Re:Ask HN: What is the dark side of working at a successful ...
by rimliu on Monday September 17, 2018 @04:45AM
(#18004169)
I increasingly see "long hours and a lot of work" as a cargo-cult of startups. Almost everyone talks how this should be this way if you want to be successful, but where is the data?
Alas, the only counterexample I know is Basecamp built with DHH spending 10hr/week on it.
Re:Ask HN: What is the dark side of working at a successful ...
by growthexecutive on Monday September 17, 2018 @07:18AM
(#18004828)
Agreed. Most startup founders I've seen "complain" about having to work 12 hour days, 6 days a week but in reality they are wasting a lot of time doing nothing and could get the same amount of work done in a 40 hour week. They then go on to complain about it but in reality they think it shows how tough they are for being able to do this.
Re:Ask HN: What is the dark side of working at a successful ...
by newscracker on Tuesday September 18, 2018 @12:21AM
(#18012448)
You're right. The larger question is how many productive hours people are putting in (which is not easy to measure) and what they're actively doing about reducing the number of hours by improving productivity, efficiency, automation, etc.
Constant firefighting is not what any workplace should be about for a long period of time.
So one dark side is looking back years later and realizing that all those long hours and reward (money) were probably not worth as much as lost relationships and time outside of work.
I don’t like the term “work life balance”, but the lack of it can immensely cause long term issues...many irreversible because there’s no time machine.
Basically, if your work is taking your attention or keeping you away for more than 8 hours a day and also adding continuous stress for a long enough time, then some other things in life have to give...those things usually cannot be replaced effectively at a later time.