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> Since this group already put in longer hours than the typical U.S. worker—and women at the highest income levels—these high earners had longer work days to tr

> Since this group already put in longer hours than the typical U.S. worker—and women at the highest income levels—these high earners had longer work days to trim > Before the pandemic, Eli Albrecht, a lawyer in the Washington, D.C., area, says he worked between 80 to 90 hours a week. Now, he says he puts in 60 to 70 hours each week Key lines from the article, which give important context and invert what many people's expectations about the situation will be.

ghaff 4y ago
Right. This isn't about four day work weeks. It's mostly about people who were working insane hours cutting back to merely long hours.
- lotsofpulp 4y ago
  I do not believe the 80 to 90 hour work week claims. Might be at the office 80 to 90 hours, but I doubt even 60 hours of work was or is being done regularly.
dahart 4y ago
TBH For me the line about Eli only begs for more context. Having done it for a while in the games industry, I know first hand that 80-90 hours/week is next to unliveable for long stretches, and the difference between 80 and 90 is enormous (working 80 leaves you with almost 50% more waking non-work-time than 90, assuming 8 hours of sleep). Some people really do work that much, and Eli might be, but 80 means you cut more or less all social activity from your life, even family, and 90 probably means you’re cutting into your sleep permanently. The may be mitigating factors for Eli, if he works from home, for example, or if he is measuring his hours via start and stop time but still taking family breaks or social lunches during the day. A normal amount of self-maintenance like a small amount of exercise, grocery shopping, brushing teeth, and reading news or watching a few minutes of tv or youtube, these things alone will add up to all of the time you have left after working 90 hours/week. It took me a decade or two to realize the overtime I worked was actually trading my entire life for a small amount of money, and that it wasn’t nearly enough money. Many people also over-estimate their own work hours. I had an employer who measured and also surveyed employees and compared the two results, and found most people claiming 75 hours/week were actually pulling more like 55-65. Some people who thought they were doing over 50 were actually under 40. A lot of people in the company I was in were (perhaps subconsciously) factoring in their commutes as work time, and a lot of people come in a bit late during crunch time but mentally feel like they’re starting work at 9am on the dot, and estimate work hours that way.
- yeahwhatever10 4y ago
  A lot of people also associate being at work with working even if they are sitting there reading HN. I noticed this about myself so I started tracking my time. Has really helped my productivity and the mental drain of feeling like I’m always working. Now I recognize how many other activities I actually do.
- DeRock 4y ago
  People vastly overestimate how many hours a week they work: https://qz.com/16899/that-friend-who-says-he-works-75-hours-a-week-hes-probably-only-clocking-50 https://qz.com/16899/that-friend-who-says-he-works-75-hours-...

ghaff 4y ago

Right. This isn't about four day work weeks. It's mostly about people who were working insane hours cutting back to merely long hours.

lotsofpulp 4y ago
I do not believe the 80 to 90 hour work week claims. Might be at the office 80 to 90 hours, but I doubt even 60 hours of work was or is being done regularly.

dahart 4y ago

TBH For me the line about Eli only begs for more context. Having done it for a while in the games industry, I know first hand that 80-90 hours/week is next to unliveable for long stretches, and the difference between 80 and 90 is enormous (working 80 leaves you with almost 50% more waking non-work-time than 90, assuming 8 hours of sleep). Some people really do work that much, and Eli might be, but 80 means you cut more or less all social activity from your life, even family, and 90 probably means you’re cutting into your sleep permanently. The may be mitigating factors for Eli, if he works from home, for example, or if he is measuring his hours via start and stop time but still taking family breaks or social lunches during the day. A normal amount of self-maintenance like a small amount of exercise, grocery shopping, brushing teeth, and reading news or watching a few minutes of tv or youtube, these things alone will add up to all of the time you have left after working 90 hours/week. It took me a decade or two to realize the overtime I worked was actually trading my entire life for a small amount of money, and that it wasn’t nearly enough money. Many people also over-estimate their own work hours. I had an employer who measured and also surveyed employees and compared the two results, and found most people claiming 75 hours/week were actually pulling more like 55-65. Some people who thought they were doing over 50 were actually under 40. A lot of people in the company I was in were (perhaps subconsciously) factoring in their commutes as work time, and a lot of people come in a bit late during crunch time but mentally feel like they’re starting work at 9am on the dot, and estimate work hours that way.

yeahwhatever10 4y ago
A lot of people also associate being at work with working even if they are sitting there reading HN. I noticed this about myself so I started tracking my time. Has really helped my productivity and the mental drain of feeling like I’m always working. Now I recognize how many other activities I actually do.
DeRock 4y ago
People vastly overestimate how many hours a week they work: https://qz.com/16899/that-friend-who-says-he-works-75-hours-a-week-hes-probably-only-clocking-50 https://qz.com/16899/that-friend-who-says-he-works-75-hours-...