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1002 points genericlemon24 | 1 comments | 06 Sep 25 13:20 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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rsyring ◴[06 Sep 25 15:21 UTC] No.45150076[source]▶
I've always told my team: focus on being super productive in the 40 hours a week you are working. Then go home and do something that really matters.

My belief has been very few lay on their death bed wishing they had given more to their jobs. But many lay there regretting they didn't invest more in their families.

I also believe that 40 truly focused hours is more productive than many people who do 50+ hour weeks just because of the limitations of human physiology.

There are times when a crunch is warranted but they are much fewer than any would be lead to believe. If, on principle, you take away "overtime" as an option, then it makes your more focused with the time you do have.

I've employed people doing software development mostly billed by the hour for almost 20 years. So my personal wealth is directly tied to how much my team works. And in all that time, there was only once that I asked a dev to do 45 hour weeks for a summer due to exceptional circumstances. And I truly asked, I didn't insist.

I've also personally put in more time than that in some weeks/months, but I compensate by working less when that period is done. And, I always know it's not long term sustainable, so there needs to be a goal in mind.

It's not perfect, but I'm confident my priorities are in the right place. And I'm confident my team benefits greatly by being cared for in this way.

replies(1): >>45152568 #
1. abustamam ◴[06 Sep 25 20:26 UTC] No.45152568[source]▶
I like that philosophy. 40 focused hours. My wife is an accountant and so she has to work 65 hour weeks during tax season (Jan to April). I think it makes sense to work overtime in this case (and she gets paid time and a half). And even then based on what she's told me about her workdays, most of the time is spent doing bullshit (important but bullshit work like scanning papers or hounding clients to send in paperwork). I feel like there are tangible things that management could do that would reduce the amount of bullshit, like actually adhering to the document submission deadline, or requiring clients to scan paperwork themselves, but whatever, I don't know anything about running an accounting firm.

But 72 hour weeks for a shitty AI wrapper for the same salary that someone working 40h weeks? Pass.