# Workin' 9 to 5...or 8 to 4? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 22, 2010, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043 "2010-04-22T23:05:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043/21 "2010-04-23T00:06:47Z")
10 to 6, ideally 9:30 to 5:30 fairly often 9 to 5 once upon a time 8 to 4? never. (I did some commutes that required me getting up awfully early but never had to BE there working by 8 am. ugh!) ---
**Author:** ![Silvorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Silvorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silvorange)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043/22 "2010-04-23T00:08:04Z")
It’s pretty unusual for me to work the same hours for even two days straight. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![JayRx1981](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71e660/32.png) [@JayRx1981](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JayRx1981)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043/23 "2010-04-23T00:12:55Z")
9-9 without a lunch break. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043/24 "2010-04-23T00:21:51Z")
> [@JayRx1981](#): > > 9-9 without a lunch break. 7 to 7 then a bit off and on at home in the evening. I often forget that I start working 2 hours earlier than most people do because I’ve always done it. In my mind, I work 2 hours later than most people. I have to stop and remind myself I start 1-2 hours before most people on top of that. I don`t know what I would do with myself if I ever worked only 8 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043/25 "2010-04-23T00:23:47Z")
I’m always surprised how many people out there actually work 9-5… I’m about 8:30ish to 6:30ish. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043/26 "2010-04-23T00:25:16Z")
8 to 6, standard for the industry. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043/27 "2010-04-23T00:30:26Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > What, no 10 to 6? No, because I just wanted to know which of the two poll options were the more common. We all know that not everyone works those hours, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043/28 "2010-04-23T00:32:44Z")
In theory, 10.30am-6.30pm two days a week, 10.30am-10.30pm the other two days, and three days off. In practice, I almost never leave before 7pm on the short days, and often nearer 8pm, and the late nights are usually more like 11pm. Then I have a 90-minute journey home. (Today I was lucky and got away at 10.15pm, so I was home before midnight!) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043/29 "2010-04-23T00:45:45Z")
6:50 to 3:20 Technically, I’m scheduled 7-3:30, but I always show up at least 10 minutes early by habit. And, since my cow-orker is ALWAYS at least 10 minutes late without any kind of repercussion from management, I decided to modify my hours accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043/30 "2010-04-23T00:48:22Z")
9:30 to 6:30, most days. Most people around here work 9 to 6 though. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043/31 "2010-04-23T00:50:25Z")
6am-2pm. I work for the state of California, and do not have to take a lunch. However, a month ago, I was working at the same pay, with the same job title, in the same room, with the same people, same supervisor, nothing changed but the pages I was working on…doing something different…and HAD to take a lunch. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043/32 "2010-04-23T01:00:11Z")
I’ve always wondered where the meme of working 9 to 5 came from. Full-time (in the U.S.) entails an eight hour day, assuming five days a week. A nominal hour off for lunch is required, so that’s 9 to 6 or 8 to 5 or whatever. Were corporate office type jobs ever really 9 to 5 with a paid lunch break? ---
**Author:** ![nikonikosuru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@nikonikosuru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nikonikosuru)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043/33 "2010-04-23T01:05:24Z")
7:15-3:15. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043/34 "2010-04-23T01:07:27Z")
745-445 ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043/35 "2010-04-23T01:10:48Z")
8-5 officially, 8:20-6 or so realistically. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043/36 "2010-04-23T01:11:09Z")
11:30-8pm ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043/37 "2010-04-23T01:17:09Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > I’ve always worked 8 to 5, which is 8 hours of work and 1 for lunch. Office hours in our area are 8 to 5. As a child growing up, anybody I ever knew who had an office job worked 8 to 5. When that song “9 to 5” came out, I was utterly confused. After I got out of college, I worked office jobs for about 14 years. They were 8 to 5 jobs. Now that I’m self employed, I work from about 8:30 to 5:00, take a break, and work some more later. I also work off and on over the weekend. I still don’t know any people who work 9 to 5. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043/38 "2010-04-23T02:18:58Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I’ve always wondered where the meme of working 9 to 5 came from. Full-time (in the U.S.) entails an eight hour day, assuming five days a week. A nominal hour off for lunch is required, so that’s 9 to 6 or 8 to 5 or whatever. Were corporate office type jobs ever really 9 to 5 with a paid lunch break? A lot of jobs, like mine, pay you for 7.5 hours a day, and you have a required 30 minute unpaid lunch. googling “work 37.5 hours” gets you over 400,000 hits and "“full time 37.5 hours” is almost a million and a half, so it’s not too uncommon. ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043/39 "2010-04-23T02:23:20Z")
Neither. Used to be 8:30 to 5:30 (does anyone work 7 hours anymore?) but was just given the option of flex hours, so I’ve started working about from 9:30 to 6:30. I am not a morning person. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043/40 "2010-04-23T02:58:19Z")
Ugh i voted before reading the OP, i picked the hours i would prefer not what i have so switch one of the votes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/workin-9-to-5-or-8-to-4/537043.md?page=3)