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

Burnout, stress lead more companies to try a four-day work week

reuters.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 94 posts

Re: Burnout, stress lead more companies to try a four-day work week

#81

Post by badpun »

fhbdukfrh wrote: post #70
badpun wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't John Carmack able to code for 10+ hours straight? Will he be automated too? :) My point - as much as this forum seems to hate this notion (I usually get downvoted when I point it out), there's variance in human aptitude and stamina.

Ok, but you can't argue that talking in vague generalities is wrong because of one extreme outlier. Sure there's variance, but what does the distribution look like?

That’s a great question. I wish some psychologist did research on this.

Re: Burnout, stress lead more companies to try a four-day work week

#82

Post by rue »

anoncoward111 wrote: post #64
toomuchtodo wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unions. Laws. Collective action. Artificial regulation.

I would agree with you, but my gf is a unionized respiratory therapist. Not only are her colleagues and managers extremely mean and unprofessional to her, the hospital executives are actively training the non-union nurses to replace the union respiratory therapists, because "cost".

That would be why you also unionize the nurses.

(And also not subject basic rights like healthcare to market forces, but that’s a bridge a little farther.)

Re: Burnout, stress lead more companies to try a four-day work week

#83

Post by adetrest »

aviv wrote: post #11
alexashka wrote: post #6

It'd help to avoid lumping all jobs into a single pile and proceeding to suggest a planet-wide remedy. A software developer has different needs from a convenience store employee. I hope that's obvious. I don't understand why this is even on HackerNews, because this article contains no news at all. It's just pandering to those who feel that working fewer hours is a good idea for them, nothing more. ps. if you're in a…

> ps. if you're in a job that involves using your brain, you're not working more than 3-4 hours/day max This (not necessarily the quoted part, more so the article concept in general) is non-sense. People don't work enough . The problem is not the long hours, it's that people no longer have the stamina (mental, physical and emotional) to sustain a long work cycle so they think they "burn out".

> so they think they "burn out".

Do you not believe burnout is real? If so, I hope you never find out, because it is very real and sucks a lot.

Re: Burnout, stress lead more companies to try a four-day work week

#84

Post by AltruisticGap »

forgotmysn wrote: post #9
AltruisticGap wrote: post #3

Monday morning off sounds like an awful idea. First off, even when I lack sleep, I'll function better in the morning if I force myself out of bed, and I'll have a big slump in the afternoon. If I sleep in instead to supposedly catch up sleep, I'll do OK.. but I won't feel any better in the afternoon.. I'll be a little off because of getting up late. Secondly, afternoons are more depressing. I'd rather get out of bed,…

cool anecdotal evidence. that doesn't necessarily mean we should completely dismiss the concept entirely.

Feeling a slump early afternoon after midday meal is not anecdotal evidence, it's biology.

edit: At least, it's a common issue that people have . A simple google search for "afternoon slump" reveals tons of related articles and suggestions to address it.

Besides, those who feel otherwise likely don't give sufficient context. Such as, likely that they work from home. Or that they run their business so they can work afternoons and like to get up at 11 AM everyday. The article is talking about "staff" at "companies".

Re: Burnout, stress lead more companies to try a four-day work week

#85

Post by toomuchtodo »

maxxxxx wrote: post #31

I have worked at a company where we had a mandatory 35 hours week and I definitely feel that less working hours leads to a more disciplined workplace where less time is being wasted. At that company we actually worked during work hours whereas in my current company we spend a lot of time in meetings and other interruptions so I think I actually work less time than 35 hours.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_law

"Parkinson's law is the adage that "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion". It is sometimes applied to the growth of bureaucracy in an organization. This law is likely derived from ideal gas law, whereby a gas expands to fit the volume allotted."

Re: Burnout, stress lead more companies to try a four-day work week

#86

Post by badpun »

anoncoward111 wrote: post #62
fhbdukfrh wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you force employers to treat you better, some sort of artificial regulation? We've never had greater labor mobility, remote options or demand for software developers; I question your premise of limited number of companies.

I definitely see where you are coming from, and I personally wouldn't recommend "formal" actions like regulation or unionization. I've been considering my options lately and the more I think about it, the more I hear "contracting" as one of the better ways to make liveable money without losing control over your working conditions + dialogue with client(s). When you have constant, daily interaction with middle manager…

For contractors in large companies, it's exactly those middle managers who sign the check. What's worse, the contracts are usually 6-12 months, and these guys decide if they'll be extended for another period. They also decide what the rate on the contract will be. So in reality, you need to pay at least as much attention to these guys (and internal politics, power struggles and all other bs) as a regular employee.

Re: Burnout, stress lead more companies to try a four-day work week

#87

Post by perfunctory »

Many people seem to believe it's hard/impossible to negotiate 4 day work week. Your negotiation position might be stronger than you think. Give it a try. Get creative. Approach it as you would a coding problem. Read a book about negotiations.

I have worked 4 days or less for about a decade now. Well worth it.

Re: Burnout, stress lead more companies to try a four-day work week

#89

Post by thr0w__4w4y »

jklepatch wrote: post #88

This is going in the right direction :) Funnily enough, decades ago when France introduced the 35h workweek the world (and in particular the US and UK) ridiculed France for it and berated the (supposed) laziness of French people.

Brit by birth, and I've never visited France, so take this with a grain of salt, but:

I've worked with many Japanese, German and British engineers who have worked with French engineers (in France, often as "ex pats"), and these guys never complained about France's 35 hour work week. They did, however, complain about the (this is my summary, from memory) excessive smoking breaks, longer lunches, casual attitude towards work, and (yes, sorry for the stereotype) a good amount of lost time talking about women in the office they'd like to bang.

I don't know. The 2 French engineers I've worked with have been fine, but that was on U.K. soil... maybe on the home field it's different?

My wife, who's American but both parents are French, says that the French generally have an inferiority complex but over-compensate by shit-talking other European countries and the U.S. I don't think I've experienced this personally, although I'm in tech and she's not, so maybe in her world that is more common (or maybe she's wrong? dunno)

Re: Burnout, stress lead more companies to try a four-day work week

#90

Post by twblalock »

optimusclimb wrote: post #80
twblalock wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think there has ever been a better time to be on the job market as a software developer. There are more software companies than there have ever been, and job openings and salaries for developers are at an all-time high. Even if you're happy where you are, if you started more than 5 years ago, you'd be shocked to hear what kinds of salaries are on offer now if you're willing to switch companies. That's a sign…

... if you want to live in the Bay.

Or Seattle, Austin, New York, the Raleigh area, etc. There are plenty of cities with a lot of software jobs.
Post reply on HN