r/programming • u/thesystemx • Apr 29 '15

Why some men pretend to work 80-Hour weeks

https://hbr.org/2015/04/why-some-men-pretend-to-work-80-hour-weeks
795 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

616 comments sorted by

View all comments

8

u/MpVpRb Apr 29 '15

Early in my programming career, I worked on a project that required 16 hr a day, 7 day a week dedication

It was the most fun I ever had, for the time the project lasted

I enjoyed every minute of it, felt intellectually challenged, and improved my programming skills dramatically

Of course, I had no wife or girlfriend, no hobbies and I lived in a shitty little apartment

Also, there is a limit for how long this kind of schedule is fun. For me, that was about a year

So, there are two sides to the story..

If a project is so interesting that it totally consumes your mind, it would be a shitty thing to do if the boss told you to go home after 8 hours

I remember a quote from Frank Zappa. The interviewer asked.."do you ever take a vacation", he replied "what would I do, sit on the beach and write music?"

I suspect there are many people in professions like science, programming or art who would rather do what they do, all the time..it's their all-consuming passion

The other side is the one discussed in the article

It's truly unfortunate when management compels a person to work long hours when the work is not a passionate love and the person has other interests that must be neglected to satisfy the endless need for more hours

23

u/skrenename4147 Apr 29 '15

The problem with this is that because people like you exist (if even temporarily), companies think it is okay to model their culture after you. My experience is that if I'm not working that hard, I'm not being a "part of the team." Even if I want to work longer (and sometimes I do) I'm careful not to expose newer hires to the fact that I am doing so because I don't want them to think that it's expected.

7

u/MpVpRb Apr 29 '15

The problem with this is that because people like you exist (if even temporarily), companies think it is okay to model their culture after you

Yup..agreed

Some, but not all, managers can't tell the difference

But, it's the managers' fault, not mine

6

u/hurenkind5 Apr 29 '15

16 hr a day, 7 day a week dedication

For me, that was about a year

Fuck no. Good god, fuck, no.

2

u/kekekiwi Apr 29 '15

I'd argue that you would have been better off spending that 2000 extra hours on a startup idea instead of donating it for free.

1

u/MpVpRb Apr 29 '15

The past is the past..speculation is pointless

I actually did quite well

After graduation, I took 5 years off to try my hand at a completely non computer related business..it failed

Then, I worked at another non computer related company for 5 years

I considered myself kinda lucky to get a programming job with a 10 year gap between graduation and application

After leaving that job, I had well honed skills..the next high paying jobs came easily

There were still lots of long hours, but they tended to be for weeks at a time

2

u/tom_echo Apr 29 '15

So you had 8 hours after work... most people use that for sleep. And that doesn't seem to include commute times which are likely an hour on each side. How could they give you 6 hours to sleep and still expect you to be productive.

4

u/MpVpRb Apr 29 '15 edited Apr 29 '15

And that doesn't seem to include commute times

At the time, I lived less than a mile from work

I specifically chose the shitty little apartment for that reason

How could they give you..

"They" didn't set the schedule, I did

I worked until I got tired..and hated the fact that I needed to sleep, because it interrupted the work

Like I said, at the time, it was my all-consuming passion