Hours worked per year?

[sloof70]

I happened to be reading another one of those articles that compares the annual work hours of workers around the world (here). The average American works 1790 hours annually, well below the 2080 that you would work in 40 hours a week all year long. You then have to subtract your holidays and vacation to get a more accurate number. But even at that, I took my 2080, less the 10 holidays (80 hours) and my generous 4 weeks vacation (160 hours), and I still am technically working 1840 hours per year. (I should note that is only how much I work on paper, but statistics are statistics.) I would have thought between all the part-time workers, the supposed disappearance of the 40-hour week for full-time employees, and my generous vacation time, I would be below average, but nope! What gives, eh?

How many hours annually are you putting on the clock?

[Emilyngh]

I happened to be reading another one of those articles that compares the annual work hours of workers around the world (here). The average American works 1790 hours annually, well below the 2080 that you would work in 40 hours a week all year long. You then have to subtract your holidays and vacation to get a more accurate number. But even at that, I took my 2080, less the 10 holidays (80 hours) and my generous 4 weeks vacation (160 hours), and I still am technically working 1840 hours per year. (I should note that is only how much I work on paper, but statistics are statistics.) I would have thought between all the part-time workers, the supposed disappearance of the 40-hour week for full-time employees, and my generous vacation time, I would be below average, but nope! What gives, eh?

How many hours annually are you putting on the clock?

Last year I put in around 900.   This year I'm shooting for more like 700.

[lauren_knows]

36 hours per week (36 * 52 = 1872)
8 holidays (1872 - 57.6 = 1814.4) - I only get 90% of holiday pay, due to my hours
3 weeks of vacation (1814.4 - 108 = 1706.4)

1706.4 hrs

How much of that is actual work is a whole other post.

[sloof70]

How much of that is actual work is a whole other post.

Me too. I'll whine about my above average hours, but between rarely doing a full 8-5, unplanned early departures, long lunches, and ample time dicking around during lulls, it isn't a realistic number. It's just what I would report to a statistician on the matter.

[Luck12]

How much of that is actual work is a whole other post.

I'd say in a given week I do about 15 minutes of real actual work. 

[Chranstronaut]

I get two weeks vacation and 10 days sick leave a year, plus 13 paid holidays.  Theoretical minimum is then:

2080 - (13*8)holidays - (10*8)vacation - (10*8) sick leave = 1816

[SailAway]

Let's see. 24 hour shift, every third day: 2,928
Minus my half Kelly day (8x24) -192
Minus 192 hours vacation -192
Minus one sick day -24
Add back in 10 days overtime, give or take +240

2,760. I'd say winner, but it just doesn't feel right...

[MicroRN]

I work 24 hours a week, during 2 shifts.  Most of the time, I'm constantly working during those hours.  Occasionally I get a little downtime in the wee hours of the morning, but it's rare.  I don't get vacation days or sick days (I take extra pay instead) or holidays, but I can take unpaid time if I want.  About every 2-3 weeks I work an extra shift.  Assuming I took 2 weeks vacation a year, my hours would probably be about 1416 for the year = (50 weeks x 24 hours/week) + (18 extra shifts x 12 hours), but so far I haven't taken any days off this year and we don't have any planned.  Working 2 days a week makes it pretty easy to schedule around, and I regularly get 5-7 day stretches off.

[sloof70]

Let's see. 24 hour shift, every third day: 2,928

What do you do that requires a 24-hour shift? I'd guess firefighter maybe?

[GuitarStv]

Wait . . . do you mean productively worked, or time spent while at work?  In my experience the numbers are unrelated to one another.

[Inquizator]

2,760. I'd say winner, but it just doesn't feel right...

Haha, glad to see I'm not actually the winner of this dubious contest. Theoretically I should work 1880 hours/year (2080 hrs - 120 hrs vacation - 80 hrs holidays). However, even though I'm salary I actually track my working hours (just for my own knowledge). So for the last few years:
2012 - 2537 hours
2013 - 2376 hours
2014 - 1749 hours so far (that's pace to hit 2538 this year... also means I'll hit the US average of 1790 probably this Friday)

So I seem to be averaging 2484 per year (using the 2538 estimate for 2014).

I work too much.

[TheNorwegianGuy]

Around 1800 hours...

[deborah]

2,760. I'd say winner, but it just doesn't feel right...

No, I'm the winner - RE with 0 hours per year.

[bluecheeze]

40hrs/wk= 2080
13 holidays= 104
42 vacation= 336
total hrs= 1640

productivity hours worked= 80 haha assuming about 10hrs/week of real work getting done (I bascially just make sure the english is correct on reports....)

[Grog]

I have 233 working days, of this I can take 5 weeks vacation: 208 days at the office.
Requested are 8.65 hours per day. so all in all these are 1799.2 hours per year.

And now an even more interesting number: what's the percentage of working hour of your awake time??

I don't sleep much but very well (6 hours exactly), so I have to be at work 1800 hr / (365 * 18 hr) = 27.4% of my awake time.

Why does it feel like 80% ??

[Rural]

I don't keep up with mine very carefully, but I tend to work 50-60 hours a week, with wide variation depending on deadlines. Thing is, every hour is actual work, and I think that might make me a winner here. When I don't have work to do, I leave, and I do half of my work from home in the first place. I'm scheduled on campus for 12 firm hours a week, and I'm there for those unless I'm traveling for the college, but frankly, my students would rather meet by Skype than come in, anyway.

[popsy13]

I do my own business. I hardly take off. I even work on Sundays, Saturdays are also working days for me. I work for 12 hours a day.

[GuitarStv]

Wait . . . do you mean productively worked, or time spent while at work?  In my experience the numbers are unrelated to one another.

Why yes GuitarStv, that's a good point you raise.

Some of my friends have worked in Hong Kong where there's a culture of being at work before your boss and not leaving until he goes home . . . which means that average work day time spent at work can be 10 - 12 hours long.  Of course, half the people in the office are playing solitaire on their computers of texting one another on smartphones.

I can do (and have done) 14 hour days on rare occasions to complete some impossible task at work . . . but find that on average about 5-6 hrs of really productive time each day is what I muster.  There's a large part of my day filled with bullshit . . . useless meetings, listening to useless management drone on about things that don't matter or affect me at all, sorting through emails, trying to understand people who don't speak English, etc.

[JPinDC]

40 hours per week (40 * 52 = 2080)
22 holidays (2080 - 176 = 1904) - I get winter and spring breaks working at a school
4 weeks of vacation (1904 - 160 = 1744)
3 personal days & 9 sick days (1744 - 96 = 1648)

That means that I really only work 206 days out of the year! Interesting way of looking at it.

[devan 11]

  3120 hrs / yr is what I am paid,  Off the clock work is more.

[GuitarStv]

Wait . . . do you mean productively worked, or time spent while at work?  In my experience the numbers are unrelated to one another.

Why yes GuitarStv, that's a good point you raise.

Some of my friends have worked in Hong Kong where there's a culture of being at work before your boss and not leaving until he goes home . . . which means that average work day time spent at work can be 10 - 12 hours long.  Of course, half the people in the office are playing solitaire on their computers of texting one another on smartphones.

I can do (and have done) 14 hour days on rare occasions to complete some impossible task at work . . . but find that on average about 5-6 hrs of really productive time each day is what I muster.  There's a large part of my day filled with bullshit . . . useless meetings, listening to useless management drone on about things that don't matter or affect me at all, sorting through emails, trying to understand people who don't speak English, etc.

I disagree completely with your attempts to start a conversation about this topic.  Lets all ignore it completely and list hours like the good little forum 'bots we are.

[87tweetybirds]

I'm a nurse so
Scheduled for 36 hrs a week(three 12hrs) *52(though realistically it's more than that as I almost never actually get off on time. And I often pick up an extra per2 weeks, as well as an average of 4 hours a month of staff meetings and continuing education.
I work the actual holidays-or at least take my turn.
This last year I didn't take any of my pto, but I've got 36 hrs coming for January :)
So that probably means about 2000+ hours a year.
And when I'm working I really am working. Not too much downtime/goofing off time around here.

I guess the poll asked a lot of part time/"retired" people? I would be interested to know how big their sample was and how they chose who to ask.

[frugalnacho]

I have 233 working days, of this I can take 5 weeks vacation: 208 days at the office.
Requested are 8.65 hours per day. so all in all these are 1799.2 hours per year.

And now an even more interesting number: what's the percentage of working hour of your awake time??

I don't sleep much but very well (6 hours exactly), so I have to be at work 1800 hr / (365 * 18 hr) = 27.4% of my awake time.

Why does it feel like 80% ??

Another interesting number is the ratio of work to dicking around on the internet.  I try to keep my ratio around 1. 

[Elderwood17]

  3120 hrs / yr is what I am paid,  Off the clock work is more.

8.5 hrs per day...365 days a year.  That is a lot!

[lauren_knows]

Wait . . . do you mean productively worked, or time spent while at work?  In my experience the numbers are unrelated to one another.

Why yes GuitarStv, that's a good point you raise.

Some of my friends have worked in Hong Kong where there's a culture of being at work before your boss and not leaving until he goes home . . . which means that average work day time spent at work can be 10 - 12 hours long.  Of course, half the people in the office are playing solitaire on their computers of texting one another on smartphones.

I can do (and have done) 14 hour days on rare occasions to complete some impossible task at work . . . but find that on average about 5-6 hrs of really productive time each day is what I muster.  There's a large part of my day filled with bullshit . . . useless meetings, listening to useless management drone on about things that don't matter or affect me at all, sorting through emails, trying to understand people who don't speak English, etc.

I disagree completely with your attempts to start a conversation about this topic.  Lets all ignore it completely and list hours like the good little forum 'bots we are.

Don't be so sassy to yourself. I already beat you to that question ;) 

[Schaefer Light]

Wait . . . do you mean productively worked, or time spent while at work?  In my experience the numbers are unrelated to one another.

Which is precisely why I'd like to work from home.

[PeachFuzzInVA]

2,760. I'd say winner, but it just doesn't feel right...

Right there with you.

7am - 6pm M-F (50 hours/wk assuming a full 1 hour lunch) * 52 = 2600
8am - 5pm every other saturday without a lunch break = 234
Off Thanksgiving, Christmas and 1 of either Labor Day, Memorial Day, or July 4 = - 30
1 week vacation = - 50
Total = 2754 hours assuming I never get stuck at work late

No wonder I hate my field so much

[SF Semi-Mustache]

2,561.4 hours.  I bill by the hour so it's fairly exact. 

[Middlesbrough]

How much of that is actual work is a whole other post.

I'd say in a given week I do about 15 minutes of real actual work.

You win on comments.

[nirvines88]

1922 hours last year teaching (This doesn't include the 3-4 hours grading per weekend, which would add 90-120 hours.  It also does not include other off the clock work such as responding to e-mails, updating my various required school websites, parent conferences/open houses, and time spent on my own borderline obsessive organization)
502 hours last year coaching
~120 hours last year tutoring

Total: 2544 (lucky enough to be able to enjoy what I'm doing for 75%+ of these hours!)

Probably the most different thing about these jobs is that it involves practically 0 downtime while on the clock compared to previous jobs.  Sometimes at home I daydream about how I used to be able to daydream at work.

 

[alsoknownasDean]

It would depend on how much sick leave I take (I get three weeks a year and normally use around a week or so of it).

38 hours per week, multiplied by 46 weeks a year (4 weeks annual leave and ten days of public holidays) makes 1748 hours. Take sick leave and an additional day off per year my workplace gives me, and I'd be around the 1700 mark.

I'm kinda thinking about doing purchased leave next year (a pro-rata reduction in salary in return for additional leave).

[Bateaux]

Least Mustacian thing about me.  I work too much.  About 2300 hours a year with overtime.  I do work less over time now.  I've had years that my employer forced us to work more was between 2500 to 3000 hours.

[dragoncar]

2,561.4 hours.  I bill by the hour so it's fairly exact.

Damn, that's rough

[RichMoose]

Roughly 2300 - 2400 hours. Overtime is well rewarded so I can't complain. In a few years I plan to trim down under 2000.

[Cressida]

Another interesting number is the ratio of work to dicking around on the internet.  I try to keep my ratio around 1.

bahahahaha

Even at my busiest and most engaged I cannot resist the pull of some occasional dicking around on the internet.

[GuitarStv]

I figure I'm getting paid for about 24 - 25 hrs of pooping each year.  Add in multiple pee trips each day . . . it's probably close to 60 hours a year of fully compensated bathroom time.

[frugalnacho]

That is mind blowing.  I think I got you beat with my chronic diarrhea though.  5 days/week x 50 weeks/yr x 2 shits/day x 5 min/shit = 2,500 minutes = 41.7 hours.  That's an entire week spent in the bathroom per year.  Sometimes more.  Last night was pizza and rum and coke night, so i'm on pace to skew the average even higher today.

[mpbaker22]

How much of that is actual work is a whole other post.

I work about 1900/year.  I'd say actual work is more like 500.  Some of my work friends and I joke because we get company surveys "how much of your work time do you spend setting up charge numbers?"  Well the answer might be 10% of my working time.  However, it's probably only  2% of my actual time at work, so which one do I put?

[rubybeth]

1,800 hours will be worked in 2014.

I am non-salaried so technically only can work 40 hours per week, with 10 paid holidays per year. I also get paid if we close due for any reason, like due to inclement weather (it happens in Minnesota occasionally), and with all my PTO this year that I've taken, I'll be at about 200 hours off, or the equivalent of 25 days of vacation or sick time. I'm taking off tomorrow, yay short week! I reach an employment anniversary during the next pay period, so will start accruing PTO at a higher rate, which will equal 224 hours per year, or about 28 days, nearly 6 weeks. I also have a flexible schedule (my boss just doesn't care when I work, as long as I'm working my hours), so I choose to work 7am-3:30pm and have more of my afternoon/evenings to myself.

[TheDude]

well i calculate about 1880 this year but I am currently reading MMM fourms so does that count as work?

[clarkfan1979]

I work 1120 - 1700 hours a year. I am a college prof with 15 week semesters + finals. If I do not have a new prep it is 35 hours/week x 32 weeks = 1120. If I have a new prep and teach summer class it is 50 hours/week x 32 = 1600 + 100 hours for a summer class. I teach at a University with low pay, so that why the hours are low. Even though the pay is low my wage is $30-$38/hour and I only have to be at work 3 days a week. I've been applying for jobs which would pay 50%-100% more, which is good, but my hours would probably increase.   

[LowER]

>3,200.  Argghhhh...

[bacchi]

This year, about 1200 hours. I'm part-time and may or may not go back to full-time.

[arebelspy]

Around 1200 hours.

[dragoncar]

>3,200.  Argghhhh...

Hopefully you just sleep at your desk so you don't have to add any commute to that 8.8 hours every single day of the year.

[HopefulMustache]

Salaried, so let's start with the base of 40*52=2080. Less 10 holidays (80hrs), 10 days vacation (80hrs), and 3 extra days off (24hrs) and my total is 1896.

I also get 10 sick days a year, so you could say 1816 required working hours, but I've been fortunate to be in good health and have never used one. I also work from home, which makes it easier in iffy cases to work but take care of myself.

[LowER]

>3,200.  Argghhhh...

Hopefully you just sleep at your desk so you don't have to add any commute to that 8.8 hours every single day of the year.

I'm really looking forward to FIRE............

[BubbaMc]

2670 but I get paid for about 3450.