Parents who are home by 5-6pm from work - what do you do?

[Anonymous]

Social Services. I leave home at 6:30am and get to work at 7:30. I work till 4 and am home by 5:15. I make dinner, drive to sports practice, etc. While I wait at sports practice or after the kids go to bed I do my documentation.

When I talk to my co-workers, I am at work about the time they are rolling out of bed.

[Anonymous]

I am a speech pathologist for a school district. I am home by 4:00 everyday.

[Anonymous]

2 teacher family. I leave the house at 6 a.m. and am home between 4:30-5 most days (20 min commute each way)
Spouse leaves at 6 a.m., is home between 5:30-7 most days. (one hour commute by train)

[Anonymous]

I’m curious how it is for Europeans? Are they also working long hours without pay?

I work 9 hour days and dh works 10 hour days. We are only paid for 8 hours so all of this is just gravy to our employers. We are both paid about 90-100k which isn’t bad, but not amazing for masters degrees in DC

[Anonymous]

I recently landed one of those cushy jobs I've only read about on DCUM rather than experienced. I work for a nonprofit association. Pay is OK, but could be better. The hours are 9-5 with up to an hour for lunch. Most people leave at 5. I take Metro, so walking to and from Metro and 25 minutes on it makes the commute about an hour. That means I'm home just after 6 most nights.

[Anonymous]

I am a P&L owner for a big Fortune 500.

I make nearly $1M a year. Not bragging but pointing out to say that it isn’t the case you can’t have both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a P&L owner for a big Fortune 500.

I make nearly $1M a year. Not bragging but pointing out to say that it isn’t the case you can’t have both.

What does this job mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m curious how it is for Europeans? Are they also working long hours without pay?

I work 9 hour days and dh works 10 hour days. We are only paid for 8 hours so all of this is just gravy to our employers. We are both paid about 90-100k which isn’t bad, but not amazing for masters degrees in DC

They generally work a lot less than we do.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/business/american-work-habits-us-countries-job-styles-hours-hoilday-a8060616.html%3famp

[Anonymous]

SBO here - I'm in the office by 7:30 at the latest and leave by 2:30 to beat traffic. If I didn't arrive early and leave early, my commute could easily be over an hour if not more. I'm usually home by 3:30 and log back on to work until 5 or 6.

My office used to be 15 minutes from my house. Ah, the good ol' days! But, taxes in that city are so high, so I moved my office to a cheaper location. Back then I'd roll in at 9, leave at 5 or 6 (if busier), and a long commute home would be 20 minutes if I hit all three red lights.

With both set ups, I always logged back on to work more after dinner. I'd save up the easy, menial tasks that could be done while also watching TV. In total, I still work ~12 hour days if not more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a P&L owner for a big Fortune 500.

I make nearly $1M a year. Not bragging but pointing out to say that it isn’t the case you can’t have both.

Obviously, but surely even you must concede that you are an out incredible outlier and not representative of the norm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am constantly surprised when people post here that both spouses are home by 5:30-6:30pm from work. What work do you do? Do you have a very short commute?

I work from home so I am always home but my dh is rarely home before 7:30-8pm. He usually huddled home to see the kids and help put them to bed and then logs in again after they go to sleep. We live about 12 miles from the city (where dh works) so his commute is around 30-45 minutes depending on traffic.

Freddie Mac. Start 9:30 to 10:00 and leave at 4:00 everyday. Also have short iunch

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a P&L owner for a big Fortune 500.

I make nearly $1M a year. Not bragging but pointing out to say that it isn’t the case you can’t have both.

In this country it's much more common for people to work 12-15 hour days to barely clear $50k a year. So go with your bullsh*t idea that balance AND wealth go together. I hope you are donating $500k a year to charities.

[Anonymous]

I cut back to 80%, work 10-4 plus checking in from home a couple of times a week. Commute is 20 minutes. Director at a small-ish fed contractor.

[Anonymous]

My husband is usually home by 5. He leaves for work at 6:30. He has a 30 minute commute so his standard day is 7-4:30. Sometimes he even manages to leave by 4. He’s in the private sector, mid-level. Many of my family members and friends with kids work for the government and get home in time for the ES bus. They leave for work early. We know lots of attorneys. The ones who work corporate or for the govt also seem to be able to get home by dinner. The exception is those who work in big law.

[Anonymous]

I oversee department at a large non-profit. My hours are 7-3:30. I have 15 minute commute to work and a 30 minute commute home (counting the time it takes to get the kids)
DH gets the kids to school and I pick them up.
He gets home around 6 and does research for a national company. About a 20 minute commute