Longest hours

Former Member

How many hours have you worked in a week and managed to maintain for a while without dropping down with exhaustion?

Former Member

I once did 50-something, I think. I did a 7am-10pm and an 8am-11pm in the same week and then opening shifts for the other three days (starting at 5:30/6am). That was joyful.

Former Member

I worked a 40 hour week on shifts plus 3 six-eight hour temp shifts a week for about 6 weeks.

That adds up to nearly 60 hours/week, and that included a full day a week off.

Former Member

Think I worked every night i a nightclub for 3 weeks solid, with 2-3 day shifts each week, when it was end of student exams time.

However 4 hours of sleep a night for a whole week and a half, and running around in the woods in the dead of night was pretty hectic.

Former Member

I've done a couple of 50/60 hour weeks at work when I've needed the money...that works out at 5 or 6 12.5hours shifts in one week...bad times :crying:

Former Member

I worked at a nightclub as a bar manager over the summer holidays while I was home from uni after the first year. I was doing weird split-shifts which were 1pm till about 4-5pm (depending on what needed doing) and then 8pm till about 5-6am. I only had one day off a week as I needed as much money as I could gather. It was 70+ hour weeks. I did it for three months and it nearly did for me.

Former Member

I once worked just shy of 80 hours while doing shop-fitting, including a 21-and-a-half hour shift (12 midday until 9.30 the following morning)

Former Member

geneve wrote: »

Approx 95 hrs a week, for a month so far, I have another month to go yet.

Doing what?

Former Member

Well, I hope you've opted out of the EU Working Time Directive otherwise you could have your employer by the bollocks.

How does that work then, even working 6 days a week is 16 hour days.

Former Member

What do you do about hobbies and fitness when you're working 7 days a week over 12 hours, when do you go to the gym, skiing, out to the pub etc? Do you just do those things in holiday time?

Former Member

Nope, I'm planning to work the minimum number of hours in paid employment that I can over the next 17 months... I have worked long hours in paid employment before though, I can't remember why I asked.

Former Member

I think you can work full on for 60-70 hours p/w and maintain a high standard of work but it is possible to work over 90, many do in banking.

Former Member

I used to work 42-hour weeks continuously between early 2003 and mid 2005

Former Member

42 is pretty standard i think.

Former Member

katralla wrote: »

42 is pretty standard i think.

:yes:.

'Full time' at McDonalds (so 8h15 a day, because it doesn't include breaks) is about 36 hours a week and that's working five days.

Former Member

before i got my current job, i was working 8am-8pm six days a week, monday to saturday. sometimes i used to do a four hour shift on sunday on top of that too. soooo yeah thats 72-76 hours. i never want to work that many hours again :no:

Former Member

what job were you doing those hours at?

Former Member

At work if there is a deadline sometimes we have to work stupid hours to get things in on time - the worst i've done is finish at 2 am get a cab home and then got up at 6 to get a train to brussels to hand in an application

Former Member

Digging up an old thread here, so apologies.

z0ma wrote: »

Well, I hope you've opted out of the EU Working Time Directive otherwise you could have your employer by the bollocks.

How does that work then, even working 6 days a week is 16 hour days.

Depends, even if you don't agree to opt out the 48 hour limit is only an average not an absolute limit so if you work 80+ hour weeks you employer is within the law as long as you average 48 over 17 weeks.

Former Member

My first job was around 70 hours a week. And my boss, who happened to be my mom's boyfriend, was a drill sergeant for every second of every minute of the day. I'd work 16 hours on Mondays and Fridays, then 12 hours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Then, occasionally, I'd put in another 12 hours for Sundays and/or Saturdays.

Former Member

Around 120hr weeks for a solid month and a bit. Half dead by the end of it.

Former Member

^^ what was that doing??

longest i've done s a 52 hr week, i hate two 12 hour long days in a row. killer

Former Member

clementine_the_tangerine wrote: »

^^ what was that doing??

Training exercise as if I was out in the desert.

Former Member

To some extent the problem is that the law covering mandated breaks for an adult worker is fairly thin on the ground, i believe you are only entitled to one 20 minute break for every 6 hours that you work, now i appreciate the fact that most employers will go above and beyond that (because even the most hard nosed employers realise one 20 minute break in a twelve hour shift is sort of taking the piss) but i honestly wouldn't mind working from 9am till 9pm and getting paid for 10 and a half hours not 12 if it meant getting a decent 1.5 hour break somewhere in there.

Former Member

we get a 30 min break for every 6 hours we do.

so tomorrow on my 12 hr im getting two half hour breaks. they go so quicklyyy though!

LauraO

Wow, some of you guys are working some seriously long hours :shocking: Most workers in the UK shouldn't have to work over 48 hours a week, but there are some sectors who have their own rules.

If you are confused over the hours you should be working, or the legal side of it all then you can check out these articles about working hours and rest breaks and taking on two jobs. Some of you maybe entitled to overtime too so know your rights!! Directgov's section on working hours is really useful too :thumb:

Former Member

LauraO wrote: »

Wow, some of you guys are working some seriously long hours :shocking: Most workers in the UK shouldn't have to work over 48 hours a week, but there are some sectors who have their own rules.

This

I'm not suggesting for a moment people shouldn't be allowed to work a bit of overtime if they want, but come on the law does needs to step in at some point with some sort of mildly sensible upper limit, say 52.5 hours, i mean that's five 10.5 hour shifts over 5 days. That is plenty enough hours work surely, especially when you consider that those 52.5 hours could in theory be worked over a 60 hour period. :crazyeyes

Former Member

If I tried making that argument at work in certain situations, I would get laughed at.

Former Member

What's overtime?

Former Member

I get paid for 24/7 anyway.

Former Member

Steven Robert Gill wrote: »

This

I'm not suggesting for a moment people shouldn't be allowed to work a bit of overtime if they want, but come on the law does needs to step in at some point with some sort of mildly sensible upper limit, say 52.5 hours, i mean that's five 10.5 hour shifts over 5 days. That is plenty enough hours work surely, especially when you consider that those 52.5 hours could in theory be worked over a 60 hour period. :crazyeyes

Too right. There are lots of reports, particularly from Asian countries, of suicides being attributed to massive pressure to work ridiculous hours. Nobody should have to work for those sorts of hours. If they need that many hours doing, then hire someone else. It seems crazy to me to have loads of your staff working overtime, when those hours combined could probably create another job. I get paid overtime, but for me, that means anything over 20 hours per week.