| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Poll: Overall, do you work more or fewer hours than friends and family with 9-5 jobs? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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I usually work at least 300 days a year, but sometimes fewer than 8 hours a day (and sometimes more).
That said, my experience working in-house in international organizations (over 25 years) is that employees spend a lot of time not on-task. For example: non-work-related phone calls, child care emergencies, medical appointments, seeing the staff nurse, chatting, hanging out at the copier or the water cooler, long lunch hours, parties to celebrate birthdays and retirements, and on a... See more I usually work at least 300 days a year, but sometimes fewer than 8 hours a day (and sometimes more).
That said, my experience working in-house in international organizations (over 25 years) is that employees spend a lot of time not on-task. For example: non-work-related phone calls, child care emergencies, medical appointments, seeing the staff nurse, chatting, hanging out at the copier or the water cooler, long lunch hours, parties to celebrate birthdays and retirements, and on and on.
I also worked for an international business, at a university, and in the commercial office of a consulate. In those places there was less fooling around, especially in the consulate. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Henry Schroeder 
United States
Local time: 13:35
Member (2002)
German to English
+ ...
| More, and I'm better off for it. | Nov 23, 2018 |
What else would I do? Talk? Consume things, places, people I don't understand?
Better to do something you know.
People who work 9-5 or the equivalent hours do not work enough. That is one of the big problems we have around the world (along with the idea that working less is better).
[Edited at 2018-11-23 23:18 GMT]
| | | | Gitte Hovedskov (X)
Denmark
Local time: 19:35
English to Danish
+ ...
| Fewer, no doubt | Nov 24, 2018 |
I will never be motivated by earning lots of money, I have other priorities in life.
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 19:35
French to English
I get the impression that I work far less. As an employee I would be twiddling my thumbs on a Monday morning, having finished everything up the week before, and waiting for more translations to come in, while all our clients and indeed PMs were in meetings. Now I can just get on with other stuff. Monday is often quiet so I go to yoga at lunchtime. Then I might work at the weekend (I just sent some questions to a client before coming to hang out here). If I have a job that would take me six hour... See more I get the impression that I work far less. As an employee I would be twiddling my thumbs on a Monday morning, having finished everything up the week before, and waiting for more translations to come in, while all our clients and indeed PMs were in meetings. Now I can just get on with other stuff. Monday is often quiet so I go to yoga at lunchtime. Then I might work at the weekend (I just sent some questions to a client before coming to hang out here). If I have a job that would take me six hours straight, I prefer to spread those six hours over the weekend rather than do it all in one go on the Monday. I get a better result like that, as well as freeing me up for other work if ever it comes in. ▲ Collapse
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