Working Efficiency

Here's an interesting article from the IGDA. It details the false promise of the long work week, which, while quite relevant to IGDA's topic of game development, crops up in almost every industry. This article ties in to an greater, central idea I hope to elucidate in the future- but for now, a quick summary.

IGDA claims that the 40 hour workweek is the standard for a reason: while a few bursts of 60 or 80 hour weeks raise productivity in the short term, they quickly result in less total productivity. The Work Less Institute is quite vehement that industries that exploit workers for no real purpose (since the productivity is lower than a normal work week) are ignoring the facts because of a conspiracy against non-profit knowledge. I'm not sure if I would go that far, but it is clear that some industries stick to their patterns of work, despite evidence to the contrary.


First, my experience. All else held constant (interest in the subject, other activities), I absolutely agree that there is a limit of the amount of "school time" I can perform in any given week. During a particularly busy week at school, I may have to stay up late a few nights in a row and not take many breaks, and it is very obvious that the quality and quantity of my work decreases. Of course, this is exacerbated by a lack of quality sleep, which may be an even more significant factor.

In general, I try to avoid these weeks of solid work and little sleep, because I have come to accept that I simply cannot be productive after a certain amount of work. Unfortunately, time crunches still happen, because I am certainly not perfect at planning and not procrastinating. I am even more serious about getting the proper amount of sleep: I will often simply quit a project when working late because I know that if I get the rest I need, I may have a better chance of completing the work later, even if I have to turn it in late. I do this most frequently when I study for tests, as I try to optimize towards the least amount of memorization necessary to do well. I often feel that people who stay up all night studying for a test actually work against themselves, because their recall will not be anywhere as good on the test day.

Clearly, the effectiveness of this depends on the understanding of the professor and your willingness to take a reduced grade. I feel strongly that the purpose of my time in college is twofold: to learn how to learn and to get the most knowledge I can about interesting things. Grades have very little to do with either of those objectives at this level, but they are unfortunately still a factor to leave my options open after college. Still, I try to balance my life and my grades to get the most out of my college experience, and I'm happy with how I've done so far.


Now, what about the rest of the world? Can it really be that Company X, forcing its workers into 80 hour weeks, can actually cut the hours to 40 and maintain output, or even increase it?
Personally, I think there are some areas where this is possible, and some where it isn't. In my limited experience developing software, I absolutely need the sharpest version of my mind to tackle hard problems, and usually when I work late, I end up having to re-write or work around the terrible code I've written. Considering the software industry's propensity to deliver late and over-budget, such a shift to lower hours should be considered.

I can think of two famous examples of long hour workers: lawyers and sweatshop labor. In the case of the lawyers, I think that some of their work is simliar to software development in that they may be better off with their full mental capacity rather than a few more hours worth of rote memorization. On the other hand, the intensity and monetary value of their job may require 80 hour work weeks, and perhaps the best lawyers are selected out of those who can withstand the long hours better.

What about sweatshops? Most of the jobs are repetitive and mindless, so perhaps mental acuity is not as important as simply plugging away at the job for the maximum amount of time. Of course, there comes a point where even a factory worker will not be able to produce quality examples often enough and the boss must let them rest. Unions exist partly to balance the abuse of long hours, but do they really work?



So, what do you think? Is it really possible to work less and produce more? What do we have to do to make this happen in the working world? Are unions the answer? Are there some industries exempt from the long hour paradox? What about industries that are especially vulnerable?

In any case, I strongly suggest that you read the article. It is long, but extremely well written and covers quite a lot of topics. Stay tuned for more on this train of thought.