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And more logical than taking advice from people saying there's nothing wrong with getting up and leaving on time every day when the op doesn't report to them, and they know nothing about the company culture and expectations. If the op loses her job, are they going to chip in to support her?
Exactly.
What works for BigDGeek may not work for everyone else, because nobody else is BigDGeek but me. And none of y'all work where I work. I can tell you how I manage my time at work but I personally wouldn't do anything just because some random lady on the internet said it was OK.
When in doubt, I talk to the boss. I even talked to him before scheduling a dental appointment to see if those hours needed to be made up (and how would he prefer I go about doing that).
When it comes to stuff like this, I find it works better for me to ask for permission/clarification NOW rather than forgiveness LATER.
Precisely why I questioned whether the OP has brought up the issue with his supervisor. No two companies are alike and it seems that asking one's boss for guidance is the first logical step.
I agree. I'm sure there are people here (here being my office) who wonder what my deal is because I pretty much come and go whenever. But, I made sure my boss was the type of person who cared about the work and results and not face time before I accepted this job. I wouldn't work for a person who valued face time because it isn't my style and I'm an efficient worker.
The OP definitely should just ask his/her boss. I personally didn't directly ask "is it okay if I come in at 9:00 and leave at 4:00?" Instead, I asked about whether there was a face time culture during my interviews and then asked if there's anything different he wants from me in our one on one meetings that we have each month. I asked again my performance review. As long as he's happy, I am happy enough to keep working here.
I'm in a similar situation that I've felt quite uncomfortable about since starting my job as well. I'm an entry level EE, and when I was hired I was told all about how the hours are super flexible, come in, put in your 8 hours, that's all that matters. I come in at 7:30 and usually don't take a lunch, and leave at 4 (8.5 hours). Every single day, I feel so uncomfortable leaving since everyone else stays later, even if they came in around the same time as me. I always feel like I'm sneaking out, even though I worked more than 8 hours. I could never leave at 3:30 even though that's my 8.
Nobody has ever approached me about it, and my reviews were overly positive, yet still it's a discomfort. I'm with you.. I'm not going to work more than I'm being paid for (salary).. I value my life too much to spend more than necessary at work. I just can never understand why so many stay so late. Do they all work way more hours than I? Do they take 1-2 hour lunches?
I kind of figure I just keep doing what I'm doing, and as long as my reviews are positive, try not to let it bother me.
What works for BigDGeek may not work for everyone else, because nobody else is BigDGeek but me. And none of y'all work where I work. I can tell you how I manage my time at work but I personally wouldn't do anything just because some random lady on the internet said it was OK.
When in doubt, I talk to the boss. I even talked to him before scheduling a dental appointment to see if those hours needed to be made up (and how would he prefer I go about doing that).
When it comes to stuff like this, I find it works better for me to ask for permission/clarification NOW rather than forgiveness LATER.
I'm pretty sure the OP has already considered asking their boss.
The likely reason they went out of their way to pose the question on this forum was to get everyone else's opinion on the issue first, from people who can't fire them practically on the whim and aren't signing their paychecks.
There's no telling what type of bag the boss will come out of if approached with the question, as every boss is different...
I'm in a similar situation that I've felt quite uncomfortable about since starting my job as well. I'm an entry level EE, and when I was hired I was told all about how the hours are super flexible, come in, put in your 8 hours, that's all that matters. I come in at 7:30 and usually don't take a lunch, and leave at 4 (8.5 hours). Every single day, I feel so uncomfortable leaving since everyone else stays later, even if they came in around the same time as me. I always feel like I'm sneaking out, even though I worked more than 8 hours. I could never leave at 3:30 even though that's my 8.
Nobody has ever approached me about it, and my reviews were overly positive, yet still it's a discomfort. I'm with you.. I'm not going to work more than I'm being paid for (salary).. I value my life too much to spend more than necessary at work. I just can never understand why so many stay so late. Do they all work way more hours than I? Do they take 1-2 hour lunches?
I kind of figure I just keep doing what I'm doing, and as long as my reviews are positive, try not to let it bother me.
I must admit, I often feel guilty like this as well. I don't know why because I do everything I was hired to do. I truly don't understand why it takes other people on my team so long to do the same job I do. But, that guilt isn't enough to keep me chained to this desk one second longer than I need to be, so I go home and get on with life anyway.
Like you, as long as the reviews are positive I am going to keep doing what I am doing. Honestly, if my reviews were to become negative over face time only, I'll be looking for another job or a cheaper house.
I must admit, I often feel guilty like this as well. I don't know why because I do everything I was hired to do. I truly don't understand why it takes other people on my team so long to do the same job I do. But, that guilt isn't enough to keep me chained to this desk one second longer than I need to be, so I go home and get on with life anyway.
Like you, as long as the reviews are positive I am going to keep doing what I am doing. Honestly, if my reviews were to become negative over face time only, I'll be looking for another job or a cheaper house.
Same here. I understand some positions require you to put in extra work, and that's just how the culture is here in the US. But I'm sorry, I just value my time too much. Some I'm sure would say I'm lazy, but I'm not going to stay late every night just to look good. Work is work, it's just a means to get by. I'd much rather find a new job if it ever became a problem. Another engineer friend, any time they put over 8 hours monday through thursday, they get to just leave early Friday. So I know there's places out there like that, so it makes me feel a bit better that I'm not a complete outsider just putting in my 8 hours.
Another odd point was when hiring a new EE, when out to lunch with my supervisor, he was telling him about how you should take at least half hour lunch every day, and shouldn't leave before 4. Yet my VP told me to do whatever if I get my 8 hours. First, I don't understand the need to stay til 4, which is where a lot of the discomfort comes from. And also, I'd been working through lunch 3-4 days a week since I've been working here, yet no one has ever said a thing. So I think again it comes back to just doing my own thing and just seeing how it goes.
Dont ever stay late. Its bs and useless. Your employers will just use you and you'll never get a significant raise. I will never stay late again for any employer. Its who you know not how hard you work.
Obviously a lot will depend on the office culture, the company etc... but for my part I am an 8-4 and I leave at 4 exact. If the boss wants me to stay extra to do X, I will be more than happy to stay otherwise I am out by 4.
I work in an office. My hours are from 8am to 4:30pm.
I get in around 7:55am everyday. By the time 4:30pm comes around I am ready to go. Like, I am so ready to go. Now, I'll never leave early, but I'd like to leave at 4:30pm on the dot.
Yet, I'd be the only one in the entire office doing so. I feel like people will think I'm a slacker or something because I'm leaving on time...ie. at the end of my office hours.
Why do I feel like this? Why don't people leave at 4:30pm? Don't people have lives to get to? Don't people wanna be done with work at a certain time? I spend so many hours of my day here, my life here 5 and 6 days a week. Come 4:30pm I should be done, yet I feel obligated to stay and really do nothing...just show face and "look busy" when in reality I'm not busy...I'm bored...I'm tired, mentally drained, I just wanna leave.
I'm very productive during the day, so my work is always 100% complete by the end of the day, so why do I feel the need to stay?
It's so annoying to me. This is my time now. This is my life, not yours, work!
Am I being a Prima Donna or something?
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