They are. As I've said elsewhere, I am plenty productive - putting me in an office wouldn't make me work more. It would tire and stress me out and make me be less effective.
The point isn't that I'm shirking. It's that I'm hitting and passing the bar of "good employee" in that amount of work time.
If you wanted to own my time, you could've paid me hourly. But you wanted my skills.
Did you sign a contract that said you would work “X” number of hours minimum? If you did, you’re in violation of said contract and being dishonest.
It’s not black and white, I get it, but the proper thing to do would be to negotiate a new contract that actually reflects your working relationship to your employer.
Number of hours is not in my current contract and never has been for a salaried, at-will software development role (in the US). I believe this is the norm for such roles, so many HNers have similar contracts.
So if anything, my behavior is in-line with my contract. They are continuing to employ me at-will and are not exercising their right (per the contract) to terminate the relationship at any time.
I’m in Australia, and the contracts here always specify a min number of hours (normally 38).
I can’t see a problem with how you’re working at an individual level, and as you say, you are productive and working in-line with your contract. However, the original poster was talking about young people not feeling motivated due to inequality.
The fact that you’ve managed to find a job that works well for you as an experienced professional does not change the fact that a young person should be working hard (and potentially long). Would you have gotten to where you are if you’d done the minimum your entire career?
> Would you have gotten to where you are if you’d done the minimum your entire career?
I think so? Or at least somewhere like it. Because I've always been optimizing for working less. I got plenty of D's on final exams because a B or A was assured, for instance. It just so happens a software job in the 2010s was a juicy path of least resistance. I'm glad to have found it (part of that was luck and meeting some people who suggested I do it).
...and people say that CEOs demanding return-to-office are being unreasonable.