How hard do you work? (And for how long?)

islandarb said:
I work to live. Not live to work. I plan on doing this a very long time so no rush. Lots of trees and treework here, I have built a good rep, so now I just keep my weeks full and roll....im live a good life here. Love my work and strive to be solid all around....a race for the steady....
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Right on, Swingdude :rock: now that I somehow miraculously survived my wreckless years I'm like, shit, might as well play the long game now. slow burn
 
We normally meet at shop for 7 and get back at 5. Most jobsites are 20 minutes or less from our shop. 30 minutes for lunch if crew needs it, otherwise eat between jobs and take breaks as needed. When really hot in summer start at 6am. Winter is hampered by only 7 hours of daylight so we adjust to that. I am 50 so I am doing consults often 4 days a week during that time, but try to get 1 day a week climbing although I would rather all week without talking to clients. Someone has to get the jobs and I have the 32 years experience so most clients want me doing the diagnostics.

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My crew starts this time of year about 8:30.. The driver of the dump starts about 8:15-8:20, we meet the other crew member at the cafe. Quick morning chat, coffee and baked goods. Go over the previous day and any pressing details of the day ahead. We arrive about 9 am unless we are working up north. Paid lunch for the crew (actually required by the state if they are mandated to stay on premise). Half hour lunch use to be 12, but one of the two employee's likes their lunch at 1... So what ever, lunch some time between 12-1... Sometimes I will skip lunch and let the crew break. We don't take formal 15's, its elective and cool if someone needs to make a quick call or shove a snack in their face.
The goal is to have the trucks parked by 4:30, but this ranges from 1-5...
Summer months we just shift by about half an hour starting at 8 at the cafe (rarely in heatwaves we will start earlier and be done by 12-1ish).
I should add its 4 days a week....
My hours are entirely different, typically 7-7:30 to 5-6pm and ~6 days per week.

I don't do anything half assed, so I tend to do little other than work.. My hobbies take days, if I start something it consumes me and would skip work until its done... Not the best when there are employee's wanting hours, so I typically just work as my outlet.
 
I arrive at trucks about 6.30am, guys arrive a bit before 7 and we roll out to job which is within 5 mile radius. We are usually back to yard at 1.30 or 2. No food for me till after work. The guys eat/drink whenever they choose, long as its not in the middle of some intensity. I do appts after work and Sunday AM
 
cory said:
I arrive at trucks about 6.30am, guys arrive a bit before 7 and we roll out to job which is within 5 mile radius. We are usually back to yard at 1.30 or 2. No food for me till after work. The guys eat/drink whenever they choose, long as its not in the middle of some intensity. I do appts after work and Sunday AM
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Sounds pretty reasonable! I might try weekend appts when things pick up again.
 
Serf Life said:
That is so good to hear! Always thought that was bullshit not being paid for lunch when I had to be there. Good on WA for making it law.
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Agreed. I actually paid for lunch before I realized if the employee's are required to stay on site its mandatory paid. Issue is they technically are not required to stay, but for 30-45 min, there is no where to go, and I'd be pissed if they took the dump and spent another 15 min getting it all situated.. The law isn't detailed to what we do, and more so written for warehouse kinda work.

IF we take a long lunch, to get hot food on a rainy day its about a hour. I'll buy, but won't pay for the time.
 
Employee here.
Standard day would be leave home 6-6:15 am. Pickups and fuel on the way to site.
Into it at 7am.
15 min break at 10am.
Lunch break at 1pm for 30 mins.
Leave site around 4pm home at 4:45-5pm.

Bulk of the work should be done before lunch generally. So it’s a pretty intense work pace. After lunch it’s generally maintenance, fueling up, maybe some easier jobs, tidying and organising jobs for the next day.

Also should note this gives us every second Friday off paid, by doing a bit extra each day.
 
Varies by season and daylight.
95% jobs are within 2-10 minutes of my shop. The other 5% are 10-20 minutes from my shop.


Machines always are ready to work when I am, and will work for as long as I feel like it. Employees vary.

Sometimes, someone has child care obligations or child pick-up. I make sure that we have an alarm set 45 minutes before they are needing to leave the jobsite (I have time to plan what needs to happen while I have their help), 15 minutes before (keeps us on track), and they are done 5-10 minutes before they need to leave (let's them warm up a vehicle/ defrost as needed, plug Sena in, record time out, put away chaps/ PPE). They leave with a travel time cushion...keeps their personal life stress lower.

If employee(s) need to leave before I'm ready to leave, I do what I feel like doing, safely, and pack up gear, make a plan for the next day, etc.



Some days are physically and mentally easy, others are harder, so time on site is adjusted, if we are not finishing a job before the day ends. There is always some maintenance to do at the shop to finish off a day if we are done early.

Often, employees have things they would like to take care of before dinner to make their lives run, so as possible, I try to make that feasible for them. More likely that they will get to bed at a reasonable time, if they can take care of some personal biz earlier in the day.


Employees are encouraged to take breaks and lunch as much and as often as they want. I don't want to babysit them (are they hungry or tired?) or watch the clock (15 minutes is up...they might need 20). I've never hired a lazy person. People taking care of their needs makes them more capable to work well (and avoid the unnecessarily hard part of work by making better decisions).
 
Reach said:
Break? What’s that? I’m not sure I recognize that word…

I start about 6:30 Monday to Friday, and usually work until dark. One or two nights a week I’ll work in the shop on equipment maintenance until 10, and Saturdays I usually try to work not more than 6-8 hours.

I have no life, or hobbies, I just work, but I like my work, so I don’t usually mind.
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Yes, I sense you’re quite hardcore!

I don’t have any hobbies either, I played football and cricket till my mid thirties, but when that ended I just had work, and thinking about work!
 
Noodle said:
Employee here.
Standard day would be leave home 6-6:15 am. Pickups and fuel on the way to site.
Into it at 7am.
15 min break at 10am.
Lunch break at 1pm for 30 mins.
Leave site around 4pm home at 4:45-5pm.

Bulk of the work should be done before lunch generally. So it’s a pretty intense work pace. After lunch it’s generally maintenance, fueling up, maybe some easier jobs, tidying and organising jobs for the next day.

Also should note this gives us every second Friday off paid, by doing a bit extra each day.
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Sounds reasonable.

We have a saying in the UK, ’job and knock’ meaning if we do this early we go home early, I’m not going to give you another big tree to do.

You’ll hear it many mornings on site, puts a spring in everyone’s step.
 
Mick Dempsey said:
Yes, I sense you’re quite hardcore!

I don’t have any hobbies either, I played football and cricket till my mid thirties, but when that ended I just had work, and thinking about work!
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Yes, I am a bit. I tend to put my all into whatever I do.

I used to do some rock climbing, and some pretty serious inline skating, but I had to stop for a while when my appendix and I parted ways suddenly a few years ago, and I never got back into either sport afterwards.
 
I run my own business ( last year was my first year) start at 730, usually on site by 8. Depending on the job we will sometimes have a break around 10 then lunch sometime between 12-1 and usually done sometime between 1-3. I don't work long days unless it's storm work. I pick my kids up every day from daycare and school for 330 ( 4 in the summer) and will usually run out and do estimates for an hour or so with them.

I try to hustle for the morning and have a bit slower of a pace for the afternoon. I pay my guys for the day whether we finish early or not. Obviously if we work a longer day they are paid more.

I'm in it for the long game so I like the short days- I worked production for 12 years and know what a long day is haha.
 
southsoundtree said:
Varies by season and daylight.
95% jobs are within 2-10 minutes of my shop. The other 5% are 10-20 minutes from my shop.


Machines always are ready to work when I am, and will work for as long as I feel like it. Employees vary.

Sometimes, someone has child care obligations or child pick-up. I make sure that we have an alarm set 45 minutes before they are needing to leave the jobsite (I have time to plan what needs to happen while I have their help), 15 minutes before (keeps us on track), and they are done 5-10 minutes before they need to leave (let's them warm up a vehicle/ defrost as needed, plug Sena in, record time out, put away chaps/ PPE). They leave with a travel time cushion...keeps their personal life stress lower.

If employee(s) need to leave before I'm ready to leave, I do what I feel like doing, safely, and pack up gear, make a plan for the next day, etc.



Some days are physically and mentally easy, others are harder, so time on site is adjusted, if we are not finishing a job before the day ends. There is always some maintenance to do at the shop to finish off a day if we are done early.

Often, employees have things they would like to take care of before dinner to make their lives run, so as possible, I try to make that feasible for them. More likely that they will get to bed at a reasonable time, if they can take care of some personal biz earlier in the day.


Employees are encouraged to take breaks and lunch as much and as often as they want. I don't want to babysit them (are they hungry or tired?) or watch the clock (15 minutes is up...they might need 20). I've never hired a lazy person. People taking care of their needs makes them more capable to work well (and avoid the unnecessarily hard part of work by making better decisions).
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Sean this is on point.....we all have differing circumstances. Love what you are doing here. Makes perfect sense how you roll. Keep everything well oiled. Folk be happy.
 
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