Early in my so-called career I used to work very long hours. At my first "real" job -- technical writer at computer maker Data General --it was because with no formal training in computer science, or programming, or technical writing, I really didn't know what the hell I was doing, and I was starting late -- I was 27 or 28 years old. So, like the Red Queen, I had to run hard just to stay in place. I didn't want to get fired, and I had a lot to learn. But remember also, Data General was the place memorialized by Tracy Kidder in his book Soul of a New Machine, which described pretty accurately both the cynical manipulation of young computer engineers by management, along the lines of "churn 'em & burn 'em", and the willing collusion of the young engineers in their own manipulation. The "Hardy Boys" & "Microkids" of Data General were willing to work around the clock for months on end because of the rush they got from it. It might just be the puritan work ethic, so-called, but signing on does provide positive re-enforcement, not just negative/guilt pressure. Tom West, the central figure in Soul of a New Machine, described it as 'pinball'. Your reward for winning is that you get to play again, nothing more than that.
After Data General I worked at a succession of companies in their start-up phases, where working around the clock was more or less expected, but there was the added incentive of big stock options, so if the company succeeded you might get rich. None of those companies is still in existence. At only one of them, Sun Microsystems, where I worked for nearly nine years, did my stock options amount to anything. I generally cashed in my options every year or two, and they netted me about $5,000 (perhaps $10,000 in today's money)/year. Certainly welcome money, but nothing close to the scale of making me rich. But in every other case my stock options proved worthless, or nearly so (I made $2,000, total, from my MassComp stock). [I tried to capture the dynamics of the hacker rush/burnout curve in my novel Acts of the Apostles, for whatever that's worth.] I cannot imagine any scenario in which I would willingly work that way for anybody else again. Although I might work that hard for myself, if I felt inspired & thought I had a good idea. jrs On Mar 19, 2012, at 10:15 AM, Eugen Leitl wrote: > On Mon, Mar 19, 2012 at 07:31:45PM +0530, Sruthi Krishnan wrote: > >> Reminded me of the manager I encountered fresh out of college who >> sincerely believed that staying at the workplace from 8 am to 10 pm is >> a minimum requirement to build character. And as far as I know, IT >> firms continue to live by this ethic. Are there any exceptions out >> there? > > It seems more like the trappings of protestant/puritan work ethic. > Many europeans see long working hours as self-defeating. >
