Half of developers still at screens even during breaks What are your peers doing to stave off burnout? Research from Stack Overflow suggests about half of developers are still spending their breaks in front of a screen. The Q&A programming resource surveyed 800 devs, and found most of the top five things they do when they need a break involve screens: listening to music (46 …
I always used to go for a half-hour walk at lunchtime, even if it was pissing it down outside. During particularly stressful periods I'd also take a short walk during the morning and afternoon, sometimes more than one. Then I realised it was better for my health if I just did the walks and dropped the work element entirely.
My boss did once challenge me about disappearing for ten minutes in the middle of the morning. I told him he could either accept that or spend his day dealing with the fallout of me telling an annoying client to fuck off.
I always do that at lunchtime no matter what the weather go outside and have a walk if you are working from home or in an office you need a break from the screens and some quiet time. This does not involve using you phone either.
Mind you I will always take a lunch hour (where possible) otherwise I get very tired and at the end of the afternoon you are falling asleep.
I take walks, 15 to 20 minutes at least twice during the day. I also try to get about 1 hour sleep in the mid afternoon. Some years ago I was an active amateur boxer and rugby player (not at the same time). I am nowhere near that fitness now but do try to keep at least some level.
While we all know we should do more sport/exercise, we all find ourselves often/occasionally prefering the couch.
I have found for myself that I need to combine the physical exercise with some fun activity. In my case, historical european martial art (HEMA), i.e., fencing, does the trick. While fencing in itself isn't particularly exerting, my club's weekly training begins with a 30 min. warm-up which really exerting. Without the fun part (playing with swords) I would not be motivated to do these 30 min exercise blocks every week. However, since it is part of the training, I am motivated.
Here's a random video from YT for all who are unfamiliar with HEAM, note that this shows a tournament. General training and sparring looks a bit different. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yVkVGwSSL0
Another thing I found over the years is that it also helps to combine sport with social activities. In my case, after the weekly training, the club members convene at a local pizza place. So, going to training not only means exercise and sweat but also pizza and chatting afterwards.
Yeah, more box-ticking nonsense.
How about setting achievable targets, not having an understaffed department, and listening to developers. We are the ones that do the work which pays everybody's salary after all.
Whilst that is correct, the massive expansion of "working from home" has made the worse. There are many comments on El Reg where people are stating that the productivity has improved and in many way this is probably correct as there maybe less interruptions. The big gotcha, is the people that have "improved their productivity" by incorporating commute time into work time.
Commute time was just that, dead time unless you could work on a train. It was not your employers time or part of the contracted working day. That so many people have now taken the commute time and turned it into work time because they are no longer travelling is going to become a massive issue. Does this mean that 12 hour days at a desk are now acceptable?
I am all for flexibility and WFH but the group that switched from substantial commutes to WFH during Covid and are working long hours because they no longer commute are not becoming more productive, they are just doing more work over a longer day. That is not increasing productivity it is giving time to the employer.
Is the expectation then that all new remote employees should be working 12 hours because they don't have a commute? Maybe that is at the extreme end but this is going to come back to bite.
This. And what I'm finding is that instead of putting in a 9/10 effort across 7.5 I'm now putting in 7/10 across 12. So spending longer at my desk. Better to do just 7.5 at high effort or put stricter bookends WFH and with higher effort. Worth a thought.
Office get in from 5 to, to slightly late, leave dead at 5, spend £15 on fuel.
Or
On PC at 10 to, finish at up to 20 past (leave it in a safe place not plan to be away by 5), £15 towards hobbies.
Commute times from 25 to 40 minutes down to 10 seconds and 5 seconds.
My PC is in dining room, so log off, turn round, and eat.
"Not me. That's my time and I've taken it for myself"
Quite right. An employer won't pay for your commute since that's your responsibility, so when I find a way of reducing my commute, I'm not giving it to my employer. Of course, if my employer is good enough to help me reduce my commute, then I'll be grateful, which brings its own rewards to the employer. That's just good work relations.
As someone else said here, incorporating commute time into work time isn't improving productivity, it's just working longer.
Upvoted you for the 'how-about' part, but with respect to encouraging physical / mental wellness it should be both-and not either-or.
Of course, it should be more than box-ticking but in the end for all the encouragement, there needs to be take-up. For example it's useless that an employer provides a free on-premises gym on the premises if employees don't use it (or, potentially, it's not used specifically by those employees who would most benefit)
But I used to spend my breaks in front of my screen reading El Reg. At other times, usually after lunch, I would disappear for 15 minutes into the server room to have some peace and quiet when needed, I love the dark except for some blinking lights, and the white noise hum of the fans... I equated it (once daily) with a smoke break that other employees would take every hour on the hour... I do have some honor!
Yeah thats the bother I get when wrestling with a CAD model
That I get to sit in my chair all afternoon staring at the screen trying to figure something out while the erstile production engineer opposite gets to go outside and chat for 10 minutes every hour because hes a smoker(well vaper now).
If I go hide in the toilets/air compressor room for 5 mins, the deputy mangler demands to know where I've been after hes been outside smoking with the production engineer....
Oh well looks like the bird of inspiration has shit on my screen..... maybe I'll bang on the roof so the seagull of annoyance takes off and shits on his car...
I know the general area where you live Boris. Does your place of employment involve the side of a lake? If it does then I know exactly what you mean, as those that still have that disgusting habit have to travel so far from the buildings that it can take some of them 5 minutes to make the trip, each way! And then there is the time they spend there.
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