3 ms·
As much as everyone trash talks big corporations, I work for one now and have this beautiful thing called flex hours. Those that have flex time are lucky, and
by chops 17y ago
As much as everyone trash talks big corporations, I work for one now and have this beautiful thing called flex hours.
Those that have flex time are lucky, and I find that programmers are more likely to have this perk. When I was an employee, I didn't explicitly have flex time, but I pretty much lived on the 10-to-6 schedule, coming in at 11 if I needed the extra hour.
I have a few friends (who are also programmers) who explicitly get flex-time.
But my wife, who is a fashion designer for a major department store, does not have that option. She has the classic "corporate" job. Be there at 8:30, attend useless meetings all day, and after 4 or 5pm the real work can finally start. But she has to be there at 8:30, otherwise she's likely to miss a meeting in the morning. The whole process from concept to delivery is one of the most convoluted processes I've ever heard, involving meeting after meeting. Nothing is approved until an army of committees have agreed to it.
- gms 17y agoIn my book being forced to be in the office for the 8 or 9 hour stretch is equally as bad as having to show up early every single day.
- kirse 17y agoHow are you "forced" to do anything? If you've made the choice to work a corporate day job, you've also made the choice to be "forced" to be in the office for 8-9 hours a day. This sounds like making a decision and then not accepting responsibility. Secondly, I also have the option of working from home and can easily just VPN in, except personally I work much better when I'm in a setting that is designated for work only, so I choose to head into the office M-F. As a programmer there's a lot of flex in big companies that let them come pretty close to the flex of working on a startup. In fact, I would argue that working 80-90 hour weeks (including weekends) on a startup is hardly flexible. The only real difference is whether or not you're working on something that is intrinsically motivating, but I find it's always possible to find meaning in even the most dull of tasks. For now though, I balance the need for food and rent with pursuing my own ideas.
- gms 17y agoWell yes at a high level of course I am not forced as it was my choice. I'm talking at the local level of company policy. It's nice that you have the option of working from home; I'd like that as an option once in a while. The thing is, if I left the office in the middle of the day for a walk/gym session, everyone would get noticeably uncomfortable. Mind, I'm not sure how much walking one can get done in a suburban office park. I can easily work long hours on something I care about, but the pressure to chain myself to the desk and avoid noticeable breaks gets to be quite a drag. In summary I don't think we are disagreeing on anything.
- chops 17y agoSure, it sucks, but I wouldn't say it's as bad. Being required to work X hours per day with the option to start when you want is still an improvement over a completely regimented schedule.