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I don't really need that. My work is my hobby and even before Corona things were intermixed completely. If someone pings me at 11pm from the US with a major is

I don't really need that. My work is my hobby and even before Corona things were intermixed completely. If someone pings me at 11pm from the US with a major issue and I have nothing better to do, Call of Duty can wait till tomorrow :P I like helping people and it helps relax my mind knowing that in the morning there hasn't been a major escalation building up over the last 8 hours. And they know I'm in Europe so they won't bother me if it's not urgent. On the other side, if I need to go to the bank or doctor during the day I'll just schedule a meeting. No need to book time off. I love this flexibility. My boss is totally OK with this (and judging by his Yammer/Email activity, he does the exact same). My role is global so I always have colleagues working somewhere around the globe. Of course it's not that easy for everyone. Some people have a life, kids etc. But it should remain a choice, that's my point. I happen to like a 24-hour society. That also happens. I heard that in some countries like France and Germany some companies force email to stop working during the weekend. I wouldn't want this. Especially with Covid right now I have very little to go outside for, so the weekends are super boring.

bluntfang 6y ago
Totally agree that it should be a choice. Companies should choose to spend more for 24/7 on call by hiring more people. You, in turn, can choose to work for another company with flex hours while keeping your current position. Everybody wins.
- GekkePrutser 6y ago
  But I really really don't want to be "on call". It's a terrible experience and it comes on top of normal work hours usually because the company also knows you're not doing anything. So basically you have to work but are not doing anything but can't do whatever you feel like either. It's horrible.
minimuffins 6y ago
I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of people who read Hacker News feel this way about their own jobs. But surely you can see this is necessarily a minority of the population. Necessarily, most people who are part or the world economy will not experience labor this way. It's a strange line of reasoning! Every time there's talk of reigning in employer surveillance, reducing working hours or generally speaking any measure that seeks to leverage up workers' power against their employers, there's a comfy tech worker ready to comment about how, well, I'm actually an exception, I actually like my job, etc... And good for you, truly, if that's you! It feels wonderful to have employment that you really enjoy and look forward to. Keep working on the weekend if you really want to (a real danger of burnout though). But we are the exception here, and it makes no sense to govern based only on exceptions.
- ketzo 6y ago
  Yep. And legislation like this is about giving more people power in their employment. The more that employee flexibility and autonomy is encoded in law, the more it will be reflected in the real world.
- GekkePrutser 6y ago
  Oh yes I agree. But the problem with this legislation (as introduced in France and Germany where a hard shutdown is imposed after hours with actual comms features disabled) is that it makes my way of working impossible (although usually us tech workers find a way to get an exception one way or another :) ). Thus obviously I'm against legislation that restricts my desired way of life. As long as it's the choice of the worker it should be possible IMO.
croes 6y ago
This only works if there is a balance of power. But most of them are not in this position.
CommanderData 6y ago
This is a strange argument. Have you taken into cosideration the vast majority of people have a busier life than you, with kids, elderly to support or sick relatives, wanting to expand beyond work? How about employers that seize to take advantage of employees and having them work overtime rather employing more people? Well done you are the 1 percent but your experiences aren't realistic and too idealistic to work in a general setting that is governed ultimately by greed and capitalism.

bluntfang 6y ago

Totally agree that it should be a choice. Companies should choose to spend more for 24/7 on call by hiring more people. You, in turn, can choose to work for another company with flex hours while keeping your current position. Everybody wins.

GekkePrutser 6y ago
But I really really don't want to be "on call". It's a terrible experience and it comes on top of normal work hours usually because the company also knows you're not doing anything. So basically you have to work but are not doing anything but can't do whatever you feel like either. It's horrible.

minimuffins 6y ago

I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of people who read Hacker News feel this way about their own jobs. But surely you can see this is necessarily a minority of the population. Necessarily, most people who are part or the world economy will not experience labor this way. It's a strange line of reasoning! Every time there's talk of reigning in employer surveillance, reducing working hours or generally speaking any measure that seeks to leverage up workers' power against their employers, there's a comfy tech worker ready to comment about how, well, I'm actually an exception, I actually like my job, etc... And good for you, truly, if that's you! It feels wonderful to have employment that you really enjoy and look forward to. Keep working on the weekend if you really want to (a real danger of burnout though). But we are the exception here, and it makes no sense to govern based only on exceptions.

ketzo 6y ago
Yep. And legislation like this is about giving more people power in their employment. The more that employee flexibility and autonomy is encoded in law, the more it will be reflected in the real world.
GekkePrutser 6y ago
Oh yes I agree. But the problem with this legislation (as introduced in France and Germany where a hard shutdown is imposed after hours with actual comms features disabled) is that it makes my way of working impossible (although usually us tech workers find a way to get an exception one way or another :) ). Thus obviously I'm against legislation that restricts my desired way of life. As long as it's the choice of the worker it should be possible IMO.

croes 6y ago

This only works if there is a balance of power. But most of them are not in this position.

CommanderData 6y ago

This is a strange argument. Have you taken into cosideration the vast majority of people have a busier life than you, with kids, elderly to support or sick relatives, wanting to expand beyond work? How about employers that seize to take advantage of employees and having them work overtime rather employing more people? Well done you are the 1 percent but your experiences aren't realistic and too idealistic to work in a general setting that is governed ultimately by greed and capitalism.