izzycat

Hope everyone won't get fed up of me asking things!!

Does anyone know what the hours are like in Candada? My hubby works for an electronic security company doing fire/intruer alarms etc. He wokrs at the mo mon-fri about 8-6pm, the occasional later day and also perhaps one sat in four.

Whats it like in canada? Will we get any spare time to explore thw onderful scenery etc?

andy_sheila

It's an interesting point you have brought up. People keep banging on about the quality of life on here but if you read the threads then the hours people work means they won't have time to appreciate the QOL, So i presume all those who have a great QOL don't work ?

izzycat

That is what I keep wondering!! Everyone seems to work long hous but then still have an amazing qol.

R2D2

Mr R2D2 starts a smidge earlier at 8 am and finishes at 5pm Mon to Fri, so barely any difference to UK, except that he has a full hours lunchbreak AND CAN ACTUALLY TAKE IT !!! We often meet up for a Tim Hortons lunch.
Q.O.L is better without doubt. We are still relatively new here, so still in the "wanting to get out and see EVERYTHING stage", and there does seem more to see and do as well as all the leisure activities. In our community we have 3 big leisure centres, 2 of them with pools, cycling/ walking trails, parks with modern play equipment EVERYWHERE, (Not a rusty chain swing in sight )
The mountains and all they have to offer 4 hours away and endless shops if you require retail therapy. All this under a crisp blue sky (the majority of the time) Yes we do spend more time as a family, I guess as I no longer have to work part-time and no more weekend work, so its made a huge difference to our lives. My children are content, my hubby doesn't come home tired with the stress from his job and I get more time with all of them, SO LIFE IS SWEET.

hot wasabi peas

Hell, yeah! :scared: That's why I'm in England!

zalaben

this is a good question . I think that it boils down to commuting .

I used to live in mississauga and the treck into work in toronto down the QEW during morning rush hour was hell on earth , and it was the same thing on the way back . You;d get home cranky and atleast an hour after work finished. so basically , get dinner ready , eat , shower , watch the news , then bed.

NOW , my hubby works 10 minutes away and is home at 4 .. a little too early if you ask me .. no comute , no traffic and there is much more time for family .

i have a friend whose hubby travels every day from littlehampton in sussex to london every day and back.. they have no family time . he misses dinner and is sometimes home to kiss the little one good night .

it;s all in the commuting ..

Biiiiink

We have far less time together, and Mr B has a much longer commute!

Cowtown

Its also in the attitude to work. You are paid until 5pm - so you go home at 5pm. You dont get the "stay later to impress the boss" bit here. Nor are you accused of going home "early" if you leave at 5.01pm!

Biiiiink

Does staying later impress bosses in the UK? I always saw it as a sign of someone who was struggling.

R2D2

Totally agree, and with regards to taking a proper lunch break, they all do in the office, and not because they are not busy, JUST BECAUSE............you have one so take it. Even his boss often goes down to the gym at lunchtime.
Different attitude altogether. A healthier attitude.

iaink

Probably true. I live 20-25 mins from work (enough time to unwind at the end of the day) and enjoy time with my family. My friend lives just south of Rice Lake and commutes to Markham, and was described by his kids to a teacher as "some man who visits at weekends".

You have to make choices in life. I would rather see my family and earn less. Hours at work are fairly flexible for me. Usually about 8.30 to 5, sometimes later if there is something needs doing. I enjoy my job and the work atmosphere, so it doesnt bother me too much. Evenings and weekends are free.

Posidrive

Depends upon the company. We have projects where the approved manhours are twice what the number of employees are capable of doing. Not allowed to hire new bodies because of cash flow, so us poor sods have to make up for the non existant resources.

We have a US parent company though, so we expect to be treated like crap

dbd

This is a completely different attitude to that at our firm. We expect people who work for us to work for us all of the time. We don't require any fixed number of hours at a specific location but "employees" must always answer their cell phones and must always be able to access the internet. I fired some jerk who said he didn't answer the phone because he was driving. Driving ! He had an automatic and didn't smoke, what else does he have to do in the car but talk ?

iaink

I hope he has the good sense to sue you. But I guess its a good illustration of the nature of employment here...no such thing as wrongful dismissal and very weak workers rights.

Was he in Canada at the time? Depending on where he was it may well have been illegal for him to drive and phone at the same time...something else Ontario is behind in.

dbd

I don't think he had any grounds for that, whimisical dismissal is acceptable here and, in any case, that's dismissal for cause; he was contracted to be on call. In any case, it was more than a year ago so I guess we've heard the last of it.