Hacker News Reader

Comment by reidjs | Hacker News Reader

I think it makes sense to have people available for regular hours, just so that if I ask someone a question I can expect a response today-ish. But, I agree that a lot of meetings should be emails, teambuilding events are usually poorly done, and procrastination is hard to avoid when you've got access to the internet.

Minor nitpick: Is an hour long lunch really that bad?

View on HN

I think the point is not that there’s something wrong with hour long lunches, but that people have to find ways to fill up their day if they’re expected to be “at work” for 8 hours a day and can only be productive for a fraction of that.

As a “productive” software engineer, in the sense that I have gotten positive feedback in my career and never had a problem “getting enough done” to satisfy my superiors, it took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I cannot productively apply myself to work for 40 hours a week. When I have to be in the office for that long, I end up slacking off for hours and hours (like reading HN). I thought for a long time that maybe I was just flying under the radar and I would eventually “get caught” but at this point I’ve made peace with the fact that my productivity comes in bursts and as long as my employer is happy with my output I don’t sweat it too much.

I learn lots of valuable stuff from hn. Its onepadt slacking, one part continuous learning

I’m the same way. I’m very efficient - when I get in an actual full day of coding it’s amazingly productive, but my usual output is still enough to satisfy my manager.

Over here lunch time is not part of worktime. Per law we need to have at least half an hour for lunch, but we can take however long (if the company allows). Dunno how it is in other countries. (I am from austria, europe)

Yeah, and hour long lunch is pretty long. Most people I know take less time than that to eat at a restaurant, let alone just grabbing your sandwich from the fridge.

Most developed countries have enforced hour long lunch breaks. Grabbing your sandwich from the fridge and eating at your desk is shunned.

I can't speak for other developed countries but here in the UK it is very much company- and industry-dependent. At my first 4-5 jobs (mostly in the finance sector), everyone ate at their desks. At my current employer (FAANG), no one does.

Have you ever been to Central/South America or Europe? ;-)

When I started, my team took two hour lunches

> grabbing your sandwich from the fridge

Get out of the building, take the bicycle to a park to eat, take a small nap and read a book, come back to the office fresh and mind reset.

This was my routine before I switched to WFH. Official hours where 9h to 12h, then 14h to 18h. 35h workweek, 2h lunch break, (France).

35h workweek is absolutely great, but I personally wouldn't fancy a two-hour lunch break. Would _much_ rather take a shorter lunch and get out of the office earlier.

(Just highlighting that different people have different preferences. :))

Lunch isn't just about refuelling, I can eat at my desk and keep working if that was the case. It's about taking a break.

Also, for some of us it's normal to go to a restaurant or to the pub for lunch. It's been years since I've eaten a packed lunch.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com