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

Maybe you should do less 'work'

johnwhiles.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 431 posts

Re: Maybe you should do less 'work'

#51

Post by deltaonefour »

bluefirebrand wrote: post #23
digianarchist wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked pretty hard at getting promoted at my last job which unfortunately didn't happen. In the end I did the cost/benefit analysis of the amount of extra work I was doing compared to the 15% raise that I would get from being promoted. In the end I moved companies and got a raise of about 35%. I'm back to doing the same amount of work I was doing before I tried to get promoted.

This is honestly a really big sickness within our industry and it seems to be everywhere. I don't think I will ever work towards a promotion again.

Working towards a promotion is not just about productivity. You have to display leadership qualities.

But here's the key. Not all managers want leaders. It an be viewed as a threat. When the time is right, you can show off your leadership skills.

Re: Maybe you should do less 'work'

#52

Post by bentobean »

There are times at which developers must give 110% effort in order to address critical business needs, unexpected outages, emergency pivots, etc… But in order for people to rise to such occasions, they must have some excess capacity from which to pull.

TL;DR - If you run the engine at redline all the time, you’re destined for a blowout.

Re: Maybe you should do less 'work'

#53

Post by falcolas »

0des wrote: post #36
falcolas wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> surgeons / plane pilots All of whom have downtime and at least one (if not more) backup. Software developers typically don't (strict adherents to pair programming aside). They also spend company hours getting better at their craft, building professional ties. Just like the article suggests software developers do.

Are you the author?

Nope. Just someone who sees wisdom in the message.

Re: Maybe you should do less 'work'

#54

Post by jokoon »

Beyond those arguments, it's also important to remind that we should work between 20 or 30 hours per week, not more.

It's about health, being able to rest, do leisure, physical activity, see friends, date, etc.

There are things to learn about the antiwork mentality. Not saying everyone should quit their job, but still, it would be nice if everyone could be able to negotiate with their employees.

I have often been called a parasite, and honestly, it comforts me in realizing that I should not compete with people who turn work into a competition. Those people will generate enough taxes and labor for lazy people like me, and it's okay.

Re: Maybe you should do less 'work'

#56

Post by lijogdfljk »

jokoon wrote: post #54

Beyond those arguments, it's also important to remind that we should work between 20 or 30 hours per week, not more. It's about health, being able to rest, do leisure, physical activity, see friends, date, etc. There are things to learn about the antiwork mentality. Not saying everyone should quit their job, but still, it would be nice if everyone could be able to negotiate with their employees. I have often been cal…

> Those people will generate enough taxes and labor for lazy people like me, and it's okay.

Feels odd to me to make a statement like this. Is it in jest?

In my view everyone should pull the same minimum. Not have some people work more to offset other people working less.

Re: Maybe you should do less 'work'

#58

Post by someguydave »

Forgeties79 wrote: post #34
ascar wrote: post #30

This reads a bit like deliberately aiming for Parkinson's law. "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." However, I agree to some extent. I'm especially opposed to the concept that there should be 8 productive hours in a day. I sincerely believe that this is for most people not possible in creative knowledge work, which includes software engineering. So, if you have 5 productive hours of eng…

Honestly I feel like we could take it a step further. Most people are not going to put in five real hours of work every day either. Which makes the eight hour workday in some ways all the more ridiculous. 20 hours a week is pretty much the ceiling in my experience beyond big crunch times, special events, etc. If people really stepped back and thought about how much time they spend screwing around at work I think they…

I think the norm of an 8 hour workday for salaried employees has more to do with excluding the possibility of your salaried “executives” taking on second jobs than it has to do with productivity.

In other words I think that the 40 hour work week is often structured more as a kind of quasi-indentured servitude than as a factory production shift.

Re: Maybe you should do less 'work'

#59

Post by micromacrofoot »

jokoon wrote: post #54

Beyond those arguments, it's also important to remind that we should work between 20 or 30 hours per week, not more. It's about health, being able to rest, do leisure, physical activity, see friends, date, etc. There are things to learn about the antiwork mentality. Not saying everyone should quit their job, but still, it would be nice if everyone could be able to negotiate with their employees. I have often been cal…

While I'll likely continue working my whole life, one thing I would like is some time off to think about my relationship with work and where I should be focusing my energy. Some kind of UBI or other anti-work outcome seems like it could actually provide space for that. I haven't had more than a 2 week lapse in work for 2 decades... and if I did I'd probably be extremely anxious the whole time.

When health insurance and housing rely so heavily on work (speaking from the perspective of an American), not working feels terrifying.

Re: Maybe you should do less 'work'

#60

Post by LunaSea »

jokoon wrote: post #54

Beyond those arguments, it's also important to remind that we should work between 20 or 30 hours per week, not more. It's about health, being able to rest, do leisure, physical activity, see friends, date, etc. There are things to learn about the antiwork mentality. Not saying everyone should quit their job, but still, it would be nice if everyone could be able to negotiate with their employees. I have often been cal…

> Those people will generate enough taxes and labor for lazy people like me, and it's okay.

Sorry, but it's definitely not ok.

Post reply on HN