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Kharnynb

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I've always heard the story of the American that works 80 hours per week, has 1 week of holidays every 2 years and only after he finishes all his overwork and if he doesn't get sick(ok maybe slightly exagerated :fro:).

So, how much do you guys really work and how are holidays generally set?

I'll start, for finland electrical engineer.

36 hours per week, 6 weeks paid holidays and about 12 extra national holidays.
 
where I work, it used to be 40 hours a week in the summer and up to 60 hours a week starting in the fall and ending in the spring. we are now anywhere from 40-50 hours a week all year long. as for holidays, I've never really paid too much attention.
 
AutoCAD/GIS guy here in the States. 40 hours per week during the normal work season, work four ten hour days during the Summer. The four tens actually work out to 34 hours of work.

Six weeks paid vacation, maybe a dozen holidays paid.

The big factor is that I'm salaried, I get paid the same if I work 40 hours or 80. My boss expects me to get the job done regardless of how many hours I need to work. Fortunately for me, I'm good at what I do and I rarely work over 40.

I'll say that for my area, this is is very good benefit package.
 
Long Haul Airline pilot...

Paid - 70-95hrs/mo
Unpaid - 2hrs pre-flight, 1hr post flight per flight (~9-12hrs unpaid per mo)
Per-diem - 270-380hrs/mo away from home
Paid - 5weeks vacation (based on yrs with the company)
HOLIDAYS DONT EXIST IN THE AIRLINES :) Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, family events etc rarely celebrated on their respective dates.
~15-20days off per month, never less than 12

Pilots are very skilled in the art of complaining, despite all the nitnoid issues this career has, it's all I've ever wanted to do and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
 
Pretty much standard 40 and often that is because I have to. I work efficiently. Unfortunately as a consultant my company cares more about me billing over efficiency and solving client problems. I'm in a non critical IT role so always adopt the saying "the work will be there tomorrow"
 
Wastewater operations

40-60 hours a week. 40 is minimum over five days. 48 is average, but not six days. Its often an hour or two a day. It's pulling 12s that hike up the average. Really, I can't recall the last 40 hour check I received.

I've weeks of full paid vacation time and separate full paid sick leave banked. We accrue it so many hours a pay period based on pay scale and years on the job. We also have incentive days off for those of us who participate in the charity or wellness programs. There's a 'sick pool' of time donated by coworkers for folks who need more full paid medical time off than they have banked. FMLA is another way to take extended sick leave. We also have funeral leave. It's two-three paid days off, separate from any other time, for the death of immediate family.

Holidays? The spice must flow! My side of this job never stops. We arrange for someone to be off and someone to be on for the major holidays. For the random day off holidays, most folks just come to work. Holiday pay is fat bank for us.
 
I've always heard the story of the American that works 80 hours per week, has 1 week of holidays every 2 years and only after he finishes all his overwork and if he doesn't get sick(ok maybe slightly exagerated :fro:).

So, how much do you guys really work and how are holidays generally set?

I'll start, for finland electrical engineer.

36 hours per week, 6 weeks paid holidays and about 12 extra national holidays.

I am a chemical engineer in the USA with 18 years experience, and my work hours and holidays are almost exactly the same as yours except we work 40 hours instead of just 36. Not too bad though. Could be a lot worse.
 
I think we're going to see in this that not everyone has a 9-5 40 that closes up when they leave for the day. Military, emergency response, law enforcement, medical, utility. A lot of these fields require 24/7 positions.

Then there's the offshore and boat people. I used to be offshore boat people. 28 days on for 14 days off. 14 on 7 off is also a thing in those fields. And those on days are 8-12 hours, until you're needed for something. When it's all hands, it's all hands.
 
There is a strong workaholic culture in the USA. Its moderated a bit now I think, but was in full force back when I was a productive member of society. I was a hard core workaholic for about 20 years. Now fully recovered sailing bum.

Ive never had a "job" with fixed work hours. We just did what needed to be done. Back when I had a real job, all my work was project oriented. We worked till we dropped until the project was done. It was common to work 18+hour days, with a few all nighters mixed in, take a break and start over again. I used to work what I called the "9 to 5/9 to 5" shift: 9AM to 5PM , dinner break/nap, 9PM to 5AM, breakfast break/nap...repeat till project done, usually about 6 months. Of course, I was in my 20-30's then.

Our hours were billable to clients so had to submit timesheets. I never broke 500 hours in a month, but did break 400 many times.

Never had fixed vacation, took what I wanted at the end of the project. Had a few bosses who insisted I take more of a break than I had planned. They were older and wiser and knew I was going to flame out...I was too young and cocky to have that much forethought...just took long weekends a few times and dove right back in. Though I did take some decent vacations too.

This finally took its toll and I imploded from complete burn out in my late 30's. Fired myself a few years later.
 
I work in IT. A typical work week is 45 hours in the office, and 5 hours of "work" out of the office (answering emails, installing updates, etc). This is done for typical pay, no overtime. I get two weeks vacation, but it is difficult to use them (lots of blackout days). When I do use them, its normal to still work remotely 1-2 hours a day or more. Taking vacation and having it canceled at the last minute or being called into the office definitely happens. I rarely take more than 2-3 days at a time, because the longer I take, the more likely I am to be severely interrupted.

I get a couple of national holidays off, but just the basics (4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years). I dont get any extra sick time or personal leave, however my schedule is flexible enough that I can take half a day for a doctors appointment, and if I am home sick my pay doesnt get docked. There is an "always working" expectation. If I am 100% unavailable, I have to tell my team that so they know not to do anything particularly stupid.
 
I work in retail distribution. 36 hours on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday during normal months. 45-50 hours during busy months. 3 weeks vacation and 2 paid holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas). I get around 2 weeks paid sick leave and around 2 weeks unpaid sick leave.

When I took this position a little over a year ago, I left a job that was 5.5-6.5 days a week. 45-55 hours. I'm pretty happy now that I only work 3 days a week most of the year.
 
I'm the Facilities Supervisor for 2 massive warehouses. 40 hours Monday to Friday. 3 weeks of vacation per year, 7 paid holidays, and I don't get docked for sick time because I'm on call 24/7, and two weeks a year I put in 85-90 hours at a trade show.
 
My law practice is bill by the hour (I don't do contingency arrangements). But it's feast or famine, and workload varies widely, based on the availability of cases I'm able get my hands on. It was thin during the recession, but things are picking up now. The feast side can be 60-plus billable hours a week, the famine side could be I'm doing nothing for several weeks. Over the course of a typical year it works out quite well. I have no set "vacations," I just take time to travel when I want. Sometimes I get some short-term litigation projects through agencies, in which case I'm an hourly employee, with wage and hour rules in place (1-1/2 time OT, etc.).
 
My last "paid" holiday or time off was technically in the military 39 years ago. Since then, I have been self-employed. Figure it out from there...;)

That's another whole nuther ball game. When I did lawn care, mower time was 4-10 hours a day. Usually six. Rarely a Saturday and never Sunday. Every major holiday off. How ever much sick time I needed. Vacation days just whenever. Ah, but the only time I was paid for was mower time.

Yeah. All the time spent looking for customers or repairing equipment, those weren't exactly billable hours. Days off of any kind were not paid. Matching retirement funds? I suppose I could match myself.

Self employment in truly small business has its appeal, but I don't miss it enough to go back.
 
I retired at 48, but only because of the attitude that others here have expressed.... 40 hours a week is a vacation week! I still do some phone consulting and expert witnessing, but take home is a small fraction of what it used to be. I call it my beer money!

Whether it was for the chemical producers I first worked for or the consultancy I ended with, the vacation was about the same; 2 weeks your first year and add a week after every 5 years you stayed. Holidays were the same; about 10 per year. Most companies these days make you take the vacation or lose it. Some compromise and let you turn 1 week of it into cash. Fewer and fewer allow you to roll it into next year.

As for hours worked, when I was in sales I pretty much stuck to 40 or so hours per week, but was flexible since I controlled my schedule. That was nice. Lots of responsibility, but lots of flexibility. When consulting, project deadlines, billable hours and client driven travel dictated schedule. Then came "moving up" in the company and having to handle internal issues and the politics of kiss asses. Sometime those weeks never ended.... The success of the company translated into some big $$ however and I escaped with my health, wealth and sanity.

I grew up in a European household with 1 earner. Dad was an IBMer and worked long hours. Conversely he would actually use his vacation every year and had enough tenure that he could take off between Thanksgiving and Christmas every year. If someone did that these days they would ultimately get laid off because the company would figure out they weren't all that necessary..........

Europe's balance of work/life has been admirable, but has also lead to the economic and social weakness going on. It's artificial to have high earners, short hours, great social benefits and have so many other people out of work, unqualified and or on the social dole. We are witnessing the slow implosion of Europe and it's in the near future for the US. I think the recognition of that is why so many educated American workers keep their noses to the grindstone and earn as much as they can early.....
 
Factory work, packaging food products. Average is 45 to 50 hours a week. 2 weeks paid vacation, plus 6 paid holidays a year.
 
I work a total of 60 hours on average per week. I am given 27 days of time off whether that is used as sick time or vacation time. Up until last year I had 36 days of paid time off but the policy was changed and I lost those days. I generally lose 50-80 hours a year, or used to. Now I lose about 4 that do not roll. Either way, I don't take enough vacations.

It's my opinion that laws surrounding employment are pretty crappy when compared to other countries.
 
I'll start, for finland electrical engineer.

36 hours per week, 6 weeks paid holidays and about 12 extra national holidays.

US Electrical Engineer here...

Tough to perfectly count work hours, since I'm salaried and can work remote, so I might get 35-40 hours in the office each week, but probably another 5 remote. That's when I'm not traveling, which I regularly need to do in my job.

We get 12 paid holidays.

We used to have a paid vacation plan that was 2 weeks when you started with the company, going up to 5 weeks as you built seniority. I've been with the company 8 years, which would equate to 3 weeks paid vacation. However, the company just scrapped vacation logging for salaried workers and we're now basically on the honor system. As long as the vacation can be accommodated with workload, and your manager is okay with it, you're good to go.

Honestly, my job is really incredibly flexible. Most of what I do can be done from home, or is done on-site at a customer. While I am usually in the office most days (because it's actually easier to get work done there compared to home with kids), I don't always have to be there.
 
Aerospace Engineering Draftsman
~40 hrs/week
Non-salary at the moment, working in a very laid-back company. I can leave early, or stay late as long as the work is complete. The usual paid holiday's. Instead of some of the older religious holidays, we just get an extra day around xmas/new years. Being one of the newer additions to the team, I get (1) sick day and (14) vacation days. Once the snow hits us hard in the winter, they are pretty good about making sure we get to work or are able to leave work safely even though it may mean the non-salary people lose a few hours. Luckily I'm in the position where I don't necessarily require a full 40 hours to make ends meet. Sometimes, leaving work an hour early here and there is just as rewarding. The only thing I hate is being expected to be at work, working on something, when there is nothing. Otherwise, just another 8-4 working class whore.
 
I ran my own service/retail business out of a home-based shop for 21 years. Consequently, if I was home, there was always work to be done. Had to do some creative scheduling around family time and other commitments. Home phone was biz phone and people would show up by appt. day/night, weekday/weekend. Finally relocated shop in next town 12 miles away, but time away from home increased to sometimes 14 hours a day and most weekends. It was getting so I would leave in the AM before the kids were up and come home at night after they were in bed. This went on for several years until one evening when my wife and kids came up to the new shop to have pizza with daddy for supper. As my 7-year old daughter was munching a mouthful of pizza, she looked around and asked me, "Daddy, do you live here?" Priorities changed in a hurry.

I eventually changed professions and while still technically a self-employed contractor, the majority of my work has been sub-contracting for someone else. While there have been both good and bad experiences, I don't regret any of it. Had one second of my life been different, I might not be the very blessed man I am today.
 
throw another electrical engineer on the pile! salaried with a 'standard' 40 hr/wk in the office. i answer e-mails and some miscellaneous tasks outside of normal hours but i also have some downtime here and there in the office so probably average out to 40 hr/wk. 'normal hours' for me is about 7:30 am to 4:30 pm but i can pretty much come and go as i please. i also travel a decent amount which results in a lot of time outside of normal working hours but can't complain, drinking beers for free at the airport. i have 14 yrs experience but switched companies about five years ago so am only at 3 wks/yr paid vacation. that will go to 4 wks/yr this coming may. 7 days/yr paid sick time and 10 days/yr paid holidays.
 
Paramedic here. 48 hours a week and at least 1-2 shifts of call in time a payperiod. To get off on time is nothing more than a mere suggestion. Can't go home till the paperwork is done, so this usually requires staying over 1-2 per shift catching up.

As for holidays?........No such thing in public safety. Just your hard luck if you're scheduled to work them. Some shifts seem to catch them more than others. lol
 
Work for the FAA, 40 hours a week, 4 weeks a year vacation and 3 weeks a year of never expiring sick leave.

Also can't beat the health benefits and mandatory retirement at age 56 with a great pension.
 
Data scientist and small business owner

Day job : 45 hours a week
Consulting work : 15 hours a week

3 weeks of vacation, plus the normal holidays and a week long shut down at christmas.

It's a good gig, but the consulting work can crop up at any time, and I get called at least twice a week between 10 PM and 4 AM
 
Tradesman at a dam site for the electrical company in bc canada. I do 6 days a week normally. All over time is double time. We get 105 sick days a year and start with 3 weeks vacation. We get things called swap days where you get a monday or friday off every other week to make a 3 day weekend. Most of us end up working them and take tripple time for the day. It's a good gig, hard to get in here though. We are so far north that we take our vacation in the winter usually and it is someplace with palm trees for at least 2 or more weeks.
 
I work for a University. I generally work ~35 hours a week. The schedule is really relaxed and the setting is laid back in general. I receive 12 hours a month (18 days a year) personal time and 12 days major medical. There is no cap and time continues to accrue and can even be put towards retirement. On top of that we get the major holidays as well as half of December off, the University shuts power and heating down for cost savings.

It took awhile to get use to this environment, coming form industry. I have no plans on ever leaving this set up.
 
totally depends on what your job is here in the good old USA.

me personally i'm an engineer in manufacturing. I work 40hrs, get 3 weeks paid and 12 holidays paid with christmas bonus at my current job. my old job i only got 2 weeks vacation, 10 holidays, and no bonus and worked anywhere from an average of 50-70hrs a week.

my wife is a consultant and she gets 3 weeks vacation with i think 6 holidays and a christmas bonus and puts in 50-60hrs a week, some times up to 70hrs.

most companies start their employees off at 2 weeks vacation and the more time you spend at the company the more vacation time you get but it usually maxes out at 4 weeks after 20yrs of being with them..... also you usually don't get 3 weeks vacation until your with the company for 10yrs....

there are a few professions that don't get holidays like air line pilots, doctors, police, fire fighters, EMT's ect....
 
Tradesman at a dam site for the electrical company in bc canada. I do 6 days a week normally. All over time is double time. We get 105 sick days a year and start with 3 weeks vacation. We get things called swap days where you get a monday or friday off every other week to make a 3 day weekend. Most of us end up working them and take tripple time for the day. It's a good gig, hard to get in here though. We are so far north that we take our vacation in the winter usually and it is someplace with palm trees for at least 2 or more weeks.

i had no idea working at dams caused so many health problems!:tank:
 
I work in R & D, 40 hours a week salary. Only been there a year, but only worked overtime once (voluntarily). I only get 7 days of vacation a year. Can't complain. Before I accepted this job, I was a supervisor in injection molding working 5-6 12hr days a week, with two weeks vacation but it was very hard to get them to approve it. The overtime money was nice, but the time off for me is worth so much more than the money.
 
Civil/transportation engineer, state government.

Our standard workweek is 37.5 hours, but I almost always end up around 40 from staying late here and there. I'm salaried, but we have "comp time" where you can bank anything worked over the normal 37.5, to be used as paid leave later (up to 240 hrs). The people in construction can get that comp time paid out in (heavily-taxed) 50-hr blocks since they're pretty much forced into longer hours; even though I have that option as well, they usually try to block the more office-oriented staff from getting them. With it being a government job, we do alright on paid holidays, 13 +/- a year.

My side job (which I'm quitting as of today :ban: ) is more seasonal, but ranged from about 10 extra hrs in the winter to 25+ in the summer.
 
Senior scientist at a National Laboratory.

Officially, 40 hours per week with 12 days sick leave, 15 days vacation and 13 holidays per year.

Unofficially (almost) everyone works many more hours and takes many fewer days off. Since I'm collaborating with researchers in both Europe and Japan, with whom I often need real-time interaction, I end up working very early and very late too.
 
Currently working for a small family-owned freight broker. About 30-40 hrs a week depending on how busy we are. It's a tough business when you're competing w/ companies like CH Robinson, Coyote and Echo. It can be cool sometimes though. One of our customers supplies concentrates for a couple breweries (Cigar City being one of them), so I've had the pleasure of arranging deliveries w/ Wayne at Cigar City. They order a Prickly Pear concentrate from our customer in CA. Not sure which beer that stuff goes into tho..
 
Vice President of a transportation company, I used to work 60+ a week, but after my wife passed and I became a single parent I managed to cut my hours to around 50, last proper vacation was 5 years ago when I took a week of to visit back home
 
I do technical industrial sales. I work 40hrs a week (ok, usually more like 38 because I get bored by 4pm) and never more. The building gets locked up soon after 5. No one works more than 40. I get 2 weeks paid vacation, but they're fine with you taking more and going into negative PTO. I went on a 3wk Germany trip earlier this year, when I had a whopping 8 hours accrued, still got a full paycheck. Of course I'll be negative time off for a long time though...

Life's too short to work crazy hours in my opinion. I'd rather have a less nice car and be off at 4pm every day.

Edit: and for holidays the standard what.. 10 the US gets.
 
I work for a state university and I work 40 hours/week hell or high water, whether or not there's even 40 hours of work to do. I've topped out my salary at a mediocre state employee wage, so there's no such thing as bonuses, raises, incentives, etc. I do have decent benefits, medical, dental, vision, retirement, 2 weeks paid vacation/year, 1 day of sick leave/month.

My university culture dictates that it is more important to fill a chair for the proper number of hours than it is to actually accomplish things. I hate how much time I'm forced to waste. It is demoralizing and depressing. That doesn't even take into consideration my abominable manager and incompetent coworkers.

Needless to say, I'm working on getting a job with a little more workload and where I'm doing meaningful work, or at least something I care about, instead of research with no purpose other than to keep our lab funded.

I hate the U.S work culture. I think it is sick, and I think it is a big part of why we have such mental health issues.
 
Electrical Engineer here.

Average about 45-48 hr/wk including travel time (about 4-5 hours/wk). During slow weeks I make sure to not work 40 hours and try to leave early on Fridays. However, I do regularly have long weeks when i'm doing 12+ hr/day for multiple days in a row.

Holidays are minimal - 9 days per year. I get 3 weeks of vacation, but it's mostly taken in December.
 
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