This content originally appeared on Level Up Coding - Medium and was authored by Himayan
OPINION PIECE | TECH INDUSTRY | WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Why you might want to avoid the hustle culture that is sweeping across our country
We were given a website to build in 5 days — which, under normal circumstances, would take 2 developers to finish in a month.
Our education system had been preparing us with a technique for this scenario since the 5th standard or so — the unitary method. Our manager thought — “If 2 workers can build a wall in 30 days, and we need the wall built in 5 days…” — and said, after calculating for a minute with his magic finger — “We need 12 workers…I mean — resources.”
It’s fairly obvious by now — that I was unfortunate enough to be one of those twelve, who were given this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to impact millions of fake users — by ruining the next 120 hours of our lives.
The justification was — “This is a huge opportunity in the market for the company. It’s an emergency.” You stop taking emergencies seriously when they keep happening every single week.
As I prepared myself to face this unnecessary shit-storm that was about to hit us the next day, I couldn’t help but wonder — “I used to love to code, but I cannot bear the sight of it now — what’s wrong with me?”. And then I said to myself — “You don’t hate coding. You always loved reading books, but you used to hate studying history. Why? Because your teacher would embarrass you every day in front of the whole class for not mugging up dates of events which would provide absolutely zero value to your future. It’s not the subject you hate — it’s the teacher who made your experience miserable. It’s not coding you hate — it’s most likely the toxic workplace.”
The next 5 days went as well as you would expect. People working from home were wishing they were in office, thinking— “I could have just left saying ‘biwi bula rahi hai [sub: my wife’s calling me home]’”. We (men in general) have been blaming our wives for ages for not having balls.
Meanwhile, people working from the office were wishing they could afford a home in Bangalore. A quick side note— Bangalore is the only city where all my five senses are occupied all the time with some construction work nearby (yes, I recognise the taste and smell of cement by now). No wonder why it’s so expensive.
By the end of the 5th day, which contained a couple of 14-hour long shifts — we managed to finish off our project. “How?” — you might ask. Not because the unitary method works like a charm. But, because our Indian parents had taught us if you put enough pressure — you can change someone’s career ambitions, and sexual identity and even break a long and loving relationship — project estimations are nothing compared to that.
However, as it turns out, 10 cups of coffee a day does not cure mental fatigue. We shipped a website which was full of bugs, the campaign bombed and we were held accountable for our collective incompetency. People who worked the most — also had to fix the most bugs.
As you might expect, I quit this place as soon as I possibly could, and have stayed away from this hustle culture — which only exploits young, curious and hungry minds and leaves them for dead.
The best way to beat a deadline is to not beat it at all. I know it sounds over-simplified and maybe it is, but it has worked well for me. So, hear me out — pick a task you know you can finish within the deadline, while not losing your mind. And then, do the best you can — don’t bite off more than you can chew.
And, if your manager assigns you more tasks — grow some balls and communicate that you can’t possibly do any more. And if you can’t speak up, you can always respond with — “biwi bula rahi hai”.
Is this a true story?
Yes, it is. But fortunately enough, I wasn’t the victim here. The narrative might be someone else’s — but the opinions are my own.
Thank you and congratulations on reaching the end of the article. Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions.
While you are here, you can also check out a few of my other articles —
- 10 Modern JavaScript syntax to help you code faster
- 10 CSS things I wish I knew when I was a beginner
Cheers!
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How to Beat a Deadline was originally published in Level Up Coding on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
This content originally appeared on Level Up Coding - Medium and was authored by Himayan
Himayan | Sciencx (2022-07-14T02:17:28+00:00) How to Beat a Deadline. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2022/07/14/how-to-beat-a-deadline/
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