How often do you take work home with you?
Your interviewer is aiming to learn a few things from your answer to this question. They want to get a feeling about how well you manage your time in both your personal and professional life. For, if you are regularly taking your work home with you, this throws off your work-life balance. They are also curious whether you are making up for lost time at work due to not managing your personal issues well, due to addressing those needs during your work hours. How well an employee manages their time in both their personal and professional lives will impact both, throwing off their work-life balance, which contributes to stress and burnout, ultimately leading to attrition. So how you answer this question could offer clues to your work ethic and standard.
"I take my work home with me only when it is necessary. In some positions I've held, I've worked from home nearly every day. In other roles, such as my current position, I work from home just a couple of times per month. I manage my time well and am singularly focused when at work. I manage my personal time, and my in-between time as well. I take this very seriously. The only time that I take my work home is when I am asked to rise to the call of duty. Overall, I take my work home maybe twice per month. If required, I would do it as often as needed. But in most circumstances, it hasn't been necessary. It's all about being diligent with your time."
Based on the information online, working overtime for most of the NY Times employees does not seem to be a regular expectation. According to The New York Times Guild, which is the union of the New York Times, "Times workers have a 35-hour week with eligibility for overtime on the 36th hour and time-and-a-half on the 40th hour. Most union workers work more than 35 hours." Additionally, The NY Times Vice President of Marketing Operations is quoted on their site as saying, "The New York Times gives me the rare feeling of working at a mission-driving company and an opportunity to have a healthy work-life balance."
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