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More money would make me happier. I'd give up a few Saturdays for it. One day a week is enough rest. Besides, few pleasures compare to productively working.
by jqm 11y ago
More money would make me happier. I'd give up a few Saturdays for it. One day a week is enough rest. Besides, few pleasures compare to productively working.
- ido 11y agoMore time off would make me happier. I'd give up $10k/year for it. $90k/year is enough money. Besides, few pleasures compare to spending quality time with your loved ones. So now we have two pieces of anecdotal evidence, worth exactly twice as much as one (2*0)
- jqm 11y agoSo do it. Do what makes you happy. If you aren't happy working or you don't get enough time off... change the situation. But don't spend a bunch of your life unsatisfied.
- enraged_camel 11y agoThe vast majority of Americans simply do not have that choice. They can't go to their boss and say, "hey boss, I want to take a 10% pay cut and get an extra 2 weeks off." American work culture simply doesn't allow that.
- jqm 11y agoAny smart boss with decision making power should instantly give workers an additional 2 weeks off for a 10% pay cut. (Assuming the workers work more than 20 weeks a year and their duties can be taken up by someone else). It's pure profit at that point. That aside... there is always a choice. Don't ever think otherwise. You don't have to stay there. You don't have to drive a nice car. Always a choice. It's just a matter of tradeoffs.
- voidz 11y agoIt's not profit, it's saving money. But also less production. You get my point.
- M2Ys4U 11y agoIt's only less production if you assume that productivity remains constant or decreases if you give the employee that extra time off.
- enraged_camel 11y agoAgain, easy for you to say when you're in your early 20s, single, no kids and few friends.
- jqm 11y agoI'm actually 44 years old. But sometimes I feel like I'm still in my early 20's. I credit it to staying interested and staying moving. I'm not single either. I have a great girlfriend I've lived with for over 10 years. I don't have kids and only a few close friends, so you did hit that part correctly.
- ido 11y agoI guess I didn't meet that many smart bosses then!
- ido 11y agoI am actually a freelancer, my example was not of my current situation. But while I was employed it was very hard (I didn't manage to get it despite trying for a while) to get a job as a developer for less than full time regardless of salary. Anyway that wasn't the point, my point was that stating your particular preference doesn't really add much to the conversation.
- EliRivers 11y agofew pleasures compare to productively working There is something seriously wrong here. Many, many pleasures in life are as pleasurable, or more pleasurable, than productively working. For many people, productively working is actually not pleasurable.
- wtetzner 11y agoI suppose it depends on what you enjoy doing and what job you have.
- jqm 11y agoYes... there is something seriously wrong here. If you don't enjoy your work, quit! I work because I love it. The money is a nice side benefit.
- toomuchtodo 11y agoMost of American workers don't have that choice. The tech world is an echo chamber, and it's do well to realize we are a privileged few who can dicta to our compensation (for now).
- EliRivers 11y agoDo you work in Stockholm?
- tluyben2 11y agoFew pleasures compare to earning money/kudos/badges with something you love. Productivity? Eh? I worked stacking shopping goods for supermarkets when I was 13; doing 1000 did not feel better than 200 for anyone there, including the full time staff. I understand you probably meant something else but productivity needs definition here.
- ZenoArrow 11y agoWhat's the point of earning even more money if you're too busy to spend it? There is a law of diminishing returns when it comes to money, past a certain point it's not worth the time you gave up to get it. Put it another way, when you reach retirement age, would you rather be a millionaire with health problems or a modestly rich person in great health?
- ctb_mg 11y agoCould you not potentially retire earlier? In that way you're basically "back-loading" all of your vacation time, if one could freely exchange salary for time off.
- jqm 11y agoI'm a little surprised by the negative reaction. You people don't derive pleasure from working... from the process of building things, from molding reality? I damn sure do. But then again... I'm an American.
- enraged_camel 11y agoI felt the same way when I was in my early 20s, had recently graduated from college, was single and had few friends. My idea of a good Saturday was one in which I sat at a coffee shop by myself and continued working. A decade later, my perspective has widened and my priorities have shifted. I still derive a lot of pleasure from work (even though I wouldn't describe it as "molding reality"), but I also realize that work is ultimately a means to an end, which is to spend time with my friends and loved ones and/or develop my hobbies.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- cpach 11y agoPlease don’t make personal attacks here on HN.
- yodsanklai 11y agoIt's not contradictory at all. One can derive pleasure from working, and still enjoy their free time. The good thing about free time is that you can use it to build things if that's what you want. And don't forget that most people don't have the luxury of an enjoyable job.
- tluyben2 11y agoThat last point is debatable in the Western world but yes it holds globally.
- Daishiman 11y agoSure, I derive pleasure from work. But I don't work for free, and I would rather be doing a lot of other things that are more enjoyable, but less profitable, than working.
- Cthulhu_ 11y agoWhat I gather left and right, and from the story linked, is that in the US, working more hours does not equal more income. Maybe if you're a freelancer that can charge by the hours, but given the US's horrid worker protection, what is an employee in the US might as well be considered a temporary freelancer in other countries. I'd probably work Saturdays if I got paid by the hour, but at the same time, if I did and it was a decent income I'd probably opt to work less - and I don't even have a family.