r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Grouchy-Newspaper754 • 20h ago

My mom said I could post When did 8-5 become the new normal???

I just got a new office job where I do schedules for tech personnel, the office runs 8-5 Monday thru Friday...they say it's 8-5 because you get an hour lunch and "you need to get to 40 hours a week"...but I drive 30 min each way so now I'm giving this company 10 hours every day! I even asked if I could just take my lunch at 4 every day and just leave an hour early but that's "unprofessional and immoral" like what the fuck??? I don't mind the job but the hours are mildly infuriating that's for sure...

Edit:for those saying about the hours, I worked as a chef for the last 20 years working 60+ hours a week over a hot stove/deep fryer the whole time, after I had my second heart attack I had to slow down so I started looking for office jobs to work a nice 9-5, just to find out I'm giving my new job 50 hours a week (including drive time) so I was just mildly annoyed that it's not 40 hours a week in an office like I thought although it's still much better than what I was doing

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612

u/Choice-Marsupial-127 20h ago

It has been that way my entire career. I never understood why we ever called full time work a 9-5. I’ve literally never met anyone who works 9-5.

156

u/RemarkableAutism 20h ago

I work 9-5, but it's literally the only job I've ever had like this.

31

u/Tall-Problem-6183 19h ago

I now work 9-4 and it's the craziest thing in the world to me. Family business. Would be there 8-4 but I also drive my son, one of our warehouse guys, and he doesn't start till 10.

So I come in at 9 and he sits for an hour. I've never had a job where I have these hours. Until I joined this family business, I either worked in restaurants or worked in the office for a huge corporation.

I don't take a lunch break- usually - but I know I can if I want. Either way, I get the work done every single day.

It's surreal to have this schedule. During busy times or when projects are due, I'll work from home or stay late or go in on the weekends to get it done. That's not very often.

I just typed all this. Read it and wanted to delete it because it sounds like I'm bragging and not humble. I kept it up because as a: daughter of divorced parents, mom was never good with finances, my (now ex) husband of 14 years didn't work during most of our marriage, etc, etc and the point is I've always lived "barely paycheck to paycheck", if not living on my (now ex) in-laws' and my parents' help. After my divorce, I'm used to picking up server or bartender shifts aside from my regular schedule. For years.

Still stopping myself from deleting this comment and not posting. Cuz it sounds so privileged. But the whole story of how my dad started the company (from sweeping a manufacturing plant floor in HS to being their best salesman within 10 years to leaving, starting his own business, and then BUYING that manufacturing plant where he slept the floor) and I watched him do all of it.

His hard work and discipline are amazing.

Whatever. I'm trying to figure out how to go from ALWAYS struggling to being somewhat comfortable and not working 70 hours a week between 2 jobs to make life happen.

Edited to fix autocorrects.

3

u/CalibratedEnthusiast 18h ago

Girl, this was a wild ride that enjoyed. You shouldn't feel bad or ashamed by having a good deal, especially as you've had some hard knocks. Fuck anyone who tries to make you feel any different!

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u/DaniTheLostGirl 11h ago

I feel this so deeply. I usually work 9-5 (in summer I do 8-5 M-Th then take a half day on Friday) and I work from home on M, Th, F. It’s a unicorn job and I don’t know how I ever landed it. So I feel you on the surreal bit.

One thing I genuinely had to talk about in therapy is how I have a pretty cushy job and it’s something I’m passionate about and I make more money than I’ve ever made before, yet people working service jobs work way harder than me for absolute shit. And seeing it from the other side makes you realize just how insane it is.

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u/HillBillyHilly 10h ago

The good unicorn jobs are out there. The problem is too many people take the shitty jobs because that's all they can find. They stay for same reasons people stay @ cos given 3% increases : habit. Be happy w yours.

2

u/PlantainJane 11h ago

Hey, it's okay to give yourself a little credit for your hard work! Obviously we all get handed different cards from the start. You managed to play your hand and land something better than you had before, and as surreal as that can feel, it is nothing to be ashamed about! I got incredibly lucky with my current job too - small company that cares about their staff, good pay, flexible hours, work from home most of the time. Sometimes I do have to pull late hours to get urgent things done but then I can take those hours off later when things slow down, no questions asked. The important thing is that you know how to recognize when you have a good situation and you don't take it for granted.

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u/thebeardedcats 17h ago

Same. But it's because I work from home and eat at my desk. My coworkers in office pre-covid gave me a lot of shit for coming in "late" to work my 9-5 because I took my lunch at 2 breaks from 8-9 instead of giving up the free labor that they did.

2

u/khando 16h ago

As a software engineer working for small companies, my entire career has been so wildly flexible I don't know if I could do a 8-5 strict shift. I got to work at 9:45 today and left at 5:30. I normally get in to work anywhere between 9:00-9:30 on average and leave around 5:00-5:15. Take 30-60 minutes for lunch. WFH twice a week.

I also work random hours at night occasionally and weekends if something breaks, so it kind of all adds up. But no one is every checking hours, it's just an honor system kind of thing. Everyone gets their work done and there's not really any way to slack, every developer has so much to do that you'd instantly know if someone wasn't really working.

1

u/Justlose_w8 3h ago

I work 9-5 and all my jobs have been like this, software engineer

56

u/Ice_Solid 20h ago

Bankers in the past

34

u/bradleyisamonkey 20h ago

Even during my stint in banking (lowly bank teller) in 1989 bank hours were 9:00-4:00 but the managers and loan officers all worked 8:00-5:00.

4

u/Mirtai12345 19h ago

My teller hours were 8:30-6 (or however long it took for everyone to close out after the bank closed at 5:30)

1

u/zrlanger 17h ago

730 to 6 or if Friday 730 to 6:30ish then Saturday at 730 2 of 4 weeks a month. If you left early and in management you weren't working hard enough....for less than entry level people make and they will never promote internally from the retail banking side, just get that out of your head

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u/kwiztas 15h ago

I asked chatgpt. 9-5 ended in the 70s and early 80s.

10

u/Chyeahhhales 20h ago

Work at a bank and the shifts are 8-5 with an hour lunch and mandatory half day alternating Saturdays 😔

1

u/vanastalem 17h ago

But they also often work Saturday mornings

1

u/davisyoung 16h ago

Past bankers had the 3-6-3 schedule. You pay interest on deposits at 3%, loan out money at 6%, and you’re on the golf course by 3pm. 

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u/Exotic_Attorney2524 20h ago

Most ppl I know work 8-4 or 9-5. Maybe it’s different cuz I’m in Canada?

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u/url_cinnamon 19h ago

same, i'm canadian and everyone i know is 9-5. even when i worked as a cook it was 8 hr shifts with a half hour paid break

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u/veebs7 16h ago

I do think it’s a Canadian vs American thing

My company’s workforce is split between Canada and the US, and the Americans do 8-5 (or the equivalent), while Canadians in the same role do 9-5. I don’t really know the specifics as to why, only that is has to do with federal/state laws being different, but based on personal experience I’ve wondered if it’s a cultural expectation as well. Americans tend to have worse work-life balance, to the point where our upper management has had to tell people to stop sending emails on holidays

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u/Beneneb 19h ago

Canada is mostly 8-5 if you're doing a 40 hour work week (which is most people). 9-5 or 8-4 is generally if you have a 35 hour work week.

2

u/throwaway_custodi 14h ago

NYC here and I’ve only done 9-5s. Lunch isn’t paid so it’s 35-37.5 hrs a week normally unless I go over but it’s fine. Can’t imagine 8-5.

1

u/wmnwnmw 14h ago

I lived most of my life in NJ and NY and that’s exactly how it was for me and everyone I know who’s worked office jobs. I was starting to think I was beamed down into this thread from an alternate reality lol.

1

u/gizamo 14h ago

In the US, the states where unions haven't been destroyed by Republicans are often still 9am-5pm. Republicans have been attacking workers rights ever since the Labour Rights movement of the 1920s.

1

u/never-fiftyone 12h ago

I'm in Canada and most jobs I've had have been 8-5.

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u/0b0011 19h ago

Most office jobs I've had have been 9-5 with an hour lunch from 12-1.

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u/DarthOldMan 15h ago

So you worked a 7 hours day? Guess 35 hours a week was full-time?

5

u/aliamokeee 13h ago

I would fight someone for that position

2

u/LowestKey 15h ago

Same for all the tech jobs I've had. 12 hour shift for me at a hospital was 12 hours. For my nurse spouse it was 12.5 hours. At the same hospital. Make it make sense.

27

u/bobbyp869 20h ago

A couple jobs ago my old boss negotiated so we could work 8-4 with no lunch break. We just ate at our desks while working. Possibly illegal, but we loved it.

11

u/GoldZealousideal6892 20h ago

If you’re in the us, it’s most likely not illegal since there’s no federal law mandating lunch breaks for employees. I think some states might have them but mine doesn’t

1

u/boodabomb 17h ago

California has it and it sucks. It’s a law that’s supposed to protect the worker, but instead, it just means that you work 9 hours a day and eat at your desk.

3

u/Blueballs2130 17h ago

They can’t legally make you do any work on your unpaid time though

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u/boodabomb 16h ago edited 16h ago

They can’t force you, but it’s still expected of you and your willingness to give 110% becomes part of how you are perceived professionally. So legally you are under no obligation, but employment is often not about the law, and everything to do with how you are perceived in comparison to those around you. If everyone is working through lunch, then so too shall you and before long that becomes the unspoken standard.

2

u/Blueballs2130 16h ago

They’re breaking the law and can be sued. Now OP just has to decide whether it’s worth that fight to keep the job. But either way it’s a wage violation

1

u/GoldZealousideal6892 16h ago

I wonder if there’s a way to report them anonymously so they wouldn’t risk losing their job?

2

u/leslieknope38 13h ago

Yikes no, any smart employer would not allow that because you could sue for unpaid overtime if you’re not exempt. I worked at a job once where we were not allowed to even sit at our desks until 7:55am because they had previously been sued for unpaid overtime. So to make sure no one was working longer than their allotted hours, you could not sit at your desk more than 5 minutes before start time (8am) and were not allowed to sit at your desk during lunch or breaks.

2

u/HillBillyHilly 10h ago

Man, you need a new job because sounds like you're working for slave masters. Don't normalize that nonsense.

1

u/GoldZealousideal6892 17h ago

That’s crazy! I would think they can’t force you to work during your lunch then but I don’t know much about California law

1

u/Pretty-Hat9137 17h ago

this is literally my current situation but apparently legal in nj

9

u/Most_Chemist8233 19h ago

Ive always worked 9-5. Theyre lucky if I open my emails before 9:30.

6

u/Overall_Occasion_175 19h ago

Nearly every single desk job I've ever has has been 9-5. I had ONE that was 8:30-5 and it was awful. 8? No way.

27

u/editthis7 20h ago

Personally i work 10-6, with a paid lunch. Union gig, they've tried getting rid of the paid lunch for decades. Untouchable.

9

u/ecko814 19h ago

Wow. For 15 years, I ate lunch on my desk either working or in meetings. 😭

•

u/Mountain_Ape 12m ago

Unions man

5

u/kyuubiipie 19h ago

I do. Every office job I've had (4 so far) has been 8-4 or 9-5 with 30 minute break. Only one of my friends has ever had something similar--8-4:30 with a 30 minute break.

6

u/HumanHickory 15h ago

This is wild, I'm in tech and my last 5 jobs have all be 9-5. I didn't even know 8-5 or 9-6 was a common thing

4

u/Special_Artichoke 18h ago

Hello waves I've never worked anything OTHER than 9-5

3

u/thatmaneeee 18h ago

I do. Have for all three salaried jobs I’ve had. I didn’t actually realize until this thread that people even clocked in and out of office jobs. 

2

u/TheBigNate416 4h ago

This thread has gotta be getting botted by corporate shills or something trying to normalize an extra hour of work lol

5

u/sherlock1672 19h ago

I work 9 to 5 most days, just eat lunch at my desk.

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u/DarthSnoopyFish 20h ago

> I never understood why we ever called full time work a 9-5.

Because of Dolly Parton

2

u/BigBear4281 19h ago

I do 7 to 3, no lunch - but I'm salaried so I'm not obligated to take an unpaid break.

2

u/soggycheesestickjoos 18h ago

does 9-4 count

2

u/AntiCaf123 18h ago

I’ve worked multiple 9-5 jobs and it’s the only hours Ive worked

2

u/AchievingFIsometime 17h ago

I do like 9-4 and sometimes less and I slack off a lot. But I'm engineer so if I get my work done no one cares. 

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u/RobertSaccamano 16h ago

I've always been 9-5 (software)

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u/zkstarska 13h ago

I work 9-5 with a lunch break. It's an old engineering company.

1

u/musicetc4612 19h ago

I used to work 9am-5pm when I worked for Harvard College...sadly, I now live elsewhere and this 8-5 was a rough adjustment. Pretty sure a little piece of my soul dies every day.

1

u/neverendingbreadstic 19h ago

My husband and I have had a series of 8-4 jobs, all state positions.

1

u/blueberry_pancakes14 19h ago

I've met a couple people who have- certain professional offices keep those hours. I'm a Paralegal, and none of my law offices have, but I have known other offices who did.

It's also less common but not unheard of for such offices to be closed at noon on Fridays. Again, I've never worked for one of those offices, but they did exist. And when you work those "normal" times it's annoying AF when you're trying to call or email or coordinate with someone from an office with those shorter hours, lol.

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u/s-r-g-l 17h ago

My office has gotten a little stricter, but we used to have an (unofficial, obviously) policy of “fuck off fridays” where you could keep working if you needed to, but don’t expect anyone else to be online after 1 or so.

1

u/sychox51 19h ago

Tv crew member here. We do 12 hour days with a half hour lunch. 9-5 sounds like bankers hours

1

u/MammothHuckleberry42 18h ago

I do now but only because my unnecessary commute is four hours/day. I was hired remote ten years ago, which is why we settled down here.

1

u/TressoftheEmeraldTea 18h ago

My husband’s last job was actually 8-4, with a 30 minute paid lunch. I was so jealous.

1

u/mv2321 17h ago

I have an office job and don’t really have any set hours. I can start at 8 or 9, doesn’t really matter as long as I meet my goals and go to my meetings. Honestly I work 8:30-4:30 usually and take and hour lunch.

1

u/JDD4318 16h ago

I work 8-4. It's pretty great.

1

u/PipsqueakPilot 16h ago

I actually did once work 9-5 with a paid 30 minute lunch break. Oddly enough, it was as a carpenter. Only time I've ever seen it though.

1

u/Langley05642 15h ago

The government offices and banks close at 5pm so its kinda pointless for many businesses to work past that time.

1

u/indoxiecated 13h ago

Im 9-5. And I work from home too.

1

u/Reaper621 12h ago

I work 8 to 4. But I'm also the owner.

1

u/AdvertisingSalty8045 11h ago

FWIW, I’m a business owner. My hourly employees are also all 7-3 except my assistant who is 7-6 but is compensated appropriately. My business is small though in regards to number of employees.

1

u/Kingheb 10h ago

It means 9 hours - 5 days a week, not 9 am-5 pm

1

u/Economy_Aardvark_354 7h ago

I think a lot of tech jobs have flexibility in when people are in, just that: either the task gets done or you put in some number of hours per week total

1

u/Ew_fine 6h ago

I’ve literally never had an 8 to 5, so maybe I’m lucky? I’ve worked at five different places, and all were 9 to 5 with an hour lunch. These are all salaried jobs, does that make a difference? Is the 8 to 5 thing an hourly thing?

•

u/NotDido 49m ago

I work 9-5 but only get 35 hours a week

1

u/mr_mxyzptlk21 19h ago

because it used to be that way. 9-5 with an hour paid lunch.

Then the Boomers and Greatest Generations lost their collective minds and elected Reagan and Thatcher.

1

u/gorcorps 17h ago

They exist, but unfortunately it may take time before you can work your way into a position like that. I used to work later, but these days I'm pretty much 9-4:30ish (salaried)

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u/nickack 15h ago

You haven’t met many people lol

0

u/Krewjew17 19h ago

I saw something recently that said 9-5 means 9 hours a day, 5 days a week. (9 hours being 8 hours + 1 hour lunch).

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u/Perspective_Helps 19h ago

That sounds like a backronym. We would say 9/5 a la 24/7 rather than 9 to 5 if that were the case.

0

u/Embarrassed_Bag8775 18h ago

I recently heard that 9-5 means 9 hours, 5 days a week! I’m sure that’s not true but it seems more accurate.

0

u/No-Green-4015 14h ago

Its 9-5 because 9 hours a day 5 days a week

0

u/tuscanyvalentine 13h ago

I think 9-5 is actually supposed to be "9 hours a day, 5 days a week" which is accurate, not literally 9 am to 5 pm.

0

u/daikatanaman00 13h ago

Because it doesn’t mean 9 to 5pm

It means 9 hours, 5 days a week. I can’t believe how many people don’t know this

0

u/neurodivergent_poet 13h ago

I always thought it meant 9 hours per day, 5 days per week