I have a confession to make…I am not a workaholic. Far from it. I don’t show up more than 15 minutes early, and most days I’m out of the office when the clock hits 5:00. Yes, I’ll put in extra hours when a deadline demands it, but I’m likely to try to balance that with a few hours off the next week. I work 40-45 hours per week, and I’m proud of it.
This came up in a discussion with my boss this week. When discussing my career goals, I said, “You may have noticed I’m not a workaholic. If a position requires 50 or 60+ hours each week, I’m not interested.” He smiled and said, “I know, you’re a true millennial.”
Generational comments aside, I appreciate that my supervisor supports my idea of what a full-time position is, even if he doesn’t share the same view of his own position.
Because I value my free time (which is dedicated to work-like activities, like studying, research and gardening), I would not apply for a job if I didn’t believe I could fulfill the responsibilities in 40-45 hours per week. When I’m in the office, I work hard, using technology to make my work as efficient as possible.
The question remains in my mind: are there senior leadership positions at colleges and universities that only require 40-45 hours of work? My utopian view of career progression involves positions that require higher levels of intelligence, problem-solving ability, and a wider range of skills while requiring the same amount of time. Increased capacity, rather than increased seat time.
What do you think? What do you think a “full-time” position should entail? Must you commit to more work hours as your career progresses?
I have my own personal philosophy: If it can be done tomorrow, why stay late? There is no reason to kill myself over work that I can do tomorrow. Now does this mean I only work 9-5? nope. I have student meetings two-three times a week at night that each last at least an hour, sometimes 2 hours. My students and student group I advise put on programs which I have to attend or lead depending on the size, just this past Sunday I worked 8 hours.
I rarely see my fiance during the week because she has to work so long hours at her job (she leaves at 7 am and gets home between 6 pm and 9 pm depending on the day). So I feel that the more time I have at home the more time I can relax. This can be hard if you live on but I have personally worked to make sure that I can have two lives: work and personal. I have seen many people who talk about being in their office until 8 pm and they are entry level like myself. I can’t do that, I would burn out too quickly.
I think Full time is someone who can work their 9-5 with the occasional late nights or afterhours but not all the time. If you don’t give yourself balance, you’ll go insane. Its why I make myself leave at 5 pm every day because you need to work smarter, not harder.
I think the more you work and the more you move up, the role of “extra hours” becomes different. Your responsibilities are probably more and more meetings. So sometimes you have to work late but you’re probably high enough up to make your schedule a bit more flexible.
I must say, I really hate the “I know, you’re a true millennial” comment or “that’s so millennial”. I think too many people associate this “we want to only work 9-5″ with millennials. However, I know many people in other generations or reflect the same values. I know your boss probably meant nothing by it but after graduate school where I heard nothing but negatives about millennials, I find it a problem when its associated with one group even though its seen in many others.
Great post, and great idea. Not sure how I ended up typing so much but great ideas
I’d like to clarify – I don’t think everyone needs to work just 9-5 if they’re full-time, but I do think a 40-45 work week is still justifiable, meaning you’d flex the time that you need to spend in evening/weekend activities. Perhaps this is why I never was interested in a live-on position…I don’t know how I’d balance work and personal life at all.
My current position happens to be one that can be accomplished during the hours of 9-5, most of the time. When we have a snow storm, I know I need to be up at 5:30 to put out school closing information. But I also tend to end those days a bit early to compensate.
Clearly I’m not cut out to be a lawyer or a doctor
I agree. I perfectly agree with a 40-45 hour work week. My current employment gives us an hour lunch and expects us to work 830-530 (which comes out to 45 hours a week on site). I’m used to 35-38.5 hours a week but we get paid for it. I know my job takes extra times after hours and I am fine with that. As I said, if its 5 pm and I can finish it tomorrow, I go home. I just need my “home” time because otherwise I go insane.