I saw no difference in quality of work, nor did I get reports on any. I believe the key reason is the ability to change tasks. Been writing code for 4 hours and

I saw no difference in quality of work, nor did I get reports on any. I believe the key reason is the ability to change tasks. Been writing code for 4 hours and tired of it? Switch to documentation, regression testing, managerial tasks, ticket triage, spec writing, or something else from your list instead. Want to go see a movie in the middle of the day, take a nap, or take a two hour lunch to regroup? No one cares. For startups especially it's do-or-die, so this type of pressure will never go away. Imagine you had two 5-person startups each building a social media management platform to capitalize on a growing market. The space is quickly becoming crowded, and while not winner-take-all, most entrants will fail. Company A: They work 90 hour weeks, weekends included. The willingly give up their social lives, take no vacations, and work as hard as they can. They'll sleep at the office if they have to. Company B: They work 40 hour weeks, and take a normal amount of time off. At the end of the day they go home and relax with family/friends. Either company could succeed in the end, but which has the better chance? Which attracts more VC interest? Who gives a better impression to prospective clients? Who builds a fully functional platform first? In my experience Company A often trounces Company B.