6 ms·

>power hours The proven solution is to rename "power hours" to "hackathons".

amf12 8y ago
> rename "power hours" to "hackathons". The key word here is "pressured". There is no pressure to perform or participate in a hackathon. You can work on your own pace, or choose to dropout. Almost all of the people who participate do so because of their interest and not to win a trophy or some cash.
- aaaaaaaaaab 8y ago
  >There is no pressure to perform or participate in a hackathon I guess you haven't had the pleasure of participating in monthly workplace "hackathons". Of course participation is optional, but it can look good on your promotion case wink-wink nudge-nudge.
  - maxxxxx 8y ago
    They tried to do a hackathon at my company but after initial interest a lot of people dropped out so in the end it was cancelled. I think hackathons could be fun but they should either be done independently from a company or do something that's not of any direct value to the company but something fun.
  - adetrest 8y ago
    The trick is to not care about internal promotion. You can also get promoted as you change jobs.
    - aaaaaaaaaab 8y ago
      Indeed as an engineer this is the best course of action in our industry.
simias 8y ago
There's definitely a parallel but I don't think you can put on the same level the sort of pressure unskilled and low-wage workers get in Amazon warehouses to the stress we get as skilled workers in the software industry. We are (on average) much better paid, we can (usually) find an other job easily and overall we (generally) have a much better quality of life. My brother worked in one of these warehouses (not for Amazon, but more or less the same crap) and frankly I think it's a bit obscene to compare this situation to software engineering. It's exhausting, it's boring, it's unfulfilling, the turnover rate is huge, you can't really socialize with your coworkers (partly because they change so fast, but also because you have no time and you're often competing with each other). I'm sure in the near future the vast majority of these jobs will be replaced by machines though. It's a bad thing for employment but I don't think I'll be sad to see them go. Let the machines to the boring work then take the wealth generated and redistribute it to the population to do actually interesting things! Technology should free the people, not enslave it to machines.
- tcbawo 8y ago
  Any job that pays you enough to live, but not enough to get to a better place in the long run, is a dead end. When technology takes these jobs, lives will be ruined. Many people would be better off finding something new now rather than later.
  - simias 8y ago
    I suppose that you're right but to me your comment reads like a modern version of "let them eat cake". This vicious circle of having a shit job that pays enough to live but not enough to get a better place is specifically the problem. There used to be a time when factory workers could get a decent wage, buy a good house, buy a good car etc... And maybe eventually progress through the social layers. It's getting harder and harder. Unskilled worker's wages stagnate while rich people's incomes soar.
    - tcbawo 8y ago
      I definitely have sympathy and empathy for people in this condition. No employee is immune. Think about whether your job will exist and afford you a comfortable lifestyle in 20 or 30 years. There doesn't appear to be an easy answer. My comment was only meant to convey that soldiering on to worry another day comes at an opportunity cost.
mc32 8y ago
I wouldn’t have an issue with these power hours if not engaging in this little game meant you simply got to miss out on the “prizes”. However if not participating in them have employment reprecussions (affect raises, promotions, lead to concerted teasing, peer presdure, etc.), then that would be troubling.
8nd9rfi 8y ago
Or subbotniks in Soviet parlance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subbotnik https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subbotnik

> rename "power hours" to "hackathons". The key word here is "pressured". There is no pressure to perform or participate in a hackathon. You can work on your own pace, or choose to dropout. Almost all of the people who participate do so because of their interest and not to win a trophy or some cash.

aaaaaaaaaab 8y ago
>There is no pressure to perform or participate in a hackathon I guess you haven't had the pleasure of participating in monthly workplace "hackathons". Of course participation is optional, but it can look good on your promotion case wink-wink nudge-nudge.
- maxxxxx 8y ago
  They tried to do a hackathon at my company but after initial interest a lot of people dropped out so in the end it was cancelled. I think hackathons could be fun but they should either be done independently from a company or do something that's not of any direct value to the company but something fun.
- adetrest 8y ago
  The trick is to not care about internal promotion. You can also get promoted as you change jobs.
  - aaaaaaaaaab 8y ago
    Indeed as an engineer this is the best course of action in our industry.

simias 8y ago

There's definitely a parallel but I don't think you can put on the same level the sort of pressure unskilled and low-wage workers get in Amazon warehouses to the stress we get as skilled workers in the software industry. We are (on average) much better paid, we can (usually) find an other job easily and overall we (generally) have a much better quality of life. My brother worked in one of these warehouses (not for Amazon, but more or less the same crap) and frankly I think it's a bit obscene to compare this situation to software engineering. It's exhausting, it's boring, it's unfulfilling, the turnover rate is huge, you can't really socialize with your coworkers (partly because they change so fast, but also because you have no time and you're often competing with each other). I'm sure in the near future the vast majority of these jobs will be replaced by machines though. It's a bad thing for employment but I don't think I'll be sad to see them go. Let the machines to the boring work then take the wealth generated and redistribute it to the population to do actually interesting things! Technology should free the people, not enslave it to machines.

tcbawo 8y ago
Any job that pays you enough to live, but not enough to get to a better place in the long run, is a dead end. When technology takes these jobs, lives will be ruined. Many people would be better off finding something new now rather than later.
- simias 8y ago
  I suppose that you're right but to me your comment reads like a modern version of "let them eat cake". This vicious circle of having a shit job that pays enough to live but not enough to get a better place is specifically the problem. There used to be a time when factory workers could get a decent wage, buy a good house, buy a good car etc... And maybe eventually progress through the social layers. It's getting harder and harder. Unskilled worker's wages stagnate while rich people's incomes soar.
  - tcbawo 8y ago
    I definitely have sympathy and empathy for people in this condition. No employee is immune. Think about whether your job will exist and afford you a comfortable lifestyle in 20 or 30 years. There doesn't appear to be an easy answer. My comment was only meant to convey that soldiering on to worry another day comes at an opportunity cost.

mc32 8y ago

I wouldn’t have an issue with these power hours if not engaging in this little game meant you simply got to miss out on the “prizes”. However if not participating in them have employment reprecussions (affect raises, promotions, lead to concerted teasing, peer presdure, etc.), then that would be troubling.

8nd9rfi 8y ago

Or subbotniks in Soviet parlance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subbotnik https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subbotnik