How much work is "enough"?
David St. Lawrence gives us another of his deeply human posts at Ripples, this time the story of an Electronics Arts software designer/engineer who was fired for, apparently, not wanting to work enough. Here's the designer's version of the story. I'm sure the company has their own.
Now, I'm not interested in vetting the facts of this particular case. We have a bigger problem. I'm more interested in thinking through the question of work and commitment. In current thinking, demonstrating commitment to a project means putting the work first. If the work requires 18-hour days, then 18-hour days it is! Your family will understand; it's crunch time. One for all, and all for one!
And, like David says, "the only goad we [designers] needed was the promise we'd get to work on the next big project as soon as we finished this one." This is absolutely correct. I hear it every day, say it myself, in fact...and mean it, too.
But when is it, "enough?" When is it OK to say, "I don't want to work this weekend!"? When is it OK to say, "My daughter's really been missing me lately, so I have to go home early."? When is it OK to say, "I'm dry; I just need a few days to rejuvenate."? Ever?
I work with some of the most talented designers in the world. They're boundlessly creative, hugely energetic, and work harder than anyone I've ever seen. Unlike the EA story, No one is driving them to do so. They drive themselves. Their standards continually escalate, and the work gets better still.
Fortuntately, these people give themselves a moment here and there to re-charge.
But the overall pace is blistering. And shows no signs of letting up. Eventually, something has to give.
We have to get better at thinking through our commitment to work. We have to get past this "work/life balance" rhetoric and think more deeply about our expectations of ourselves. We have to be able to come up with an answer to when "enough" is "enough."
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