but it was highly irregular and unpredictable. I almost couldn’t plan to do anything on weeknights since I never really knew how late I’d be working day to day.