Most high-skill jobs (e.g. software dev, engineering, research, higher education) are usually flexible with time. No one really cares when you come or go as long as you get the work done. People (read, good-for-nothing management people) are trying to make some of these more time-bound, but it’s usually counter-productive. Turns out when you want creativity from someone, you need to give them some freedom.

I worked at one company that was 7am-5pm for corporate office work. The company grew from a small retail parts company decades ago, but never changed the mindset. So even the office work was treated like shift work. Office workers wouldn’t even check email before 7am. Many times just hanging out in the cafeteria until 7 on the dot when they had to be at their desks. Further as soon as 5pm hit exactly, all the office workers would drop what they were doing and walk out to the parking lot with all of the other blue collar shift workers.

This resulted in things like Purchase Orders getting delayed by a day because it arrived at the approver at 5:01pm and the approver was gone. There was nearly no weekend office work, which caused its own problems.

It was such a strange place to work.

If you aren’t getting a paid lunch and two 15-minute breaks during your 8-hour shift, your employer is stealing from you.

Salaried employment exists, and there are more jobs out there than they want you to think. The employer-employee relationship is a constant negotiation, and you’re always free to walk away.

We don’t know how much time we have on earth, and you’re selling some of it in exchange for money.

They are going to keep pushing to get more of your life from you, and you need to push back to keep as much as possible.

I have never been 9-5 with paid lunch and I’ve been in corporate world since 1998. 8-5 with an unpaid hour.

Was literally going to ask this same question last week. Past three employers are expecting 8-5 m-f but only pay 40 hours.

I’ve just been coming in at 6 before the boss to look like a hardworking then leave at 2 so I only work what I’m paid.

Sure, just depends on the business. Self-employed and small business are often much more flexible. I pretty much work 9:30 to 4:30.

I’m on 9 to 4:30 with half an hour lunch. Or I could do anything from 6 - 1:30 to 9:30 - 5.
And yes, I get paid for a full time job.
Unions are awesome.

The only places I’ve worked that were that strict were positions providing 24h coverage and you had to be there to do turnover between shifts (I’ve don’t both 8h and 12h). Thankfully those jobs have been a minority of my career.

Mostly I’ve had broad flexibility where the company would declare “core hours” from say 10-3 and allow employees to flex 3 hours in either direction (anywhere from 7-3 to 10-6).

7-5 is bullshit.

I’m fully remote, with no clock to punch, but with co-workers all over the world. I try to focus most of my hours between 9 and 5, but don’t sweat it too much because a few times a month I need to be on a call at 5 in the morning or 10 at night.

There is simply no good time to schedule meetings with someone 12 hours away.

9 to 5 is just a phrase referencing a standard full time day shift job not about the specific start/stop times

9-5 is definitely no longer standard, although traffic does get noticeably worse here after 8am.

That being said, what is their justification for 7-5? Unless you’re taking a 2 hour unpaid lunch, that’s mandatory overtime, which most companies aren’t super fond of paying.

Naw, there’s only about 3 now. Being rich, being poor, and being a cop.

Officially I work 8 hours of my choice between 7am and 7pm with 30 minutes lunch.

In practice I work at least 8 hours (most often about 8.5), usually get a lunch, have to be at my desk at 8:30 for standup, and am always on call to some degree. If any of our infrastructure isn’t working then I am, but after hours stuff isn’t all that common.

Expected work hours seem to be increasing everywhere over the last twenty years or so. It’s gotten pretty nuts.