5 ms·

Source that people who work long hours have greater physical issues? Intuitively, I'd expect the opposite.

by latch 10y ago

Someone1234 10y ago
Sleep: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20561174 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20561174 Marriage/Family: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jomf.12320/abstract http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jomf.12320/abstra... Mental Health: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22995130 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22995130 Physical Health: http://oem.bmj.com/content/58/1/68.full http://oem.bmj.com/content/58/1/68.full
- latch 10y ago
  Only read the last one (since I was specifically curious about health). Mostly seems related to shift work "and the night shift"...which I'd say isn't directly related, but nonetheless interesting. Thanks.
cglace 10y ago
If they are working insane hours: you can assume its more likely they aren't getting a lot of physical activity, they are probably eating out a lot, and are getting less sleep. How would you expect that person to have less physical issues?
- latch 10y ago
  Anecdotally, people who I've seen struggling with an 8 hour day tend to be less healthy (overweight, poor eating habits....). Whereas people who exercise more tend to have more energy.
  - superswordfish 10y ago
    Anecdotally, I've seen out-of-shape couch potatoes to be best prepared for the challenge of sitting all day and coding with junk food and soda. It's much more of a shock to the system of somebody with healthy habits.
superswordfish 10y ago
Have you ever done nothing but code for weeks on end? 7am-1am usually, though 8am-2am and 9am-3am are popular. You get bathroom breaks, some small parts of your commute when you can't physically be coding or communicating, and maybe some spare moments around meals (generally you work through them though), so you're looking at 16-17 hour days overall. That puts you at 80 hours before you've hit the weekend, so 100 overall is not unreasonable. At least in my experience, no amount of pride or grit can prevent you from crumbling if you do this for more than a few weeks. The physical aspects are somewhat noticeable but can be mitigated with a little exercise, good posture, alternating work positions, and so on. I found the real price is paid mentally. You lose control of your emotions and work becomes the center of your world to an unhealthy degree. A frustration that impedes your work becomes a mental disaster. You lose a sense of who you are, drowned in the work. You start to take pride in being this code machine. I sleep very little as it is, and can only imagine the havoc this would wreak one somebody who needs their 6-8 hours. When you surface, the return to reality can be jarring and embarrassing. It happens when the project fails, or is hugely delayed for causes outside of your control, or the business is acquired, or what have you: The reality sets in that you were burning the candle at both ends and getting upset for absolutely no reason. You realize that your pride, your perceived grit, not only was futile with regard to the project, but was really a protective mechanism. Vanity carried the day. That is just plain crushing for your self-esteem, and I wouldn't wish it on anybody.
- latch 10y ago
  https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10845832 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10845832
  - superswordfish 10y ago
    First of all, the vast majority of us are not John Carmack. Second, his comment discusses the merits of working short versus long hours. That's a world apart from spending every waking hour on work, which is what Mayer advocates here (especially with the mention of all-nighters). Either way, I would've appreciated if you wrote your own reply.

Source that people who work long hours have greater physical issues? Intuitively, I'd expect the opposite.

by latch 10y ago

Source that people who work long hours have greater physical issues? Intuitively, I'd expect the opposite.

Sleep: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20561174 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20561174 Marriage/Family: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jomf.12320/abstract http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jomf.12320/abstra... Mental Health: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22995130 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22995130 Physical Health: http://oem.bmj.com/content/58/1/68.full http://oem.bmj.com/content/58/1/68.full

latch 10y ago
Only read the last one (since I was specifically curious about health). Mostly seems related to shift work "and the night shift"...which I'd say isn't directly related, but nonetheless interesting. Thanks.

cglace 10y ago

If they are working insane hours: you can assume its more likely they aren't getting a lot of physical activity, they are probably eating out a lot, and are getting less sleep. How would you expect that person to have less physical issues?

latch 10y ago
Anecdotally, people who I've seen struggling with an 8 hour day tend to be less healthy (overweight, poor eating habits....). Whereas people who exercise more tend to have more energy.
- superswordfish 10y ago
  Anecdotally, I've seen out-of-shape couch potatoes to be best prepared for the challenge of sitting all day and coding with junk food and soda. It's much more of a shock to the system of somebody with healthy habits.

superswordfish 10y ago

Have you ever done nothing but code for weeks on end? 7am-1am usually, though 8am-2am and 9am-3am are popular. You get bathroom breaks, some small parts of your commute when you can't physically be coding or communicating, and maybe some spare moments around meals (generally you work through them though), so you're looking at 16-17 hour days overall. That puts you at 80 hours before you've hit the weekend, so 100 overall is not unreasonable. At least in my experience, no amount of pride or grit can prevent you from crumbling if you do this for more than a few weeks. The physical aspects are somewhat noticeable but can be mitigated with a little exercise, good posture, alternating work positions, and so on. I found the real price is paid mentally. You lose control of your emotions and work becomes the center of your world to an unhealthy degree. A frustration that impedes your work becomes a mental disaster. You lose a sense of who you are, drowned in the work. You start to take pride in being this code machine. I sleep very little as it is, and can only imagine the havoc this would wreak one somebody who needs their 6-8 hours. When you surface, the return to reality can be jarring and embarrassing. It happens when the project fails, or is hugely delayed for causes outside of your control, or the business is acquired, or what have you: The reality sets in that you were burning the candle at both ends and getting upset for absolutely no reason. You realize that your pride, your perceived grit, not only was futile with regard to the project, but was really a protective mechanism. Vanity carried the day. That is just plain crushing for your self-esteem, and I wouldn't wish it on anybody.

latch 10y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10845832 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10845832
- superswordfish 10y ago
  First of all, the vast majority of us are not John Carmack. Second, his comment discusses the merits of working short versus long hours. That's a world apart from spending every waking hour on work, which is what Mayer advocates here (especially with the mention of all-nighters). Either way, I would've appreciated if you wrote your own reply.