I'd go the opposite direction.
Work 30 hours a week, but make em count.
Working a 996, but you're playing Pokemon on the clock isn't doing much.
996
261–270 of 561 posts
Re: 996
#262When founders put 996 in their job descriptions or Tweet about their 996 culture it’s a helpful signal to avoid that company. The only time I’d actually consider crazy schedules was if I was the founder with a huge equity stake and a once in a lifetime opportunity that would benefit from a short period of 996. For average employees? Absolutely not. If someone wants extraordinary hours they need to be providing extrao…
They're taking advantage of kids right out of college that don't know any better and don't have any other personal obligations. Anyone with experience or a few more years of life can see right through it. I agree, if you expect these hours you better be offering significant skin in the game to balance the scales.
Re: 996
#263Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 996 is just theater for investors. Investors who have not heard of the research into productivity that says long hours have no significant benefit for skilled work? Who have not heard of diminishing returns? Who have no experience of the reality of working long hours themselves?
Investors are dipshits more often than not. Just because someone has money to throw doesn’t mean they know much about many things.
They also have to be stupid enough not to hire someone why does know things to manage their money for them.
Re: 996
#264Earlier quoted context omitted.
I will forget names of people I haven't seen in a long while but whom I legitimately value and am glad to kave known. And I am not a founder type, who are being exposed to 10x people compared to me. It's just a human thing, don't let it bum you out.
Totally. The point is, this guy who's mission I dedicated a good portion of life to clearly doesn't think about me at all after the fact. I'm sure he's gratefuland values me. But if I was part of his story he'd remember my name.
As someone who's just terrible with names, I hate that this is how people interpret it. There are plenty of people who have had a big impact on my life whose names have slipped - and, plenty of inconsequential people whose names stuck for no good reason. It has very little to do with how much that person mattered to me.
Not saying your overall point doesn't stand, but at least for some people remembering a name isn't a consistent indicator of their impact.
Re: 996
#265996 is just theater for investors. Saw this happening even at YC companies. There was always that stupid expectation of overworking, staying until 9. The reality is that people twiddle thumbs. And the disorganization and micromanagement power plays are enough to negate any additional worked hour. This ranges from pure disorganization in terms of what to build to having 3 hour meetings with the whole fucking company w…
> 996 is just theater for investors. Investors who have not heard of the research into productivity that says long hours have no significant benefit for skilled work? Who have not heard of diminishing returns? Who have no experience of the reality of working long hours themselves?
A lot of these VC types, ah, not the smartest, to put it mildly. See their twitters (or, well, their investments; remember WeWork?)
Re: 996
#266Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 996 for a business owner or top exec at a big company? It’s the norm. And the risk-reward makes sense to them. It's bad anyway. These people burnout and start making dumb moves to bail out sooner.
Heh, at that level the job is just meetings and emails. You can do 996 of meetings and emails for a few millions a year without burning out. Actual craft tasks like writing code tho? Definitely a recipe for burnout and shittier output, yep.
As someone who had to 996 as a coder and as a manager, I can guarantee you the burnout is MUCH faster on the latter. A 996 schedule of zoom calls is straight up torture. I could feel myself getting dumber after a few months.
As a coder, you can accommodate downtimes on that schedule. You also see the result of your work (even code compiling is a dopamine hit). None of that exists if you’re meeting customers and investors - you’re playing the odds all day long and have to be 100% on all the time.
Re: 996
#267When founders put 996 in their job descriptions or Tweet about their 996 culture it’s a helpful signal to avoid that company. The only time I’d actually consider crazy schedules was if I was the founder with a huge equity stake and a once in a lifetime opportunity that would benefit from a short period of 996. For average employees? Absolutely not. If someone wants extraordinary hours they need to be providing extrao…
Your refusal of 996 is relatable for senior or mid level workers. But that's something less experienced people can not afford and in this market even unlucky seniors are forced to accept things they wouldn't have to 2 or 3 years ago.
> forced to accept things
Don't be a scab
Re: 996
#268Back in 1999 in SF, at the peak of dotcom boom, a few startups located down South from the Market street would shutter down their entrances after around dinner time. All people still inside, working over night. I had two of my friends (actually colleagues - we were from a consulting firm) working at those places. It became a norm around that place and youngsters loved that kind of all-nighters. The new year eve of mi…
So it became a prison lol
Re: 996
#269> When someone promotes a 996 work culture, we should push back.
What if you like that culture? Should you still push back?
Re: 996
#270[deleted]