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Ask HN: How to handle a workaholic colleague?

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Re: Ask HN: How to handle a workaholic colleague?

#51

Post by TheSpiceIsLife »

wheelerwj wrote: post #46
ronnier wrote: post #37

I work a lot. I'm working right now (took a break to read HN). I just enjoy getting things done and it's paid off well for me. I've learned though that my ability to work many hours and my drive to do so doesn't mean I should enforce that on others, so I don't let my teammates know when I work outside of normal hours. I don't send emails at night or weekends. I don't send code reviews on nights and weekends. I try to…

This is the right answer without really being an answer. I work a lot too, its not uncommon for me to 2x the hours my coworkers put in. And i don't care because I enjoy it. I'm passionate about the work I do and the company I'm contributing to. I do need to be more mindful of the hours I send emails and slack messages. My current justification is that while I may send outbound communications 24/7, I only follow up du…

What motivates you to send emails 24/7?

Unless you're actively involved in incident response, I find it hard to imagine a scenario that necessitates sending regular email at 3 in the morning.

Re: Ask HN: How to handle a workaholic colleague?

#52

Post by jakobegger »

TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #51
wheelerwj wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the right answer without really being an answer. I work a lot too, its not uncommon for me to 2x the hours my coworkers put in. And i don't care because I enjoy it. I'm passionate about the work I do and the company I'm contributing to. I do need to be more mindful of the hours I send emails and slack messages. My current justification is that while I may send outbound communications 24/7, I only follow up du…

What motivates you to send emails 24/7? Unless you're actively involved in incident response, I find it hard to imagine a scenario that necessitates sending regular email at 3 in the morning.

I guess it's convenient when you've eg. fixed an issue at 3AM in the morning to send an email to affected people right away (so you can focus on the next thing) instead of remembering to send the email in the morning.

Re: Ask HN: How to handle a workaholic colleague?

#55

Post by wheelerwj »

TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #51
wheelerwj wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the right answer without really being an answer. I work a lot too, its not uncommon for me to 2x the hours my coworkers put in. And i don't care because I enjoy it. I'm passionate about the work I do and the company I'm contributing to. I do need to be more mindful of the hours I send emails and slack messages. My current justification is that while I may send outbound communications 24/7, I only follow up du…

What motivates you to send emails 24/7? Unless you're actively involved in incident response, I find it hard to imagine a scenario that necessitates sending regular email at 3 in the morning.

Nothing necessitates it. But if I'm actively working, id rather draft and send the email while it's fresh.

Sometimes I'm working at 3 am, but mostly 90+hour weeks translate to 9am to 12 pm 7 days a week. Those aren't egregious hours to be communicating, they are egregious hours to expect an immediate response though.

Re: Ask HN: How to handle a workaholic colleague?

#56

Post by [deleted] »

phkahler wrote: post #20
tex0 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is a very american attitude, I'd say =) I consider it a management duty to stop people from working too much (which is a rather european attitude :D).

>> That is a very american attitude, I'd say =) It always amazes me that most people here don't know what Mayday is, or why other countries have it.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: How to handle a workaholic colleague?

#57

Post by znpy »

I am reading so many different opinions here.

I wonder what would you all reply to an "Ask HN" thread like "I am working day and night and sending emails even outside business hours, but my colleagues do not reply unless it's business hours and that is really bugging me".

Btw, did you all consider that maybe that guy just needs or wants really hard that promotion or that salary level-up and is "just" working as hard as he can towards such goal? He/she/They might have duties you do not have (kids, family members, health expenses or other stuff).

@OP: I'd say, as long as you feel honest about your output and feel you're working fairly hard for your company you are okay. You might just want to take a break and think if there is any way to improve/optimise your output.

Re: Ask HN: How to handle a workaholic colleague?

#59

Post by deegles »

jsaxton86 wrote: post #15

Most of the comments in this thread are ridiculous. Just as you (hopefully) get to choose how many hours you work, your coworkers also get to choose how many hours they work. I'd ask yourself two questions: 1: Are you happy with your current work/life balance? 2: Can you achieve your career goals at your current workplace while maintaining your desired work/life balance? If the answer to either of those questions is…

I think the issue that OP is getting at is that his coworker's work habits are impacting the second point.
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