3 ms·

I disagree with you on the first line, but the rest is reasonable. No manager (at least not me) wants to measure hours, but when an employee's production is wan

by nhangen 13y ago

I disagree with you on the first line, but the rest is reasonable. No manager (at least not me) wants to measure hours, but when an employee's production is waning, that's one of the things you CAN measure to see if that's part of the problem. But if I find someone constantly looking at the clock when the hand strikes 5, I know they've already checked out, and that's not the kind of person I want on my team.

flatline 13y ago
I'm constantly looking at the clock when the hand strikes 5 because I've got to pick up the kids from daycare. Sometimes if I finish whatever I was working on 10 minutes early, yeah, I'm checked out. What does it matter? You either do good work in the time you're at work or you don't. There are definitely places that want people to put in an appearance of slaving away as they don't know any other way to gauge productivity. The other thing I've seen (and done, in the past) is working 80+ hour weeks because everything's out of control, no one has a solid pulse on the business, and the job is a constant putting out of fires. Granted, some of this is endemic to start-up life, but if the shit is constantly flowing downhill, not a good sign.
- nhangen 13y ago
  But that's a completely different scenario, and one that I'm sure you would discuss with your hiring manager before accepting the position.
jetti 13y ago
"No manager (at least not me) wants to measure hours, but when an employee's production is waning, that's one of the things you CAN measure to see if that's part of the problem." How is that working for you? (Genuinely curious) I worked at a place that kept telling me they needed more hours out of me. I was already working 45 hours a week (5 more than I wanted to) and wasn't happy. I did put in more hours but they were spent surfing the internet, not working. I only stayed there for 8 months before moving on to where I am now, which is much more flexible. I get more done now in less time because I'm not feeling like I'm in a forced labor camp.
- nhangen 13y ago
  First and foremost, I don't worry about someone's hours at all if they are producing according to their role. During this time, I am clear on what I expect them to achieve, and I'm always open to discussion as it relates to pushing/rearranging deadlines. If I find that they aren't producing or getting things done, obviously I need to find out why. One of the things I look at is hours, which I find works well. I learn that a) this person is not only watching the clock, but being creative with ways they can avoid actually doing work while pretending to be busy, b)they need better training/help in order to do their job and productivity has nothing to do with hours, c) we're being unfair with our expectations. The topic of culture is one that often arises here on HN, and I'd argue that there is nothing more damning to a culture than having one person on a team that checks out at 5 without realizing he/she has a team member struggling. A little 'hey, I'm about to head out, can I help you with anything?' goes a long way. In a past life I managed an interactive department, so I'm not just talking about developers here.

by nhangen 13y ago

flatline 13y ago

I'm constantly looking at the clock when the hand strikes 5 because I've got to pick up the kids from daycare. Sometimes if I finish whatever I was working on 10 minutes early, yeah, I'm checked out. What does it matter? You either do good work in the time you're at work or you don't. There are definitely places that want people to put in an appearance of slaving away as they don't know any other way to gauge productivity. The other thing I've seen (and done, in the past) is working 80+ hour weeks because everything's out of control, no one has a solid pulse on the business, and the job is a constant putting out of fires. Granted, some of this is endemic to start-up life, but if the shit is constantly flowing downhill, not a good sign.

nhangen 13y ago
But that's a completely different scenario, and one that I'm sure you would discuss with your hiring manager before accepting the position.

jetti 13y ago

"No manager (at least not me) wants to measure hours, but when an employee's production is waning, that's one of the things you CAN measure to see if that's part of the problem." How is that working for you? (Genuinely curious) I worked at a place that kept telling me they needed more hours out of me. I was already working 45 hours a week (5 more than I wanted to) and wasn't happy. I did put in more hours but they were spent surfing the internet, not working. I only stayed there for 8 months before moving on to where I am now, which is much more flexible. I get more done now in less time because I'm not feeling like I'm in a forced labor camp.

nhangen 13y ago
First and foremost, I don't worry about someone's hours at all if they are producing according to their role. During this time, I am clear on what I expect them to achieve, and I'm always open to discussion as it relates to pushing/rearranging deadlines. If I find that they aren't producing or getting things done, obviously I need to find out why. One of the things I look at is hours, which I find works well. I learn that a) this person is not only watching the clock, but being creative with ways they can avoid actually doing work while pretending to be busy, b)they need better training/help in order to do their job and productivity has nothing to do with hours, c) we're being unfair with our expectations. The topic of culture is one that often arises here on HN, and I'd argue that there is nothing more damning to a culture than having one person on a team that checks out at 5 without realizing he/she has a team member struggling. A little 'hey, I'm about to head out, can I help you with anything?' goes a long way. In a past life I managed an interactive department, so I'm not just talking about developers here.