3 ms·

This is an excellent way to describe it. I’ve definitely had times in my life with both modes. There is very much a lifestyle trap in which the current work c

This is an excellent way to describe it. I’ve definitely had times in my life with both modes. There is very much a lifestyle trap in which the current work culture prevents a truly balanced approach. I suspect one of the barriers to having a reduced work week is the cost of employee benefits. Companies want to get their money’s worth for every employee on payroll. So the options for reduced work hours are somewhat limited. If you make 75k a year, it seems every extra dollar beyond that has less value per unit of time spent to earn it. I would rather work 20-30hrs a week for half of my salary but there aren’t any employers who like that idea, nor is it easy to do the consultant/contractor thing as a solo contributor who only puts in 20-30hrs. Personally my response (intentionally or not) has been to leave roles when I’m feeling burnt out, take some time off, learn some new skills to boost my market value, and then rinse and repeat.

mindslight 5y ago
The biggest intrinsic barrier is that increasing the number of employees increases the communications overhead. Would you rather have one computer with 8 cores and 64G of memory, or two computers each with 4 cores and 32G of memory? Employees could push back regardless, but lack the power because the BATNA is being left with zero income in the face of huge economic rent. If housing rent were much less of your income, then your necessary burn rate would be much lower and you'd have more bargaining power. And yeah for highly paid tech roles, a pragmatic solution is to alternate between pouring yourself into a job full time, and taking off periods of funemployment (or possibly a grassroots startup, etc). But we should recognize that's only possible due to our outsized compensation, and can't really define the economy writ large.

3 ms·

This is an excellent way to describe it. I’ve definitely had times in my life with both modes. There is very much a lifestyle trap in which the current work c

by relax88 5y ago

mindslight 5y ago
The biggest intrinsic barrier is that increasing the number of employees increases the communications overhead. Would you rather have one computer with 8 cores and 64G of memory, or two computers each with 4 cores and 32G of memory? Employees could push back regardless, but lack the power because the BATNA is being left with zero income in the face of huge economic rent. If housing rent were much less of your income, then your necessary burn rate would be much lower and you'd have more bargaining power. And yeah for highly paid tech roles, a pragmatic solution is to alternate between pouring yourself into a job full time, and taking off periods of funemployment (or possibly a grassroots startup, etc). But we should recognize that's only possible due to our outsized compensation, and can't really define the economy writ large.