• Question: How many hours do you work a day?

    Asked by chels1999 to Ben, Jony, Katharine, Mark, Peter on 15 Nov 2011. This question was also asked by leannemari, rache.
    • Photo: Mark Basham

      Mark Basham answered on 15 Nov 2011:

      Hi chels1999

      I probably work a few more than I should/am paid for, but that’s because I enjoy what I do so much 🙂

      However one of the great things with Diamond at least is we get a fair amount of holiday so plenty of time to relax.

      So the proper answer is that I generally get into work at 8 – 8:30 and leave at 5 – 5:30 ish, However sometimes I will work odd hours if something needs fixing or people need help with there experiments.

    • Photo: Ben Still

      Ben Still answered on 15 Nov 2011:

      There is not really a typical day, although I try to do 9am-6pm it can vary quite a bit. As part of an international team I can have video meetings at bizarre times like 6am or 11pm. Then there are conferences and face to face meetings. These can be anywhere in the world and are usually intense periods of work where we might do 10,11 or 12 hours in a day.

      But you what, it never feels that long. Mainly because I enjoy it, but also because there is such a variety in the work we do; from computer programming to talking to you guys, giving conference talks to answering e-mails.

      Whatever the week I always enjoy my weekends.

    • Photo: Peter Williams

      Peter Williams answered on 15 Nov 2011:

      It varies a lot. There are periods of intense activity where the hours go absolutely crazy – going all out to get a result. Then there are stretches where you can kick back and relax – i need these in order to think and reflect on how best to approach a problem.
      My contracted hours are 42 per week – i probably do a bit more on average. But it is really flexible, All that people really care about is that you produce good work. When and where it happens is secondary

    • Photo: Katharine Schofield

      Katharine Schofield answered on 15 Nov 2011:

      I normally get in around 9-9.30 and go home around 6ish, but it varies a lot really. If there’s something I need to leave early for that’s fine, I just make it up another time. Sometimes I take long lunch breaks so I can go out for a run or to meet some friends for lunch – it’s all very flexible which is great! It means I can fit life and work around each other. I almost never work at weekends (only when I have to, say if there is a big deadline coming up). My contractual hours are 37.5hours per week – sometimes I have very busy periods where I work a lot more than that, but I can make up for it by taking some time off when it’s quieter.

Comments