Re: Average Hours Worked ( long )

[Ruth Charles <ruth -at- tao-group -dot- com>]

Well, this has certainly opened up Pandora's box, and shifted slightly 
away from the original question (what hours we work) towards (what do we 
think are reasonable expectations).  We seem to have two schools of thought:

1. Working long hours is the norm, and is a reasonable expectation given 
 a tech writer's salary, the IT industry etc.  By long hours here, I'm 
saying 50+/week.

2. Working around the contractual requirement, with an acceptance that 
at crunch times, it is reasonable to expect longer hours for which you 
may or may not get time off in lieu at a later date.  What that 
contractual figure is will depend on which country/region you are based 
in.  So lets just take a ballpark figure of up to 50/week.

Around that we have another series of issues:

Do working long hours increase productivity, or reduce it? The same goes 
for quality. Another theme is whether long hours help preserve 
employment when times are tough? On top of that come the issues of 
self-sacrifice vs machismo and peer group pressure.

Then there is the question of whether we are using a factory production 
model (tangible goods) for our tech writing or producing an 
'intangible'. (I'm borrowing terms from Dick's posting here).

Well, I'd say we are producing a tangible product, and certainly in some 
places I've worked it felt like a factory production line - at one place 
we had metrics (and anyone who's is still working there will twitch at 
the mention of these ) which dictated how long it 'should' take you to 
write a chapter, topic, take a set of screenshots - you name it there 
was a metric for it. We were given 'units of work' and a tight 
deadlines, many things had a metric of 'zero time allocated' - mainly 
the admin paperwork that can tie you up for half a day or more.  You 
stayed as late as it took to hit these production targets.  That's a 
factory model. I'm not sure I understand Dick's point about the 
difference between this and the idea that "we contract to produce a 
specified deliverable by a particular date" . To me this seems pretty 
much the same thing, and I'm not having a jab at Dick here; instead my 
point is aimed at the guys at senior level who thought this time and 
motion model of productivity was the way forward - when treated like 
factory workers,  why is there surprise when we respond like factory 
workers? Moral of story - you reap what you sow.

I suppose essentially we are looking at the difference between what 
makes a job, and a what makes a career.

OK confession time, once upon a time, I worked as a researcher in a 
series of universities.  That was my 'career' - I loved what I did, and 
it defined who I was.  Looking back I guess I'd spend between 12 and 16 
hours a day working - it wasn't work to me, it was my purpose in life. 
After 10 years I quit. Why? Because I was mentally and physically 
exhausted. In my mid 30s I couldn't find secure employment (a tenure 
track post in US parlance), lived a semi-sedentary life in a series of 
rented dives, and had a personal life in shreds.  I decided that this 
had to stop, and swore that I would never let myself be brow-beaten into 
that state again.  Its an extreme version of this work-life balance thing.

What I do now I perceive as a job - this is based on my past and present 
employment experiences as a tech writer.  Its a well paid job, which is 
one reason why I choose this pathway. Other may perceive it as a 
'career', and good luck to them!  It seems to me that what this 
discussion boils down to is a matter of perception and self-image. We 
all set up our own work-rules, and follow them.  The clashes come when 
differing self-perceptions collide.

I've probably said too much, I'll shut up now, and maybe even go do some 
work.

Ruth


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