https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 09 Apr 2026 17:47:50 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/exempt-work-hours-question#post-2808792 Fri, 09 Mar 2018 15:05:49 +0000 karenbme 2808792@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Becky: Also, in terms of the work being "done", for me it's about managing what has to get done vs. what my boss wants me to get done vs. what I'd like to get done. And having conversations up front when I'm feeling slammed. Usually when I get handed a new task I ask the person what the timeline on it is. You really have to set boundaries and say that you might not get to something for a week or a month or three months if it's low priority, and if you can tell people why they usually understand. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/exempt-work-hours-question#post-2808791 Fri, 09 Mar 2018 14:59:02 +0000 karenbme 2808791@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Becky: It totally depends on the culture of the place. My first job, as a salaried employee you worked until the work was done, but the company kept detailed records of all the hours any employee worked, and if you were salaried and worked more than the scheduled hours you were given comp time that would bank and could be used up to 8 hours at a time (so you couldn't take, for example, a week off with comp time). No one ever used all their comp time, and I had something like 120 hours banked when I left, but it was nice to know we had it.</p> <p>My second job you worked until the work was done and if you were good at your job you got to do other people's jobs, too, and if you worked more than 40 hours that's just what happened (they had high turnover among the competent people, largely for this reason).</p> <p>My current job is more flexible. I work when I have work to do both during the day and sometimes at night/on weekends, but if I have a light week or need to flex my schedule for personal reasons I can take the time no questions asked, and if I'm twiddling my thumbs, I'm free to leave. That said, I did one of those time matrix things in what felt like a typical week, and I worked 42 hours that week, even though I left at 3 on the Friday and my work week is stated to be 37.5. But there are definitely other weeks where I've worked 35 or maybe even 32 hours without using any vacation/sick time. There are also people here who have negotiate a schedule where they work 9.5 hours 4 days a week, so in theory scheduled is negotiable at some companies, though that's still about the same in terms of total hours. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/exempt-work-hours-question#post-2808752 Fri, 09 Mar 2018 13:39:57 +0000 mrsjd 2808752@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Becky: Ok. I wasn't sure what you were looking for. I hope you get the answer you need. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/exempt-work-hours-question#post-2808735 Fri, 09 Mar 2018 12:36:01 +0000 raspberries 2808735@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think I get what you're asking - basically, can you negotiate to only work 37.5 hrs/wk for an exempt position that's usually 40 hrs/wk? And if so, can you expect to actually only work 37.5 hrs/wk? I think the answers to those are yes and no respectively - you can try to negotiate it down to 37.5 hrs/wk and they might even agree to it, but there's nothing to confirm that you won't end up actually working 40 hrs/wk (or more), which is the nature of an exempt position.</p> <p>The exempt positions in my company are all 40 hrs/wk, and the 40 hrs are pretty much seen as a minimum - what matters is finishing projects on time, which requires occasional 50 or 60 hour work weeks. But any time worked over 40 hours doesn't get paid overtime, and they don't get to take another day off when it's slower just because they worked overtime that one week.</p> <p>So all that being said, I think a lot of what you can expect will depend on the company and culture there - if exempt employees are expected to be on call, work long hours, be always available, etc., then I don't really think negotiating fewer hours will help. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/exempt-work-hours-question#post-2808734 Fri, 09 Mar 2018 12:35:47 +0000 Becky 2808734@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrsjd: I’m intimately familiar with our company policies and also what makes a position qualify as exempt so far as the duties test. The position I am in and the one I am interested in both very clearly pass the duties test. </p> <p>@mrsads This is exactly what I was looking for, thanks. When I tried Googling it, it seemed like there was a culture of “If you’re exempt you have to work alllll the time.” There will never be enough hours in the day for me to get all of my work done, so I typically get everything done I can and work 40 hours or a bit more in a week. I guess I’m having a hard time grasping the “work until the work is done” part because the work is literally never done. </p> <p>I’m defiinitely still open to more responses because this will all be really helpful if I try to broach this subject (if I get to that point in the interview process of course). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/exempt-work-hours-question#post-2808733 Fri, 09 Mar 2018 12:34:49 +0000 Littlebit7 2808733@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>we were 37.5 (union, NYC, ) and took an hour lunch so only half of the lunch was paid, but we HAD to take the hour lunch.<br /> but the kicker was we were "hourly" in the sense that we had to be paid overtime, yet they never did. They just told us it was expected for us to stay late to get our paperwork done, which I totally understand if you are salaried, but we were full time hourly. it was annoying </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/exempt-work-hours-question#post-2808731 Fri, 09 Mar 2018 12:22:07 +0000 mrsjd 2808731@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It likely depends on your company policies as to how many hours you are expected to work as an exempt employee. Basically, if you're exempt (assuming you're properly classified as exempt) and you work over 40 hours, they don't have to pay you overtime because you're on salary. Check your policies if they're available. to you with respect to your hourly requirement. I'm not sure what you're looking for. Are you interested in working less hours but unsure about giving up a salaried position for a hourly one? It all depends on the position so the exempt/non-exempt status really doesn't matter except for whether you're entitled to be paid 1.5x for overtime. Hope that makes sense. </p> <p>For reference, I'm exempt but yeah, I work all the time. Its expected and is a part of my performance review. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/exempt-work-hours-question#post-2808729 Fri, 09 Mar 2018 12:18:29 +0000 MrsADS 2808729@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My office has a 35 hour work week. For non-exempt employees, it's 35 hours plus an hour lunch every day (so 40 hours in the office, really). For exempt employees (me), I have to put in 7 hours/day of work (time spent on files) but we're expected to be here at least 8 hours/day. So that 1 hour can be lunch but often is just working straight through to get done. And of course occasional extra work on nights/weekends. I can't leave early because I've already "hit" my hour target, for example. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/exempt-work-hours-question#post-2808726 Fri, 09 Mar 2018 12:17:29 +0000 snowjewelz 2808726@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm except and probably only in office 30-35 hours a week but it's expected of me to check my emails at night/on weekends, basically do whatever is needed. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/exempt-work-hours-question#post-2808722 Fri, 09 Mar 2018 11:58:03 +0000 Ms.Mermaid 2808722@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I used to work 35 hour work weeks and it was great. If I hit my 35 hours for the week, I could leave early. Most people didn’t and you were expected to get your work done but if you had a busy trial week and worked a 45 hour week, you could take the following Friday off if it was in the same pay period. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/exempt-work-hours-question#post-2808714 Fri, 09 Mar 2018 11:43:14 +0000 Becky 2808714@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I’m asking this on here because I’m having a terrible time finding information via Google, and I know there are a lot of professionals on these boards. </p> <p>Can you work fewer than 40 hours a week as an exempt (salaried) employee? While 1 FTE is 40 hours where I work (8:30am-5pm) I know other places it can be 37.5 or 35 etc. I also understand that as an exempt employee you’re expected to work until the work is done. If you work somewhere that has a shorter workweek or shorter office hours, what is the standard? For example if 1 FTE is 37.5 hours per week, are all the exempt employees expected to work 30 minutes longer per day than the non-exempt employees? Or do all of you exempt/salaried ladies just work all the time (late hours, always connected to email, etc.)? I currently don’t really vary much from my 40 hour week. We used to be 37.5 and I would usually work 40 hours, and when we were moved to 40 hours without a pay increase I felt burned and stopped feeling the need to work more than my scheduled hours. </p> <p>I’m asking because I’m considering a different position but it would be a pay cut. I can’t negotiate the salary because it’s a grant so there’s a specified amount available, but I’m wondering if I could negotiate the hours (same pay, fewer hours). </p>