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I'm always curious to what extent work hours correlate with productivity. I think it was patio11 who shared his story of a salaryman co-worker fixing his bike i
by michaelbuckbee 7y ago
I'm always curious to what extent work hours correlate with productivity. I think it was patio11 who shared his story of a salaryman co-worker fixing his bike in his cubicle on a Saturday he was "working" in the office.
And while I haven't seen first-hand the Japanese style overwork, I have seen Silicon Valley startup "overwork" up close and have similar concerns. My pet theory is that in early-stage startups it's so unclear what is actually valuable and productive work that the overwork becomes a proxy for productivity.
- riantogo 7y agoThe issue is that most startups are in survival mode and hence has a natural pressure from that. The trick is to manage expectation at IC level. Knowing that there is this natural pressure commit to only what you can deliver in 15hrs/week. Then work "hard" and overdeliver equivalent of 30hrs/week. Spend 10hrs on above the weed activity (evaluate, measure, communicate, course correct etc.). Be religious about this template.
- blackearl 7y agoTokyo Sonata is a pretty good fictional movie about the honor associated with working. Some salarymen would fake a job, leaving each day in a suit. On the other side of the spectrum, there are people forced into quitting because they would go to work and sit in a room all day since management didn't want the dishonor of firing someone. It definitely comes across as odd to a foreigner.
- VRay 7y agoOverworking East Asians end up spending a lot of time completely zonked out at their desks, scooting the mouse cursor back and forth over the same spreadsheet or Word doc until it's time to go home