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I agree with the fact about cutting out meetings but I don't know if I agree with everything here. While its easy to say "Just leave at 5pm and come back refre

I agree with the fact about cutting out meetings but I don't know if I agree with everything here. While its easy to say "Just leave at 5pm and come back refreshed" is easy to say, I found personally to have learned to most on the days when I've worked until 2am really digging into a problem and getting it fixed. I also have found that the best people I've worked with have a similar get it done attitude. Obviously this isn't sustainable but I think required from time to time. I also think this lacks the notion of "how much do you want to move up vs stay in your current role". If you don't have any desire for more responsibilities than this applies, but I think if you want to move up/learn new skills, reducing the hours works against you. I guess I follow the mantra of, "The first 40 should be productive and for the employer in the role I was hired for but I should spend additional time on top of that learning new skills"

rdm42116 10y ago
And I have found that tired employees make huge mistakes on customer critical systems. I have also found that some people are extremely successful working insane hours. They have the capacity to, either it's their personality or they're still young and single. To think that applies to everyone is the issue. Not everyone can work tired and produce good work or do a good job. Would you want someone tired working dangerous machinery just to get something done? We would all be against that. Yes, it's pretty well established that to move up hours must be put in. The reason this topic comes up time and time again is because no one asks the question why nor do they prove that these hours translate to better work or more productivity. I've seen insane hours in third party consultants. They mess up. A lot.
jtrtoo 10y ago
There's nothing wrong with working later / longer from time to time, particularly when you're hyper-focused on a problem. But making a habit of it -- or doing it out of obligation -- could be a sign that something is off (e.g. with one's time management or organizational skills, with one's life balance / priorities, or one's employer).

rdm42116 10y ago

And I have found that tired employees make huge mistakes on customer critical systems. I have also found that some people are extremely successful working insane hours. They have the capacity to, either it's their personality or they're still young and single. To think that applies to everyone is the issue. Not everyone can work tired and produce good work or do a good job. Would you want someone tired working dangerous machinery just to get something done? We would all be against that. Yes, it's pretty well established that to move up hours must be put in. The reason this topic comes up time and time again is because no one asks the question why nor do they prove that these hours translate to better work or more productivity. I've seen insane hours in third party consultants. They mess up. A lot.

jtrtoo 10y ago

There's nothing wrong with working later / longer from time to time, particularly when you're hyper-focused on a problem. But making a habit of it -- or doing it out of obligation -- could be a sign that something is off (e.g. with one's time management or organizational skills, with one's life balance / priorities, or one's employer).