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Comment by nhangen | Hacker News Reader

Not really. I'd be more worried about hiring the wrong person and wasting valuable cash on someone that lacks the necessary work ethic to keep pace.

The same person that complains about 41 hours is the same person that wants to clock in and clock out. I want people that think about the product even when they aren't in the office. They are rare breeds sure, but IMO anything else is a waste.

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Have you ever considered that maybe the product you're making is just not that world-changing for any sane developer to work consecutive overtime for? If you asked me to work 80+ hours to cure cancer sure, but to sacrifice my life to build cute iPhone apps? Nope.

Totally. But I would never ask someone to work 80 hours unless it was very short term and/or a critical situation.

I was conflicted about what you were saying because on one hand you seem to be moderating yourself after making an extreme statement, but then this statement clarified it for me.

Not sure if you realize it, but as an employer if YOU have to ask someone to work extra for you, there are all kinds of problems here. It probably means - you treat maybe unknowingly your reports one level below you and you demand they work for you and not with you. It also probably points to a lack of leading by example. If people see you sweating, reasonable people who are interested and feel valued and believe in your goal and mission will help you out and not leave you out in the cold.

So under no healthy situation you should be asking anyone to work for 80 hours. Hire the right people and then get out of their way.

Yeah, how dare people think about their family. There's work to be done.

I've personally found that it is much easier to think about the product outside of the office when you aren't wearing yourself down with a 40-hour work week. When you hit the 40 hour mark, work dwarfs freetime (excluding sleep, of course), which I believe causes people to throw up the work / life boundary walls.

For me, when I was working 20-30 hours / week freelancing, things seemed to invert a bit -- my freetime now dwarfed my work, and I no longer felt that I wasn't taking advantage of my free time if I was thinking about work.

Also, how long do your engineers spend on non-work activities during their 8+ hour work day (including lunch and breaks)?

Edit: missing word

I think that's great. So you pay them overtime as well for this extra work? Or are you exploiting them? You can't have it both ways.

That's not really the way it works. Most people who are slaves and work those crazy hours do so because they are avoiding their home life or have low self esteem and don't realize the value of the work they're doing. I used to be that way. Now I make a lot more money and work a lot less hours.

The most passionate about your products are not by definition also the most competent. For one thing, someone that has a "cold" look at what you're doing has an intrinsic value; "love's blind" also applies when at work. You may be generalizing from your introspective view of yourself here, which may trick you one day or another.

work ethic, n: A word used by those trying to guilt others into doing what the selfish person wants.

Nice try Amy, and thanks for calling me selfish.

I'd debate you on the definition, but something tells me you aren't interested in a conversation about it.

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