So right now I typically work 5 days, 50-60 hours.

Not all those hours are really working hours, since the middle part of each day, from 11-2 or so, is really just an extended lunch/9 holes of golf/TWW/GTA IV.

I've been asked to start working on a new negotiation that would require me to put in 6 days and 70-75 hours each week.

The money would be significantly better...not just the 20 percent to match the hours increase, but closer to 40-50%, with the potential for it be be much higher.

I only sleep 4-5 hours a night so thats not really a factor; I'm just worried if working all the time might leave you so tired at the end of the day that you really don't have the energy to do anything once you get off.

Does anyone here work over 70 hours a week, and if so, does it really put a damper on your life outside of the office?

5/6/2008 4:02:40 PM

jeez...i bill 40+ per week, and if i work a quarter of that, i feel overworked

5/6/2008 4:07:00 PM

Slave Famous

5/6/2008 4:07:42 PM

depends entirely on the work. if your job has a lot of variety and you love what you do, 70 hours won't seem so bad. especially if you still get to take 3 hour lunches.

5/6/2008 4:08:34 PM

How long will be working 70 hours a week??

I pulled an average of 70 hours a week last summer when I was bartending (5-6 shifts of 12-hour shifts). But by the end of the summer I was about to die. Different situation for me, because every shift was social time, but I was on my feet the whole time, so my body was worn out. I definitely went out pretty hard on my one night off, but I also had most of the day time to get a lot of my errands done and grab some lunch/go to the beach with other friends.

It can be done...but I wouldn't recommend it for more than a couple months.

5/6/2008 4:09:38 PM

i work 60+ between my regular job and my business

it is really draining when you feel like you work from the time you wake up until the time you go to bed almost every day.

5/6/2008 4:10:51 PM

^ I'm in the same boat. If I'm at home I'm generally on the computer working or researching something.

5/6/2008 4:15:55 PM

It will be about 3-4 months probably, but could extend to 6-7 if complications arise.

The way I look at it is Saturdays in the summer aren't that special that any other other day...I'll still have time off for trips, beach, etc.

If we get started soon we might be able to finish by late August, so I'd have my entire weekends free by football season, which is a pretty big deal.

5/6/2008 4:16:41 PM

I used to pull 70+ hours a week regularly up until about a year and a half ago.

if you enjoy the work, and it doesn't cause strain in your family life, it's not too bad. It worked out for me having a wife in med school.

5/6/2008 4:16:50 PM

im only responsible for about 35 hours a week for a salary, but at certain times of year, i end up working 60-70 a week. the difference is, a lot of the extra hours involve things that arent so bad, like attending political fundraising breakfasts, lunches and dinners, and going to fundraisers at sports events, etc...so in that sense, could i be doing something better with my personal time during those times? of course...id much rather be playing GTA IV than talking to some douchebag that i happen to have to sit next to during a dinner or in a corporate box, but again, i could be a lot worse off.

the money sounds like it will help compensate. you blow through a couple months of that work pace and then just go dark [no racist] for a week and disappear somewhere warm with clear water, you'll forget all about the work

5/6/2008 4:21:08 PM

eh - unless its completely unbarable work do it. you're young and i'm assuming not tied down. and while the description isnt all that specific, i imagine the new project will be good for the resume.

make bank and do the big career jumps now, future Slave Famous will thank you
side bonus: when you are working that much, you dont have that much time to spend it.

also - as someone who works around the 65-70 hour mark about 6 months out of the year (50-55 during our "down time"), its not that bad. i still have a social life during that time and hang out with friends. the main thing that happens is that the free day just ends up being kinda lame. i catch up on sleep and then spend the rest of the day getting ready for the next week.

[Edited on May 6, 2008 at 5:29 PM. Reason : .]

5/6/2008 5:29:35 PM

oh the one thing that i would add is that one thing that makes it easier for me during the busy season is that my schedule is pretty flexible. i would not be as happy if i had to basically do an 9-5 in the office on Saturday. for me its basically becomes a "before i show up to work on monday, i have to have the following things done" so then i get the work done when it works for me

5/6/2008 5:33:02 PM

Quote :

"i work 60+ between my regular job and my business it is really draining when you feel like you work from the time you wake up until the time you go to bed almost every day."

Ditto, except I just do a lot of consulting and have businesses I'm working on developing at the same time, but still... it gets very old when you're pretty much working all the time. My boyfriend and I live together and he is about at wits end over me constantly on my laptop working when I'm supposed to be doing anything but.

5/6/2008 5:33:07 PM

i work between 70-80 hrs but im also making close to 1 1/2 times what someone with my degree starts at, the work isnt even in my degree field, and its half work/half travel

my only problem with my job is im on long trips and there arent days off in between, if im out 3 weeks i just worked 3 weeks straight

5/6/2008 5:43:28 PM

5/6/2008 6:06:50 PM

if i ever work 70 hours a week just come murder me

5/6/2008 6:06:54 PM

well half of it is either sitting in a truck for hours or just waiting for my plane to come in but still im getting paid

5/6/2008 6:10:51 PM

i did it for a month last summer (big account). They feed us 3 meals a day due to the fact we were... well always there (i gained close to 15lbs because it was all delivery food or someone making a quick run some where for the most part, instead of anything healthy)

I promptly followed it by working 30 hours a week for a month to balance out my life, and may have taken a few 5 hour lunch breaks to go watch movies at the near by theater.

Working 70 a week consistently will make you want to stab yourself in the head.

assuming a 12x6 week, you will be getting maybe 6-7 hours of sleep for 5 nights a week, and you will be exhausted on the day you get off, look at your place, and go, shit, i have to clean up, buy supplies, wash my clothes, do my budget, etc. on my 1 free day.


In general i only sleep about 6 hours a night, but i don't work that hard most of the time. When i was at work 10-14 hours a day 6 days a week the 6 hours i did get didn't cut it. I actually passed out in my office a few times. If you are going to actually be in some place working 70-75 hours a week, make sure its short term for big gains, and realize it means the rest of your life is going to grind to a halt more or less while you do it

5/6/2008 6:33:56 PM

And here's cain's cube as an illustration:

5/6/2008 6:41:26 PM

It wouldn't be in an office all the time

Significant travel between Charlotte, Philadelphia and Frankfurt, Germany and maybe one or two trips to Japan

I'm on the phone most of the time with people from those places now...the main difference is that I'd be working directly with them instead

A key perk here is that they fly everyone first class, or whatever the international equivalent is where you get a sleeper bed and mad legroom. Business class or Envoy class I think.

5/6/2008 6:52:45 PM

i work 70 hours a week. 7 days a week. between two jobs.

i dont have much of a life. and yes, it takes alot out of me and doesnt leave energy for me post-work. and my pets miss me.

i guess it depends on what you'll be doing. i work with animals and depending on what we're doing on a particular day, i can get a damn good workout in which is what usually leaves me tired.


i also must say, i work that much because i dont make that much money. so perhaps if it'll mean you'll be making shittons of $$, it'll be worth it.

5/6/2008 7:31:38 PM

Quote :

"Does anyone here work over 70 hours a week, and if so, does it really put a damper on your life outside of the office?"

yes, i bust my ass everyday for big gains but i have little time for much else. i'm not doing it entirely for me though. i have lil'seotaji to worry about. so when i get home, it's time to clean home, feed, bathe, and hang out with the kid AND then pass out only to do it again.

it's much easier with a long break between tasks. napping is very important.

5/6/2008 7:48:27 PM

My husband works about 70 hours a week (7am-8 or 9pm 5-6 days a week). There are weeks when he works a little more than that and then there are weeks where he works less than 40 hours. He also usually gets a nice lunch in the afternoon (at least an hour, sometimes 2-3 hours). He seems to be happy doing it, especially since he gets that break in the afternoon. His job also is not a job where he has to work constantly for those 14+ hours a day and he gets breaks during the day when he finishes his work. He is usually not too tired to do stuff on his days off and he even fits some online classes into his schedule (he uses that free time at work to study). I guess it depends on what type of work you are doing (how stressful, how constant) as to how tired you will be. If you have a really stressful job, working more hours may be overwhelming. If you get breaks during the day where you can unwind (that long lunch probably helps too) then you might be able to pull it off without getting burned out.

5/6/2008 8:15:16 PM

Quote :

"Does anyone here work over 70 hours a week, and if so, does it really put a damper on your life outside of the office?"

i work 60-70 most weeks

at first it made a huge difference on my social schedule.. i just didn't have the energy to do anything on the weekends or any weeknights especially. i used to have to have 8 hours of sleep or i could not function/stay awake during the day so that basically meant going straight home and basically just going to bed..i'm finally able to get 5-6 a night or two a week and still be fine during the day (first time in my life). I work 7am-7pm a lot days, eat lunch at the office while working and sometimes work saturday mornings and usually an extra hour or two a few days a week... bringing the total up around 70. the actual hours at the office has gone down some here lately but i at least make up for it if not work more total because i'm doing a lot more from home because they finally trust me to actually get stuff done from home

anyways, to answer your question... it will probably put a damper on your life outside the office at first... you'll probably get used to it though and if there's a chance you'll eventually be able to do some of the work from home i think it's a much better situation.. i'd much rather leave the office at 5ish, come home and eat, watch a little tv the work a few more hours as oppose to just sitting at the office until 9 or something. for me the biggest issue was lack of sleep.. with you being ok with that little sleep i think you'll be fine with handling the hours and keeping a life outside the office.

not sure if that helps.. but personally i'd say go for it

5/6/2008 8:30:25 PM

the third shift at my office works 7 straight 12 hour shifts 8pm-8am nightly, then has 7 days off. they also get paid close to time-and-a-half for all 80ish of those hours.


but it's not for everyone, most of em have young kids they want to take care of during the day, then work while they sleep. . .

5/6/2008 8:32:24 PM

If a good portion of it will be traveling, Europe and Asia you said?, then I think it's a totally different situation, too. Most of the time you spend traveling is kind of mindless anyways, so I wouldn't imagine burnout would be too bad unless you just get all sorts of messy with your sleep because of time difference.

5/6/2008 8:35:30 PM

The basic outline would have me at the Charlotte office Monday to Thursday lunch time

Then a quick flight to Philly to work with the team there for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, then back to Charlotte Saturday night

Every third week would have me in Germany for a few face-to-face meetings, which I might be able to parlay into a month or so consecutive over there if I like where things are going

So its not continual 7am to 7 pm office work or anything that would get monotonous, and the actual hours week to week would vary greatly, as they do now.

So I'm leaning toward it, I just don't want to do anything that would disrupt life on the home front too much, since I'm looking at buying a condo or house in Charlotte relatively soon.

Thanks for the replies though...I don't really have to make a decision till the 19th when they go public, so I have plenty of time to decide.

5/6/2008 8:45:34 PM

i'd say def get into the job a few months before buying a place

sounds like you'll be all over the place

which could be awesome..but could also completely wear you the fuck out

sounds like a good experience though

5/6/2008 8:50:14 PM

There is absolutely no way 70 hours a week from a worker is worth it to the company. Whatever company is doing this is stupid. Studies show that returns from a worker diminish rapidly after 40 hours and especially after a few long days in a row.


[Edited on May 7, 2008 at 1:36 AM. Reason : .]

5/7/2008 1:33:25 AM

sounds like a baller ass gig -- do it

5/7/2008 1:47:04 AM

Hell, I was working 2 jobs, about 85 hours a week and it wasn't that bad. Granted, i didn't have much social time but it's not going to kill you, and about 30 hours of this work as actual physical work not just sitting at a desk. It's not too bad really, especially if you're taking 2-3 hours (10-15 per week) as lunch. Shit, take a long nap every day at lunch and you'll be fine.

5/7/2008 1:50:16 AM

I can only work 39 hours a week since I work on Sundays. If I worked even that extra hour they'd have to paid time + 1/4 for Sunday premium. I'd love to work more. Stupid contracts. >.<

5/7/2008 6:14:52 AM

I work well over 70 hours in a typical week. Normally between 85 and 120 depending on the schedule and any extra days I pick up. That's between both jobs. Last pay period I worked 67 hours at my part time and worked 147 hours at my full time job.

social life takes a hit but oh well, that's the life you choose to lead.

5/7/2008 10:23:45 AM

how long is a pay period? 2 weeks?

5/7/2008 10:37:51 AM

yeah... sorry

5/7/2008 10:44:18 AM

damn, you worked 107 hours in one week? wtf thats inhumane

5/7/2008 10:46:36 AM

well to be fair some of those hours were sleeping... but none the less at work. We technically don't get paid for sleep time, which is 7.5 hours per 24.5 hour shift. Even if we have to wake up during our sleep time we don't get paid for that either. We can, but we'd have to be up at least 3 hours every night for 10 straight working days. That doesn't happen too much.

5/7/2008 10:55:46 AM

this time of the year in my business long weeks are standard. i've worked plenty of 70-80+ hour weeks, typically every day for 10-15 hours. i can only do it for about a month before i hit the wall. it really gets you down working from before the sun goes up till late at night, you can't have a life.

that being said, right now i am sidelined because of a broken foot and really wish i could be out in the field and not stuck in the office so much.

5/7/2008 11:43:04 AM

I did a similar working/traveling schedule for the better part of all of last year. Its neat for a while, but once the "newness" of the cities to which you are traveling wears off, it gets old really fast. My office was in Atlanta and was back and forth between the office, Reno, Houston, Detroit, Houghton, and Fayetteville, AK. Sometimes I'd be on the road for 2 weeks at a time. I generally was in the office about 1 week out of the month. I'd get in on Saturday morning and turn around and fly out again on Sunday night or Monday morning. When on the road, work days were generally from 7-8am until 9-10pm. the only compensation i received above my normal 40hr salary was a $37 per diem.

Social life really took a hit, as well as personal health. After a while people stopped calling because they just assumed I was going to be out of town. Its hard to find the motivation to work out down in the hotel fitness center (assuming it has one, some didn't) after working 12-14hrs a day.

Needless to say, I'm starting a new job in two weeks.

5/7/2008 12:18:02 PM

damn bobby, does everyone have pics now

5/7/2008 12:30:00 PM

Serious question.

Have any of you ever owned a business?

5/7/2008 1:05:00 PM

^ Sure.

70 hours a week is fine by me, been doing it for months now. It only works because I love both my jobs (school photography / wedding photography).

5/7/2008 5:25:08 PM

I routinely work 70 to 80 hours per week between 2 jobs + I'm getting my MBA part-time.

I'm tired a lot, but that's not the worst part. The worst part is having to put work ahead of your wife / family. If you're single, do it. If you're hitched, watch out. You've got to invest time in your family if you want it to stick together.

5/7/2008 7:37:09 PM

^ I know how you feel I just finished up another degree going part time for the last 4 years... needless to say sleep, marriage and my health weren't the only things to suffer... then when I did find the time to relax I found it hard to just let everything go... I always felt like I was forgetting something.

5/7/2008 8:47:51 PM

Quote :

"Have any of you ever owned a business?"

Yes, it was borne out of a little opportunism of y2k. I made a lot of money as a "y2k consulting" firm, updating computers for the state government for y2k, which basically amounted to taking old PCs, replacing them with new PCs and billing them as a y2k upgrade. I'd pay a few of my frat brothers who could assemble PCs and install images 10 bucks an hour and we'd stay up all night and crank out 20 PCs -- netting me around $300 a piece in profit.

From 1998 until a few months into 2000, I sold the NC government 500+ PCs. Of course once Y2k came and went relatively uneventfully, the whole "y2k upgrade" angle was no longer profitable.

But it was fun while it lasted.

5/7/2008 8:52:23 PM

^^ Right on. Even when a spare moment arrives, I'm like: "There has to be something on my never-ending to-do list that isn't done." It gets hard to take any moments and just enjoy life.

Particularly since my second job is piecework, meaning I only get paid when I produce. Thus, it's never "finished."

I know it sounds corny, but there's a line in The Devil Wears Prada (remember, I said I was married, fellas) where this guy goes something like: "Let me know when your whole life goes up in smoke. That just means you're ready for a promotion."

Sadly, it's next to impossible not to let work consume you if you ever want more than average in terms of cashflow. But the people in your life, and thus you, pay a price for it.

Just my buck 'o five.

[Edited on May 7, 2008 at 10:56 PM. Reason : .]

5/7/2008 10:55:37 PM

I <3 State Government. I can't work more than 40 hours in a week (which is weird as hell in software development). Absolutely zero job stress and total security.

5/8/2008 3:27:29 AM

I work maybe 40 hours a week..money is fine for being single, I get to bike to work and take lunch breaks in the Gardens,
and have my work life be determined by micro-organisms and their issues, not people.

I don't know how y'all do it, unless you got family or debt to pay off.

5/8/2008 3:47:33 AM

how much of it is 'up time' you know when you are actually doing work...

6 days a week will burn you out quick i would think....

if i worked 70 hours a week i'd be getting paid OT for 30 of it and getting more on top of that.

5/8/2008 9:16:06 AM

i fell asleep at 6pm yesterday and woke up at 8 am. life is better now.

5/8/2008 11:25:46 AM