Time Calculatorby Cardamon

Work Hours Calculator: How Many Hours Did I Work?

Dmitrii Kargashin By Dmitrii Kargashin · Updated July 2026

A work hours calculator adds your shifts as durations: type 8h 15m + 7h 45m + 8h on one line and read 24 Hours. Subtract breaks with a minus sign, then pick Hour Minute for an hours-and-minutes total, or the single Hour format for the decimal hours payroll systems expect.

Whether you finished three shifts or a full week, the question is the same: how many hours did I work? This work hours calculator answers it in one line. Type each shift as a duration, like 8h 15m, join the shifts with plus signs, and subtract any unpaid breaks. Pick Hour Minute to read the total the way a time card shows it, or the single Hour format when payroll wants decimal hours. The calculator carries every 60 minutes into an hour, so 45 minutes plus 30 minutes lands as 1 hour 15 minutes on the total.

Step by step

  1. Write each shift as hours and minutes

    Type every shift as a duration with a unit on each number: an 8-hour-15-minute day is 8h 15m, a straight 8-hour day is 8h. Write the worked length, so a 9-hour day with a 45-minute unpaid lunch becomes 9h - 45m.

  2. Chain the shifts with plus signs

    Put a + between shifts and keep the whole day or week on one line: 8h 15m + 7h 45m + 8h totals three days. Add all five days for the week, and use a minus sign anywhere in the line to remove unpaid breaks.

  3. Read the total as hours and minutes

    Pick Hour Minute to see the total the way a time card reads it, like 40 Hours 15 Minutes. The calculator carries every 60 minutes into an hour, so a stack of odd shift lengths still comes out as a clean total.

  4. Switch to decimal hours for payroll

    Change the format to the single Hour option when your payroll system wants a decimal. The same week reads 40.25 Hours, since 15 minutes is a quarter of an hour. Round repeating decimals like 8.3333333 to two places at the end.

Worked examples

8h 15m + 7h 45m + 8h=24 Hours

Three daily shifts added into one running total.

8h 15m + 7h 45m + 8h + 8h 30m + 7h 45m=40 Hours 15 Minutes

A full five-day week totaled the way a time card reads.

8h 15m + 7h 45m + 8h + 8h 30m + 7h 45m=40.25 Hours

The same week as decimal hours, the figure payroll software expects.

9h - 45m=8 Hours 15 Minutes

A 9-hour day with the unpaid 45-minute lunch removed.

Try it yourself

Show result as
Try

Type hours, minutes, days, weeks, months, years, or seconds, as full words or shorthand (h m d w), with + - * /. Pick how the answer reads with Show result as up top. It all runs in your browser. Drag the card’s right edge to make it wider.

Common questions

How do I calculate my work hours for the week?

Type each day's shift as a duration and add them on one line: 8h 15m + 7h 45m + 8h + 8h 30m + 7h 45m returns 40 Hours 15 Minutes. The calculator carries minutes into hours, so you skip the column arithmetic.

How do I get my work hours as decimal hours for payroll?

Switch the result format to the single Hour option. A 40 hour 15 minute week reads 40.25 Hours. Odd minute counts produce repeating decimals, so 8h 20m shows 8.3333333 Hours, which payroll rounds to 8.33.

How do I subtract an unpaid lunch break?

Use a minus sign in the same line. A 9-hour day with a 45-minute unpaid lunch is 9h - 45m, which returns 8 Hours 15 Minutes. Chain more minus signs to remove several breaks across the week.

I only have clock-in and clock-out times. Can I still calculate my hours?

Yes. Write each clock time as hours and minutes counted from midnight and subtract: a 9:00 to 17:30 day is 17h 30m - 9h, which gives 8 Hours 30 Minutes. Total those shift lengths with plus signs afterward.

Hourly workers double-checking a pay stub and payroll admins verifying submitted totals type the week's shifts once and read the answer in either format.

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