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Completely agree. I've long believed that society is just "wrong" with the work/life balance these days. Socially i think we could drop to 6h days and life woul

Completely agree. I've long believed that society is just "wrong" with the work/life balance these days. Socially i think we could drop to 6h days and life would improve dramatically (just looking at home time, that is) for most people. For me, just giving up commutes and being able to do some basic chores on breaks or lunch alone brings a ton of this balance back into check. I work 8h but i gained so much "me" time back that it's like working 6h with a commute. I would give up WFH if needed, but i'd be pushing for 6h days as a trade off. I now feel the added time in my life by not commuting is a massive boon. One that i can't give up. Do i prefer WFH? Yes, i'm on ~8years of it now. But the life that i clawed back by simply not commuting is by far the most valuable thing. One i am never giving up in i have options.

ravenstine 3y ago
It all depends on need. The idea that everything needs to work the same way is unsound. Arguably, the company I work for doesn't need to bring everyone into the office every day; we seem to be doing quite well. Another firm that believes it sees better creativity when people are in the same physical room may be better off not having their workers be remote. And like you say, not every company necessarily gets a benefit from having an 8 hour day. Depending on the nature of the job, the remaining hours of the day can be a diminished return, in which case one might as well give up on the game of charades and just allow their employees to go home.
- AuthorizedCust 3y ago
  > Another firm that believes it sees better creativity when people are in the same physical room… “Believes” suggests faith-based decision making. Not sure if you meant to say that, but your weird choice aligns with the credibility of the justifications I see of in-office-only types.
  - AuthorizedCust 3y ago
    I meant “word choice”. Too late to edit!
claytongulick 3y ago
I think the idea of measuring productivity by hours spent is absurd. I manage my teams by tasks accomplished. I really don't care if they were able to complete it in 2 hours and take the rest of the day off. I simply acknowledge formally what happens in practice anyway. The average "8 hour workday" only contains about three productive hours [1]. For me, it varies wildly. Some days, I'll get in "the zone" and 12 hours / and thousands of lines of code will fly by. Then I'll spend the next day or two in a brain funk waiting to recharge. I've learned to embrace my "bursty" productivity patterns and to structure my delivery expectations around them. If I get trapped into a X number of hours per day butt-in-seat situation, my overall productivity declines sharply. [1] https://www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/in-an-8-hour-day-the-average-worker-is-productive-for-this-many-hours.html https://www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/in-an-8-hour-day-the-aver...

ravenstine 3y ago

It all depends on need. The idea that everything needs to work the same way is unsound. Arguably, the company I work for doesn't need to bring everyone into the office every day; we seem to be doing quite well. Another firm that believes it sees better creativity when people are in the same physical room may be better off not having their workers be remote. And like you say, not every company necessarily gets a benefit from having an 8 hour day. Depending on the nature of the job, the remaining hours of the day can be a diminished return, in which case one might as well give up on the game of charades and just allow their employees to go home.

AuthorizedCust 3y ago
> Another firm that believes it sees better creativity when people are in the same physical room… “Believes” suggests faith-based decision making. Not sure if you meant to say that, but your weird choice aligns with the credibility of the justifications I see of in-office-only types.
- AuthorizedCust 3y ago
  I meant “word choice”. Too late to edit!

claytongulick 3y ago

I think the idea of measuring productivity by hours spent is absurd. I manage my teams by tasks accomplished. I really don't care if they were able to complete it in 2 hours and take the rest of the day off. I simply acknowledge formally what happens in practice anyway. The average "8 hour workday" only contains about three productive hours [1]. For me, it varies wildly. Some days, I'll get in "the zone" and 12 hours / and thousands of lines of code will fly by. Then I'll spend the next day or two in a brain funk waiting to recharge. I've learned to embrace my "bursty" productivity patterns and to structure my delivery expectations around them. If I get trapped into a X number of hours per day butt-in-seat situation, my overall productivity declines sharply. [1] https://www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/in-an-8-hour-day-the-average-worker-is-productive-for-this-many-hours.html https://www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/in-an-8-hour-day-the-aver...