
Ask HN: I work less than what my contract says - combinator123
- I work as a developer (I&#x27;m not a contractor).<p>- My contract says that I have to work 40h per week.<p>- I work between 35 and 40 hours per week instead.<p>- I&#x27;m delivering what is expected, and from time to time my boss says that I&#x27;m doing a good job.<p>I commented this situation to a friend that is also a developer (working in another company) and he thinks it is unethical. I think it is not: I do my best to accomplish my tasks, but after 6 or 7 hours of being in the office I cannot focus anymore, I cannot work.<p>What&#x27;s your opinion?
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taway_1212
My policy - you can do whatever you want, incl. working 30 minutes per day, as
long as your boss is happy with your performance. If at any time the boss
points out that you're not as efficient as he'd like, you can choose to either
work harder or find another job.

This approach makes the job contract fair - the boss pays you the minimum
amount (or close to it) that you find acceptable, and in exchange you work the
minimum amount (or close to it) that he considers acceptable. No reasonable
businessman expects you to be killing yourself while working for him - they
certainly can _hope_ that you will, but they know that it requires a sucker.

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marktangotango
A lot of people think like OPs coworker, it’s a surprisingly polarizing topic.
Personally I think anyone who thinks writing a lot of code (irrespective of
time) is a good thing is misguided at best.

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zer00eyz
A long time ago I handed a rather hefty bill to my boss (240 hours in a
month).

He called me in later that day to ask WTF, and I reminded him that most of
those hours were spent working in HIS office. It was a crazy situation and we
were in the thick of it together. After that I stated that I wasn't billing
for thinking about our problems on my commute or in the shower (where all
great ideas come from).

Work doesn't always start and end at the office door for many of us - I could
easily justify 10 outside the office hours every week, but I am not everyone
and I can't/dont often bill for that time.

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orcs
My opinion is that your friend needs to get a grip.

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1000units
I hope he does. To think like a slave does terrible things to a man.

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BjoernKW
The kind of thinking according to which this is unethical is the root of
presenteeism and a butt-in-seats culture, which values time wasted over value
created.

Paying someone by the hour while expecting results that can't be measured in
terms of time spent is the actual unethical elephant in the room.

While technically working for less than the time stipulated in the contract is
unethical, you could ask yourself: What's more beneficial to your employer and
more in line with the meaning of the contract? Someone actually working for
just 35 (instead of 40) hrs or someone just "doing their time" and not
achieving anything during that time at all? My guess is, your employer would
agree that it's the former. Unfortunately though, it's the latter that's quite
common.

The only way to properly resolve this conflict is to pay people by the results
they deliver not by the time they spend to achieve these results.

n.b.: As a contractor / freelancer the situation would be different. Ideally,
in that case you aren't paid by the hour anyway but in terms of value-based
pricing. If you are paid by your time, there's usually no fixed weekly amount.
So, as long as you deliver good work you simply get paid the number of hours
or days you've actually spent rather than some imaginary number.

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uvw
Not sure how correct, but I read somewhere some time ago that a developer is
productive for around only two hours per work day.

I rarely worked as contractor, but at most of the places I worked at, if I did
my work on or before the deadline, nobody cared what I did. If I finished work
early and volunteered for more, then I got better reviews and raises. Unless
you are working retail, the hours shouldn't matter much.

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cwt
Are you getting paid for 40h a week when you work less? If yes, enjoy the
extra free time. If no, talk to your boss.

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visox
Man i dont think i am working even 35 hours lol.

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Jeremy1026
My previous job had us billing up to 6 hours a day, and thought any more than
that was impossible due to lunch, bathroom, general tom-foolery, etc. My
current job doesn't do timesheets (we are our client) and I don't think any of
the engineers do a "40 hour week". Probably averages close to 35 depending on
whats going on.

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dangerface
> I'm delivering what is expected

Your friend is a tool.

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patatino
And what if you accomplish more in those 35 hours than your friend in 40? Ask
him what he thinks about that.

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HiroshiSan
What's unethical are the wasted resources your employer is causing by
overestimating what it takes to do the job.

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passportour
If you're delivering who cares.

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wprapido
As long as you deliver, who cares

