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Research Institutes - Working hours

S

Hi guys
Have a question for those of you that study at research institutes. Was just wondering about working hours, is it strictly 9-5 or can you come and go in the lab as you please as you can for example in academic institutions.
Thanks

S

I'm at a research centre - not a lab though. It is expected that everyone shows up regularly but there are no fixed times. So some people tend to come early and leave early (9-5), some come late and leave late (11-7 or 8) and some come early and leave late. Some actually only come in the evenings, as they work full jobs "on the side".
Also, some don't come every day, as they have jobs, teach, have a second desk at a different department/university, or have classes. So, really, you never know who's going to be there.
Still, as it is not obvious to have a desk provided to us PhD students at my university, it is frowned upon if you do not show up at all over a stretch of time without giving notice.

T

I'm at an institute.. the core working hours are 10-12 then 2-4, during these periods you have to be in the insitute.. Other than that you just have to make sure that you work about 7.5 hours a day on average..

S

i work in an institute i would say on average we work more than unis here.. though depends on supervisor. we fill in flex forms.. and i accumulated 16 hrs last month.. but not encouraged to take it. i think within unis its more acceptable to work from home etc than it is here.

T

I think we work longer hours at my institute than in the university departments - but maybe this is because we're not in the city centre so you can't just pop off to the shops or out for a long lunch break.

As has already been said, some people come in early and leave early, some come in late and leave late, some come in early and leave late. Very few come in late and leave early! I normally get in between 9 and 9.30, and leave at about 6, but sometimes I'm in at 8 because of some hideous experiment. I think my 9.30-6.00 hours are less than the average for PhD students here, but I've decided it's my life and I'm not going to be bullied/peer-pressured into doing more than I want.

T

Forgot to say - we can in theory come and go as we please, throughout the night and at the weekend if necessary (growing cells are annoying). The only problem is that if your supervisor doesn't see that you're working, he won't know if you're working really hard but not producing results, or just not coming in at all.

S

Thanks guys

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