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Japan's government plans to encourage 4-day workweek, but experts split

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Re: Japan's government plans to encourage 4-day workweek, but experts split

#131

Post by justicezyx »

paxys wrote: post #17

It's an open secret at least in the tech world that absolutely no one is putting in a productive 40 hours of work a week. This was true well before the pandemic and is more pronounced than ever now. Everyone needs to be "present" for 8 hours a day 5 days a week, but spends their time in pointless meetings, preparing documents and powerpoints that no one will read, faux social/teambuilding events, hour long lunches, g…

I spend 2-3 hours working, and 3-4 hours commuting, and other time in staring each other and rumbling in some meeting, and have a rather relaxed lunch with friends talking nonsense...

This was when I was in Google

Re: Japan's government plans to encourage 4-day workweek, but experts split

#132

Post by MeinBlutIstBlau »

cableshaft wrote: post #26
eric4smith wrote: post #4

Big mistake. It was the 5-6 day week that built modern Japan. A lot of people are talking about cutting back on days everywhere. But now, more than ever, is when we need to be working harder to get back to where we were before. (Of course, my attitude to these things is shaped by being a business owner -- not an employee. So take with that point of view)

What's with this obsession to 'get back to where we were before'? Where we were before was broken, and the pandemic helped reveal that. Poor work/life balance, income inequality, industries built on JIT processes which fail spectacularly when the unexpected happens (see lumber, shipping containers, semiconductors, etc), an unfortunate wake-up call that even with entire industries shut down and almost no flights and c…

Green Tech isn't the savior we need. Flat out there needs to be a consumption revolution worldwide. Even if say we were all driving electric cars, on top of the energy required for normal everyday life now, you're also adding powering those cars. The necessary "reliable" green energy generation for that to happen is nothing short of trillions of dollars (when I say reliable, I mean exactly as you use it today). Yes I'm pulling that number out of my butt, although I'm in major power company in the country. Over 85% of our power generation is from non-renewables like natural gas and coal. Why? Well for one thing Natural resource departments don't like us damming up rivers as well as Joe "Second Home" Schmoe. On top of that, wind is unreliable or if it's too windy we can't use them so the turbine doesn't obliterate from too much torque. Sun? Where is the sun in winter?

I get so upset about people who think green energy is the answer when they don't realize it's not feasible if you want your current lifestyle. People altogether need to stop driving so much, spending so much, and living more modestly. I guarantee you without even switching to green energy we'd see a higher drop in non-renewable usage.

Re: Japan's government plans to encourage 4-day workweek, but experts split

#133

Post by deevolution »

"Those who want more days off for such purposes as acquiring new skills and taking side jobs are not eligible for the program, he said."

Of course - why would a company want their employees to learn new skills on the side that could potentially lead to greater personal fulfillment -.-

Re: Japan's government plans to encourage 4-day workweek, but experts split

#134

Post by MattGaiser »

hypnoscripto wrote: post #124
MattGaiser wrote: post #60

Tangential, but how many of us need a dedicated work time period at all? I have a 15 minute standup every day, an hour long 1 on 1 once every two weeks, and the occasional meeting where I am genuinely needed and maybe 3 hours talking to another developer. I would love to convert my job into a purely objectives driven thing with the only requirement being that I am online/in the office for those specific 5 or so hours…

That’s basically my life and it’s fantastic. I work 12 timezones away from my colleagues. Get real work done while they are asleep, stay up for occasional meetings, scheduled in advance. I usually take two tickets at once, so if I get stuck and need help, I can switch to the other ticket until someone who can help me is awake.

I admittedly did this a few weeks during the pandemic. Worked through the night, attended standup, and then slept and went about my day, answering Slack stuff in the late afternoon. So productive.

Re: Japan's government plans to encourage 4-day workweek, but experts split

#135

Post by 8note »

ghshephard wrote: post #122
whateveracct wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Working 60hr/week for a startup is completely illogical. It's the sort of thing you only do drunk on kool-aid.

I would say the opposite - the only job I can imagine (outside of the first two years of investment banking) working 60+ hours/week would be a startup - where each and every hour in those first 2-3 years can make the difference between building a Billion dollar company or just getting left behind.

The only time id do that is if I was the founder.

Employees are too likely to be screwed over, even if the company is successful

Re: Japan's government plans to encourage 4-day workweek, but experts split

#136

Post by flexie »

paxys wrote: post #17

It's an open secret at least in the tech world that absolutely no one is putting in a productive 40 hours of work a week. This was true well before the pandemic and is more pronounced than ever now. Everyone needs to be "present" for 8 hours a day 5 days a week, but spends their time in pointless meetings, preparing documents and powerpoints that no one will read, faux social/teambuilding events, hour long lunches, g…

I work as a lawyer. When I do brain work such as research, contracts or court meetings, I believe 3-4 hours a day is the max I do continuously. If I have more phone calls, client meetings etc., it's easier to do the 8 hours.

Re: Japan's government plans to encourage 4-day workweek, but experts split

#137

Post by ryanSrich »

paxys wrote: post #17

It's an open secret at least in the tech world that absolutely no one is putting in a productive 40 hours of work a week. This was true well before the pandemic and is more pronounced than ever now. Everyone needs to be "present" for 8 hours a day 5 days a week, but spends their time in pointless meetings, preparing documents and powerpoints that no one will read, faux social/teambuilding events, hour long lunches, g…

We did this at my new company. One 30 minute scheduled standup. That’s the only meeting we have all week. Of course people are free to jump on a video call to work through stuff, but scheduled meetings are generally discouraged, and to date we only have the one.

Since everyone is contract, we’re seeing an average of about 26 hours per week. It’s by far the most productive team I’ve ever been on or have built. We ship new features weekly. It’s truly an incredible pace, but doesn’t feel hectic like you might think.

I think the contract only + no meetings + no HR (no culture bullshit, no “get to know people” social events, no bullshit) company setup is going to be the future. If you give people the opportunity to work on things they like working on, and don’t make work about anything other than work, you get amazing results.

Re: Japan's government plans to encourage 4-day workweek, but experts split

#138

Post by tapland »

tartoran wrote: post #115
irrational wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work at a company where it is encouraged to use the fitness facilities during work hours. 15 minutes walking to one of the gyms, 5 minutes changing, an hour working out, 10 minutes in the sauna, 10 minute shower, 5 minutes getting dressed, 15 minutes walking back. That is 2 hours of my work day right there ;-)

They are smart, the employees are likely to be more productive if they are healthy. Many companies squeeze up employees like tubes of toothpaste then discard them and hire a younger gen. It is sometimes not intentional, just create a stresful environment and dont allow enough time to employees to catch their breath so to speak

I felt pretty wrecked when I, mostly because of lack of affordable housing, moved to a team in a location near my home town, and found out every single employee aged <35 had ended up on sick leave. Didn't have any choise but I wish I could have just gotten out of there as fast as I ended up in it.

Re: Japan's government plans to encourage 4-day workweek, but experts split

#139

Post by etempleton »

AussieWog93 wrote: post #104
MeinBlutIstBlau wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll never understand that concept that certain management types think they can keep you perpetually under a feeling of obligation alone.

Knowing the manager, he was extremely devoted to his work, the company and the craft. He was just holding holding me to his own standards. I'm assuming this is a problem in a lot of organisations; the people who rise to the top are the ones who lean more towards work on the work-life balance scale.

It can also just be an HR challenge in some organizations. It shouldn’t be, but sometimes organizations can get pretty rigid on how they define jobs and roles.

Re: Japan's government plans to encourage 4-day workweek, but experts split

#140

Post by ksec »

brbrodude wrote: post #129

Would this have something to do with improving natality rates?

Well surely that is the only reason why they are pushing for it. And yet most of the discussions seems to be missing the point. ( Discussing Work hours without Japanese in the context )

I am not entirely sure if this will help though. Birth Rate in Japan, ( or in any nation ) is a complex issues. Both cultural and economics. Why would anyone want a baby when they can barely afford themselves decent standard of living? ( Standard being different from person to person )

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