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996

(lucumr.pocoo.org)
1001 points genericlemon24 | 9 comments | 06 Sep 25 13:20 UTC | HN request time: 0.772s | source | bottom
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Aurornis ◴[06 Sep 25 14:29 UTC] No.45149578[source]▶
When founders put 996 in their job descriptions or Tweet about their 996 culture it’s a helpful signal to avoid that company.

The only time I’d actually consider crazy schedules was if I was the founder with a huge equity stake and a once in a lifetime opportunity that would benefit from a short period of 996.

For average employees? Absolutely not. If someone wants extraordinary hours they need to be providing extraordinary compensation. Pay me a couple million per year and I’ll do it for a while (though not appropriate for everyone). Pay me the same as the other job opportunities? Absolutely no way I’m going to 996.

In my experience, the 996 teams aren’t actually cranking out more work. They’re just working odd hours, doing a little work on the weekends to say they worked the weekend, and they spend a lot of time relaxing at the office because they’re always there.

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1. NaomiLehman ◴[06 Sep 25 15:57 UTC] No.45150392[source]▶
I don't understand what kind of job, except for some very, very fringe cases like a NASA active mission or an atomic threat, would require a person to pull all-nighters. And how is that productive in the long-term? It's not exactly easy to hire talent.
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2. HPsquared ◴[06 Sep 25 16:00 UTC] No.45150423[source]▶
College trains people for this. Basically anything with strict deadlines. Most of my coursework was done at the latest possible time, in the early hours of the morning. I think these workplaces just carry over that vibe.
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3. jaccola ◴[06 Sep 25 16:04 UTC] No.45150451[source]▶
People who enforce 996 or whatever other schedule are treating the symptom and not the cause.

What they really want is for all of their employees to be so in love with the work, so bought into the mission and so compelled by the vision that they want to work until late.

Of course building a company that inspires that is actually very difficult (though is possible for sure) so it’s easier just to enforce a crazy and unproductive schedule.

replies(1): >>45152860 #
4. skeeter2020 ◴[06 Sep 25 16:22 UTC] No.45150612[source]▶
College does a terrible job of training you for anything like a startup; it's a marathon game, unlike the 12-16 week semester sprint. What you do in the most "polished" college project is like < 25% of what goes into a marketable software product.
5. Kwpolska ◴[06 Sep 25 16:27 UTC] No.45150651[source]▶
College doesn’t train you for this, you just suck at time management and planning.
6. georgeburdell ◴[06 Sep 25 17:09 UTC] No.45151015[source]▶
I have not pulled an all nighter proper (the worst was going to sleep at 6 and waking up at 7:30), but working late into the night is usually distraction free. During work hours, I feel obligated to quickly respond to coworker's emails and help requests, so most of my own work is worthless during that time unless it’s the equivalent of updating a config file
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7. 8n4vidtmkvmk ◴[06 Sep 25 17:18 UTC] No.45151101[source]▶
Funny, because updating a config file is about the most dangerous thing you can do. #1 prod killer.
8. robocat ◴[06 Sep 25 21:10 UTC] No.45152860[source]▶
> building a company that inspires

There's a lot of grit-flavoured cool aid being sold by CEOs

Here's one that came up recently selling work as the answer to life:

https://joincolossus.com/article/the-amusement-park-for-engi...

And another saying that burnout only exists if the work is not inspiring:

https://substack.com/inbox/post/172406264

9. georgeecollins ◴[07 Sep 25 00:24 UTC] No.45154134[source]▶
There are certain things, being an elite athlete, a movie director (and a lot of the key talent), a team that makes a really great video game, a medical resident, where you are going to be competing against people willing to make incredible sacrifices for success including long hours and sacrifices of their personal life.

I agree celebrating regular workers putting in crazy hours is a terrible idea. It shouldn't be the norm, but it is also something that some people will reasonably choose to do.