For AI Startups, a 7-Day Work Week Isn't Enough(forbes.com)
forbes.com
For AI Startups, a 7-Day Work Week Isn't Enough
https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardnieva/2025/05/03/ai-startups-7-day-work-week/
3 comments
There is very little correlation between hours worked and overall output. And definitely has nothing to do with the end result. You could have the best product, best people, best price, and still fail miserably. Anyone thinking they can “work” their way out of it is in for an expensive lesson.
I wish these companies luck. That being said, I would not recommend working all of the time to almost all people. Here is why:
1. According to Rapid Development or Code Complete (I can't remember which book said this), for most people, working more than 40 hours a week does not increase productivity in the long term. Basically, you can spend more time at work but you will not get more done. There are a few people who this is not true for but those people are rare and they usually are extremely driven because there is something about the project is really really interesting to them.
2. I strongly suspect most humans are just not built to work all of the time. It's not that there is something wrong with them, they just can't deliver more than about 40 hours a week of work. This isn't because they aren't committed, don't care, are lazy, etc. They just can't do it. I think this has to be accepted.
3. I have tried for decades to make the live at work lifestyle work and I have failed. I have repeatedly burnt out. It has taken me decades to realize that it is not a question of what you want to do, it is a question of what you can actually do and what is sustainable. Basically, you or your boss may want you to work 60 hours a week for months on end but that is probably impossible and it's better to accept reality than to keep on trying to do something which does not work.
Note that when I hear employers demanding crunch time, it tells me the leaders do not understand how people work because they don't understand that 99% of their employees probably cannot given them any more than they are already giving. This means crunch time does not improve productivity, but it does make everyone on the team more miserable because they are spending too much time at work and they are wondering why they can't seem to force themselves to get more done.
1. According to Rapid Development or Code Complete (I can't remember which book said this), for most people, working more than 40 hours a week does not increase productivity in the long term. Basically, you can spend more time at work but you will not get more done. There are a few people who this is not true for but those people are rare and they usually are extremely driven because there is something about the project is really really interesting to them.
2. I strongly suspect most humans are just not built to work all of the time. It's not that there is something wrong with them, they just can't deliver more than about 40 hours a week of work. This isn't because they aren't committed, don't care, are lazy, etc. They just can't do it. I think this has to be accepted.
3. I have tried for decades to make the live at work lifestyle work and I have failed. I have repeatedly burnt out. It has taken me decades to realize that it is not a question of what you want to do, it is a question of what you can actually do and what is sustainable. Basically, you or your boss may want you to work 60 hours a week for months on end but that is probably impossible and it's better to accept reality than to keep on trying to do something which does not work.
Note that when I hear employers demanding crunch time, it tells me the leaders do not understand how people work because they don't understand that 99% of their employees probably cannot given them any more than they are already giving. This means crunch time does not improve productivity, but it does make everyone on the team more miserable because they are spending too much time at work and they are wondering why they can't seem to force themselves to get more done.
In seriousness, I get startups require 7-day weeks - from the founders, who have enough equity that makes it worth it. I did that, for years, with a family. It was rough and we never exited, but I don’t regret it since I believed in what I was building. But if you’re VC funded and saying you need 7 day work weeks from employees you’re giving fraction of percent of equity, you’re exploiting people. Hire more people, make a bigger ask.
As I said I regret nothing about my experience in the startup world, but I’m so happy to be at a company that truly respects work life balance.