
Forbes misses the point of the 4-day work week - terpua
http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/1209-forbes-misses-the-point-of-the-4-day-work-week
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swombat
Well, that's not really a fair criticism of Forbes, in this case.

Yes, Forbes "misses the point" of the "4-day workweek" as preached by
37-signals... but there's a good reason for that: they weren't talking about
that version of the 4-day workweek.

The Forbes article clearly refers to a 4-day-workweek scheme instituted by
Chrysler, not 37-signals - and their analysis of why it's a load of bollocks
is pretty much spot on. Forbes hasn't missed the point - Chrysler has..
assuming they were even aware of the existence of that point in the first
place, which I doubt.

Here we have a case of two things called by the same terms but referring to
very different initiatives.

Ironically, I think 37-signals missed the point that the article wasn't about
them!

~~~
alex_c
So, the article is 37signals missing the point about Forbes not actually
missing the point of Chrysler missing the point of the 4-day workweek?

~~~
swombat
I think you hit the point on the head.

------
KirinDave
At this last RailsConf we were introduced to the concept of the 4-day workweek
by DHH, and the audience snickered. Many of us are working small companies and
startups. The 4-day workweek is definitely a luxury I never could enjoy during
my times in small startups.

Not only that, but a little bird inside 37s told me that the true 4-day work
week works for only a few people at 37s while a few other people put in long,
hard hours getting a lot of the tedious work of maintaining a body of software
done.

If they keep playing at this, DHH is going to exemplify a new icon of the
Pointy Haired Boss. The thing that's most frustrating about that is that DHH
is actually pretty good at what he does (meaning framework capture), and if he
focused more he'd be a lot better and we'd see a lot more good features out of
products of 37s.

~~~
gruseom
_the true 4-day work week works for only a few people at 37s while a few other
people put in long, hard hours getting a lot of the tedious work of
maintaining a body of software done_

If that's true, it's significant. It would mean that what they're saying is
bullshit, no?

~~~
KirinDave
No.

What it means is that its not axiomatic. Sometimes you need to roll the hard 8
(or more appropriately work the hard 80) to get things done. Other times when
there isn't quite so much on the line it makes sense to keep your workload
lower.

Our profession is very subject to burnout and requires a _lot_ of education to
keep up. Taking time off is valuable for peak cognitive function.

That said, DHH may take it too far. And I know it would frustrate the hell out
of me if I heard DHH talking about the 4-day work week while I was working on
the things he is almost unconsciously refusing to do.

~~~
gruseom
_Sometimes you need to roll the hard 8 (or more appropriately work the hard
80) to get things done. Other times when there isn't quite so much on the line
it makes sense to keep your workload lower._

But that's not at all what they're saying.

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axod
It'd be nice to move away from obsessive hour counting. It's like measuring a
programmers worth in terms of lines of code produced. Give people the freedom
to work when they like, and have good measurements in place to ensure they are
achieving what they should be.

~~~
blogimus
A problem is that there are many of us who work by the billable hour for
companies that are legally liable if hours reporting is found not to be
accurate.

~~~
LogicHoleFlaw
I think accurate measurement of _time spent_ and accurate measurement of
_results achieved_ are two separate issues.

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mynameishere
Lots of factories have 12 hour swing shifts.

What I've done in the past is have a 6-day workweek, with Friday and Saturday
being 1/2 days. I really liked it, but most people don't have a pleasant walk
to work like I do, so the commute is a net loss.

------
sysop073
Wow. This got posted to HN 20 minutes after the original Forbes story.
Impressive

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=281512>

------
ideas101
forget 4-day work week - think about the sub-culture of 4-Hour workweek...

read the book "The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the
New Rich"

~~~
Hexstream
Ah yes, yet another "Get Rich Quick Without Working" scheme. The world needs
that.

