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Comment by knodi123 | Hacker News Reader

Imagine you worked only two days a week, but 18 hours a day. Assume you're young and flexible enough to survive that, and you have a cot in the office. Would you want to do that? How much dread would you feel the day before your shift started?

I think the point of the linked article is that the same reason that makes you recoil at that, and the same reasons that would make these coming hell-days so dread-inducing- those same reasons apply to an 8-hour day, just to a lesser degree.

It's not about extending the weekend as much as possible, it's about shortening the part of each workday that you're "working", and reducing the mental burden of each individual workday.

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I know some doctors who have work schedules very similar to what you describe. Working around 10 days a month, but for really long shifts, around 16-18 hours (for example 15 to 8 is typical in rural health clinics, so that there is someone to cover emergencies while the doctors with the "standard" 8 to 15 schedule are not working).

Not everyone likes that schedule, but some really prefer it and actively choose it over more "standard" schedules. Especially those who have small children. They have around 20 days a month to be with their children as long as needed, and only have to worry about whom to leave them with during the other 10 days. Couples where both are doctors, and both have this time table, have the kids problem fully solved by just picking different days to work.

18 hours does not work. But 10-11 is ok, as long as it is not 5 days per week. The trick is to have a long pause in the middle, like 1 hour for lunch and small walk (perhaps to a nice restaurant nearby).

This is how it works in Moscow. A person comes to work at 9, has a long lunch/pause from 2 to 3 and then leave at 8. As an added bonus late in the evening traffic jams are reduced and the underground is no longer overcrowded so it is faster to get home.

Not for me, there is no way I can produce anything for 11 hours at a time, no matter how rested I am.

But this is not 11 hours at a time. It is 5-6 hours of work, long pause for 1 or 1.5 hours and then work for another 5 hours.

There won't be a universally appealing solution. I have had this discussion with colleagues and most agree a 4x10 week is preferable to the 5x8 work week.

For employees, sure. For productivity? Very very doubtful.

No, I mean for productivity as well. 10 hour days (for many) aren't all that taxing.

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