Hacker News Reader

Comment by ido | Hacker News Reader

    Majority of tech companies require 7-day work week

I've been working as a professional programmer for the last 12 years, in 4 companies as an employee and a couple others as a consultant/freelancer. In none have I seen 7 day work weeks as a standard, nor have I heard of such from any of my many friends who also work as programmers. Am I an outlier?

PS I agree that tech companies (among others) often have a culture of overworking.

View on HN

I put answer in my comment. Here is the answer:

This 7-work week is actually based on calculation: 5 days * 10 hours per day + 5 hours on weekends (to check email). All companies I worked required 10 hours per day. 9 to 5 is not looked nice unless you don't login in the evening and "do some emails".

Which tech company has 9 to 5?

There are plenty of tech companies that are very 9 to 5. People have lives and families outside of work. I've worked at three startups now and have yet to work at one where I routinely worked long hours. Good, competent managers who have lives outside of work definitely helps.

> This 7-work week is actually based on calculation: 5 days * 10 hours per day + 5 hours on weekends (to check email). All companies I worked required 10 hours per day. 9 to 5 is not looked nice unless you don't login in the evening and "do some emails".

I cannot believe you think this is the norm for tech companies.

I've worked 9-5 type hours at three companies. At my current employer, the office is empty by 6pm.

>>Which tech company has 9 to 5?

Plenty do. In fact, outside of the startup world, 9 to 5 is probably much more common in tech than in other industries.

You poor soul. That is not the standard. I work strictly 7.5 hours a day for 5 days. Anything else = pay me more for my time.

If you are working your schedule (10 hours a day, what the actual fuck), you are being taken advantage of.

>10 hours a day, what the actual fuck

I'm confused at your balking. Perhaps because I work in finance and shit hours are the norm, but 10 hours a day is not ridiculous. I work that almost everyday unless it's a busy week.

Yeah, finance. That explains it.

I'm in finance...

What do you do in finance?

I develop internal applications in the investment banking sector.

Ah, by in finance I meant working directly in finance. I work as a financial analyst.

Even my buddies who work directly as analysts pack their shit up at a certain time. I guess it's just that we have great management that cares for us. It's our banks policy to very strictly enforce work life balance. You get scolded if you do too much over time, regardless if things aren't getting done.

I would like to clarify that I would love to work 40 hours a week. I was only saying that 50 hours isn't exactly horrible.

I used to slightly better hours in Hong Kong, but now I hear it has got worse (i.e., other have echoed the 10 hours per day number that you mentioned). I was offered an Executive Director role at a big bank and could not get myself to say 'yes' because we all know what that means : blackberry operator 24 x 7. :-(

any normal one

anything over 40hr is overtime and I expect to get paid for it and not to do too much of it anyhow

Reply on news.ycombinator.com