The New York Times piece on Amazon’s crushing work culture has driven many a newsfeed this week, including ours, and fired up the pens of many when it comes to writing about tech companies and work/life balance.
Perhaps one of the most intriguing opinions on this topic comes from Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz. He wrote a piece on Medium called “Work Hard, Live Well,” challenging the perception that everyone needs to be on at all times to be successful.
“I wish I had slept more hours, and exercised regularly,” Moskovitz writes about his time founding Facebook. “I wish I had made better decisions about what to eat or drink — at times I consumed more soda and energy drinks than water. I wish I had made more time for other experiences that helped me grow incredibly quickly once I gave them a chance.”
Now at Asana, Moskovitz argues that by taking more time to relax and take care of himself, he would have been a “more effective” leader and employee.
“I would have had fewer panic attacks, and acute health problems — like throwing out my back regularly in my early 20s. I would have picked fewer petty fights with my peers in the organization, because I would have been generally more centered and self-reflective. I would have been less frustrated and resentful when things went wrong, and required me to put in even more hours to deal with a local crisis. In short, I would have had more energy and spent it in smarter ways… AND I would have been happier.”
He also uses several studies and moments in history to support his argument that a 40-hour workweek — or less — is productivity’s friend. It’s a concept that even the man who basically invented that workweek, Henry Ford, knew and put into practice.
“The research is clear: beyond ~40–50 hours per week, the marginal returns from additional work decrease rapidly and quickly become negative,” Moskovitz writes.
He links to a great report, “Rules of Productivity,” by another techie Daniel Cook, which is also certainly worth a look.
One of Cook’s biggest findings? Working 60-hour-plus weeks can help you get out of a bind or pressing deadline, but it’s not sustainable, and in fact, the long-term impact is downright detrimental.
See chart below:
Moskovitz concludes, sounding quite bummed out: “So it is with deep sadness that I observe the current culture of intensity in the tech industry. My intellectual conclusion is that these companies are both destroying the personal lives of their employees and getting nothing in return.”
Need a happy place? Go check out Treehouse’s video on their 32-hour workweek again. In fact, send it to your boss.
