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normal hours for designers?
I was just curious to know how late you guys work. It seems like the motion graphics people are always the last to leave. Some places that I work in are considerate enough to keep it around 8 hours, and others think we don’t need a life or a good night’s sleep like the rest of the human race.
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6 Replies
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We can thank unions for humane 8 hour workddays that a few lucky designers enjoy. I have issues with unions, but this and healthcare are two of their big achievements. In the past few years there has been a lot of union busting it looks like more comopanies have open ended hours for design departments. They tend to hire young people who don’t know any better and work them till they burn out or start blowing up at the boss, then replace them with another sucker.
I work intensely and find that an 8 hour day is about it. After that, I walk around feeling like crap. If I work with a company that wants long hours, I slow down to keep from burning out. I’m more productive and focused in an 8 hour day, and I can come in fresh the next day. After a few days of long hours, judgment and energy drops substantially. I wonder if there have been any research and testing done on this subject. -
It depends.
Shops run by mature designers are careful not to burn out their people. The same
can be said of most respectable studios. For seasoned designers, 8 to 8.5 hours is a norm – or should be – especially for staff jobs, where you’d die doing long hours every day. The long, long hours are usually in kid shops where newer people haven’t picked up the speed, or young people who use long hours for bragging rights.Not to say that there aren’t times that require OT. But as people gain experience, they work
more focused and tend to want a life. Walking around tired and grumpy gets old.Technical, eyeball-intense jobs – like roto or designing elements such as lower 3rds
are draining. It’s insufferable to put in more than an 8 hour day on that stuff. On the other
hand, you may want to put more time into a highly creative motion graphics project – just because you feel like it’s your baby.When working at home on a creative animation, I can put in a little more time because home
is more relaxing and there’s no transportation time.
At home, you can break up the day with a nap or a jog.The office environment is rigid and bosses want to see you at your station, not wandering
around a bookstore looking for inspiration. So the hours need to stay union, in my opinion. -
Ther is no such thing as normal hours for designers. Bankers have those.
Hours are one thing that can get away from an artist. We tend to lose ourselves in our work.
I have changed my hours greatly over the last year. I don’t kid myself into thinking I chose an industry that can abide by a 9 to 5 mentality but I betcha I have averaged less than 50 hour work weeks for the last 6 months. Working for a boss is no different than being slef employeed in this case. Ya do what ya have to do to make sure all deadlines are met. Sometimes thats an easy breezy week and sometimes thats a mess of doubles. If it doesn’t all average out in the end, compinsation is required.
This makes all the diffence in the world in an artist beingf happy while they’re workin’.
On average, I’d say most shops are 8-6ish with a lunch but when projects with tight deadlines come up, all bets are off.
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Oh Lord, Grin! Make my day!
(It’s great hearing from you, though!) -
An art director I once worked with changed my POV on this. For the first 5 years in CGI, I expected at least a 10 hour day. But when I worked with this guy, he had a mind like a steel trap, and got me working with with incredible efficiency. He also demanded that I leave at the end of an 8 hour day. After a few weeks, I started really liking the idea of having a life and not dragging into work tired. I was actually more productive working with him in 8 hours than in other shops at 10 hours. That was a turning point. It seemed like after that I was working in networks and shops of seniors who came in got the job done and went home. After that, the 10 hour shops felt inefficient and draggy. This isn’t to say that there aren’t times when you’re stumped by a design and feel like you should put in more time. But I’m convinced that nature will only allow us so much energy to spend in a day, and if you work fast and then try to do more, you will burn out after a period of time. I’ve seen it happen to designers.
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Grinner is right on that nothing’s normal in the industry. It’s all over the place.
It’s good to hear from Jean that normalcy does make an effort to exist out there somewhere.
A lot of fun reading two completely opposite views on the issue.
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