[naravara]

>I wish more managers would stop buying into the myth of "time in seat == productivity", and look at the real output of their teams.

I think a big part of this is the generally ambiguous nature of knowledge work. If you could quantify work into discrete widgets it’s easy to mark people to output, but on stuff that’s fuzzy and hard to quantify it’s not so easy.

It actually takes a fair bit of work and intimate knowledge of how stuff gets done on the ground to make realistic projections about output or to understand what “real output” even means.

[webnrrd2k]

Just as a first approximation, I think other knowlege workers who have enough money and clout to be in control of their schedule whole work as a good model for optimal number of hours spent working over the long term. For example, look at doctor's who have their own practice. They (hopefully) like their work, and can determine their own schedule. How many hours do they work? How do they structure their time?

[naravara]

>They (hopefully) like their work, and can determine their own schedule.

Ehhhh. They’re not really as “in control” of their schedules as you would think. Their time is being boxed by financial pressures, generally imposed by insurance and Medicaid/Medicare reimbursement rates, and all the administrative requirements of both complying with burdensome regulations surrounding both their medical practice AND running what amounts to a small business.

They don’t even really necessarily like their work either. Running your own medical practice has a really high burnout rate and many of the people who do it now tend to be older and/or not fully dependent on the practice for their income (e.g. independently wealthy, willing to retire but just wants supplemental income, married and can rely on spousal support financially, etc.).

[Joeri]

Doctors are not as in-control as you think. "What am I supposed to do? Turn away patients who need care?" (I've heard this verbatim.)

Basically self-employed people either have too little work or too much, I rarely hear from someone who has the balance right.