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

996

lucumr.pocoo.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

131–140 of 561 posts

Re: 996

#131

Post by currymj »

not only does a founder capture more upside, they also pay less of a cost. autonomy prevents burnout even under very intense working conditions.

plus the nature of a founder's day to day work is very different. 12 hours a day of management, pitches, meetings, and snap decisions is doable for a long time if you can endure the pain.

12 hours a day of complex technical work under sleep deprivation is just not possible, after a few weeks of this your cognitive function will decline to the point you can't do the job right.

Re: 996

#132

Post by senthil_rajasek »

"Burning out on twelve-hour days, six days a week, has no prize at the end. It’s unsustainable, it shouldn’t be the standard and it sure as hell should not be seen as a positive sign of a company."

This

I've worked long hours back in the 2000's. I went home at 4:00AM no one asked me to but because I read somewhere that a certain CEO worked 20hrs a day.

My boss noticed and told me that there was nothing she could offer me for the extra hours.

I still continued to do it only to learn much later what the author posted in the article (see quote).

Working long hours is not a badge of honor, what you produce (in software atleast) is what matters.

Re: 996

#133

Post by throw565357 »

grantdong wrote: post #18

In China, its birthplace, '996' always seen as practice of failed management. Because for at least half of the 72-hour workweek, most employee will mentally checkout (in Chinese we call this 摸鱼). Although middle managers know their subordinates are inefficient, they still impose working hour KPI on their team, so they can demonstrate their own value to upper management.

The Chinese government banned ‘996’ a few years ago.

I also never understood how it differed from the popular “death march” project management style popularized by companies like Epic and Microsoft.

Re: 996

#134

Post by [deleted] »

supportengineer wrote: post #107
stego-tech wrote: post #9

These times really do feel like those once-in-a-century redefinitions of work and labor, similar to how we got Child Labor Laws and 40-hour work weeks from the labor movement early last century. Intrinsically, more people are realizing that the former social contract was long ago fed into a shredder, and that the lack of a formal contract will have consequences. Technology broke down the 40-hour work week by enabling…

I have absolutely zero faith that the current political ruling class will “come to their senses”. All you have to do is observe their current behavior and you will come to the same conclusion. When billionaires show you who they are, believe them the first time. They have not lived through a depression and neither have they lived through any major world wars. They will be curious to see how bad it can get and they be…

[deleted]

Re: 996

#135

Post by alkakKnbhhh »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #112
analognoise wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What? When America was strongest, we had a large and increasing middle class, and the top marginal tax rate was above 70% - it was in the 90s. We don’t need “the elite” - they don’t actually “create jobs”, and the “engine of the economy” is just a convenient vehicle for the rich (and private equity) to ruin the middle class further - it was never about “efficient markets”. If anything what we’ve seen over the last 40…

There is some benefit from having a pool of people with enough funds to take investment risks that the rank and file can't. They can outmaneuver any planned economy. The problem in the US is that those people have engineered themselves a disproportionate wealth disparity that doesn't generate a collective benefit.

[flagged]

Re: 996

#136

Post by glhaynes »

grantdong wrote: post #18

In China, its birthplace, '996' always seen as practice of failed management. Because for at least half of the 72-hour workweek, most employee will mentally checkout (in Chinese we call this 摸鱼). Although middle managers know their subordinates are inefficient, they still impose working hour KPI on their team, so they can demonstrate their own value to upper management.

Because for at least half of the 72-hour workweek, most employee will mentally checkout

Management seeing this and doing the calculation: “if they’re gonna be checked out half the time, we’re really only getting 36 hours of the 40 we’ve been promised.”

Re: 996

#137

Post by CuriouslyC »

I'm currently running 10,2,7 because I'm on fire and need to get the things in my head out into the world, but the idea that I would expect anyone I was working with to pull that kind of weight is just insanity. I sit down and the day flies by as I build foundational software, but that's my passion, my quest. I would only expect that sort of intensity from a collaborator asking for a 50/50 split.

Re: 996

#138

Post by slics »

This concept of 996 or 007 it may be acceptable to Young people without kids and family obligations for as long as their bodies allow it (without enough sleep, descent food or exercise).

For others with families (spouse, kids, activities for kids, hanging out with friends, spending time with your spouse and friends outside of work) it may not even be an option and may not be able to support it.

Life is like a coin. There are two sides of a coin. Flipping it, it will always land in one side. As a person with a family you have to pick the side that matters otherwise, you are gambling with it. Gambling doesn't always go your way - the cost is higher when it comes to picking work over family.

As a parent myself, I am constantly struggling with picking the right choice. Long hours may pay well, but those long hours also have a negative impact on your family. If you ask, your family rather spend time with you than have a new shiny toy or a big house and a fast car.

Re: 996

#139

Post by 9cb14c1ec0 »

Most people are productive working 5 or 6 days a week than 6. It's something that most people intrinsically understand. Those that don't are almost exclusively terminally online, chasing status.

Re: 996

#140

Post by saubeidl »

This sort of backsliding on labor rights is why we need a tech workers union now more than ever. Go on strike. Starve the exploiters.
Post reply on HN