Commuters and Work /traveling hours.
Discussion
Second to last fair i picked up a business man who rushed out of a mainline station and jumped in my cab,he wanted to got to a smaller station in a village around 10 miles away,this was about 2.30am.
He was obviously tired and not much was said besides the way he rushed to my cab i could tell by his body language 'home' was his priority so i hacked it up the B road and taking a short cut through a country lane i saw a branch across the road,he asked if needed a hand to move it but i said dont worry mate i should manage,i cleared the branch and jumped back in the cab, my passenger then opened up that he works for a finance Co in the City and had just done 3x18 days one after the other and that he had to be on the train for 0620 am back into London,i dropped him at his car at 02.45 and watched for him to leave as he requested,nice bloke and i felt sorry for him.
Are these hours normal for a commuter?,if so how do you do it?,why do you do it?,surely you must enter into some sort of auto pilot stage around wednesday lunch time.
He was obviously tired and not much was said besides the way he rushed to my cab i could tell by his body language 'home' was his priority so i hacked it up the B road and taking a short cut through a country lane i saw a branch across the road,he asked if needed a hand to move it but i said dont worry mate i should manage,i cleared the branch and jumped back in the cab, my passenger then opened up that he works for a finance Co in the City and had just done 3x18 days one after the other and that he had to be on the train for 0620 am back into London,i dropped him at his car at 02.45 and watched for him to leave as he requested,nice bloke and i felt sorry for him.
Are these hours normal for a commuter?,if so how do you do it?,why do you do it?,surely you must enter into some sort of auto pilot stage around wednesday lunch time.
ZR1cliff said:
had just done 3x18 days one after the other.
God! I’d be more than happy working 18 days on the trot if I only had to manage a 3 hour day
Seriously though. From July 97 to April 02 I spent, on average, 4 hours a day commuting by car from Brighton to various locations in the M3/M4 corridor. It went up to 6 hours a day by train when I got banned for speeding for 6 months.
Looking back on it now I thought I was being clever getting back to “cool” Brighton every night when all my colleagues were living in crappy commuter towns like Woking, Brackenell etc.
Now I look back on it as a period of sheer madness. I used to drive my car to a country lane, let the seat down and have a nap during my lunch hour. I’d then get 5-10 min naps in the office toilet cubicles during the afternoon. I’d be so tired that I felt physically sick and would reach each time I coughed. I was in my twenties at the time. I could never go back to it now. I don’t know how people in their forties with families manage it.
>> Edited by t1grm on Thursday 3rd November 14:00
One of my mates is a BioTech analyst and often works these hours. Thing is he's single, only 28 and earning an absolute fortune. Thing is though he loves his job, loves the social aspect of it - client meets, company presentations, lapdancing 
etc and wants to be in a position to choose to retire in another 10 years.
Myself, I'm in the same industry but back office. Hours are generally 9-6 (plus and hour and a half each way commute - my choice), my salary is a LOT less but in my situation (long term g/f, mortgage etc) I believe I have a better quality of life. Obviously if I was single I'd feel differently about this. Yes, he has a very nice car, lots of cash holidays etc but I can't say I'm doing too bad myself.
etc and wants to be in a position to choose to retire in another 10 years. Myself, I'm in the same industry but back office. Hours are generally 9-6 (plus and hour and a half each way commute - my choice), my salary is a LOT less but in my situation (long term g/f, mortgage etc) I believe I have a better quality of life. Obviously if I was single I'd feel differently about this. Yes, he has a very nice car, lots of cash holidays etc but I can't say I'm doing too bad myself.
Your fare's story sounds rather familiar! Back in private practice (banking lawyer), I was tending to work 70-80 hour weeks, which was just getting too much. I was frequently working 24 hours and sometimes would do 48/70 hour stretches. It absolutely killed me...
It's not an unfamiliar story, the guys I was working with were all pulling similar hours, as were the lawyers on the other side of deals and (to a lesser extent) the bankers.
I've moved in-house with a bank now, and work a solid (and usually very busy) 8.15am-7pm day, which after working silly hours at the firm, is bliss!
It's not an unfamiliar story, the guys I was working with were all pulling similar hours, as were the lawyers on the other side of deals and (to a lesser extent) the bankers.
I've moved in-house with a bank now, and work a solid (and usually very busy) 8.15am-7pm day, which after working silly hours at the firm, is bliss!
t1grm said:Heh, that sounds familiar. No point me moving though, as I'm all over the country.
Now I look back on it as a period of sheer madness. I used to drive my car to a country lane, let the seat down and have a nap during my lunch hour. I’d then get 5-10 min naps in the office toilet cubicles during the afternoon. I’d be so tired that I felt physically sick and would reach each time I coughed. I was in my twenties at the time. I could never go back to it now. I don’t know how people in their forties with families manage it.
>> Edited by t1grm on Thursday 3rd November 14:00
Also had the speeding thing happen, would regularly spend 20 hours a day working and on trains to/from offices.
At least you can sleep on a 5 hour train ride, and can't on a 3 hour drive... Unless you fancy your chances
>> Edited by tomtom on Thursday 3rd November 14:11
ZR1cliff said:
Well i dont know how you guys do it,good money or not it must be a challenge to your mental strength and then their is quality of life,surely you must reach a sort of 'Burn out' time.
IMO the consistently long hours are worse than when they peak for short periods. At least in my job I get to take it easy in between busy periods.
ZR1cliff said:
Well i dont know how you guys do it,good money or not it must be a challenge to your mental strength and then their is quality of life,surely you must reach a sort of 'Burn out' time.
Last March I hit the emergency stop button. Took a three months sabaticle (paid
), otherwise would have been an outpatient somewhere. 18 years doing sh*t hours takes it toll. Taking three momnths out to chill is the best thing I've done in years. Not looking at screens and doing DIY and decorating was very theraputic.
Glad to say I'm very releaxed and enjoying life again
I've also got to the stage of my life, where money isn't the be all and end all.
Quality of life and family now take precident !!!
CHAPTER 12 - Life according to St.Shady
You know the shitiest deals I know are for some of my mates who work in big corps...it's not that their hours are technically long, but they often seem to be getting sent here and there on errands...... now I know the odd jolly is fun, but I get the impression that spending 3 weeks out of 4 in pretty bland business hotels with no mates to go out with gets pretty sad evetually.
Seems that whilst their away they are effectively giving 24hrs of every day to the company but only getting paid for 8. At least in the city alot of the work is either desk based or you use conference call and generally the social life is bloody good.
Commuting is an arse......but here's an idea..... get this one past your mrs and your sorted....... get a room in a flat with some other professionals, and have your commutable house as well....don't commute everyday, spend say 2 nights a week down in the city the rest come home for. I stay down Wend & Thurs, that way I work late on a Wens & Thurs, early on Friday, but get in at regular time on Monday and Tuesday ( though leave slightly early ) and I'm at home 5 nights a week.
But I don't think I'd like to commute every single day!
Seems that whilst their away they are effectively giving 24hrs of every day to the company but only getting paid for 8. At least in the city alot of the work is either desk based or you use conference call and generally the social life is bloody good.
Commuting is an arse......but here's an idea..... get this one past your mrs and your sorted....... get a room in a flat with some other professionals, and have your commutable house as well....don't commute everyday, spend say 2 nights a week down in the city the rest come home for. I stay down Wend & Thurs, that way I work late on a Wens & Thurs, early on Friday, but get in at regular time on Monday and Tuesday ( though leave slightly early ) and I'm at home 5 nights a week.
But I don't think I'd like to commute every single day!
this is exactly what i'm planning on doing - living further out, and staying round my parents 2 days a week nearer London. it breaks up the week nicely, and makes the commuting that much more pleasurable (if one could associate such a thing with South West Trains).
re: work hours - worst i ever did was 12 days of 14 hours in a row...
it didn't hit home, till i was leaving work on Saturday night, and my boss says so what time are you coming into TOMMOROW MORNING!! though as i recall he did bring us food & drinks all day to keep us going. i recall having hallucinations after day 10; weekends are so important to recouperate.
fido said:
this is exactly what i'm planning on doing - living further out, and staying round my parents 2 days a week nearer London. it breaks up the week nicely, and makes the commuting that much more pleasurable (if one could associate such a thing with South West Trains).
re: work hours - worst i ever did was 12 days of 14 hours in a row...
it didn't hit home, till i was leaving work on Saturday night, and my boss says so what time are you coming into TOMMOROW MORNING!! though as i recall he did bring us food & drinks all day to keep us going. i recall having hallucinations after day 10; weekends are so important to recouperate.
Oh good god you poor swine.....SW trains......ooohhhh they are bad. I used to commute....wait for it....every day mind you.....from Reading to Canary Wharf with those buggers!
The couple of nights a week model is a winner for all sorts of reasons, social, relationship with the mrs and work.
Wens & Thurs works well because everyone tends to bugger of early on a Friday anyway and so I'm only lateish home on Monday and Tuesday.
It's a good compromise and besides I think the mrs would rather I carried on getting London wages.
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