Comments on: Never Work Overtime Again

By: minimalistic practicalism » Don’t Work Overtime

minimalistic practicalism » Don’t Work Overtime — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:12:19 +0000

[...] do (when requested) ? Jarkko’s post got me [...]

By: ???? ??????, ?????????, ?????????? ? ?????????? » Blog Archive » ?????? ??????? ?? ????????? ???????????

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:02:42 +0000

By: artaman » Management

artaman » Management — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:52:11 +0000

[...] ???? ??? ?????????? ???????? ??????????? ??? ???? ????? ?????? ? ????????, ?? ??? ?? ???? ????, ? ?????? ?????????? ?????????* © Jarkko Laine. [...]

By: Jarkko

Jarkko — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 15:21:23 +0000

That sounds really bad… I’ve heard that there is this kind of a culture of “hard work” in Japan, but I have never met anyone working in Japan before.

So, why do you think this is happening? And have people really died of overwork in Japan?

By: Kate

Kate — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 14:24:49 +0000

I teach English in Kyoto, and every day I meet guys who work 16 hour days as a regular thing. Their overtime is usually unpaid, and expected by both bosses and colleagues. Many of them hate it, but feel it’s impossible to say no. In Japanese there’s a even a word for death from overwork – karoshi. The government makes noises about the problem every now and then, but does nothing concrete to address the problem. This is one thing about Japanese society that really sucks!

By: Jarkko

Jarkko — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 21:45:54 +0000

Good point, Doug. As you can see from this blog, I have a pretty similar mindset as you on this topic: I find the work I do for my own project useful and fun, so I do it without counting hours.

But there lies a risk: if we spend too much time working on our own projects, that time can also be time away from our families. And that in turn is not something we should be doing too much.

That’s why I think it’s even more important not to work overtime for someone else: If you work overtime, you have less time to divide between your own projects (working extra for yourself) and the people around you. :)

By: Doug

Doug — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 22:11:22 +0000

I’ve come to the conclusion recently to no longer do extra work for the company I work for. I still do a LOT of extra work and I spend many nights in coding, writing, planning, etc, however, its for me and my projects – not an employer’s.

I think its important to build a healthy work-ethic but being the bitch of your employer is a mugs game. I’ve done it and never has it got me anywhere.

Working extra for myself though has done me wonders.

By: WallOfScribbles » Overtime is evil

WallOfScribbles » Overtime is evil — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 12:30:21 +0000

[...] Jarkko Laine is one of those people. While looking around his site, I found what is deemed a “popular article“. The title alone got me to read it (Never Work Overtime Again) and after reading it I can [...]

By: Jarkko

Jarkko — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 04:04:08 +0000

Well said, SJF! :)

By: SJF

SJF — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 17:52:28 +0000

Nine words you never hear from people on their death bed:

“I wish I had spent more time at work”.