
Why Do You Work So Hard? - yters
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/gate/archive/2005/07/08/notes070805.DTL&nl=fix
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ardit33
I joined a new company. about 40 people, semi-startup mode. I was working on
larger company (about 220+ ) people, and after going through 6 managers in two
years, with the latest being the corporate/pointy hair type, I had enough. I
stopped working hard, and I realized I needed to move on doing something more
meaningful. So I joined a small company that is in the beginning of executing
a new strategy (yes a gamble, but all startups are). I am working extra hard,
full cylinders firing. I believe "performance = ability + motivation". I have
both right now, and my work is really showing it. Here are the main motivators
for me:

1\. Green card and freedom -- The process takes long time, so I need to make
sure the company is doing good and it will be around when the process is done,
otherwise I will be in trouble. Meaning going the extra mile about everything
I do. Meaning that everything I do, is to secure the company is doing well and
will be around. For other people might be their mortgage they have to pay, or
expecting kids, or other responsibilities.

2\. Pay is good. Really good. --HR types love to say that pay is not a
motivator, but I can say for sure that low pay is sure DE-Motivator. And pay
is relative. When everybody else is getting a pay-cut,and I got a huge raise,
it makes me motivated to work extra hard to make the money they are paying
worth it. And honestly, a large pay, makes me feel more appreciated.

3\. Visibility and work relevance -- I make a huge difference in this company.
I am about 10% of the technical output of the company. I work in very
important project, and my direct performance has a lot of say on the future of
the company. When you are one of one hundred engineers, your direct
performance matters less. You can slack off (work half the time), and it only
affects .5% of the engineering output. When you are one of the 12 engines,
there is a huge responsibility on your shoulders.

4\. Management hears what I say. -- If you are good, you can truly excel and
shine in small companies/startups. My manager and director are impressed by
what I am doing, and they hear my feedback, and act on it accordingly. I am
not just a cog, replaceable widget, but a important part of the company.
Replaceable, (yes, everybody is), but at a great expense. They realize that I
am totally vested on the company's success, so my comments/suggestions are
selfless, not self-promoting, but how to get things done faster and better.

5\. Stock options -- Yes, I have a bunch of them. But they are more of a bet.
I am not planing to be rich on them (maybe the founders will), but it is nice
to know that if the company will do really well, then I get a piece of the pie
too.

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lacker
_Not long ago, the CEO of one of the largest and most powerful international
real estate firms in the nation quit his job. Stepped down. Not, as you might
imagine, for retirement and not to play more golf and not to travel the world
staying only in Four Seasons suites, but to work on rebuilding his
relationship with his estranged wife._

CEOs always say they want to spend more time with their family when they step
down. To me, it seems like good timing for the CEO of a real estate company to
step down before the current meltdown.

~~~
endtime
This is true. However, there is a difference between, "I'd like to spend more
time with my family," which is, as you say, kind of a generic excuse, and, "I
want to rebuild my relationship with my estranged wife," which is a lot more
personal and displays a level of vulnerability. Add to that the insider
comments on the touchingness of the memo and I think it's unlikely that this
was the typical generic excuse.

------
rm999
Then there's another article on the front page (From $80,000 a year to
eviction) full of stories of people leaving their jobs and then getting
screwed when they need a new one.

Not everything is as simple as "leave your crappy, back-breaking job and
you'll be happy." At the very least, you need enough money to live with some
level of comfort.

~~~
yters
Yes, people are focussing on the wrong thing here at HN:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=455233>

I say many people here are interested in startups more for the sake of
financial freedom than for making cool stuff. The startup aspects of startups
only detract from making cool stuff. So, we should be focusing more on
financial freedom.

Not in the sense of constricting all HN posts to be about financial freedom,
but at least devoting some thought to developing easy, dependable, and
efficient plans for achieving it. As of now, I have seen 0 posts, excluding my
own, on the topic. I don't expect people to jump on my bandwagon, or do my
work for me. But, I will put together a plan and post it within the next
couple months, to prove my point.

Here is my preliminary work, from awhile ago:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=122341>

------
bitwize
If you're studying for an N.D., you're not in medical school.

~~~
timr
This comment has absolutely nothing to do with the point of the article --
it's just a snarky attack on the author's sister.

~~~
natrius
You're the one who is interpreting the snark and the attack. It was a
statement of fact with no judgment at all.

~~~
timr
The comment has nothing to do with the subject of the article. It is a
criticism of one minor statement, in one sentence of a piece that has
absolutely nothing to do with medicine nor naturopathy, nor the difference
between them.

I thought that the editorial was a great piece of writing, with provocative
questions that matter deeply to most of us. Yet, of the universe of insightful
things that could have been said about the meaning of work, the American work
ethic, or the value of work/life balance, a one-line, off-topic comment has
been voted the second most insightful remark in the thread. No, it's not _ad
hominem_ (because it doesn't go so far as to discredit the author's opinion
based on his sister's degree), but it's close.

Finally, a factual correction. The author's sister could have been pursuing a
degree in pickle studies at Hamburger University for all I care; his point
would have been just as valid. But regardless of your personal feelings about
naturopathy, NDs are certified to prescribe medicines and perform surgical
procedures in at least a dozen states, and in some others, they're even
licensed to be primary care providers. That sure sounds like "medicine" to me.

------
sokoloff
Why do I work so hard?

Because I friggin' love my job! While there are parts of it that suck (like
any job), on balance it's so completely enjoyable that I have a hard time
relating to people for whom work is a grind.

------
froo
There is no mythical secret to why I work so hard, its quite simple really.

I work hard, because I enjoy what I do.

------
yters
I wrote a couple related posts recently:

Lack of financial freedom discussion on HN

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=455233>

Poll on purpose for doing a startup

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=455335>

Others from awhile ago:

A little research I've done on becoming financially free

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=122341>

Asking who gives away financial freedom

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=60793>

------
edw519
_spend 14 hours a day at the office_

What's that got to do with hard work?

The fact is, fellow hackers, as much as we'd all hate to admit it, hardly
anyone here knows squat about hard work.

Go ahead and haul those 300 barrels up to the loading dock. Or hot tar that
roof when it's 100 degrees out. Or open the restaurant every morning at 6:00
am and feed 2,000 people every day (yes, 7 days per week). And never miss a
day or you don't eat. How about painting every room in every school building
all day every day until you die. With nothing to look forward to except that
maybe, just maybe, someday your grandchildren might go to college.

Don't get me wrong: I'm grateful that I sit at a desk in a heated/air
conditioned office making something out of nothing. This was possible at no
other time in history.

But please don't confuse long hours with hard work. Too many others really
worked hard so that we wouldn't have to.

~~~
vitaminj
A little off topic, but I've always felt that physical labour is undervalued
in our society. I did some work for a removalist and that was alot harder (and
probably more satisfying) than my better-paid office job. My perfect job would
involve some blend of physical and knowledge work, but I'm sure the economists
would point out the inefficiencies of such a job.

~~~
ARobotics
A typical day for me is entirely in front of a computer screen, but has over
the past year occasionally involved physical work actually putting together a
robot. I can attest, some time away from the PC doing mechanical work can be
nice.

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srn
I've already worked 32 hours this week (I usually work a 40 hour week) and
I've been wondering that myself.I don't even really care about the money
except that if I get laid off I don't have to worry for probably a year or
so..

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foothompson
back to work.

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tdavis
Simple: so I don't have to work hard later.

Plus, web development is fun.

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njharman
I don't.

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yters
The article is fairly substance free, but I like to encourage the sentiment.

