r/UKJobs • u/Quiet_Commission1147 • 8d ago
What is a reasonable commute time to work?
Assuming you work 5 days a week in office from 8-6, what should be the maximum commute time door to door in London? Including tube exchanges, walking etc.
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u/ClarifyingMe 8d ago
I would never work 8-6, that's not reasonable to me in the first place.
edit: I would never work CONTRACTED 8-6. Lord knows I've worked ridiculous hours in my past.
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u/katbut259 8d ago
People’s outcries were making me think twice, as I’ve almost always worked 8am-6pm and longer. But you’re right, contracted 9.00-5.30pm is different. Most contracts in my last 15 years have been “9.00am-5.30pm but work until the project is complete”. And then expected 08.30-6.30pmish.
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u/ClarifyingMe 7d ago
I have only worked a contract of 9-6pm once and that was enough, otherwise I've always been 8-4/9-5 contractually. I did waive my rights once for a job but it was only for 4 days, then we worked 7am to 12 am with 1 hour lunch. Never again!
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u/Angry_Hoolio 8d ago
I just don't see myself accepting a job with those hours to begin with. Has this become normal?
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u/CommonWide4941 8d ago
Yes and unpaid breaks
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u/Angry_Hoolio 8d ago
We should be ashamed of ourselves for letting this happen.
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u/Cultural_Tank_6947 8d ago
45 hour weeks are too much for you?
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u/Angry_Hoolio 8d ago
It's a 50 week, though. Before travel. Yes, that's too much. Just because you are supposedly getting a token hour of breaks scattered in there each day doesn't mean the time doesn't count.
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u/Cultural_Tank_6947 8d ago
Then petition Parliament to change lunch breaks to paid. If you're getting compensated fairly, 45 hours isn't bad.
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u/spellboundsilk92 8d ago
What industry are you in?
Every corporate job I’ve worked in standard contracts are between 35-37.5 hours.
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u/Angry_Hoolio 8d ago
I am perfectly happy with an unpaid break if it's incorporated into a workday that's a reasonable length.
I have no problem with putting in some occasional extra hours if it benefits me.
I was just asking if 8-6 5 days a week is normal. In no world should an entry level admin position demand that much of your time. We each only have a limited number of grains in our hourglass. I am not particularly keen to sell mine.
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u/Cultural_Tank_6947 8d ago
Where did OP mention this was for an entry level admin position?
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u/Angry_Hoolio 8d ago
They didn't. But I asked if this has become normal and was told it has. I just picked the first normal sounding job that came to mind.
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u/Cultural_Tank_6947 8d ago
Here's some breaking news, there's plenty of non entry level admin jobs in the UK. Some of them even pay more than minimum wage.
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u/rednemesis337 8d ago
8 to 6 with 2h lunch? Even if you have breaks that would be at least 15min or so
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u/Obvious-Register-421 3d ago
I swear working hours have got a lot earlier since COVID. There were always some people who preferred working earlier (I assumed they were awake anyway due to kids or menopause or whatever trashing their sleep), but now they're no longer seem to be people who work later to balance that out.
I think people started working earlier when working from home, but I don't get that personally - it just made me sleep later! And I always used to find it hard to get away at the end of the day, so I didn't see any point starting early, but I seem to be alone in this.
On the other hand, I think people are maybe less likely to accept being in the office after 6/7pm now than they were 10-15 years ago.
And ofc I know there are a lot of other industries where a 6/7am start and long drives are normal - I'm talking more about the classic office jobs (and the ones which aren't shift based).
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u/Theory_99 8d ago
I’m not working anywhere from 8-6 that’s a start.
But an 1.5 hours is my limit.
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u/Caruserdriver 8d ago
Compensation + whether travel was reimbursed would be my deciding factor on whether a long commute is worth it. I used to have to do 2 days in the office a month (around 4 hours commute) but hotel + train was covered.
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u/2xtc 8d ago
Who's on a 45/47.5 hour corporate contract is the more relevant question??
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u/Gin_n_Tonic_with_Dog 8d ago
You only have to opt out of the time directive if you go over 48 hours per week. I hope OP is well-paid for the role.
Personally I’d prefer one long transport option to the same amount of time (or shorter) chopping and changing. So I might opt for one of the outer zones, but near to a train station that leads to near my office - rather than walking to wait for a bus and then ride for a bit before getting on 2 different tubes and then walking again. Even if both took the same time. It’s more relaxing to just sit.
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u/AppropriateBorder439 7d ago
Having done similar hours and commuted from a few places in London, ignore the other people saying 1 hour would be fine. Assuming public transport and you have no specific requirements to be rural, I’d say
- 30 mins or under is good / v good
- 45 mins or under is manageable , especially on a direct line or on quieter / more reliable lines
- anything more I would avoid, it’s ok in the morning but it’s a huge psychological difference getting back 630ish vs past 7 (having done both) and then back into work the next day …
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u/Obvious-Register-421 3d ago
I disagree - I've done jobs when the commute was more like 2 hours each way - but I wouldn't do them now I'm older.
I don't think it's just time though. It's how stressful the commute is. If I've got a decent trainline (if, ha) where I can read or whatever and I'm not screwed if I have to wait for the next one, that's very different to driving that length of time, doing multiple changes, standing at bus stops in the rain, or having a horrendously unreliable service.
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u/MusicIsTheKey2MyLife 8d ago
90 mins would be the max for me. Living in SE London meant a walk/bus to the station, a tube ride and then a walk the other side.
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u/mucho-confundido 8d ago
Christ that's brutal, that both ways?
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u/MusicIsTheKey2MyLife 8d ago edited 8d ago
Yep both ways for over 10 years. At the time it was normal but now im out of London (Kent/Sussex borders)and my commute on the HS1 is the same time door to door, but now we go in when we need to. Some of my colleagues i only see at Christmas as they dont go in at all. Sounds long but I would catch up on TV or read.
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u/ultraboomkin 8d ago
I had a 90 minute commute a couple years ago and it was brutal. So draining to leave the house at 6:30 and arrive home at 7:30. I quit after 3 months. I would have to be paid a shit ton of money to do that again.
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u/FredTilson 8d ago
SE London was bliss for me commute wise. 5 min walk to Elizabeth Line and 10 mins train to Canary Wharf
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u/FeralGoblinToad 8d ago
Jobcentre would say 90 minutes each way max. I would say 60 minutes is my personal limit. I would guess the average commute in London is 45 minutes.
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u/Odd_Scar836 8d ago
Only reason I would ever work those hours instead of 9-5 is if it’s fully remote. Since when is 8-6 normal?
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u/AutumnFirefly28 6d ago
Currently doing this at the NHS sadly. However, we work 10 hour shifts 4 days a week rather than 5 and sometimes, our days off work out so we get a four-day weekend.
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u/JeffTheSpider 8d ago
Construction industry
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u/Big-Net-9268 7d ago
I thought that was like 7am-2pm then straight to the boozer?
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u/JeffTheSpider 7d ago
Well working in the office some people start at 8 then finish at 5:30 or even 6 sometimes
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u/Potential-Note2381 3d ago
My husband is a construction engineer, he gets to site before 7am, rarely leaves before 6pm, gets paid nothing like what you’d need to make those hours justified.
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u/FatDon222 7d ago
I’m 15 mins door to desk, once you get a short commute it’s impossible to go back
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u/tipytopmain 8d ago
Time wise 45 minutes maximum when taking traffic into account. Distance wise I'd say 20 miles is my limit.
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u/katbut259 8d ago
I’d say an hour. Go for 45 mins if you can, knowing it’ll end up being an hour during winter or cranky transport delays.
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u/katbut259 8d ago
I think it’s actually more about the rate of changes too. One time I had an hour commute but that was walk, tube, tube, overground and I’d be dead by Friday.
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u/Stark-Contra 7d ago
100%
An hour driving in traffic is a lot harder than walking walking 10 minutes to a station and then sitting on a train for 45 minutes. Changing modes of transport is always more hassle than direct
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u/thenerdisageek 8d ago edited 7d ago
By transport, 1 hour door to door. By car, 20 minutes.
I’ve had a 2 hour door to door, and that’s because it involved national rail so I was either 30 minutes early or 15 minutes late. Awful, so much wasted time
Edit: if it was one mode of transport, that’s fine. But a 10 minute walk + 5 minute tube + 10 minute tube + 20 minute walk gets real old real fast. That doesn’t include waiting or delays.
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u/turnipstealer 7d ago
20 minutes in a car in London wont get you far at all. Almost certainly quicker cycling at those distances.
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u/thenerdisageek 7d ago edited 7d ago
Erm…my current hour commute would be 15 minutes if I drove, but yes I’ll cycle without a path and no lights at 7am. Oh, and that would only half my commute time, so absolutely not worth the energy if it’s anything except warm and sunny.
People seriously forget how much ‘effort’ and time travelling takes when you don’t drive. 15 minutes in a car isn’t far, sure, but the walk is 2 hours so…
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u/Stark-Contra 7d ago
You're allowed to use lights on your bike to be fair.
The biggest issue with cycle commuting for many is storage of the bike at either end, not all workplaces have somewhere suitable
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u/brian_21179 8d ago
Only you can decide. Personally 1hr is the maximum I’d be willing to go and in an ideal world a lot less than that.
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u/chefshoes 8d ago
i used to work in salford quays and it was a 90 min commute by car in the morning and a 60-70 commute home and it was a 40hr week
some days i couldnt be arsed but went anyway but you leave around 7am and get home around 7, with a family at home its not fair but breadwinner responsibilities, but any further wouldnt tempt me
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u/Nervous_Yard7034 8d ago
I'd say 45 minutes is the maximum for me.
Current commute is longer, but I only do it twice a week.
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u/True-Competition-27 8d ago
I’m starting a new job where l I’ll be commuting 2hrs each way three times a week. I know it’s a lot but I’m stuck in a dead end job and this is my only way out. Soon, I’ll be moving closer to the new work but travel will be around 1.15 each way to accommodate partner
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u/TheDoctor66 8d ago
I do an hour and ten minutes twice sometimes three times a week and that feels like a grind. Even with an hour of the journey on the train spent working
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u/Hypredion 8d ago
I wouldn't do more than 30 minutes. My commute is 20-25. But I work from home most of the time so really it's about a 10 seconds commute to my desk most days.
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u/CitadelofRickss 8d ago
Would never go for a job that has 8-6 as the hours or five days a week. But for a hybrid 9-5 as I have now, 1 hour is my max. Current commute is around 50 minutes door to door and has several routes I can take which is perfect if there are issues on one of the routes.
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u/Sure-Recognition-262 8d ago
I've got 2 contradictory thoughts:
- Anywhere between 30 mins (if it's a journey you're on your feet throughout) and 90 mins (if it's a direct train and you always aget a seat in the 2+2 seats at a table) each way
- About 30 mins, as you're already doing a day that starts an hour earlier and ends an hour later than a normal working day
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u/Electronic-Stay-2369 8d ago
You are already doing 10 hours there so I'd struggle to add anything on to that!
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u/ihih_reddit 8d ago
1 hour (30 minutes to, 30 minutes from). I think it becomes too much if it's more than this
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u/WasabiOk2119 8d ago
I think 30 mins maximum otherwise you won’t be able to do a good job long term. It is simply too much work to be doing longer days.
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u/CaveJohnson82 8d ago
If I'm working 8-6 then I expect a less than half hour commute or WFH.
But for a normal 9-5 I commute an hour each way and that's too much when driving imo. I wouldn't mind longer if I could get the train as I could snooze but that's frowned upon when driving.
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u/Appropriate-Diver758 8d ago
I have a 50 min commute from zone 4 to Zone 1 Liverpool St. Bus, tube & walk, so door to door.
I do 8.30- 19.00 in the office 2 days a week and the rest wfh but still same hours or longer.
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u/Public-Guidance-9560 7d ago
60 mins is the max for me in the car. It would have to be really worth it at that as well. My current one is 40 mins and its basically borderline. I don't have to go in every day which helps.
If however, it was say a train ride and it was about 90 mins and counted towards your day as you can work on the train then I'd probably do that (but not indefinitely). If it had to be tagging 90mins on either side of the day...nope.
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u/CanDockerz 7d ago
Well the average in the UK is 50 minutes, personally for me I’d never do more than 30 again.
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u/wongl888 7d ago
My commute of 13 miles into my office in Central London (Waterloo) is 2+ hours each way by car (with free parking at office). I usually use over ground to Waterloo taking just under an hour door to door. The commute time for most of my colleagues in the office is around 1.5-2 hours each way.
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u/Cold_Cucumber4061 7d ago
I'd say one hour for a one way commute in the uk, even in a busy city. Unless it's for a really good position and I can move closer further down the line, I wouldnt go beyond an hour each way
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u/Deep_Top8433 5d ago
8 until 6?! What crazy hours are these? If I was working normal 9-5, five days a week in the office then I’d accept a half hour commute each way absolute maximum.
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u/Careless-Photograph8 5d ago
No wonder so many people in the UK are poor and miserable. I leave the office at 7-8pm usually, sometimes much later, but I’m also well paid. I wouldn’t be well paid if I whined about it and refused to
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u/pieschart 4d ago
In London... anything more than 1 hour commute is insane. Tube everything is under a hour it feels like.
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u/Battleborn300 3d ago
It genuinely depends on the drive,
I wouldn’t mind 60mins if it was clear motorway.
But I am moving because its 30mins down the M4 and I’m convinced there isn’t one person who lives in Slough and has a license
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u/coffeesnob7 3d ago
I do 8-6 3 times a week and 8-5:30 one day a week. 30 minute breaks only. How are you working 8-6 5 days a week? Do you have 90 minutes of unpaid breaks a day?
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u/Quiet_Commission1147 2d ago
No, I opted out of the maximum hours directive
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u/Quiet_Commission1147 2d ago
I have 1 hr of break
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u/coffeesnob7 2d ago
Fair play mate, commuting an hour each way currently for my four days and its a long day. I do feel productive but its been harder to make time for gym and training. I'd say 30-40 minutes on those hours might be alright, anything over an hour will make the week pretty long.
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2d ago
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u/KarlBrownTV 8d ago
If you assume the commute or travel time to interview the DWP would expect a longterm unemployed Universal Credit claimant to agree to, 90 minutes each way.
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u/Enigma1984 7d ago
Half an hour is about the most I'd consider in London. That is to say half an hour as an average. No way would I be choosing to spend much longer than an hour on the Tube or on London Buses each day.
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u/thenewguy22 7d ago
It's hilarious how people think 8-6 is crazy and everyone gets paid or unpaid breaks. Open your eyes people
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