Should you work >40 hrs a week to be successful?
Tobi Lukte's (Shopify CEO) take on this topic. Your thoughts? https://twitter.com/tobi/status/1210242184341000192?s=19 His take: - He started a billion dollar Co as far from SV as possible, in Ottawa Canada. So his perception on companies was very different from a startup these days. - He never worked through the night, and rarely past 40 hr weeks. - Thinks it's OK to procrastinate as it's part of the experience of being human. We're not robots, after all. Im interested in this topic because I personally burnt out terribly (I thought it would never happen to me!). And I'm not alone - I see so many colleagues/friends suffering from anxiety or depression due this idea that you have to kill yourself to be successful. Maybe you do, for a period of time. But I also don't think you can generalize that approach to life for everyone. Sustainability (building relationships that last a lifetime, building products thoughfully) > Move fast and break things (how well did that work for FB? 🤔) #worklifebalance #career
Listen to @DHH on the topic
For many of us who are not genius, we need to work more just to cover the same amount of work than geniuses do in 8 hours.
You don't have to be a genius to be successful by working 40 hours or less. You'll have days where you'll have to burn the midnight oil but if it is the norm, you are doing it wrong.
Well at google i can certainly work less. I may not ever be promoted
Interesting poll results, because it doesn't really match the overall sentiments from Blind threads 🤔
Maybe we know what the "right" approach should be, but still struggle to execute
There was a great HBR article on how devestating life can be for those whose identity is wrapped up in work. Working more than 40 hours all the time is not healthy.
whats the article? would love to have a read
https://hbr.org/2019/12/what-happens-when-your-career-becomes-your-whole-identity
Depends on what successful is and what you’re working towards. If it’s working for someone else indefinitely than definitely not.
You're working at the wrong place if you need to constantly work more than 40 hours. Burn out is no joke
I will give you my experience. I used to work at AWS and was burnt out like hell. Every day I had to convince myself to go to office. Whenever I had a task, my whole energy would go in finding ways to finish the task as quickly as possible. I easily was working 10 hrs a day and sometimes on weekend(on-call). My personal life ruined and I was cranky all the time. I moved to G. It is a lot better. Sometimes I just sit in sunlight and eat my lunch, and enjoy every part of it. I am much more productive. I rarely WFH in G, because I feel more comfortable in office then at home. In G also, I am working around 8-10 hrs because I just like working and coding. But the difference is nobody is forcing me to work. My suggestion would be to leave your job. Tech industry has job options like no other industry so try to find a job with wlb and decent pay. And you know what, I am earning more and getting promoted faster in G, because I am lot more productive. I am able to showcase my full potential. Leave your company and you will be amazed to see yourself doing better in every aspect of your life.
Find a job you love and stop worrying what other people think. 🤷♂️ I work long hours when I enjoy my job. I don’t work long hours when I hate my job.
Depends on what success means to you.
FYI Tobi is a billionaire
Again, it depends on what success means to you...