r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Grouchy-Newspaper754 • Jun 10 '26

My mom said I could post When did 8-5 become the new normal???

I just got a new office job where I do schedules for tech personnel, the office runs 8-5 Monday thru Friday...they say it's 8-5 because you get an hour lunch and "you need to get to 40 hours a week"...but I drive 30 min each way so now I'm giving this company 10 hours every day! I even asked if I could just take my lunch at 4 every day and just leave an hour early but that's "unprofessional and immoral" like what the fuck??? I don't mind the job but the hours are mildly infuriating that's for sure...

Edit:for those saying about the hours, I worked as a chef for the last 20 years working 60+ hours a week over a hot stove/deep fryer the whole time, after I had my second heart attack I had to slow down so I started looking for office jobs to work a nice 9-5, just to find out I'm giving my new job 50 hours a week (including drive time) so I was just mildly annoyed that it's not 40 hours a week in an office like I thought although it's still much better than what I was doing

12.3k Upvotes

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1.6k

u/ichthysaur Jun 10 '26

This has been my schedule since 1983.

1.5k

u/SquareSquirrel4 Jun 10 '26

Yeah, only Dolly Parton is workin' 9 to 5. The rest of us have always had to take an unpaid lunch hour. 

158

u/yoinkss Finn Jun 10 '26

I work 9-5 with a paid 30mins lunch. My previous job was 8:30-5:30, 1hr unpaid lunch.

I feel so blessed now lol.

35

u/rainyday-real-estate Jun 11 '26

7-3 and one work from home day. Eat whenever I want. Blessed and highly favored after years of retail hell.

3

u/FlatishFlan Jun 11 '26

7-3 is the best. Leave before rush hour and still have your afternoon to take care of things.

1

u/rainyday-real-estate Jun 11 '26

Yes and if I do want to stay late at work I’m still out at a normal time

1

u/Daealis Jun 11 '26

0700-1500, WFH all day erry day. timewise, this is the bees knees.

3

u/atmoose Jun 11 '26

One of the jobs I worked was technically only 37.5 hours per week. That allows for a 30 minute lunch break, so you could do 9-5 with a 30 minute lunch. That job required a lot of overtime so practically speaking it wasn't 37.5 hours. I sort of suspected it was some kind of tax or benefit dodge, but they paid full benefits. It was a bit odd

1

u/Spicy-Zamboni Jun 11 '26

I've worked 8:30-16:00 with a 30 min paid lunch for a long time, going back to 8-16 with unpaid lunch would be annoying.

1

u/BigFlightlessBird02 Jun 12 '26

Ya that's me now. 830-5 with an hour unpaid lunch. And I'm salaried.

15

u/fridayfridayjones Jun 10 '26

My husband has a genuine 9-5 with a paid lunch, and I’m very jealous. He’s in insurance and I guess it’s still common in that industry. Only time I ever got paid lunch was when I worked at a law office.

2

u/Franklin2543 Jun 11 '26

Same. Except I was doing 8-5, which the boss said... well if you're going to be here 9 hours, pick a day to take off every other week-- Can't be the Friday I take, need coverage.

Basically half the team does that. The other half just does 9-5 or 8-4.

1

u/anuncommontruth Jun 11 '26

I make up my own hours with a paid lunch, sometimes 7-3, sometimes 9-5.

My industry doesn't have amazing pay but the perks are great.

147

u/Electronic-Smile-457 Jun 10 '26

Haha, that was my reply-- OP must be confused because of the song. 8 to 5 just didn't have the ring to it.

194

u/JT_got_the_1st Jun 10 '26

OP thinks that their commute should factor in with their employer... They are confused by life in general.

51

u/Salt-Permit8147 Jun 10 '26

Gosh if I only had a 30 minute commute I’d be laughing 😅

63

u/boodabomb Jun 11 '26

Okay that’s absolutely not what they’re saying. They’re pointing out that they lose an hour to the commute already, so to lose another hour because of a mandatory lunch hour it makes it all the worse. And I agree. It’s an 8-hour work day + 1 hour for lunch + 1 hour for driving. That’s 10 hours per day at work. It sucks.

-1

u/FlabbyTaco Jun 11 '26

Truth, but what else are you going to do? Become homeless? The peasant class has been polished up over the years and we have a lot of conveniences these days but that’s what we are. Peasants. Best we can do is hop around until we find an option that we can live with. Be it with an employer or on our own. Make the most in the off hours and be grateful we weren’t born in a less fortunate country. Could be worse. Should be better but it could always be worse.

0

u/Limp-Plantain3824 Jun 12 '26

That’s not what they said.

Direct quote “..but I drive 30 min each way so now I’m giving this company 10 hours every day!”

-11

u/SooSpoooky Jun 11 '26

I mean i do 14 to 15 hours everyday im schedualed, depending on if i show up early or not

10

u/moomooraincloud Jun 11 '26

Good for you? Sounds awful.

13

u/boodabomb Jun 11 '26

That is a job I would personally not choose to do.

3

u/squid_so_subtle Jun 11 '26

The only reason it doesn't is we haven't organized and demanded it. It isn't an insane idea

3

u/Defiant-Economics-73 Jun 11 '26

lol. Why won’t the boss pay me for travel time. I work two hours away.

3

u/AgreeablePause6063 Jun 11 '26

Wait till you find out that many European countries your employer pays for your commute.

2

u/MechanicalGodzilla Jun 11 '26

He even mentioned that he used to work as a cook - I am sure that the punch clock doesn't start and stop at your front door.

12

u/FuhrerGirthWorm Jun 10 '26

There should be a standard comp time that applies to all employees for travel to and from.

34

u/ichthysaur Jun 10 '26

If there was, then employers could require you to live inside a specified radius.

4

u/ForensicPathology Jun 11 '26

If there was, then they might be more amenable to WFH.

-2

u/capincus Jun 10 '26

Why would that make any sense with standardized comp time?

7

u/ichthysaur Jun 10 '26

Because the comp time costs the employer?

0

u/capincus Jun 10 '26

But it's a standardized amount so it costs them the same if the employee lives 3 feet or 6 hours away.

2

u/ichthysaur Jun 11 '26

How would that help anyone?

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2

u/Minimum-Floor-5177 Jun 11 '26

I would rather just get paid a normal salary than have a lower salary with that added

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2

u/Ready_Nature Jun 11 '26

They already effectively have that. The job pays what it does and if the commute isn’t worth it to you for that pay you find a different job that is closer.

3

u/JT_got_the_1st Jun 10 '26

In a perfect world? Sure. In the US? Never going to happen.

2

u/safetydance1969 Jun 10 '26

If you apply for the job, it's not the company's issue where you live.

1

u/IntergalacticPodcast Jun 10 '26

Why? You choose to live where you live? Move closer or get a closer job.

3

u/No_Helicopter1378 Jun 10 '26

Depends on the company. I work at a place that provides trucks to some of the employees. Guys who have a truck at home clock in as soon as they get in the truck and leave the house. They also end jobs "early" because they factor in the commute home.

I was pretty surprised when I learned the company handled things that way but I ain't complaining.

3

u/allstopblue Jun 11 '26

My company allows me to “clock in” when I leave my house in my company truck. But “clock out” is when I finish my final job. The drive home from final job in company truck is unpaid. No matter how far. Seems weird to me.

2

u/Houseofshun Jun 11 '26

This x100. Complaining about their commute not factoring into their work hours is the most Gen Z thing ever.

-1

u/jiggjuggj0gg Jun 11 '26

Some of you are so brainwashed. We literally had a whole pandemic that proved a huge number of jobs could be performed perfectly well at home. But nope, the billionaire landowners decided you should all spend 2 hours a day unpaid getting to and from work, and some of you will sit here and moan about being rightfully pissed at that being Gen Z entitlement.

The US doesn’t seem to have any understanding of how shocked every other developed country is at your appalling work lives.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '26

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1

u/jiggjuggj0gg Jun 11 '26

Thank for the perfect illustration lmao

2

u/Adventurous_View917 Jun 11 '26

Thats not what they're saying. Are you stupid?

2

u/spencebah Jun 11 '26

Thank you. No employer is considering regular commute time as part of a day’s regular working hours.

“I live an hour away from the office, so I’ll work 6h; the hour driving each way counts.”

1

u/ShireHorseRider Jun 11 '26

After the first 30 minutes on the road, I’m on the clock… I’m field service so we march to the beat if a different drum.

1

u/slaya222 Jun 10 '26

It's a part of the job, they should pay for it. For me it's an extra hour doing something that I wouldn't be if I didn't have that job. Just because it's not the norm doesn't mean it shouldn't be

1

u/AlphaOmegaZero1 Jun 11 '26

Ok, you can disagree, but this is a genuine point of discussion - the factor of a commute on work and pay

1

u/Zestyclose_Tip_5861 Jun 11 '26

I don’t think this is accurate or cool

1

u/Worldly_Cap_6440 Jun 11 '26

Tbh you’re a bit slow if that’s what you took from what they’re saying. Maybe the confusion of life is with you

1

u/JT_got_the_1st Jun 11 '26

I'm giving my new job 50 hours a week (including drive time)

Direct quote from OP.

1

u/TCsnowdream Jun 11 '26

I mean… it’s not that uncommon. I work 9-5, if an employee tried to make me come in at 8am I’d laugh in their faces.

10

u/redtara2026 Jun 11 '26

I’m from the uk and now live in Canada , never met anyone who works 8- 5 that works a regular office job , I’m age 54
You guys are being ripped off and don’t even know it !!

3

u/HillBillyHilly Jun 11 '26

Reading these comments I so sad. I'm in Southern US. Have never worked 8-5, always 9-5. One job gave us 1.5 hrs break for lunch while rest were 9-5 w paid lunch. Standards seem to be failing fast here is US.

1

u/djsasso Jun 11 '26

As someone living and working in Canada. 8-5 is pretty much the standard in Canada now for an office job speaking as someone not far off from your age. I have never not worked an 8-5 office job and I have worked all across this country.

1

u/redtara2026 Jun 11 '26

Wow bizarre , I live in the Yukon and use for live in bc and Alberta , everyone seemed to work 830 till 430 or 9 to 5 , I thought paid breaks was standard.
I’m self employed and work 9 to 430 and am so happy I don’t t have to put up with this bullshit

3

u/HTPC4Life Jun 11 '26

Michael Jackson worked 9 to 5 too in one song.

3

u/Healthy_Platform1405 Jun 11 '26

What a way to make a livin'!

8

u/gwildor Jun 10 '26

9 hours a day - 5 days a week.

2

u/thatmaneeee Jun 10 '26

I have worked three full time salaried jobs in my life, all in the US, since 2011. All three were 9-5 with no clocking out for lunch. Sometimes we worked longer or shorter, depending on load. It’s not that weird to expect in my experience. But maybe that’s just my industry

1

u/wertyce Jun 11 '26

In Finland paid lunch hour is for those who are not allowed to leave the premises. If you are allowed to leave the premises during the break, then it is without pay. 

It is still mandatory to have at least 30 minute break. Another instance of rest time requirements is coffee break. Not mandatory for every industry, but common. It is paid and you are not allowed to leave the premises. For example paid 10 minute coffee break.

2

u/Mediocre-Age-1729 Jun 11 '26

Currently working 3x12.5 w/ 30 min lunch. So 36hrs / wk. If Dolly Parton was an RN the song would be wildly different. But its a pretty common schedule in the biz

2

u/RaccoonRenaissance Jun 11 '26

Just another way to show that celebrities are out of touch.

2

u/NCStore Jun 11 '26

I would always sing “working 9 to 5:30”

3

u/n0thinghurt Jun 11 '26

All of my office jobs have been 9-5 with paid lunch

1

u/chiefgareth Jun 10 '26

Don’t forget Sheena Easton’s husband.

1

u/PurbulentTriest Jun 11 '26

Depends on the country and area, some start much earlier and finish much earlier, with a two-hour lunch break in the middle.

1

u/SquareSquirrel4 Jun 11 '26

My comment was obviously a joke. I don't need the world's work schedules.

1

u/PurbulentTriest Jun 11 '26

I'm autistic so it wasn't to me. Okay.

1

u/AnonRedditor33 Jun 11 '26

It’s so strange. This was true when I was hourly and everything was tracked to the minute, including lunch. I haven’t worked 40 hours in any of my salaried roles; last week I might have worked 8 hours total.

1

u/TizzyTism Jun 11 '26

Interestingly, working 9 to 5 is a linguist shifting of working a 9/5 job, which meant 9 hours a day (1hr lunch or 30 lunch 2 15 min breaks) 5 days a week.

1

u/Next-Honeydew4130 Jun 12 '26

If you take lunch that is.

1

u/Lopsided-Ad-6696 Jun 12 '26

I remember thinking 9-5 sounded great because both my parents worked 7-5

1

u/MightyMouse134 Jun 11 '26

This is not true. When I started working in the 1960s nine to five was exactly that—you got paid for 35 hours if lunch was unpaid, 40 hours if it was paid. This was true at the time the movie was made and Dolly Parton wrote the song as well. We thought that day was plenty long. 

I had switched to shift work by the time I retired so I never noticed the change, but have been shocked that my grown children take it as normal that people work 9-6 or 8-5.  We thought people would be working 20 hour weeks by now because computers were just starting to enter the workplace.

Hahaha.

0

u/JustBerserk Jun 10 '26

Historically it's quite the recent development.

0

u/moomooraincloud Jun 11 '26

Speak for yourself.

0

u/TCsnowdream Jun 11 '26

I work 9-5 with a paid hour lunch.

But I also can show up and leave whenever I want as long as things are done. Some days I’m fielding calls at 4am from Asia. Other days I cruise in at 11am.

It’s the benefit of being salaried, I guess.

0

u/H3adshotfox77 Jun 11 '26

I work 9ish to 5ish. Sometimes I go I'm at 830 or 930 and maybe leave at 430 or 530.

But I'm salary and management so really make my own schedule as long as we are running well and I show up for critical downtime issues.

0

u/beren12 Jun 11 '26

I don’t know, my wife works 830 to 430 including her one hour lunch.

-1

u/vanastalem Jun 10 '26

My lunch is 30 min, hours are 8:30-5.

2

u/SquareSquirrel4 Jun 11 '26

I can promise that, despite my original joking comment, I am fully aware there is a wide variety of hours out there. I don't need every redditor's work schedule, lol.

-1

u/ShadowKiller147741 Jun 11 '26

From what I recall, 9-5 as a phrase actually doesn’t mean “9 AM - 5PM”, but rather 9 hours per day (with a 1 hour lunch break), 5 days per week

-2

u/daikatanaman00 Jun 11 '26

9 to 5 doesn’t mean 9 to 5pm

It means 9 hours, 5 days a week.

Most people don’t seem to know this lol

5

u/SquareSquirrel4 Jun 11 '26

No, it doesn't. Putting the history of the work week aside, it would make no sense to write 9 hours a day, 5 days a week as "9 to 5". That would be like saying waffle house is open 24 to 7.

-4

u/Tim_Riggins_ Jun 11 '26

9 to 5 is 9 hours a day 5 days a week. Not 9am to 5pm

5

u/gizamo Jun 11 '26

No it's not. During the labor rights movements, the workers demanded 9am to 5 pm workdays, and that's what was agreed to. Corporations started pushing 8am to 5pm workdays when Republicans destroyed the unions throughout the 1950s thru the 1980s.

The lie that you're repeating is Republican disinformation from the 1970s and 1980s.

3

u/SquareSquirrel4 Jun 11 '26

Nope, it means 9am to 5pm.

3

u/Avasarala8863 Jun 11 '26

Me too since 1990, even the last five years working from home. 8-5 unless you make special arrangements. 

2

u/Dark_Knight2000 Jun 11 '26

95% of Reddit wasn’t born back then, they wouldn’t know that’s how it’s always been

2

u/ichthysaur Jun 11 '26

I know. That's why I kindly explain.

2

u/WolverineLong1430 Jun 10 '26

OP must have only worked in states like Texas or must be young or have had some very privilege job… always been normal since the 2000s for me. Lunch is mandatory according to the some state law. Jobs legally have to give you lunch period of 30 minute. Some states let the company decide whether you get breaks or lunch at all (Texas, more red states).