What do you consider too much time away from home?

I know everyone's situation is different and people have different tolerance for this sort of thing. But I believe my tolerance has been changing recently.

What I'm talking about is during your normal work day, what is an acceptable amount of time away from home? I'm not taking into account how much money you make or how long of a commute you have, Just purely from the time you leave your house to the time you get back home.

This week has been pretty average, so far I've been 11.5 hours away from home per day. Saturday was 15, but I never know when I'll get home each evening. I've been anywhere from 8 to 20 hours away per day, for work, not running errands or anything like that.

I'm getting to the point that I think it's a bit excessive. What about you?

I am guessing you have never had a job where you typically spend 3-4 nights per week in a hotel room.

More than two 16 hour shifts per week.

12's are fine for up to 6 days per week but that extra 4 hours brings along a shocking amount of suck.

In reply to JohnRW1621:

OH yes I have. I spent more time in a hotel room than at home. That lasted about four years before I got completely burnt out. I averaged 18hr days for three months straight without a day off. I think that's why my tolerance is so low now. I missed the first three years of my sons life.

Gone from 7:30am to 5:30pm is long enough for me. I've always had an 8-5 job though.

Wow, 3 years of son.
I did it while young and single but it would kill me now.

In reply to Cone_Junkie: I left at 6:30 this morning and got home at 6:00 this evening.

I average about 9 hours or less per day. That's enough for me.

Today I left at 7:00am and was home by 2:00pm. Very seldom am I out past 5:00.

Anything more than 10 would suck for me. I work to live, not live to work.

Nick_Comstock wrote: In reply to Cone_Junkie: I left at 6:30 this morning and got home at 6:00 this evening.

I did that ever day for 6 years. Then I got a work st home.slot. then they tried to make me go back. I don't work there anymore.

You will find out if it was too much when your kids are teenagers.

Spending enough time at home is far more important than the job or the money, in my opinion.

Unless you're single - in which case just be sure not to blow ~all~ your money on beer and women.

I started work at 5:45 AM yesterday morning and finished at 11:50 PM.

That was too much.

I was always home by 6:00 PM when I was self employed. Something is not right.

In reply to SVreX:

Man, I've been there. That's definitely too much.

The problem is that I have a full time salaried position (which expects too many hours), and am trying to reboot 2 companies I own at the same time.

I guess the good news is that it looks like I soon won't have time for a job.

In reply to SVreX:

Well, I was just being a sucker putting big benjimans in someone else pocket while making 4%

I go in at 4 am, and get off between 4 and 7 pm. I only work 4 days/ week, though.

Commute in takes 15 minutes (when i make all 30-40 lights); commute home takes 25-45.

I drive trucks.

I usually leave out Monday morning and return Saturday morning. If I'm lucky, I might make it home Friday evening after sunset. If I'm unlucky, I'll have to leave out Sunday afternoon.

What do I win?

Between work and commuting I am gone about 14 hours a day 5-6 days a week. I work something different each day so if I work a double shift or have a short turn around between shifts from a PM to AM I will stay here. It has gotten to be too long a day and I'd love to leave but I could never sell my house for what I owe and the health insurance has been fantastic for my wife.

In reply to ThunderCougarFalconGoat:

Awesome truck stop food?

So we're getting the guy's who put in the long hours. Have you just adjusted to it? Has it become normal? Is it acceptable to you?

I'm out the door taking the kids to school by 0650 and usually rolling back in the front door by 1800. Some days it's a little less, occasionally it's a little more. I do a fair amount of working from home, though, so I feel like it gets balanced out. I have had those jobs where I left on Monday morning and didn't come back until Friday night, though, and that's way too much time away from home.

My record is 11 months. That was too long even with trips home once every 2 weeks on the weekend.

I usually leave for work by 9am, and get home between 8:30-9:30pm five days a week, and 9-6 on Saturdays.

It is too much, but I can bear it until we are in a better financial state. My collision really threw a monkey into the works.

Nick_Comstock wrote: In reply to Cone_Junkie: I left at 6:30 this morning and got home at 6:00 this evening.

This is about what my wife does. She tries to shift it to 5:30-5:00 when she can. She can either see the kids in the morning or we can have dinner together at a normal time. Can't do both. Having me at home helps her feel better about it.

I'm typically away from home 10 hours a day M-F. 35-40 minute commute, I usually stay a bit late.

During the summer its not so bad, but during the winter I hate it.

If it were up to me to make my own schedule I'd work 4x12s during the winter. No matter how you cut your not going to spend much time in the sun, might as well get full 3-days and dinner at the office the other nights.

My 11a-11p shift tomorrow will mean out the door at 9a and return about 130a, if not later. Good thing for right now, it's only two 12's and two 8's for the next 5 weeks..... Then it might turn into 6 or 7 in a row 12's.....

When I was single? I could care less.

Now that I have an amazing girlfriend? 5 days at most. I did 3 weeks of 14-16 hour days last year... nearly went insane. I just did a couple days up north, and when I came back, I told the boss that I wasn't staying in camp anymore. Its funny, I'm not "old", but staying in a crappy camp for a couple days @ 14 hour days and not getting any sleep makes me MISERABLE. As said elsewhere, I work to live, not live to work. Life is too short to put up with that crap regularily.

If I am still with the same company by the time I (theoretically) eventually have kids, I'll be limiting nights away from home to a max of no more than 4 weeknights a month.