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Here's an interesting little question for you: When do you stay late at work, and when do you choose to leave and work from home instead? How much of it is driven by office culture, by the kind of work in front of you (e.g., voluminous docs), or by a specific situation at work or at home (pet needs to get walked, kids won't leave you in peace to work), and how much of it is just preference?
Why I Tend to Prefer to Stay Late at Work Instead of Working from Home
I've always preferred to stay late at work when possible, and I've written over at CorporetteMoms about how even now I struggle with the fact that family dinnertime bumps up against my naturally productive time and how I find it difficult to work after the kids go to bed.
Even in my magazine journalism days, I was often the last one at work; the only reason I got paid at all at my first magazine internship in NYC was because I was working late and the publisher happened to notice I was still there.
I also have distinct memories, when I was out of school and employed at Family Circle, of using the office typewriter (!) to type law school applications when the rest of the office was dark and quiet around me.
Looking back, that probably wasn't the smartest thing from a safety perspective, but at the time it felt totally safe.
{related: comfortable workwear for late nights}
At my BigLaw office, there was absolutely a culture where we were encouraged to stay late — frequent meetings at 5:00 p.m., or phone calls from the partner(s) or senior associates at 6:00 or 7:00 — but I suspect that because of my preference and availability I maybe got more of those calls and teammates than others.
(Let's also just say I was not a “show up at 7:00 a.m.” kind of employee, either.)
I distinctly remember another associate my age and year who had kids in daycare and a wife who was a doctor — he was very vocal and clear to everyone about having firm deadlines to leave the office.
That said, at the time and place I was practicing, there were often voluminous documents we had to go through and reference, sometimes corralled into binders, sometimes in boxes, and sometimes via proprietary software we had to use on site — so the work also lent itself to being physically in the office to do it.
A Better Work Life Balance for Working at Home Instead of Staying Late?
When I brought work home it was usually focused editing work for memos or briefs, and when I did work from home it tended to be in the wee hours of the morning, like 3:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m. (presumably after getting three or four hours of sleep after coming home late the night before).
{related: 5 tips for surviving the day after an all-nighter}
When I switched to my nonprofit, the culture was very different — everyone had some modicum of work-life balance, with commitments with friends and family, sometimes even making plans to meet when it was still light outside.
Whoa.
So “staying late” changed from “staying until you're about to pass out at your desk but need to go home to shower and get a REM cycle anyway” became “staying until 7:00 unless something drastic and crazy is happening.”
{related: how to work from home efficiently}
The reader favorite office chairs for women include Steelcase (Leap and Gesture), Herman Miller (Aeron size A and Sayl), and Branch. On the budget side, this Ikea chair has been a favorite for a decade, and I've also bought this under $50 option and liked it. Don't forget a floor mat!
Readers, how about you — what is your preference when it comes to staying late at work, or coming into the office on the weekend or early in the morning? How has your preference changed through different jobs, offices, and general life position (e.g., 20s, 30s)? (Do you recognize a “naturally productive time”?)
{related: what clothes are too casual for a weekend in the office}
Stock photo via Stencil.
Equestrian attorney
I have a similar experience. In big law, there was definitely a culture of “being there until main partner leaves” which in my case was almost never before 8pm, and I often stayed later – because he would ask me to do stuff on his way out or things needed to be done for the next day. I’m productive in the evenings so that was ok, but I gained a ton of weight from constantly eating at the food court for dinner (with a bit of a “treat yourself for working late” mentality, which doesn’t work if it’s happening every day). Also, working from home was a pain because of paper files and a really slow VPN that didn’t work well on Macs. So I often came in on the weekend too.
Then I went in-house and working from home got much easier – I have a work laptop that I am allowed to take home with access to all my files on it, and the culture is much more flexible as long as things get done and I’m generally at work during core hours. So unless there is a major emergency and I need to work with a team, I usually go home, work out, eat dinner, and then log back on. And if I stay late, it’s usually 7 or 8, not 2 am.
Ellen
I am the opposite. I always leave on time, so that I can do stuff for ME b/f I get home, then I work from home in the evenings, while I eat and watch TV. I have always been a multitasker, and see no reason to stay late at work. Besides, the creepy Janitor loves to see who goes into the bathroom, and he follows us in. At least when other women are around, I do not feel so skeeved out. I would not want to be the only woman around when he comes in to “check the paper” in the toilet while ooogeling me. FOOEY!
Original Moonstone
Even though it means long days, I prefer to stay late and almost never work from home. In my office (not law), no one cares whether I stay late, so I do it only because I am more productive in the office. When I used to take work home, it would hang over my head the whole time and ruin my evenings.
Ribena (formerly Hermione)
I’m like this as well. I almost never work from home either. I like keeping the two separate, especially if I’ve had a stressful day (which tends to be whe I have to work late).
Rebecca in Dallas
I’m totally like this! I had a VP who used to say, “When you’re home, you should be at home.” It may not work well for everyone, but I prefer to keep my work at work even if it means spending some extra hours at the office when needed. If I bring work home, I find that I can’t turn off that work-mode when I should!
Leatty
When I was in private practice, I always worked from the office. My firm was big on face-time, and our remote access technology was atrocious. Now that I’m in house, I only work late in the office if I have calls since I have a rambunctious toddler. Otherwise I’ll work from home after she goes to bed.
Kate
When I was in house, I stayed late (6:30-7 pm) a few nights a week and worked from home almost every night of the week, as well as holidays and weekend days. Now in private practice, I check email at home (everyone probably does this) but if a project is going to take more than half an hour or so, I go to the office. I can walk to work, though, so this helps.
Anon
This past weekend was the third weekend in a row where I had to work. It’s Monday and I’m seriously burned out at work right now. What do you recommend doing to get out of this state?
Anon
Vacation as soon as you can. That’s really the only thing that works for me.
NewMomEsq
what Anon said. A full vaca is not necessary for me. Even leaving early in the middle of the week to go pick up my kid from school and hang out with her without any plans to work from home usually does the trick.
Diana Barry
I have never stayed late at the office. At biglaw I was in a niche practice group and arrived at 630 am rather than working late, so I was always out of the office at 530 or so. I moved to my current firm when I had #1, so I have always needed to leave at 5 to get home for family dinner. Now I am more apt to work late after a break for dinner/dishes/kid bedtime, or at odd hours on the weekends, but always from home, never from the office. (We also moved farther away from the office, so it is prohibitive for me to go in ‘just for a little while’ on the weekends like some people do.)
JazzyRose
In order to work early mornings instead of late nights every night, do first year associates need to find a niche practice? Is that the type of thing that you can ask about late in the interview cycle or is that the type of thing you should only find out about by asking around more generally?
Equestrian attorney
In my experience, it depends on (1) your practice area and (2) your department’s or partner’s culture. In my firm, litigation come in earlier (because they often had morning court appearances) and left earlier (unless major trial). Corporate come in later and left later, generally. My boss normally came in around 10am and left around 8pm so I aligned with that (but came in at 9am). I don’t know anyone who worked a strict 9-5 except maybe the senior folks in our tax department? I’m curious to hear about other people’s experience with this.
Cat
Yes, most likely. The more junior you are, the more likely it is you’ll get work assigned late in the day, since it typically flows partner to senior associate to you. And if the senior associate wants something by, say, 10:30 the next morning, if you wait to start it in the AM, you risk (a) underestimating the time required and blowing the deadline, or (b) getting a second urgent assignment and having scheduling problems.
JazzyRose
Thanks!
Anon
Agree that generally associates work later, but I do think this depends a lot on the partner. My old boss came in around 8, read the paper a while, started work at 9, left at 5-5:30. I normally would get assigned things around 5, so I would often work at home in the evening and get in around 9:30 am.
At my current job, I was asked in the interview process if I minded getting to work between 8-8:30 since we had “early” partners. Most of the partners here have kids and get to work at 7, then leave around 3-4 to hang out with their kids. I normally work 8:15-5:45ish now and do not really work once I get home. If I got in later, I would not really have that much overlap between when a partner and I were in the office, and I don’t think as much would get done.
Anon
I prefer to head home as early as possible. I have a rural commute, and for a large part of the year I’m risking hitting deer or other animals if I leave too late. I’ve totaled two cars in less than three years (not by speeding recklessly, either, bucks are just solid AF and antlers do a lot of damage).
That said, I work with huge files over a dinky VPN, so I need to plan ahead by saving a glut of work to my hard drive beforehand.
Pretty Primadonna
I do not typically have a workload that requires me to work late, but if I have things to do in the evenings or on the weekend, I usually go to Starbucks or some other place. I am not great at focusing on work at home. And the air/heating in my office shuts down after a certain time every day and is never on during weekends. Plus, the vast majority of people aren’t here working late so it is extra quiet and creepy.
Longtime lurker
Kate and Kat:
Please develop a day in the life for working women who are not moms.
Equestrian attorney
Great idea! I read the moms one even though I have no children and would love to read it on the regular site too.
Pompom
Yes, please. I tend to skip about half the time as it doesn’t quite translate to my kidless life, but the times I do read I’m always amazed (and tired)!
Ann Perkins!
I was literally just thinking about posting this. Co-sign!
CountC
Yes!
Anonymous
Another vote!
Running Cat Mom
Yes! I suggested this before as well. We have demands, challenges, and passions. I read mostly the non-kid times as well just to have a connection with other ambitious women.
Shopaholic
I mean… ideally neither.
But when I am working later (i.e. past 7pm), I usually try to stay at the office but don’t like to be here much later than 9ish. I will do some work on the weekend at home if I absolutely have to, and will come in if it’s something that requires a meeting/two monitors but I really hate it.
Honestly, I try as much as possible to do all my work at the office because I find I make excuses once I get home and end up not really working, or end up really distracted.
Worry about yourself
If I have a lot to do, I’d rather stay in the office and do it there. Commuting home is going to break my concentration and I have a hard time getting back into work mode once I’m home. Plus, if I leave later the train has far fewer people on it, which is nice.
4-8pm is my optimal work time
I have the same struggle with my naturally productive time being dinner time with family. I try to balance that by leaving on the later side but still getting home in time for a late dinner. My family has been “trained” to eat dinner on the later side. Easier now that kids are teens rather than when younger (had an afterschool sitter to handle dinner then). Figure this is probably just a lifetime thing like being a morning person in a night owl job. :)
I try not to work weekends but will do it if I need focused time. Have a hard time working at home. Too easy to get sucked into chores and lazy time (e.g., Netflix) when working at home on the weekends. Only exception is working late at night but that’s not healthy to do too often. I am working on getting away from this for my long-term health’s sake.
For me, it has always been about setting expectations personally and professionally. Husband and colleagues take it better when I tell them when I’ll be leaving early/working late and when. Would be a red flag for me that maybe the job wasn’t right if I ever felt like I was “sneaking around” or “trying to get away with [getting in late/leaving early]” personally or professionally.
Amy
I’m one of the few who often stays late at the office. I’m most productive in the morning til early afternoon and then again from about 3-7 pm. My coworkers all leave on the dot at 5pm, some even earlier. I work in government affairs for a trade association so what I do is a little different than my coworkers but it sometimes grates on me that everyone else has a pronounced work life balance (even my boss and our CEO) while I’m scrambling to handle 15 crises at once. I also have a ton of meetings that keep me out of the office during the day so sometimes I come in early to prep and stay late to get actual work (usually writing/emails) done.
Anonymous
I am much more productive at the office, so staying an extra hour there is worth two at home where I get super distracted. Staying later also helps make the commute shorter. Most of my team works on ET and I am in the central time zone, so late afternoon is when I can catch up.
Anne
Pre-kids I preferred to stay at work to finish up, and I almost never brought work from home. I was very protective of having my separate personal life and not giving up my nights for work. When I had to do calls with India & China I always had them really early in the morning rather than give up my nights for work. I was also working at a company with a big US-manufacturing presence, so I feel like that impacted the mentality that it was better to have face time in the office and working remotely wasn’t respected at all. If someone left at 4pm the joke was that they were taking a 1/2 day. The majority of employees that were fathers also had stay-at-home wives, so they didn’t really understand the need to run errands or get home in time to make dinner. After I had our first child that became much more difficult. Now I actually love the ability to work from home.
My new company is very flexible on work hours, and it doesn’t really matter whether you stay late or finish up at home that night. Most of the men I work with (it’s engineering…) are in dual-career households and have responsibility for a portion of their kids’ care. My boss & his boss are both the ones that have to take care of their kids when they are sick or kids are cancelled, so they are always calling into meetings remotely or working from home. I prefer to leave work earlier and run errands or buy groceries when the store isn’t busy, and still have time to enjoy the kids before bedtime.
Our kids’ bedtimes are at 7:30pm, so now working late from home doesn’t interrupt any kind of social life because I would be sitting on the couch anyway. I’ve also found I can be super productive between 8 & 9:30pm and still have time to relax before our bedtime. I also try to be intentional about what work I leave for home. I don’t have dual screens, so anything on Excel needs to be done at work, but I can crank out emails during that timeframe so I save those.
Ryan
I prefer to stay late at the office because being at home means time for rest. Your focus on working will be distracted if you finish your work at home. When you’re already at home, you should spend your time with your family and rest.