2 ms·

"I think people bristling about long work hours are doing so because they haven't found something that makes them feel this way." Or maybe they just don't like

by joesmo 11y ago

"I think people bristling about long work hours are doing so because they haven't found something that makes them feel this way." Or maybe they just don't like being forced to work for free. What you're saying is that employees should be glad that they get a chance to work overtime for free. They should be glad to be victims in other words. That's just insane.

lostcolony 11y ago
Well, he -did- say "I am always of the opinion that if you're not willing to put in a ton of hours, there's someone just as smart and focused at you that is." Mind you, another wise man once said "there's a sucker born every minute", and psychologists have identified Stockholm Syndrome as being a thing, so he could be right.
- joesmo 11y ago
  It's likely there is someone just as smart and focused as me that is willing to put in the long hours. The problem is finding that person, and once you find that person and you work them to the bone for a couple of weeks, they will not be as smart or as focused no matter where they started out at. They will continue to deteriorate till their output is of lower quality than average, even if they were brilliant at first. This is the point most manager, founders, owners, and executives that support working their employees overtime intentionally miss. There is no way a human being can keep up quality work being sleep deprived and working around the clock. Even a little sleep deprivation and a bit of extra overtime will take its toll after a few weeks. That will happen even if you pay employees overtime, which most companies and proponents of overtime are vehemently against because the real reason they demand it is because they want to exploit free labor along the lines of temporary slavery. No wonder there is so much shitty code out there, especially at startups and other companies that love to overwork their employees without paying them. Then they call it "technical debt," as if there was anything technical about depriving employees of sleep, health, and their life outside the company. And finally, to top it all off, they want us, the employees, to enjoy being worked overtime and having our health ruined and our time stolen. The delusions of management and executives in this area is incredible. But I don't think it's fair to call employees willing to subject themselves to this suckers, only the ones who do so knowingly and willingly. Many people simply don't have other choices or have other obligations (family, mortgage) that make changing jobs difficult. Others, especially young people, just don't realize what they're doing to themselves until they burn out or are too caught up in the social "coolness" of it.

by joesmo 11y ago

lostcolony 11y ago

Well, he -did- say "I am always of the opinion that if you're not willing to put in a ton of hours, there's someone just as smart and focused at you that is." Mind you, another wise man once said "there's a sucker born every minute", and psychologists have identified Stockholm Syndrome as being a thing, so he could be right.

joesmo 11y ago
It's likely there is someone just as smart and focused as me that is willing to put in the long hours. The problem is finding that person, and once you find that person and you work them to the bone for a couple of weeks, they will not be as smart or as focused no matter where they started out at. They will continue to deteriorate till their output is of lower quality than average, even if they were brilliant at first. This is the point most manager, founders, owners, and executives that support working their employees overtime intentionally miss. There is no way a human being can keep up quality work being sleep deprived and working around the clock. Even a little sleep deprivation and a bit of extra overtime will take its toll after a few weeks. That will happen even if you pay employees overtime, which most companies and proponents of overtime are vehemently against because the real reason they demand it is because they want to exploit free labor along the lines of temporary slavery. No wonder there is so much shitty code out there, especially at startups and other companies that love to overwork their employees without paying them. Then they call it "technical debt," as if there was anything technical about depriving employees of sleep, health, and their life outside the company. And finally, to top it all off, they want us, the employees, to enjoy being worked overtime and having our health ruined and our time stolen. The delusions of management and executives in this area is incredible. But I don't think it's fair to call employees willing to subject themselves to this suckers, only the ones who do so knowingly and willingly. Many people simply don't have other choices or have other obligations (family, mortgage) that make changing jobs difficult. Others, especially young people, just don't realize what they're doing to themselves until they burn out or are too caught up in the social "coolness" of it.