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Working over 55 hours a week associated with higher risk of stroke, heart attack

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Re: Working over 55 hours a week associated with higher risk of stroke, heart attack

#71
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If this happens on Hacker News, no wonder the rest of the world is even worse. Is there any reason to assume HN should be better then anyone else?

Well yes. They most certainly have a higher rate of tertiary education (and thus exposure to scientific method) than the general population.

Higher education does not make you less prone to cognitive bias. And education in one field does not make you accurate in another field.

Re: Working over 55 hours a week associated with higher risk of stroke, heart attack

#73

We are living in a culture of overwork because work (esp. desk work) has lost all boundaries. I'm in academia and had been idealizing overwork for quite a while ("the noble goal of devoting your life to science!"), but now have to fend off becoming cynical about the culture (increasingly after a parent with a blue collar-company died shortly before their well-earned retirement, stress played a role here). I have met…

Not really related to your point, but the best parts of living in a foreign country are not the famous landmarks but rather going deep into the normal life. Anyone can see Yosemite if they visit, but few can develop the close relationships and fond memories where you’ve become a regular.

[deleted]

Re: Working over 55 hours a week associated with higher risk of stroke, heart attack

#74

We are living in a culture of overwork because work (esp. desk work) has lost all boundaries. I'm in academia and had been idealizing overwork for quite a while ("the noble goal of devoting your life to science!"), but now have to fend off becoming cynical about the culture (increasingly after a parent with a blue collar-company died shortly before their well-earned retirement, stress played a role here). I have met…

Not really related to your point, but the best parts of living in a foreign country are not the famous landmarks but rather going deep into the normal life. Anyone can see Yosemite if they visit, but few can develop the close relationships and fond memories where you’ve become a regular.

Agree. A bit off topic: living in a foreign country allows you to progressively discover those little differences in comparison to your own country: the way people say good morning, the way people wait (or not) for the light to turn green, paper bags or plastic ones for grocery shopping?...

I find those popular places (e.g., Yosemite, Eiffel tower, etc.) to be the less interesting parts of foreign countries. But sure, we all cannot afford living N years in every foreign country you may want to discover.

Re: Working over 55 hours a week associated with higher risk of stroke, heart attack

#75
post #12

I would differentiate between “working” and “sitting in the office”. My grandfather was a passionate carpenter. His workweek was always at least 60 hours. Sourcing wood, visiting clients, organizing everything, etc. He was in good shape and died at 92 years age. Being forced to sit in the office 45 hours a week I don’t think that I reach age above 60 years. This sitting whole day in the noisy environment was destroyi…

Ah yes, the good old "my anecdote trumps science" post on Hacker News. If this happens on Hacker News, no wonder the rest of the world is even worse. "Two systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the latest evidence were conducted for this study. Data from 37 studies on ischemic heart disease covering more than 768 000 participants and 22 studies on stroke covering more than 839 000 participants were synthesized. The…

Still the point above is valid. A good 'job' is a source of well being. A bad job will kill you faster. The former might be very rare though.

Re: Working over 55 hours a week associated with higher risk of stroke, heart attack

#76
post #12

I would differentiate between “working” and “sitting in the office”. My grandfather was a passionate carpenter. His workweek was always at least 60 hours. Sourcing wood, visiting clients, organizing everything, etc. He was in good shape and died at 92 years age. Being forced to sit in the office 45 hours a week I don’t think that I reach age above 60 years. This sitting whole day in the noisy environment was destroyi…

I have a few anecdotes like that:

- 39h/week at a truck dismantling warehouse (very heavy duty stuff) I was fresh like a dolphin (was doing pushups during pauses to get ready for the next shift, pretty telling), had to leave after harassment, missed that job a lot.

- part time gig as morning newspaper delivery, couldn't be easier on paper.. couldn't last more than 2 months due to very peculiar stress that driving and stopping constantly while running after the clock. It made no sense but it was incredibly harmful mentally and biologically.

- clerk at a court house: constant passive aggressive colleague interactions, everybody is bored, nobody cares. Very often you end up with your gut twisted due to the absurdity of the environment or the petty bosses ordering you around to feel powerful.

'work' is a subtle topic, you need a quality task, with quality people. In which case it's not a job, it's a life, a pleasure, a source of pride and joy.

Re: Working over 55 hours a week associated with higher risk of stroke, heart attack

#77
post #12

I would differentiate between “working” and “sitting in the office”. My grandfather was a passionate carpenter. His workweek was always at least 60 hours. Sourcing wood, visiting clients, organizing everything, etc. He was in good shape and died at 92 years age. Being forced to sit in the office 45 hours a week I don’t think that I reach age above 60 years. This sitting whole day in the noisy environment was destroyi…

I spent 76 hours/week working in a factory for a while as a machine operator and on the line. I guarantee you it's not healthier in the long term than programming work or stock trading at a desk and in conference rooms for 45 hours a week.

What was harmful for you ?

Re: Working over 55 hours a week associated with higher risk of stroke, heart attack

#78
post #33

In years to come we will look down on current working conditions in the same way we currently do with 15hr factory shifts during the industrial revolution. As a step in the right direction, I believe that most jobs should be offered on either 4 days (80% salary) or 5 day (100% salary) contracts. On this topic, I recently built https://4dayweek.io - Software Jobs with a better work / life balance

I kinda do this, but with a slightly different schedule: 7 hour days Monday to Thursday, on Fridays I alternate between 8 hour day and no work. This sums up to 80%.

Re: Working over 55 hours a week associated with higher risk of stroke, heart attack

#79
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well yes. They most certainly have a higher rate of tertiary education (and thus exposure to scientific method) than the general population.

Higher education does not make you less prone to cognitive bias. And education in one field does not make you accurate in another field.

I don’t believe you. Can you back that up?

Re: Working over 55 hours a week associated with higher risk of stroke, heart attack

#80
post #12

I would differentiate between “working” and “sitting in the office”. My grandfather was a passionate carpenter. His workweek was always at least 60 hours. Sourcing wood, visiting clients, organizing everything, etc. He was in good shape and died at 92 years age. Being forced to sit in the office 45 hours a week I don’t think that I reach age above 60 years. This sitting whole day in the noisy environment was destroyi…

> Being forced to sit in the office I don't think it's the "sit[ting] in the office" part, rather it's the "being forced". If you love what you do, the mental strain of working long days is... at least different. You can still be physically destructive (skipping meals, skipping sleep). Unfortunately, many people do not love what they do, and I am so sorry for them.

I'd love to read / write about this. People talk about economy or material aspect of societies .. but when the spirit is not there everything plummets quickly. I feel like there's a lot more joy and output possible if we readjust a few things in how organizations operate.
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