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Comment by justsomeguy123 | Hacker News Reader

The odd thing is... this works for senior talent too!

The biggest road block I saw with recent job ads is they want 8 hours / day. Companies just don't have the flexibility to take a senior dev at 4-6 hours a day.

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Sure they do, they just aren't explicit about it.

If they are not explicit and not explaining this even to the 1st recruiting filter... it means the only way it happens is if you get in the company, do 8 hours for a while, prove your worth, then switch to 4-6 hours. It's a silly dance and takes time.

I did see it once, and even then they just wink-wink approved 6 hours with a reduced pay but legally you were on the hook for 8 hours (at the reduced rate). Flexibility varies...

The element that I've never been sure about that is benefits though. If you are taking 50% time do you get benefits at all, or 50% benefits, or what?

tbh in that context, the wink-nudge "you're 40 hours a week and we have a mandatory no-meetings friday, be sure you don't go do something fun because it'd be a real shame if you missed something important!" is actually potentially a better deal from the employee perspective because it's legally clear that you're a FTE.

You are right, it is a better deal in a way, but it's also a bit iffy. There's no reason one couldn't get the same benefits as a full-time employee while working lower hours. In the end it's all about total compensation and you can adjust pay for that to make sense.

Say more. I'm not sure if you mean mean they'll accept that even if it's not in the job posting; or if you mean they'll tolerate you working for less than you are supposed to without being above-board about it.

It's always worth talking about. I think most companies avoid putting part time explicitly on a job posting because that sends a message that this is a side gig vs. something you should be focused on. I know for sure for the right candidate I'd be open to 30 hours a week or something like that (less than 20 to be fair is where I'd probably draw the line).

I mean there's people who are barely working right now, including many people who are barely working at multiple companies and getting paid for full time employment at all of them. With that in mind, scaling back from 8 hours to 4-6 while still delivering everything you need to deliver seems very achievable. And in many places that level of commitment is the norm - everyone including management is working those reduced hours - companies just aren't spelling it out in their contracts.

I have been surprised at how flexible some places are once asked. I think advertising for the job they show full-time because that's what most people want. Though the majority are indeed pretty rigid.

4 8-hour days instead of 5 would be what I want.

It does seem somewhat rare.

Trying to make your programmers work 40 hour weeks seems so out dated. Sure, a brave few can regularly work for 8 hours straight, but for many after a few hours they’re better off stopping for a decent while.

Just take a remote position, no one knows or cares if you veg out in front of PC for full 8 hours.

That's the bad part though. Engaged problem solving is fun, staying just plugged in and aware enough to please your ass in seat manager is the opposite of fun.

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