Is There Really Any Benefit in Working Stupid Hours?

After some 10 years of post graduate life under the belt, and a slew of working experience, I have to ask myself, is there really any benefit in working crazy hours?  Pulling all nighters for the sake of completing poorly managed projects, or running on empty for the sake of accomplishing your goals?

A wise man once told me that you could get but 7 decent hours of work out of a coder in any given day.  That being said, he didn’t practice what he preached, so in reality he wasn’t actually that wise!  But truly, I ask you, is there really any benefit from working an insane amount of hours on the trot?  At this point in time, if hard pressed for an answer I would say “definitely not”.

To me anyone who engenders a spirit of work, work, work with their employees and all hard graft for no tangible benefit, really doesn’t understand the finer points of life.  Late nights fueled by beer, pizza and whatever other carbs (which send you to sleep) and greasy food unwitting devs wish to consume remind me of school boy treats of late night ghost story readings late after bed time, but the reality is that what you gain in the short term you lose in the long term.

I don’t think I will quickly forget the 2 day stint I spent in the Stink Digital office, with 30 minutes sleep.  After nearly 48 hours in the office, I truly did stink, not least to say zombified too. A much needed shower was welcome when it did finally come, but I felt like a member fo the living dead and my state of mind was screwed for several days thereafter. Luckily for them, the only thing “screwed” was my weekend.

Taking care of employees and a personal interest in their lives, might seem like a costly endeavour to any employer, but their are definite payoffs in the long term. Encouraging self-development, a healthy lifestyle and ensuring a positive work environment are all things that, as an employer you should be thinking about. Personally I wish more employers would encourage exercise as part of the working day. A healthy mind, healthy body and a positive mental attitude are things not to be frowned upon, that’s for sure.

So what are your thoughts?