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Comment by etagobla | Hacker News Reader

I wish I knew how common it was to have a full-time job but only work for a fraction of that time.

My last software job was supposedly 40 hours/week. I'd usually come in for two hours and leave. They wouldn't be an intense two hours either. Once in a while I'd stay all day. Based on what I hear from my friends from university, this experience is not the median but it's not uncommon either.

Many managers really don't know how to manage. Morale goes down the shitter, and unless you have children it's unlikely you'll care about getting caught.

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It's a management problem. We have that "problem" where I work - the sprints and tickets are set up such that I can afford to work ~2-3 hours a day. I spend the rest learning new tech for my next job.

I'm not even a hard worker but having so little to do gets old and boring quickly.

These stories seem so weird to me! Everywhere I’ve worked, there has been 3-5X more development work needed to do than engineers to do it, so we had to always be prioritizing and only doing what absolutely was necessary to ship. Is there not even a bug backlog where you work? I’ve never seen a workplace like this honestly!

Unless you’re taking a 2 week task and estimating 2 years or something, and then just goofing off in the slack time, which I’d consider... somewhat less than ethical?

> Everywhere I’ve worked, there has been 3-5X more development work needed to do than engineers to do it

If the deadlines are reasonable I wouldn't care. If they aren't, it's time to start reviewing glassdoor before finding a job.

I've worked in both types of places and reasonable places in between.

In some roles you have to fight for work because different departments are fighting for org budgets. Some places are afraid to make code changes so you go to meetings while some people signoff others raise random issues with the project. Scheduling the project takes months. Then months of finding the perfect slot to release.

I also been in places that bill every 15 minutes. All client billing time was added up and should equal 8 hours. But there were never enough hours to go around. And clients would nickel and dime over hours.

With employers I'm not sure ethical matters as long as a need is met. But be ethical to yourself. Always work hard learn and grow because the industry changes.

I concur, I've never worked anywhere that didn't have a continuous stream of work available to work on. I think it contributes to the burnout a bit, at least until you find a way to look at it differently. Because it feels like there is never a "finished" state to the job. You could in theory always do more.

That's like, the vast majority of jobs. And what that means is that there's no point in working hard to rush through ultimately useless work or work that adds less value.

Just focus on doing what's important in a timely basis and happily deprioritize the useless stuff.

___

What industry do you work in?

I guess most people just dilute the effective 2-3 hours of work in 8 hours, to seem busy without getting overworked...

E.g. I would be happier if I could work fully focussed for 3-4 hours and then go home, instead of working at a slow pace for 8 hours so I don't get tired after 4.

If I could honest 4 works, hard, and then go home, without worrying about emails coming in or server alerts or whatever, I think I'd be very happy and very productive for that time. I can't say the same now - even when I'm off I'm still at least partially thinking about being on.

> 3-5X more development work needed

This is also by and large a mindset you foster. There are plenty of companies where you have engineers on both ends of the spectrum (both having a lot of leisure time and little).

You are describing it as an unpleasant place to work, but what's the background to this?

If you are keeping up with your commitments, and the company is not crashing, is morale the main problem?

My point is that the "5-hour workday" might be more common than many of us think.

My employer is about to start a 10hr workday 4 days a week. Essentially all errands, chores, and kid time will get shuffled to the weekend i suspect.

Have you taught your kids about the benefits of fasting? xD

I am a proponent of fasting actually. I am curious about the effects on tiny people in growth spurts.

Basically you use carbohydrates, fat, and protein to make energy and when you don't eat those things you don't have energy. Really interesting stuff.

This feels like a flippant, uninformed comment. When you don’t eat those for a 2-3 day window your body ramps up energy production through stored fat. So I’d say you still have energy.

I've tried both eating a little often and a lot very little and from the experiences of me and everyone I have ever spoken to in the flesh about this, it really is as simple as "more energy when you eat more".

Fasting won't give you mountains of physical pep. Sure, there is that golden time after you have done it for a while where you get great mental clarity and you feel good but you will not be voluntarily running laps or pushing your absolute peak weight in the gym.

That barrier is something you'll always feel, even if you're not pushing the limits. The fact of the matter is that barrier is closer when you are fasting.

Stored fat in a teenager going through a growth spurt??

Their bodies (and brains) are doing a lot more developing than just growth spurting, which is why such a teenager can eat huge portions[0] per day and not put on any fat at all. Because their bodies use it all up, because of all the transformations and puberty things going on.

I would suggest, in that stage, just giving the body everything it craves, and worry about the benefits of fasting later.

[0] obviously doesn't hold in parts of the world where these are considered "normal" portions.

I'm not responding to this because it seems like you really don't realize how vapid your comment is. If you want to learn more, please open a book, don't read internet forum research.

I can't imagine you'd want to calorie starve the human body when it needs the calories the most. I guess if you could get all the calories you need while you're un-fasted and can store it all as fat for when you do need it, maybe that would work, but we know that caloric deficits in childhood lead to reduced growth. I really can't see a good argument for children fasting.

"...Morale goes down the shitter, and unless you have children it's unlikely you'll care about getting caught. ..."

Instead of bitching about morale it is best to see it as an opportunity. Use time to better yourself, find new job, start your own business etc. etc.

As for how well it plays for the business owners, it is their problem, not yours.

The topic of the thread was the 5 hour workday. I proposed that the 5 hour workday already exists in the form of shitty managers.

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