We do a lot of research at Redgate Software, often contacting customers or Ambassadors and asking questions, getting feedback, and listening to their challenges or criticisms. We take that information and it helps guide us when we build the tools that help you in your job.
Recently, I watched a call with a customer who uses our famous Toolbelt in their job and has for years. In this case, the call was about the value of Flyway and how that might fit in their organization. The person performed a lot of manual work to deploy code changes, and could see the way in which Flyway helps, but wasn't interested in saving time.
They saw their time as free. I assume their employer felt that way as well.
In my three decades of working in technology, I've seen a lot of employees and their management think of their time as free. Management has been happy to have tech workers stay longer at their desk to get things done. How many of you have had to deploy code on nights or weekends?
Perhaps a better question is how many of you have been happy to work nights or weekends? I've seen no shortage of IT people volunteer their efforts to work longer or out of hours to get something done. It's a point of pride or a badge of honor to spend lots of hours working. I know I've felt that way in the past. I'm both proud of working 100 hours a week to support a system (for multiple weeks) and saddened that I did that.
I did learn that wanting to overwork myself was a poor idea after spending a year with a blanket and pillow in my desk. I worked overnight or late into the night too many times across a year and eventually decided to look for a new job when I realized that neither my employer nor I was valuing my time.
Many tech people are on salary, which makes it very easy for management to request (or demand) extra hours spent to meet a deadline or minimize the impact on other users who work "normal" hours. This happens to other professionals (doctors, lawyers, etc.), but I'm not sure that's a good thing.
Working long hours, especially during stressful situations, can teach you a lot. It's an opportunity to grow and improve your career, but it has lots of downsides. Burnout, mistakes, unhappiness and other negative factors can impact your life and work over time. You ought to value your time, and your employer ought to as well. I learned this when a coworker told our boss he was working the problem until 5 and then needed to leave for a family event. He could work later or come in early the next day, but not everyone needed to stay all evening tonight, and he wasn't going to do so.
Learn to be more efficient, whether that's in the work you do, or the people you manage. Learning to save time, use tools, share knowledge, and smooth your processes will build a stronger team over time. People will be more focused, more knowledgeable, and able to get more done in less time.
Invest in things that save time. It's the one resource we can't get more of, no matter how much we push on people.