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>How it is debilitating? All these human resources taking it upon themselves to optimize for 'work/life balance' is debilitating to the business owner's extrac

>How it is debilitating? All these human resources taking it upon themselves to optimize for 'work/life balance' is debilitating to the business owner's extraction of labour for profit.

mc32 8y ago
The irony is that it's not likely the overworked and underpaid sweatshop hourlies & temps in the warehouses demanding work-life balance but rather the highly paid "professionals" in the nice glass HQ buildings with all their nap pods, masseuses &c.
- FooHentai 8y ago
  Yup. Free market at work, too. Fungible labour = low wages and poor conditions because other people are available that will do the job. More specialized labour = We will acquiesce to your whims because replacing you is non-trivial and you individually have greater impact on the bottom line.
  - paloaltokid 8y ago
    That is the story of the labor movement. Skilled laborers were more effective at pushing for change because they could not easily be replaced.
- mantas 8y ago
  Nap pods and all that jazz don't help with work-life balance though. I'd say it's rather the opposite. I'll take strict 8-5 schedule over 8-10 with all the in-house entertainment any day. Taking a nap any time you want just means you stays in office longer and do less "life" stuff.
  - gowld 8y ago
    Napping in the office means you can party until 2am and still have a productive day instead of clockwatching as a zombie from 8-5.
    - mantas 8y ago
      Not partying till 2am before a workday is pretty good if it means I'm free at 5-something every day and can enjoy a nice dinner, go for a walk/ride/run, hit the gym or whatever. From my partying experience, no amount napping helps after a good party. The next day is lost anyway. Unless you plan to hide from your colleagues in that pod for the whole day...
- krapp 8y ago
  The overworked and underpaid warehouse workers are demanding it too - plenty of them are parents or students or have to manage second jobs to make ends meet, despite the instability of Amazon's penchant for unscheduled arbitrary extra time, or "involuntary VTO." Warehouse work wouldn't be quite so difficult if it weren't designed to come as close as legally possible to breaking people. 8 hour shifts with a overtime caps beyond the 60 hour limit, actual 30 minute breaks and regular task rotation to reduce repetitive strain injury and boredom, that sort of thing. I'm guessing the concerns of the highly paid Amazonians don't get dismissed with "because business needs," though.

>How it is debilitating? All these human resources taking it upon themselves to optimize for 'work/life balance' is debilitating to the business owner's extraction of labour for profit.

mc32 8y ago

The irony is that it's not likely the overworked and underpaid sweatshop hourlies & temps in the warehouses demanding work-life balance but rather the highly paid "professionals" in the nice glass HQ buildings with all their nap pods, masseuses &c.

FooHentai 8y ago
Yup. Free market at work, too. Fungible labour = low wages and poor conditions because other people are available that will do the job. More specialized labour = We will acquiesce to your whims because replacing you is non-trivial and you individually have greater impact on the bottom line.
- paloaltokid 8y ago
  That is the story of the labor movement. Skilled laborers were more effective at pushing for change because they could not easily be replaced.
mantas 8y ago
Nap pods and all that jazz don't help with work-life balance though. I'd say it's rather the opposite. I'll take strict 8-5 schedule over 8-10 with all the in-house entertainment any day. Taking a nap any time you want just means you stays in office longer and do less "life" stuff.
- gowld 8y ago
  Napping in the office means you can party until 2am and still have a productive day instead of clockwatching as a zombie from 8-5.
  - mantas 8y ago
    Not partying till 2am before a workday is pretty good if it means I'm free at 5-something every day and can enjoy a nice dinner, go for a walk/ride/run, hit the gym or whatever. From my partying experience, no amount napping helps after a good party. The next day is lost anyway. Unless you plan to hide from your colleagues in that pod for the whole day...
krapp 8y ago
The overworked and underpaid warehouse workers are demanding it too - plenty of them are parents or students or have to manage second jobs to make ends meet, despite the instability of Amazon's penchant for unscheduled arbitrary extra time, or "involuntary VTO." Warehouse work wouldn't be quite so difficult if it weren't designed to come as close as legally possible to breaking people. 8 hour shifts with a overtime caps beyond the 60 hour limit, actual 30 minute breaks and regular task rotation to reduce repetitive strain injury and boredom, that sort of thing. I'm guessing the concerns of the highly paid Amazonians don't get dismissed with "because business needs," though.