Comment on Silicon Valley AI Startups Are Embracing China’s Controversial ‘996’ Work Schedule
AdamEatsAss@lemmy.world 3 days ago
The PG factory I used to work at had 12 hour shifts. Everyone hates it. You get no time to do things outside of work on days that you work. Most people ate 2 of their meals at work. There was a high turnover rate for shift employees.
sobchak@programming.dev 3 days ago
Yeah, I’ve worked temp factory jobs that were 12 hour shifts, 3 days on, 4 off, 4 on, 3 off, … Not 6 days/week though. It also seems stupid for software engineers, at least. Personally, my output craters when I work long hours. I’d probably get less work done on 996 than a regular 40 hour week. In the past, I’ve been in the fortunate position where I could just make my own hours, and I’m pretty sure I got about the same amount of work done doing 6 hour days as 8 hour days.
Botzo@lemmy.world 3 days ago
In highschool, I did 12/5 noon-midnight for 2 summers at a corrugated plastic pipe factory.
It was grueling and hot and soul-crushingly monotonous. Have you ever listened to commercial top 40 radio for 12 hours next to >200F(100C) equipment? If I never hear Sting’s Desert Rose again, it will still be too soon. Or smell Dale’s chain-smoked vantage cigarettes (3.5 packs a shift, we made sure the fan was always in his direction).
The output was steady, so it was also punishing to human events like hunger or toilet breaks.
I can’t imagine doing it 6 days. As it was, I never saw friends, barely held a relationship, etc.
remotelove@lemmy.ca 3 days ago
You were in a correlated plastic pipe factory and the cigarettes were an issue? Damn. You would think the VOC off-gassing from hot plastic would break you first…
Botzo@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Yeah, I can still smell the place in my memory. Proustian.
I mostly worked on the “highway” line. 12 inch diameter by 10ft lengths, with drilled holes, wrapped with a fiberglass filter and packed in a bag. It was a 2 person task that has probably been more automated now. Those Vantage cigarettes man, they were really gross (and cheap) and he never took a step without one in his mouth. Lit one from the other, burning 2 at once, etc. You know, I’m probably the same age he was now.
The fun part was watching the 4ft diameter double-wall line go at the same time. That shit failed about 50% of the time so we were always cutting it up on the giant bandsaw to feed into the industrial grinder.
Ah, and that reminds me of working the coil lines. Giant bails of 3, 4, 6in. When we’d get bad runs, we’d splice them out, then feed the sometimes 50+ foot length into the grinder and run the fuck away because the other end would whip around. Workplace safety and all.
Can’t believe my parents thought that was a good way to spend my summers. I’m sure they thought it would pay for college like their summer jobs did. All for about $3/hr over minimum wage. At least I got overtime too. Lifers like Dale (or was it Dan) had worked themselves up to a bit over triple minimum wage, or $16/hr. Lol, what benefits? This was a Christian Reformed (Calvinist) run business.
ikidd@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I farm and work about 12 hours every day. Your dad’s hours sound heavenly.