How many hours do you work, per week? A Labor Day Scientific Poll

Quicksearch

Blog Administration

Open login screen

RSS Readers

Monday, September 1. 2014

How many hours do you work, per week? A Labor Day Scientific Poll

Some people (especially Leftists) bemoan how hard Americans work. Boo hoo.

They say Europeans have more leisure time. How's that working out for them? More time to drink in cafes? More time to wear thongs on the beach in Ibiza?

I always relate to farmers, other entrepreneurs, and self-employed people. We are on the job constantly, partly out of ambition, partly for survival, partly out of interest.

I am essentially self-employed, but of counsel for a law firm. I work around 55 hours/week, but only bill around 40. I'm not greedy. When I sit by the stream with a cigar and a scotch, I often think about knotty cases. It's fun.

How many hours do you work at remunerative work? If it's less than 50, you ain't really working.

Posted by The Barrister in Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 12:01 | Comments (18) | Trackbacks (0)

Trackbacks

Trackback specific URI for this entry

No Trackbacks

Comments

Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)

A retired guy told me that after he retired he was so busy that he wondered how he had ever had time to go to his previous job. Its true for me too. I am building a barn and clearing brush, maintaining a gravel driveway, planting bushes, flowers and trees, bush hogging while restoring antique tractors and cars, repairing my backhoe, on and on, the list contains a lot more than 55 hours a week.

#1 bgarrett on 2014-09-01 12:07 (Reply)

I do around 50-55. Plus lots of my own yard, garden, and farm work. Some of it just has to be hired out.

#1.1 BD on 2014-09-01 12:16 (Reply)

There's an old-but-true basic principle: "Work expands (automatically) to fill the time that is available within which to do it."

A real "workin' man" seldom actually counts the hours, simply works from "cain't see ta cain't see", unless - on rare occasion - he takes an actual "day off"...and actually manages to do no work (through, mostly, deliberate effort) for most or (rarely) all day.

When, on occasion, I receive overtime wages (paid at time-and-a-half over 40 per week), I bill whatever is permitted,,,and have been known to do 75 - 80 'compensated" hours per week. Unless required to punch a timecard, however, I simply work what's needed to get the job done properly, so I don't really keep close track of weekly total hours.

#2 J.S.Bridges on 2014-09-01 13:15 (Reply)

I am a compulsive volunteer. When I’m not working, I’m working for free. I don’t know how all y’all have so much time on your hands to tend gardens and maintain machines.

Lately though, I've tried to follow the advice of Pope
Francis and take Sunday off. Who uses Catholicism to relieve their guilt?

#3 foxmarks (Link) on 2014-09-01 13:34 (Reply)

People are different. I spent the last 20 years of my law practice in a large Chicago firm, living my life in quarter-hour increments, trying cases and arbitrations and billing 50-55 hours per week (during trials, working sometimes 14-18 hours a day). Barrister, you probably know what I'm talking about. After retiring a few years back, I now split some wood, mow the grass, nap every afternoon, and spend time with the wife and grandsons. I call that doing nothing and enjoying it. I also enjoy Maggiesfarm.

#4 Marshall Hanbury on 2014-09-01 13:48 (Reply)

I am doing nothing and the more I do (it) the more qualified I become. The best part is I am not nearly finished.....

Some work intercedes to the tune of 30 hours a week though.

#5 Dorf on 2014-09-01 14:58 (Reply)

I get paid for breathing so I suppose you could say I am on the J-O-B job 24/7/365(366). I do so enjoy it. I am on board with Dorf except that I have no remunerative intercession. Right now my calendar is open. Tennis, anyone?

#6 tenneseered on 2014-09-01 15:47 (Reply)

At my most recent job, 60-75 hours a week. Prior to that, 75-85 hours a week. Now? I'm retired - and none of it is work.

#7 Old Salt on 2014-09-01 22:05 (Reply)

Until 4 years ago I worked for nearly 15 years at 60-120 hours per week.

Due to going into a higher tax bracket I would have been just as well off by working at about 65 hours....

Had no choice though but to do the work.

A doctors life eh?.......

Ah well.

#8 jones on 2014-09-01 22:40 (Reply)

In my experience, I've found the people that work the most hours are not the ones that talk about how many hours they work. Also, many who brag about how many hours they work are kidding themselves. They don't work nearly as many hours as they think they do. Of course some do work a lot (cranking out 40 billable hours a week for example).

#9 EriK on 2014-09-02 05:36 (Reply)

I had an attorney who once told me, "you're lucky I don't charge you for the time I think about your case while I drive home in the evening."

#10 Steve on 2014-09-02 07:45 (Reply)

Bill's theory: Putting in time per se is not work. When changing a state of nature adds value (or creates wealth), then work has been done. Amount of work done = amount of value added. Refinements and corrections welcome.

#11 BillH on 2014-09-02 10:12 (Reply)

Since I am required to account for my working time (both billable and non-billable) I have a pretty good idea of how much I work: an average of 50+ hours per week with the occasional 65 hour week here or there.

I find that my effectiveness declines rapidly once I surpass about 10 hours in a given day. Since I don't get paid extra even if I exceed my billable target of around 35 hours per week there really is no incentive to work more.

Except that the work just piles up if I don't get it done . . .

#12 Hamlet's Fool on 2014-09-02 20:09 (Reply)

Whether it's paid or unpaid work, to be able to contribute to the wellbeing of your family and community and to create something worthwhile is just plain good use of time.
One of my favorite quotes is from my dad's law partner who said, reflecting on his college years, "the more you do, the more you can do". It's true.
Alfred Adler was a psychologist who taught that work promoted mental health and well being and I really have to agree with him. It's better to be a producer than a consumer. I think as humans we're made for creative work.

#13 LP on 2014-09-02 21:16 (Reply)

bragging about how much you work is foolish and self delusional.
It's just a way to show off, just as the younger generation shows off by having a new iPhone every few months.

There's nothing glorious about dying from a heart attack or stroke at 50 because you were working 20 hours a day (including commute, which is work even if rarely considered as such or paid) and in constant stress that people would consider that not enough and look down on you as a slacker.

Everyone needs time to unwind, relax, gather energy, and for most people getting out of the rat race is the best decision they ever made in their lives.
If I could without losing too much of my income to maintain a comfortable lifestyle I'd cut down on my hours, go work 4 day weeks, but the 25% pay cut that cutting my hours by 20% would cause would mean I can no longer pay my mortgage...
And THAT's the real reason most people work the hours they do, they can't afford to work anything less. But to hide that fact from their neighbours and friends, even from themselves, they brag about how much they like working and how everyone should work themselves to death because it's demanded by God or whatever.

#14 J.T. Wenting on 2014-09-03 00:23 (Reply)

"Whether it's paid or unpaid work, to be able to contribute to the wellbeing of your family and community and to create something worthwhile is just plain good use of time."

I agree with that

#15 Bird Dog on 2014-09-03 10:31 (Reply)

I work about 30 - 32 hours a week, but then I am 68 and semi-retired. I think I would get bored if I fully retired.

#16 Mike on 2014-09-03 15:45 (Reply)

How many hours do you work at remunerative work? If it's less than 50, you ain't really working.

This is just bigotry. I decided long ago that I was interested in less stress and less money.

I used to work for a company whose regular time was 80 hours a week, 6 12's and an 8. I did it for several years. And it wasn't some wimp work, sitting behind a desk; it was construction.

Every once in a while, Maggie strays into a "If you don't do things the way we do things, there's something wrong with you" zone. It's not very attractive.

#17 Randy on 2014-09-16 06:10 (Reply)

Add Comment

Name
Email	(Your e-mail will not show in your comment)
Homepage
In reply to
Comment	By commenting on this site you agree to the site rules listed here. Email addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for email notifications. Quick reference guide: [i] italics [/i], [b] bold [/b], [u] underline [/u], [url] (web address) [/url]. More tips here. Enclosing asterisks marks text as bold (word), underscore are made via _word_. E-Mail addresses will not be displayed and will only be used for E-Mail notifications. To prevent automated Bots from commentspamming, please enter the string you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly. Enter the string from the spam-prevention image above: BBCode format allowed
	Remember Information? Subscribe to this entry

Maggie's Farm

Our Recent Essays Behind the Front Page

Categories

Quicksearch

Links

Blog Administration

RSS Readers

Monday, September 1. 2014

How many hours do you work, per week? A Labor Day Scientific Poll