What time do you usually clock out of work? I saw a study that said the average employee logs off around 4:39 PM—and honestly, it made me pause. I work remotely and technically could sign off earlier, but I always feel this weird pressure to stay parked in front of my screen until 5:00 on the dot, even when nothing’s going on. It’s not like anyone’s checking, but that sense of needing to be “available” lingers. Anyone else feel this way?
https://www.fastcompany.com/91298714/office-workers-are-now-clocking-out-at-439-p-m-on-average
If you’ve done your job and no one needs you, log off at 4:01. This obsession with staying until a specific time is leftover corporate guilt that needs to go—clocking out shouldn’t feel rebellious.
As a people manager I never really “clock out.” Some days I may be away from my computer by 3:30, others I’m taking overseas meetings at 10 pm at night. That’s the way it’s been for me for 13+ years in 4 different companies. The nature of work for many in global companies today is that you flex to what you need between life and work.
I’m not often needed right up until ‘quitting time’, but do still stay available until then. That is a part of my job description. I need to be accessible during the office hours. I guess a lot of this has to do with how your office is set up too. It would be an issue if I was constantly unreachable even though technically my work was done, although it never *really* is.
Yeah I totally get that! Even when there’s nothing left to do, I feel guilty logging off early, like I need to “look busy” just in case. But honestly, if the work is done, what’s the harm? Lately, I’ve been trying to break that mindset and just sign off when it makes sense. Definitely a work in progress
I saw the clickbait about people quitting at 4:39 and it doesn't really deal with what kind of work people are doing. And that's really the whole issue. Not all jobs are alike, and the work does not often fit into a convenient concept of a day. I know I always have things I could keep doing, so quitting 21 minutes early wouldn't make sense. And if other people are expected to be available until 5 pm, that's where they should be. I guess in some jobs where people are handed a day's work and when it's done they're done, something like that could apply.
I think this all depends on if you have flexibility for your working hours. There are probably quite a few exempt people who were on salary who can adjust their working hours from let’s say 8 to 430 one day to 7 to 330 the next. I tried to work from 8 to 430 or 730 to 4 every day whatever that eight hour timeframe was. Whether I was in the office or not.
Around 6:30-7:00 PM
I work remotely and never really sign off.