Today in response to the conversation that has been generating by the New York Times hit piece on what its like to work at Amazon, Facebook founder Dustin Moskovitz took the conversation in a new direction.  Rather than debating the truth of the article or whether its moral to drive employees to work insanely hard and miss out on the “important things in life,” Dustin raised the point that the company suffers when employees work too long.

“The research is clear: beyond ~40–50 hours per week, the marginal returns from additional work decrease rapidly and quickly become negative.  Rest Matters.”

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As a founder and early member of multiple startups my experiences don’t necessarily align with either side of the argument.  I did some of my best work when I was being driven to work long hours by my bosses, yet I would also say I did some of my most meaningless work at the same time.  It was pretty normal to be at work 8-7 then head to dinner until 10:00 with the executive team for 4 days in a row.  Most of the stories about Amazon in the Times piece make that sound like child’s play, but I was mentally exhausted after these marathon sessions.  When I was able to step back, work shorter hours, hit the gym at lunch and bounce at a reasonable time I accomplished the most.  Were those times enhanced because I was so relieved to not be working like a dog?  Hard to say.

What I can say, is that at Matchnode we are building the culture that isn’t based on insane hours.  Health is a priority.  Balance is a priority.  Stepping back from the business and getting out of operating mode is a priority.

I do 100% agree with Dustin’s last quote:

“You can do great things AND live your life well. You can have it all, and science says you should.”