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Comment by grawprog | Hacker News Reader

I work six days a week. I leave my house at 7am return home around 7pm, pretty much have time to make dinner and chill for an hour so then go to bed and do it again. I haven't really been out and done anything for a few years now. My body is in pain constantly, I'm always exhausted but my sleep is always poor. I don't remember what it's like to not feel burnt out. It's been like this pretty much since I was in my early twenties and I'm in my thirties now and there doesn't seem to be much in the way of this stopping any time soon.

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That's not healthy. Please take some time off for a vacation and return to a normal 40 hour work week.

There's a good reason why people fought for a 40 hour work week. Life is not just about work; you need to relax too.

I refuse to work more than 32 hours a week, and that's working out very well for me. I have time for my hobbies, my kids, my friends and family, and I have time to just do nothing at all on occasion. And the hours I do work are very productive as a result. Admittedly my current project is so interesting that I often work a bit more than 32 hours, but it's because I want to, not because I have to.

> Please take some time off for a vacation and return to a normal 40 hour work week.

You might as well say "Please win the lottery".

Seriously though, please tell me you're not so out of touch with reality that you actually believe the sentence you wrote is meaningful advice. People can't just snap their fingers and create a better job out of thin air.

For technically inclined people in the United States, it can be. It's just a matter of whether or not you want to maximize your income or maximize your quality of life. It is definitely possible to get a tech job at a large company where work-life balance is taken seriously.

> It is definitely possible to get a tech job at a large company where work-life balance is taken seriously.

For a few, not for the majority.

It is definitely possible to get a tech job at a large company where work-life balance is taken seriously.

It's possible, but as a more "average" level developer, it's pretty difficult to actually get hired at one of those companies.

People should and people have. A century ago, unions declared massive strikes for these and other issues.

A normal, sane job is not as rare as winning the lottery. Entire countries have people working very normal, sane hours. Americans need to stop tolerating these ridiculously long hours. Do 8 hours of good work for 5 days a week, then relax, sleep well, so you start your next day well-rested and ready to deliver another 8 hours of good work. This is a sane balance. Working more than you rest is not. Sacrificing your health and your life for your employer is idiocy.

> Sacrificing your health and your life for your employer is idiocy.

What would you suggest they do, work less so they can be homeless, starving and uninsured?

You really need to open your eyes and see the world outside your little bubble.

Sacrificing your health and your life for your employer is idiocy.

Hardly anyone is sacrificing their health and lives for an employer. They are doing it for the money and hopefully insurance.

That’s basically what’s going on in Chile right now. Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way...

I assume you sacrifice income to do this? How does that negotiation typically go? Or are you self employed?

I'm self-employed and work as freelancer. We negotiate my hourly rate, not how many hours I will work. I've never sacrificed any income to do this, because I've been doing this since long before I became a freelancer, and I make way more now than I did then. I have once refused an otherwise very interesting job because they refused to accept a 4-day work week. Their loss.

I have a decent job, but I have student loans, I live in an expensive city and don't really have the ability to move elsewhere, at least half my cheque goes to rent each month, much of the rest goes towards bills and essentials. The overtime I work is the thing that lets me save money at all, otherwise I'd be living cheque to cheque.

So what's your plan? If you're looking for ideas to save more, I only have one, which is to live with another person (or add more if you already do so) to further cut rent and other bills.

What country are you in? Obviously not USA by the use of the word cheque, but USA kind of work hours.

If you're a developer, in the USA, and you don't work on your life's work...why? There are limitless companies where you can put your 40 in and not literally burn yourself out to death.

I did this for years and years and developed a blister on my retina from the never ending stress. Permanent vision problems. It's not worth it!

Can you let us know the actual medical term and how was this linked to stress?

there is a lot of research these days about autoimmune diseases and how they are triggered by stress, but retina blisters is something I never heard about before.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_serous_retinopathy

Why are you working six days a week? At some point you have to say “no” or your employer will suck your life out of you.

what do you do?

Program and operate CNC machines.

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