Re:Microsoft's dystopian pitch for remote work
by malyk on Friday November 15, 2013 @12:59PM
(#6740923)
To be honest, I'm also someone who doesn't mind jumping online to fix something quickly in off hours. But I think the ad that prompted the post by dhh is part of a trend in our society that is only going to get worse. It's ok for you and me who can find a job in a week, but that isn't most people. Most people don't have the option of telling their boss that it's after hours. They'll lose their job, or significantly endanger their job/raise/bonus/performance eval/etc. if they do so.
There has been an amazing increase in productivity over the last 20+ years, but all it's led to is companies making their employees do more. The ads just reinforce that this is ok. That you are at the mercy of your job 24/7/365. It's a disturbing trend.
I love what I do - when something comes up at 11PM or 4AM I'm jumping, not groaning, to the phone. I can reciprocate that by reserving the option to take long lunches and spontaneous time off when I am not needed. It is a mix of gradients, not a balance of discretes.
>What could you possibly do at 10pm one night when a client declares bankruptcy? Deal with it in the morning.
Get a stay put on an account which, as it happened, had a large withdrawal by international wire scheduled for the morning.
Everything doesn't need to propel you from your seat. But I find value in being able to triage. This is not for everyone - I am slow to get stressed or agitated and can sleep on an urgent-in-the-morning-but-not-tonight issue. I also work with smart people - they don't shove their bad planning onto my evening.