(no subject)

[quidditchgrrl]

 A few co-workers and I had dinner on Friday to celebrate a new job (we're losing all of our good people!) and we all agreed that having a non-traditional work schedule was a benefit of working in the public library.

Most full-time workers in libraries (around here, at least) work 2 nights a week, and have a rotating weekend schedule.  I work 8:30-5 on Monday and Wednesday, 1-9 on Tuesday and Thursday, and have a rotating weekend of every 3rd Saturday/Sunday (I get Friday off when I work on the weekend).

So what about you all?  Do any of you have non-traditional hours that are set?  I know some of you work second- or third-shift.  How do you like it?  Is it just something to get you through until you find a "regular" schedule?  Or do you need to work your hours so you can adjust to your kids' schedule?

I'm interested.  When I worked at Bowels of Hell, I was on a 7:30-4:30 M-F and I HATED IT.  The very idea of having to do my errands, get my oil changed, and grocery shop with the 9-5 masses on Saturday morning gave me hives.  Having a Friday off every once in a while, as well as various off days (my after-Sunday day off is Wednesday) and free mornings twice a week means I never have to a) take off work for doctor appointments and b) wait in line for anything.  I really enjoy it.

Plus, I rarely have to sit down!

Conversely, if you LOVE your 9-5 job, why?  Do you like the structure?  Do you like that you can take time off in the middle of the day for appointments?  Easily available public transport?

Comments

[rainpuddle13.livejournal.com]

I work 7:30-4:30 M-F. I do and don't like it. I like it on one hand because I worked retail (every Friday and Saturday night for years), so I like not having to do anything in the evenings. But it's a pain in the arse when you need to do something business wise during the day. Like I'm going to have to take an afternoon off to get my oil changed and my car inspected. But we have a liberal leave policy here at the university so it's not as bad as other places.

[avidbeader.livejournal.com]

I'm on a set part-time schedule, where I work Wed-Fri this year and also had two days a week off last year. I love the schedule. I love that I have two days a week to do what must be done and to do what I would like to do. That would be one of the hardest things to go back to a typical work schedule of 9-5.

[abigail89.livejournal.com]

I have a fairly traditional schedule (8-4pm M, T, W, Th). But because I work 2 part-time jobs, I need some free hours during the days to be able to do errands, take kids places, have some time to myself, etc. So I can set whatever hours I want. Those traditional hours belie the fact that 10-4 are PUBLIC hours, i.e., I have to be in the archives. The other hours are at my discretion. I love getting away early(er) so I can take a walk or just sit in the quiet at home.

And I love my evening hours on Tuesday nights (7-9). My Friday hours at the college can be taken either morning or afternoon, and I only have to work 2-3 hours, so I actually can have most Fridays free. Works for me.

[thalialunacy.livejournal.com]

I liked my eight-to-five, but mostly because I was (am!) so bitter about being in school for so long that I thought I DESERVED to have evenings and weekends free. It's a philosophical thing. XB Now I'm just glad my work hours are all between 8 and 5 so that I still have time to do homework. ^^

[rachet.livejournal.com]

I used to love it when we had Saturday hours. I could cut Friday short by 4 hours and then come in early on Saturday and get a TON done because no phones, no students, no distractions.

And it was nice to have a Friday afternoon to myself to get things done, errand-wise.

And if there was a football game at home that Saturday, I usually had tickets. So Nancy would come to work with me, fool around on another computer while I worked and then we'd just wander on over to the stadium right next door. Kick-ass parking! Loved those working permit slips.

But, alas, those days are gone. No more Saturday hours.

But it is nice to have an office that's open until 7:30. If you have to come in late for any reason, and you have one of the nicer supervisors, you can just make up your hours that day. No need to take vacation or sick time.

[longtimegone]

I both love and hate my 8-5 M-F schedule. On one hand, I worked in a restaurant for 7 years, and having nights and weekends off is great. I do miss the flexibility of the restaurant schedule though. If I wanted to take off, I just found someone to cover my shift. Not so in the "real world". Though you do get paid for sick/vacation/personal days, which is nice.

I am most emphatically NOT a morning person though, so that was a huge adjustment. It was a trade off, ultimately, but I don't think I would go back to the way things were before.

[thursday-last.livejournal.com]

Woo-hoo to a fellow library person! Now that I've started at a smaller branch my hours have become a bit more regular. As far as I can tell I'll be working one late night every other week, mostly likely Mondays, and possibly one Saturday a month. I love having a more regular schedule with less late night hours, as opposed to when I was at the Central branch, I was working two late nights a week and every other Saturday without fail. I've had jobs working the regular 9-5 and I much prefer my schedule now.

[catsperspective.livejournal.com]

I work 7-4:15 M-Th and 7-12 on Fridays. I love it and can not imagine ever going back to full day on Friday. Because it is just me in the office, I do have the freedom to come and go as I please and take off when I need it. (Dr appointments, etc) For me, four is still early enough to stop at the store on my way home from work and I reserve Fridays for errands.

[nuclearpolymer.livejournal.com]

Mostly I work 9-6. Technically, I can take hours off during the day and make them up later, but practically, I hardly ever do that. For a while last year, I had to work some Saturdays, and it was extremely irritating because I felt like I was always missing social events. But one of my fond hopes is that I can eventually go part-time and have more time during the week days to play.

[jennlee2.livejournal.com]

I have pretty regular hours - M-F anyway, but I generally work 6am to 3pm, so that's sort of non-traditional. It's nice to get done so early to run errands or whatnot. I am glad I almost never have to work on weekends. We're also pretty flexible so I can easily move hours around if I need some time to take the car for service or whatever.

[manjisuriseye.livejournal.com]

At my job, for full time people you can either work two twelve hour shifts and two eights, or all eights. And then we work every other weekend. And there are three shifts. I was on overnights for a while and I enjoyed it because I'm not a morning person though it was hard to get things done because your off days are kind of "fake" days as one coworker put it. But I loved only working four days a week and getting forty hours. Unfortunately I've had to switch my schedule because of other commitments. But I love having a nontraditional work schedule. Definitely makes grocery shopping easier, not having to fight the masses.

[roguebitch.livejournal.com]

My current work schedule is Tues-Sat, 8ish-4ish. I find I like a Sunday/Monday weekend, because I can use one day for sloth and the other for weekday administrivia. I need to have a fairly rigid schedule in terms of my daily hours, but the rest can be flexible.

Right now I'd love to have an entire day off that isn't bracketed by either work or parenting responsibilities. My weekend doesn't really provide that, but that's actually okay for now.

[writers-wrath.livejournal.com]

I work M-F 8-5:30 and I LOVE it. I've worked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd shift and prefer 1st overall. I just felt so out of sync with the rest of the world when I was on 2nd and 3rd. True, there's a slight pay differential, but you have to weigh that with the fact that anyplace you could spend your money is closed by the time you're off work and open when you're sleeping!

I like knowing my weekends are totally free. Trying to get around appointments during the week can be tricky, but I think that is a matter of how accomodating your boss is.

Also, I'm a sucker for structure. I like knowing where things fit into my little box-world. :P

[authenticjoy.livejournal.com]

*laughs wildly*

I have the greatest boss in the world.