8 hrs a day “working,” govt job?
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Anonymous
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What does an 8-hr workday mean to you? Does it mean 8 hours of actual, focused work (which may mean 10 hrs or so “on the clock,”) or does it mean 8 hours on the clock whether you’re really “working” or not? I have always wondered whether my perception of what it means to work an 8-hr day is the same as that of others. I recently started a job (professional, GS12 level) with the federal govt. I was told that I am entitled to two 15-min breaks and one 30-min lunch throughout the 8-hr workday. I work from home now, and I will often take “breaks” from my work to switch the laundry, take out the dog, browse Twitter, etc. Back when I worked in a physical office, I probably took breaks that were somewhat equivalent (eg, walking to the coffee shop, chatting with a coworker, etc). I have always wondered if I am expected to make up this “downtime” as part of my 8 hours (except for the allotted two 15-min breaks and 30-min lunch). If I take very long breaks, like if I have to run a quick errand that lasts more than 30-40 min, I will “work” longer than my scheduled 8 hours. Recently I had to have a coffee meet-up with my supervisor and it lasted more than an hour and I wondered if I was expected to make up this time since it wasn’t really work, but I wifely silly asking about it.
I just wonder how others approach this. |
Anonymous
| *I felt silly |
Anonymous
| Depends on the job. As a knowledge worker, there's a rare day when I can actually focus for more than 3-4 hours. The rest of the time is meetings, email, browsing, thinking. My spouse, OTOH, works in a role with certain goals they have to hit each day, so while he can browse the internet and such, he really does have to stay focused for most of his shift. |
Anonymous
| The way I approach it is not to overthink it. Just get your work done and don’t worry about counting the minutes. |
Anonymous
+1 You’re way overthinking this, OP. As long as you get your work done and are available for your allotted 8 hours, you’re good. |
Anonymous
| Okay, thanks. I do get my work done. I just wonder if everyone else is really doing 8 hours of actual productive work each day, because I am not. And yes, a lot of it is answering emails and other stuff that doesn’t contribute much to producing a work product, but has to be done. I could definitely get more work done if I made sure that I clocked at least 8 hours of actual productive work each day…I wonder if my co-workers are doing that. |
Anonymous
| It also sort of threw me off when my supervisor told me that I could take 2 15-min breaks and one 30-min lunch. It made it sound like I had to be working hard the rest of the time. |
Anonymous
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Coffee with your supervisor is work. Full stop.
For your other questions, please read your agency policy on work time and how to track/allocate it. You may also have a union to consult. For most federal agencies, your lunch period DOES NOT count as part of your 8-hour day. Perhaps your agency is different. The 15-minute breaks do. You should aim to be "available to work" for the hours of your workday. Tossing in a load of laundry is the equivalent of using the restroom or a coffee chat - that's fine. Running an errand that takes an hour during your 30-min lunch period? You're unavailable, add that to the clock. |
Anonymous
| 8.5 hours on the clock (.5 is for lunch). We cannot do straight 8 and skip lunch. |
Anonymous
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For my work, it's not 8 hours, it's 8.5.
I think it depends on your workplace, but my agency has flexible start and stop times, but no freedom to take long breaks in the middle of the day (other than your 15 min breaks and lunch).We aren't allowed to take "quick errands" without taking annual leave. I had a coworker who wanted to take an hour break daily at 9am to take his kids to school and HR disallowed it. They said he couldn't make up the time later and would need to take an hour of annual leave daily. Talking to your boss= work. |
Anonymous
I've debating quitting just over this extra half hour. I never eat lunch and work straight through. That 30 min really does make a huge difference in my family's life. The private sector jobs I've looked at don't have this requirement. This was a union demand, but in my opinion it hurts workers. |
Anonymous
+1 I work in state government, where a professional work day is 8.5 hours, which is 8 hours of work (with two 15 minutes paid breaks) and a 30-minute unpaid lunch. I have not worked in an agency as strict as the PP describes, but have worked in places where you were required to take the 30-minute unpaid lunch and had to use leave if you left the office after only 8 hours. I currently work a part-time schedule of 32 hours per week. My 32 hours is 32 hours actually working. I am happy to have the flexibility to work part-time, so I am disciplined about making sure my reported hours reflect time actually worked. |
Anonymous
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I personally think you should work 50-55 hour every hour and walk/stretch/meditate for 5-10 min every hour.
I’m a PM and now superior I expect 6 hours of “work” in an 8.5 hr day. |
Anonymous
That'd be really hard. And I mean that. |
Anonymous
Lol minutes |