4 ms·

I don't understand what kind of job, except for some very, very fringe cases like a NASA active mission or an atomic threat, would require a person to pull all-

I don't understand what kind of job, except for some very, very fringe cases like a NASA active mission or an atomic threat, would require a person to pull all-nighters. And how is that productive in the long-term? It's not exactly easy to hire talent.

HPsquared 1y ago
College trains people for this. Basically anything with strict deadlines. Most of my coursework was done at the latest possible time, in the early hours of the morning. I think these workplaces just carry over that vibe.
- skeeter2020 1y ago
  College does a terrible job of training you for anything like a startup; it's a marathon game, unlike the 12-16 week semester sprint. What you do in the most "polished" college project is like < 25% of what goes into a marketable software product.
- Kwpolska 1y ago
  College doesn’t train you for this, you just suck at time management and planning.
jaccola 1y ago
People who enforce 996 or whatever other schedule are treating the symptom and not the cause. What they really want is for all of their employees to be so in love with the work, so bought into the mission and so compelled by the vision that they want to work until late. Of course building a company that inspires that is actually very difficult (though is possible for sure) so it’s easier just to enforce a crazy and unproductive schedule.
- robocat 1y ago
  > building a company that inspires There's a lot of grit-flavoured cool aid being sold by CEOs Here's one that came up recently selling work as the answer to life: https://joincolossus.com/article/the-amusement-park-for-engineers/ https://joincolossus.com/article/the-amusement-park-for-engi... And another saying that burnout only exists if the work is not inspiring: https://substack.com/inbox/post/172406264 https://substack.com/inbox/post/172406264
georgeburdell 1y ago
I have not pulled an all nighter proper (the worst was going to sleep at 6 and waking up at 7:30), but working late into the night is usually distraction free. During work hours, I feel obligated to quickly respond to coworker's emails and help requests, so most of my own work is worthless during that time unless it’s the equivalent of updating a config file
- 8n4vidtmkvmk 1y ago
  Funny, because updating a config file is about the most dangerous thing you can do. #1 prod killer.
georgeecollins 1y ago
There are certain things, being an elite athlete, a movie director (and a lot of the key talent), a team that makes a really great video game, a medical resident, where you are going to be competing against people willing to make incredible sacrifices for success including long hours and sacrifices of their personal life. I agree celebrating regular workers putting in crazy hours is a terrible idea. It shouldn't be the norm, but it is also something that some people will reasonably choose to do.

HPsquared 1y ago

College trains people for this. Basically anything with strict deadlines. Most of my coursework was done at the latest possible time, in the early hours of the morning. I think these workplaces just carry over that vibe.

skeeter2020 1y ago
College does a terrible job of training you for anything like a startup; it's a marathon game, unlike the 12-16 week semester sprint. What you do in the most "polished" college project is like < 25% of what goes into a marketable software product.
Kwpolska 1y ago
College doesn’t train you for this, you just suck at time management and planning.

jaccola 1y ago

People who enforce 996 or whatever other schedule are treating the symptom and not the cause. What they really want is for all of their employees to be so in love with the work, so bought into the mission and so compelled by the vision that they want to work until late. Of course building a company that inspires that is actually very difficult (though is possible for sure) so it’s easier just to enforce a crazy and unproductive schedule.

robocat 1y ago
> building a company that inspires There's a lot of grit-flavoured cool aid being sold by CEOs Here's one that came up recently selling work as the answer to life: https://joincolossus.com/article/the-amusement-park-for-engineers/ https://joincolossus.com/article/the-amusement-park-for-engi... And another saying that burnout only exists if the work is not inspiring: https://substack.com/inbox/post/172406264 https://substack.com/inbox/post/172406264

georgeburdell 1y ago

I have not pulled an all nighter proper (the worst was going to sleep at 6 and waking up at 7:30), but working late into the night is usually distraction free. During work hours, I feel obligated to quickly respond to coworker's emails and help requests, so most of my own work is worthless during that time unless it’s the equivalent of updating a config file

8n4vidtmkvmk 1y ago
Funny, because updating a config file is about the most dangerous thing you can do. #1 prod killer.

georgeecollins 1y ago

There are certain things, being an elite athlete, a movie director (and a lot of the key talent), a team that makes a really great video game, a medical resident, where you are going to be competing against people willing to make incredible sacrifices for success including long hours and sacrifices of their personal life. I agree celebrating regular workers putting in crazy hours is a terrible idea. It shouldn't be the norm, but it is also something that some people will reasonably choose to do.