3 ms·

An alternative way at looking at this is that, if you are pushing your employees to their physical limits, you can squeeze more out of them if you can prevent t

An alternative way at looking at this is that, if you are pushing your employees to their physical limits, you can squeeze more out of them if you can prevent them from becoming overheated. This is a negative way of looking at it, but I think, unfortunately, that it is realistic. Beyond the short term, the only way this will benefit the workers is if there is something external to limit the ways it can be exploited solely to increase productivity. Otherwise, the market will do its thing.

Retric 8y ago
Not working in 85+ degree temperatures is a benefit on it's own.
- mannykannot 8y ago
  That's a fair point, but to me, the article's message seemed to be that the important issue was the productivity gain (just look at the title.) That interpretation, and my response, may well be a biased, to which I can only say that it wasn't my initial response, which was more favorable.
- mc32 8y ago
  Back when i was in high school, i did a summer job in a building without A/C. We got to do nothing if the temp hit 97, or whatever was the local regulation. small “pleasures”.
abandonliberty 8y ago
Negative? It's how the world works. Those in resource-driven countries enjoy very little comfort, because you don't need very comfortable/educated people to extract resources. Our economies are more based on knowledge, so we get better lives. CGPGrey's rules for rulers is a very good outline of this and other related topics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs
- ben_w 8y ago
  Just because it’s true doesn’t make it not “negative” — even pessimists are often over-optimistic for project planning, for example, despite being closest to reality. Also, this article shows that people can be irrational about the economically optimal level of comfort. CGP makes a similar point with the valley of revolution, between impoverished and wealthy nations, and why it’s hard to get from poor to rich even though it’s clearly an improvement.
somberi 8y ago
The horses that draw carriages in New York City, have similar restrictions [1] and [2]: 1. Carriage horses shall not be worked whenever the air temperature is 90 degrees fahrenheit or above. 2. Riding horses shall not be at work more than eight hours in any continuous twenty-four hour period. 3. Carriage horses shall receive no less than five weeks of vacation or furlough every twelve months at a horse stable facility. [1] - https://law.justia.com/codes/new-york/2006/new-york-city-administrative-code-new/adc017-330_17-330.html https://law.justia.com/codes/new-york/2006/new-york-city-adm... [2] - https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/horses.page https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/horses.pa... We as humans can do better when it comes to other humans. We should. To quote Ben Harrison: I pity the man who wants a coat so cheap that the man or woman who produces the cloth or shapes it into a garment will starve in the process. (https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benjamin_Harrison https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benjamin_Harrison)

Retric 8y ago

Not working in 85+ degree temperatures is a benefit on it's own.

mannykannot 8y ago
That's a fair point, but to me, the article's message seemed to be that the important issue was the productivity gain (just look at the title.) That interpretation, and my response, may well be a biased, to which I can only say that it wasn't my initial response, which was more favorable.
mc32 8y ago
Back when i was in high school, i did a summer job in a building without A/C. We got to do nothing if the temp hit 97, or whatever was the local regulation. small “pleasures”.

abandonliberty 8y ago

Negative? It's how the world works. Those in resource-driven countries enjoy very little comfort, because you don't need very comfortable/educated people to extract resources. Our economies are more based on knowledge, so we get better lives. CGPGrey's rules for rulers is a very good outline of this and other related topics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs

ben_w 8y ago
Just because it’s true doesn’t make it not “negative” — even pessimists are often over-optimistic for project planning, for example, despite being closest to reality. Also, this article shows that people can be irrational about the economically optimal level of comfort. CGP makes a similar point with the valley of revolution, between impoverished and wealthy nations, and why it’s hard to get from poor to rich even though it’s clearly an improvement.

somberi 8y ago

The horses that draw carriages in New York City, have similar restrictions [1] and [2]: 1. Carriage horses shall not be worked whenever the air temperature is 90 degrees fahrenheit or above. 2. Riding horses shall not be at work more than eight hours in any continuous twenty-four hour period. 3. Carriage horses shall receive no less than five weeks of vacation or furlough every twelve months at a horse stable facility. [1] - https://law.justia.com/codes/new-york/2006/new-york-city-administrative-code-new/adc017-330_17-330.html https://law.justia.com/codes/new-york/2006/new-york-city-adm... [2] - https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/horses.page https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/horses.pa... We as humans can do better when it comes to other humans. We should. To quote Ben Harrison: I pity the man who wants a coat so cheap that the man or woman who produces the cloth or shapes it into a garment will starve in the process. (https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benjamin_Harrison https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benjamin_Harrison)