# Salaried employees - How much unpaid overtime a week do you work? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 11, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998 "2010-08-11T23:46:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998/1 "2010-08-11T23:46:03Z")
…and what is your profession? For me, it’s about 10-12 hours a week, and I’m a licensed professional Engineer. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998/2 "2010-08-12T00:04:18Z")
Not a lot. Perhaps 1-2 hours per week on average. I try to keep it to a minimum. Actuary ---
**Author:** ![Nunavut\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@Nunavut\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunavut_Boy)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998/3 "2010-08-12T00:12:46Z")
I stop myself from dealing with all but the most pressing issues. Luckily there’s no pressure to work unpaid overtime and things are running fairly smoothly. At the moment. Knock on wood. Lab Manager ---
**Author:** ![Jammer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@Jammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jammer)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998/4 "2010-08-12T00:37:28Z")
I picked 6-10. If I counted hours in airports and on planes outside normal business hours, it would be more. A lot more some weeks. I’m a director level executive in a large technology services corporation. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998/5 "2010-08-12T00:39:19Z")
I only listed fairly low actual hours (in the high 40’s) but I am head of technology for a famous name pharmaceutical factory. I am a contractor an my stated hours are 8 hours in the office and on call from 6 am - 9 pm Monday through Friday but in reality I am on call all of the time and have to respond instantly to any problems and they happen many times a week. I get woken up for conference calls at 2 am sometimes and they can’t end until everything is fixed. It happens in real-time which may take hours. I always have to have an exit strategy for social events events and have to have my laptop and a work phone on page all the time. I can’t really do anything during the week and be completely free and clear unless I coordinate it in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998/6 "2010-08-12T00:46:27Z")
I didn’t answer, because it depends on the definition of overtime. I spend a lot of time on external technical activities, which far from being hidden is actually on my goals for the year. If I count the time spent at home on them, it would be 16-20. However I enjoy doing this stuff so much that I’ll keep on after I retire, if I can, so calling it unpaid overtime just doesn’t feel right. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998/7 "2010-08-12T01:30:29Z")
I usually stay about 20 - 30 minutes late each day; very rarely I’ll do some work during lunch. Sometimes I do a bit of online research at home. I haven’t had to report to work on a weekend yet. I’m currently employed as an engineer (mostly mechanical). ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998/8 "2010-08-12T01:45:54Z")
Yeah, I’m an “it depends” type. Sometimes it’s no overtime, sometimes I blow my whole weekend going to a required conference (and not one of those “go golfing” conferences). I work at a medical center in research. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998/9 "2010-08-12T01:55:56Z")
Teacher, and it depends. My first year it was in the 20-25 range pretty regularly (7:30-7:30 hours, plus some weekend hours). Now I’ve gotten it down so that most of the time I work an extra hour every day, plus about an hour or so on weekends, with some weeks with significantly more hours. ---
**Author:** ![BlakeTyner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@BlakeTyner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlakeTyner)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998/10 "2010-08-12T02:16:12Z")
College instructor. I work 30 hours a week. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998/11 "2010-08-12T02:20:21Z")
> [@Jammer](#): > > I picked 6-10. If I counted hours in airports and on planes outside normal business hours, it would be more. A lot more some weeks. I sure as heck would count them. Some weeks I might spend 80 hours between work and travel. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998/12 "2010-08-12T13:06:03Z")
For me it varies considerably, but I chose 11 to 15. This week will probably be 18 hours, and other weeks is none. When I’m in the home office, it’s almost always zero. I’m a manufacturing engineer for an large automobile company. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998/13 "2010-08-12T13:11:15Z")
I have a 35 hour work week, and it’s a damn rare event that I’m still logged in to my phone at 5:01. ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998/14 "2010-08-12T13:42:09Z")
College English professor, and I chose 6 to 10. My primary problem is that I don’t manage my time wisely; the secondary problem is boredom. I have to read and grade so many papers every week, many of which are dreadfully written and/or dreadfully boring to read, so I often allow myself to get distracted by the internet, conversation with colleagues, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998/15 "2010-08-12T13:44:12Z")
HR Manager, very little. In fact if you take out the time I spend on the Dope, I probably owe my company time at the end of each week. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998/16 "2010-08-12T13:44:15Z")
Here there is no such thing. In this jurisdiction the most one can work on salary is 44 hours, after which they must be paid time-and-a half of what their hourly average is. The idea is to prevent job situations where “management trainees” are exploited. In some situations, a tired “management trainee” can be dangerous, and the Province recognizes that. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998/17 "2010-08-12T13:44:45Z")
I put zero, which is not technically true. A number of times a year I have to put in overtime…but it averages out to maybe 3-4 extra days in the whole year, so low as to not be counted. Those days are back-breaking, however. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998/18 "2010-08-12T14:07:04Z")
Electrical engineer; I put zero because I get paid for overtime (albeit only at the rate of my salary i.e. overtime pay = (salary / nominal time) \* overtime)). My weekly overtime usually is -5 to +8 hours (I have a time account). Used to be 10-25 hours but I was workaholic then and have since recovered. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998/19 "2010-08-12T14:11:58Z")
Geologist - very little if any. I work 9 to 10 hours a day but participate in the available 9/80 plan so every other Friday, the point at which I’d be accumulating overtime hours, I’m not even here. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998/20 "2010-08-12T14:13:20Z")
I leave 15 minutes early every day, sometimes half an hour early when the bosses aren’t here. No OT for me! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salaried-employees-how-much-unpaid-overtime-a-week-do-you-work/549998.md?page=2)