To not want to work a 24-hour day because "it's fun"?

[KentishMama]

Probably a bit outing, so will keep it brief.

I work for a super cool trendy startup in a pretty senior role. My boss decided that the entire team should do a Hackathon style event where we try to solve a couple of big business problems in teams... Overnight. The "event" starts at 4 pm (after we've already been at work since 8:30) and ends at 10 am the next morning. After that, we can "have the rest of the day off."

But what about sleep? "Oh, there'll be coffee. And if anyone needs a power nap there are a couple of sofas."

I really don't want to do this - I'm usually asleep by 9:30 and don't cope with late nights, and won't see DC for 36 hours if I do this... But I know that I'll be told I'm setting a poor example for my team and that this is meant as a team bonding kind of thing.

AIBU?

If it is a success (or the boss thinks it's a success) what's to stop it becoming a regular thing? I think you need to woman up now. You've been given a few good angles - legal, safety, impact on people who don't feel able to speak up and the fact the work will probably be poor! I'd offer to come in at 6 and cover the Friday, I think, if I felt it was going ahead anyway.

No, just no! Almost, but sounds worse, than away days. Hate them with a passion - they don't make you work better or more effectively!

I have often wondered whether aspects of the financial crisis were caused by legal and financial types staying up all night...

Never in a million years would I agree to this. If it's career suicide, do you really want to work in a company with this kind of ethos?

I'd say no, and start looking for another job. I would not want to work for any organisation where this sort of thing is expected.

How in any way is that fun? I used to work nights in a supermarket stocking shelves as its ones thats closed at night to fit round my children back when I was with my ex doing four three hour shifts a week I didn't get much sleep in the day as I had to do the school rubs too so was quite often awake from 3pm until 9.30 am. I quit after two years when I fell asleep at some traffic lights on the 5min drive home.

Being awake that long it is not safe to drive and also you aren't going to get much done problem solving wise. I would call in sick the day before.

How do your team actually feel about it?
If there are clear mumbles of wtaf then I’d take it for the team and say no it’s not happening, no one will be productive and it’s cruel to enforce it.

If the team are all like yeh great fun then I’d suck it up. It’s a one off and you have the weekend to recover.

I doubt they will do it again as no one will be brainstorming amazing ideas at 4am when there are no drugs or alcohol involved. You will all be tired and grumpy and irritable.
And also saying the next day you stay til 10 won’t happen either as people will slope off much earlier.

As an aside as an old school medical trainee I did overnights at least twice a week and worked both days either side as full days. Weekend shifts were Saturday 8am until Monday 6pm.

I would actually ache and sob with exhaustion and pump myself full of coffee and still get awful brain fog. It was only the addenalin of a difficult surgical case or ward drama that would switch our brains back into gear. Given you are not going to be encountering them I am quite sure people will be irritable and sluggish and not at all dynamic.
The organising team will end up unpopular and looking foolish. Better they get that record than you get one for being a misery.

Get early nights in the run up,take nice food for the night (avoid the sugar and caffeine) and sit back and watch it go wrong.

Surely this is illegal? I used to work overnight shifts as part of a rolling shift pattern and would always get an afternoon nap in the day before. It was still grim around 3-6am. Your body just does not want to be awake then.

I guarantee that many of the staff will need a pick me up to stay awake in the form of some white powder.

I have several medical conditions which are
heavily medicated. I wouldn't be able to cope with this.
How on earth can you be productive when exhausted? It kind of defeats the object.

Surely if it's career suicide, you let them fire / sideline you, sue the bastards for constructive dismissal, and walk away with a massive pay off.

How is refusing to work for 24 hours, not because it's necessary to meet a deadline etc, but just because one person thinks it will be 'fun', make you a 'misery'?

I'd set th time with: oooh, if love to have fun, but I turn into a pumpkin after 9, so I'll be brainstorming with you till then. I hope you all have a great night-so jealous I can't do that anymore! And take donuts in with you on the da your supposed to do it. Who'll mind? No one, they'll all wish they'd have done what you did!

I’d second this. Or suggest a limit like midnight for everyone, with the Friday off. Otherwise what’s the motivation for doing the work? It’s all fine for generally 20-something childless male coders working on a specific thing, less glam when it’s a diverse bunch of people who’ve already done a full day’s work having to hang around east London at 5am to “brainstorm”.

Definitely go down the hidden disabilities, responsibilities, discrimination route.

I'd have a meeting where I said all the rights things about understanding his ideas and thinking it would be a really interesting night's work (so lie) but sadly you are worried about the unconscious discrimination and so you think it best that at least one senior person doesn't stay (you) to make it acceptable for other people with hidden reasons not to stay

I am truly gobsmacked that this sort of thing is even suggested let alone expected in a workplace. And that some people are saying to just suck it up.

Unbelievable. And a sad indictment of how so many employers treat/exploit their staff these days.

I don't know, in my first job I had to regularly pull all nighters at certain times of years when collections came out. When I joined a large American FS company, I regularly had to do very stupid mindless team building exercises, on rafts and in woods. Sometimes you just have to suck it up.

How can anyone be expected to be happy to work all day and all night?! I'd be shattered! You're all going to be sitting down staring into space, faces like slapped arses! I'm pretty sure the law would not allow a double shift. Could be be sued by the employee's? I wouldn't stay for it because I have children to look after.

This is the problem with working in a super cool trendy start up I'm afraid. Thursday night drinks, artificial grass covered meeting room floors (🙄) and bosses that think it would be super fun to stay up all night with pizza and beers.
My DH works in IT and I am constantly irritated by how carefully it is set up for young, white males, and no one else.
One of the teams (thankfully not his) didn't deliver something by Friday, so now they're required to sort it by Monday (ie, over the weekend, in their own time, which they won't get paid for), or don't come in on Monday. It's a fairly brutal life! And not compatible if you have a family at all.

I am dreading the time the U.K. can wipe aside existing working directives. This sort of thing is one reason why.

I used to sometimes work late and come in early to meet deadlines. But never did I stay up all night just for work. It's only justified in a real emergency ie fire brigade, police, doctors etc.

Not for some jumped up Internet start up trying to be trendy.

But it'll be fun

[Hmm]

No way would I be doing this. Absolute piss take! You need to come up with an excellent excuse as to why you can't do it.

Law firms do it frequently

Yes, and it has killed people. www.theguardian.com/business/2013/oct/05/moritz-erhardt-internship-banking

Urwo28 What is the fun part? Do you all go in dressed as clowns?
That made me chortle

If this is the norm at your company maybe you should start looking for a new job.

Our hackathons have never been overnight! We have a hack week every couple of months, it then gives people the ability to hack as well as get on with BAU as not everyone is hacking at the same time.

I would not do this. But thankfully I don't work in an industry that would ever expect me to. Sounds brutal! Some of us need our sleep!