Stop obsessing about working hours

I’ve written a lot about the obsession companies have with tracking and increasing employees’ working hours – based on the myth that working more hours leads to better results.

But the clearest and most concise commentary on this comes from Zach Holman of American software company GitHub, who puts it like this:

Hours are bullshit!

I could not agree more. Stop focusing on hours worked and start focusing on results delivered. And realize that there is not a linear relationship between the two.

Read more about what makes GitHub an awesome workplace here.

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2 responses to “Stop obsessing about working hours”

  1. Rachit Aggarwal Avatar

    Can’t agree more.

    I would also like to add that companies who scrutinize the employees at such levels are likely to have high attrition rate.

    Regards
    Rachit

  2. Charlotte Avatar

    Just read The Three Ways of Getting Things Done by Gerard Fairtlough. Github seems an eminent example of what he calls Responsible Autonomy.

    But as Github recognizes, one of their secrets is that all system development and “production” is already happening in an online environment which supports this way of working.
    However, since a lot of work places share that character, it should be possible to adopt the model and probably retain and attract responsible employees. So watch out, hierarchical organizations, if your employees want to manage themselves.

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