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Comment by tolbish | Hacker News Reader

I wonder if it would be substantially more effective to prevent burnout by having shorter work days or work weeks.

I think it would be but I also would like forced time off as well. As well as forced socializing with team mates. And a sabbatical every 5 years or so.

But if I can find a job with full health benefits that lets me work three days a week, I'm going for it. Heck, that is the best argument in favor of universal healthcare. It would help unemployment, because way more people would be working part time.

Adobe also does a sabbatical every 5 years!

> As well as forced socializing with team mates.

One of these things is not like the other...

I can tolerate the occasional "mandatory fun" corporate event, but only within reason (e.g. I have kids, so don't give me grief for leaving early).

And I think the entire "work hard play hard" office culture, where you're expected to do happy hour everyday and build your social life around co-workers in order to prove you're a teammate, is ageist and absolutely toxic.

To be blunt, if you have to FORCE people to socialize with you, then maybe you need some self-reflection on why that's necessary.

I was thinking along the lines of a fun day during working hours, where everyone who lives near by should come in. Holiday party, Icecream Social, Even just a day of meetings with breakfast and lunch included. Basically give people a few work days a year where they are expected to be there, but not really get anything done.

Bloomberg let you do philanthropy work during working hours, and they assign you some amount of money depending on the hours you do that you can donate to charity.

I met a few people during such events, which is more or less what you say: you are with people from the company (not necessarily teammates, we did it as a team only once) and you might be helping public parks clean, or take trash from canal on a canoe, or sort food in a food shelter. It's a nice way to take a break, meet people from other areas, feel good about something you do, and managers have been very supportive of that, and they do it too.

I think that is a good balance of what you are talking about

Just the mention of "mandatory fun" sends shivers through my socially anxious spine

You are part of a very small, very skilled minority that voluntariliy wants to work part time and lack of health care is all that's stopping you. In Canada where we have universal health care, the vast majority of people working part time are in low skill jobs because that's all they can schedule with another primary focus, or that's all they can get but really want FT.

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