[ghaff]

No--really sloppy article. I'm not sure when and how the "9 to 5" phrase entered the lexicon but, wherever I've worked, the "official" workday has always been 8-5 or 8:30-5 with an hour or half-hour respectively for lunch.

[peacemaker]

In the UK and most of Europe it's usually 9-5. The US likes to stretch out the workday to get more out of its wage slaves :)

[GnomeChomsky]

I've only had two salaried jobs in the US, but both had an eight-hour workday in total with 30-60 minutes for lunch.

i.e. 9-5

I do pity fellow Americans working 8-5 or 9-6.