Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I just don’t want to be busy anymore

elenasalaks.medium.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

311–320 of 463 posts

Re: I just don’t want to be busy anymore

#311

Post by alfiedotwtf »

alfiedotwtf wrote: post #229
mmaunder wrote: post #89

I think it’s pretty clear we have an epidemic of burnout on our hands. I think it’s a new phenomenon. And I think immersive online experiences are the underlying cause. I’ve lived much of my life for the past 30 years in virtual spaces of one form or another, from MUDs to IRC to MMORPGs to early and then fully evolved social media. As commercial virtual space showed up, I noticed the engagement hooks and potential fo…

> I think it’s pretty clear we have an epidemic of burnout on our hands. I think it’s a new phenomenon. During the 1880s, children under 12 were working 16 hours a week in UK factories. So probably not as new as you'd think :)

Bah! I meant 16 hours a day :headslap:

Re: I just don’t want to be busy anymore

#312

Post by [deleted] »

snowwrestler wrote: post #258
Kranar wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Contractors is overly broad but plenty of contractors work overtime and very long, stressful hours including weekends and holidays. Hospitals on the other hand, you're just downright wrong about that. Not only in general do hospital staff work 12 hour shifts including being on-call and having to work abrupt hours, especially over the past year their hours have been absolutely ridiculous. This includes nurses and MDs.…

I don’t need studies, I have a number of friends and family who are doctors and nurses. You completely missed my point, which is that it is ridiculous for tech companies to compare themselves to a profession that faces literally life and death situations. Comparing to “the past year” (i.e. a historic global pandemic) just highlights the absurdity. Your OKRs are not COVID patients!

[deleted]

Re: I just don’t want to be busy anymore

#313

Post by paganel »

SubuSS wrote: post #247
sillysaurusx wrote: post #109

One thing that helped me is not to care so much about my employer's goals. It's almost heretical. But once you embrace this mindset, it does wonders. Or at least, it has for me so far. I think a lot of us want to be proud of the work we do, and we feel that if we slack off, then we shouldn't be proud. But it's the other way around. I think the slackers have it right. You're probably not going to get rich from working…

I know of so many folks in fang and my current job who’d disagree that you can’t get rich from a day job. Most of them got there by not being cynical about their employer’s goals and working with the team to make those happen. I guess I’ve been incredibly lucky and probably am in a nice west coast dream bubble, but my bubble vision means I definitely don’t buy that am a rare unicorn. I don’t think I would feel happy…

I do hope that people who got rich by being Faang employees are cynical, because that would be a better option (in my eyes, at least) to being sociopaths.

And "caring about your employer's" goals in this day and age while you're working at FB/Google/Amazon (I'm on the fence about Apple, don't have much of an opinion about Netflix) actually makes you look like a sociopath in my eyes. Again, imo being a cynic beats being a sociopath.

Re: I just don’t want to be busy anymore

#314

Post by lelanthran »

fuy wrote: post #300
lelanthran wrote: post #296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think a lot of us want to be proud of the work we do, and we feel that if we slack off, then we shouldn't be proud. But it's the other way around. I think the slackers have it right. You're more correct than you think! https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/10/07/the-gervais-principle-... The TLDR of the above is: 1. There is usually only a single promotion-role on offer. 2. That promotion will go to the best performing…

I feel this is missing a lot of details. Even if there's a single promotion per team per year (and there are certainly companies where promotions are not limited like that), that means that, in a team of 4 people, 50% will be promoted in 2 years. So if you like the job and plan to stay for a few years, I fail to see how this tactics is even remotely close to optimal.

> I feel this is missing a lot of details.

Yes. The link goes into details.

> Even if there's a single promotion per team per year (and there are certainly companies where promotions are not limited like that), that means that, in a team of 4 people, 50% will be promoted in 2 years. So if you like the job and plan to stay for a few years, I fail to see how this tactics is even remotely close to optimal.

It's an analysis based on The Office; maybe read it and critique the 20k word write-up (in the link) instead of the 4-point summary.

Re: I just don’t want to be busy anymore

#315

Post by ImaCake »

5350-uiop-1130 wrote: post #298
sillysaurusx wrote: post #109

One thing that helped me is not to care so much about my employer's goals. It's almost heretical. But once you embrace this mindset, it does wonders. Or at least, it has for me so far. I think a lot of us want to be proud of the work we do, and we feel that if we slack off, then we shouldn't be proud. But it's the other way around. I think the slackers have it right. You're probably not going to get rich from working…

I totally agree. Don't be "pro-active" be "re-active" - is my way of putting it. Frankly, most orgs will not reward pro-activity, in fact you can even be punished for it, since if a problem is not yet known by stakeholders then why are you solving it. There have been times in my career where I spotted issues from other teams on preview or staging servers and helped to fix it. Then I later got blamed (or dragged into…

I like the sentiment of this comment, but I think it is a little too black and white. I am in science, so your mileage may vary.

I have found a little bit of pro-activity on things you like to do anyway is a good way to turn your job into the job you actually want to do rather than the one you got hired for. I started my current job doing wetlab biology, but I currently do coding and grant writing. I like wetlab, but its exciting to transition into a different area I have wanted to get into for years.

To be clear though, I am still often re-active. I generally won't push hard on things I am not enthusiastic about. It helps to have a friendly and permissive boss.

Re: I just don’t want to be busy anymore

#316

Post by kwhitefoot »

Kranar wrote: post #250
snowwrestler wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hospitals and contractors are great examples of professional fields where job roles are well-defined and the hours worked are carefully tracked. When contractors get too busy, they tell clients their project is delayed. When ER or ICU resources are maxed out, they stop accepting patients and send them to other nearby hospitals. When clinics are fully booked, they stop making appointments. I understand what you’re say…

Contractors is overly broad but plenty of contractors work overtime and very long, stressful hours including weekends and holidays. Hospitals on the other hand, you're just downright wrong about that. Not only in general do hospital staff work 12 hour shifts including being on-call and having to work abrupt hours, especially over the past year their hours have been absolutely ridiculous. This includes nurses and MDs.…

> Not only in general do hospital staff work 12 hour shifts including being on-call and having to work abrupt hours

Not in EU countries that do not allow the medical profession to opt out of the Working Time Directive.

See"Are the opt-outs related to long hours?" in https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2014_2019/documents/...

Re: I just don’t want to be busy anymore

#317

Post by idontwantthis »

freyr wrote: post #290
idontwantthis wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Were you making a very small amount then? You said you were in college 20 years ago. Did you start your career very late or do you want an very large salary before you have kids? I made $60K right out of college (far less than 20 years ago) as a software developer at a small consultancy in one of the cheapest cities in the country. People on here are always talking about changing jobs and getting a huge salary increa…

I’m not OP but my numbers are similar. I spent most of my twenties in college and grad school. Then worked in the Midwest in my early thirties making $100k-$130k. I moved to Silicon Valley and took a job for $150k. That was a downgrade considering the much higher cost of living, but it seemed like a good stepping stone at the time. I stayed at that company for way too long working towards a promotion that was dangled…

You're making $300k and not financially comfortable starting a family?

Re: I just don’t want to be busy anymore

#318

Post by WalterBright »

sillysaurusx wrote: post #109

One thing that helped me is not to care so much about my employer's goals. It's almost heretical. But once you embrace this mindset, it does wonders. Or at least, it has for me so far. I think a lot of us want to be proud of the work we do, and we feel that if we slack off, then we shouldn't be proud. But it's the other way around. I think the slackers have it right. You're probably not going to get rich from working…

> You're probably not going to get rich from working a day job.

If you make a middle class salary, underspend your income by at least 10%, max out your 401k and IRA, invest in stocks, and start doing this in your 20s, yes, the odds are pretty good you will.

Re: I just don’t want to be busy anymore

#319

Post by beckman466 »

sillysaurusx wrote: post #109

One thing that helped me is not to care so much about my employer's goals. It's almost heretical. But once you embrace this mindset, it does wonders. Or at least, it has for me so far. I think a lot of us want to be proud of the work we do, and we feel that if we slack off, then we shouldn't be proud. But it's the other way around. I think the slackers have it right. You're probably not going to get rich from working…

Agreed. It’s also important to remember that as a member of the non-propertied working class you’re always creating more value than what you’re paid for; you’re creating invaluable intellectual property that will bring in truckloads of cash and capital even after you leave the company.

Re: I just don’t want to be busy anymore

#320

Post by zerr »

WalterBright wrote: post #318
sillysaurusx wrote: post #109

One thing that helped me is not to care so much about my employer's goals. It's almost heretical. But once you embrace this mindset, it does wonders. Or at least, it has for me so far. I think a lot of us want to be proud of the work we do, and we feel that if we slack off, then we shouldn't be proud. But it's the other way around. I think the slackers have it right. You're probably not going to get rich from working…

> You're probably not going to get rich from working a day job. If you make a middle class salary, underspend your income by at least 10%, max out your 401k and IRA, invest in stocks, and start doing this in your 20s, yes, the odds are pretty good you will.

This also assumes that one has already won the lottery of birth.
Post reply on HN