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> However, one engineer working 80 hours a week is significantly more productive than two engineers working 40 hours a week Only for short periods of time. Ev
by henrikschroder 15y ago
> However, one engineer working 80 hours a week is significantly more productive than two engineers working 40 hours a week
Only for short periods of time.
Every single piece of research on working hours for knowledge workers show that longer periods of overtime decrease productivity. These people work longer hours because the people that pay them are unable to measure productivity properly and instead pay them by hours worked. Good for your salary. Crap for your company's productivity.
- nostrademons 15y agoWell, yes. I was mostly using the numbers for illustration's sake; substitute 1 40 hr/week employee vs. 2 20 hr/week employees if it makes the point clearer. (And it should make the point clearer: if you've ever had to manage volunteers, I bet you'd take one dedicated full-timer over a team of 10 half-time volunteers.) I suspect there's an equilibrium point where the gains of human capital are offset by the losses of fatigue. My point is that you get declining efficiency in both directions; if you try to speed up work by adding more people, you incur costs in communication & learning overhead.