How to pull off an 80 hour work week?

 For a moment, forget the 40 hour week, and consider an 80 hour work week instead. Also referred to as a 9/80 work schedule, it typically consists of two-week periods where the workers commit to eight nine-hour days and one eight-hour day, with an additional one day off. The most common approach is splitting up a week into four 9 hour days and one 8 hour day divided into two four hour intervals.

Advantages of the 80 hour work week

See why an extended work week might work better for certain countries, industries or company culture. Keep in mind that not every employee will be on board with extra working hours, despite the circumstances.

Better time management

Most managers have trouble organizing the time when creating schedules for their employees. Often they fear that employees will not be able to cover all the essential tasks during the extra day off within the 9/80 work schedule. However, the extended hours make this more manageable than it seems at first glance.

For example, one usual strategy is splitting your team into two, and giving each half a different day off. Some are free on Monday, and the others can take the Friday off. Due to the increased hours, tasks can be delegated more efficiently as well. More complicated tasks can be given on Mondays, and they will be already finished by Wednesday, leaving at least a whole day more of work. As the employees get a day off in this scenario it seems like it is a win-win for both sides.

Better work results

As an 80 hour week implies an extra day off for all the workers, the additional rest can be considered an extra incentive for the team. This allows more personal control over their work schedule. Consequently, they will feel more motivated to complete their tasks, knowing they have a reward at the end of the week. Note that most of the time, increased productivity is the result of the flexibility that this kind of work week allows.

The extra day off will give the employees time to recover, reevaluate their work, and come back more energized the next week. Furthermore, it means that better results can be achieved for all involved, which essentially secures the company’s growth.

Work-life balance

Every business owner needs to juggle two things: company growth and employee satisfaction. When the workers are overworked or dissatisfied it reflects poorly on the business. Thus, employers always need to motivate employees to work better. The key here is work-life balance. That means the company needs to provide the key ingredients that give the employees the impression that they are in charge of their own work and in control of their professional lives.

When employees are working for nine hours per week, they have more time to organize their tasks and finish most within the day. Furthermore, employers guarantee two days off per month, allowing employees to use that time for doctor’s appointments, vacations or even rest.

Disadvantages of the 80 hour work week

Although extended schedules are beneficial for some industries and cultures, they can be detrimental to others. Consider the drawbacks of the extended hours when employing an 80 hour work week. Never commit to an 80 hour work week if it costs you more money or the satisfaction of your employees.

Overworked employees

The 80 hour work week allows for two additional days off during the month, however, it also implies longer working hours during the week. Most likely, dependent on the company culture, the extra working hours can be stressful and eventually overwork the employees. In a typical week, workers finish their job around 4 or 5 o’clock and are done with their tasks almost an hour before their shift ends. In an extended work week, employees will be incentivized to start a new task that will be postponed to the next day or week.

As many countries and work cultures are moving towards reduced working hours, it begs the question of whether it is a smart idea to add additional working hours for your employees. If your projects require additional time and effort, then committing to a 9/80 schedule for a limited period of time might be a smart idea. If your employees are striving for a better work-life balance, then consider lowering the hours.

Small businesses cannot keep up

The modern economy is filled with startups and small companies that are often struggling with funding or have a limited number of employees. The 9/80 work schedule might not be the smartest strategy to employ for small businesses. In these circumstances, small businesses are at a disadvantage, and are better off with a classic 40 hour work week. If, however, a small business owner wishes to experiment with an extended work week, they should consider hiring more employees, or creating smaller teams of efficient workers. As long as the workers aren’t overworked or underpaid, the extended working hours should pose a problem.

Decreased productivity

There are at least two ways your productivity at work can be decreased. Firstly, the companies and customers your business is usually collaborating with might not be working during the extended hours. You will not only lose revenue and general productivity but your employees will be overworked for nothing.

Secondly, it is important to understand the style of work for each employee. Some prefer longer working days and the extra day off, and others prefer shorter and more compact working days. Some work in the mornings and others prefer the evenings. Adding an extra hour or two to their schedules might lead to decreased productivity as most of them will be demotivated or stuck at work without much to do.

Conclusion

Consider the good and bad sides of launching a 9/80 schedule. It can be a cool alternative to the typical 9-5 workday and it can lead to better results. However, for all its advantages, an extended work week might not work for all industries or people. If you are working on large scale projects in academia, consultancy, finance and similar fields maybe your employees can benefit from some added hours. If you are however working in education, healthcare or customer service, longer hours might overburden your employees.

How does MQTT work?

MQTT has a simple architecture that utilizes the available bandwidth for transmission. This simple architecture is called the ‘Publish and Subscribe’ model. The model involves clients (a sender and recipient), but communication isn’t direct because a third party is engaged, called an MQTT broker. 

When the publisher wants to send a message, it publishes the topic and sends it to the broker. The broker finds all the subscribers of the subject and distributes information. It entirely means that a publisher and subscriber have no direct link to each other. The process is reversible because the publisher can be the subscriber, and the subscriber can be the publisher.

The broker is an intermediary whenever the connection is cut from the publisher or subscriber. When the subscriber is offline, the broker will hold information sent by the publisher until the subscriber is back online. On the other hand, the broker will relay particular instruction messages (cached messages) to subscribers whenever there is a communication breakdown from the broker.

MQTT messages

An MQTT message is categorized into four phases: connection, verification, communication, and endpoint. A client begins by making a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) association with the specialist by utilizing either a standard or custom port characterized by the intermediary’s administrators. While communicating, it’s vital to perceive that the server could proceed with an old meeting assuming it is given a reused client personality.

There are two standard ports of communication in MQTT: encrypted (8883) and nonencrypted (1883) communication – utilizing Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)/Transport Layer Security (TLS). During the SSL/TLS handshake, the client approves the server testament and confirms the server. The client may likewise give a testament to the representative during the handshake. The agent can utilize this to validate the client. While not explicitly part of the MQTT determination, it has become standard for agents to help client validation with SSL/TLS client-side testaments. 

MQTT is a lightweight code protocol since every message has a little code. Each message comprises a decent header of 2 bytes, a discretionary variable header, a message payload restricted to 256 megabytes (MB) of data, and the nature of administration (quality of service). 

At the point when a distributor or endorser needs to end an MQTT meeting, it sends a ‘Disconnect’ message to the merchant and afterwards shuts the association. It is an effortless closure since it enables the client to effectively reconnect by giving its client character and continuing the latest relevant point of interest.

Should the termination happen unexpectedly without time for a distributor to send a ‘Disconnect’ message, the representative might send endorsers a statement from the distributor that the intermediary has recently reserved. The message, known as a last will and confirmation, furnishes endorsers with directions for what to do if the distributor suddenly disappears.

MQTT in IoT projects

Here are some of the benefits why a company would collaborate with an IoT company to implement the MQTT messaging protocol: 

• Lightweight Code Protocol: MQTT clients are tiny and require insignificant assets to be utilized on little microcontrollers. MQTT message headers are little to advance organization data transmission.

• Work Under Unreliable Network: Numerous IoT gadgets are associated with inconsistent cell organizations. MQTT’s help for tireless meetings diminishes the chance to reconnect the client with the dealer.

• Two Way Communication: MQTT takes into consideration informing between gadget to cloud to device unendingly. It makes for simple telecom messages to gatherings of things.

• Solid Message Delivery: The dependability of message conveyance is significant for some IoT use cases. Therefore, MQTT has three characterized nature of administration levels: 0 – at most once, 1-no less than once, 2 – precisely once

• Secure: MQTT makes it simple to scramble messages utilizing TLS and validate clients using present-day confirmation conventions, like OAuth.

• Fast Communication: MQTT works continuously, without any postpones beyond the quality of service.

• Comprehensive Support for Programming Languages: MQTT has comprehensive support for programming languages, making it simple for designers to use while developing. 

Drawbacks of MQTT

1. MQTT has more slow communication cycles than Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP).
   
2. MQTT’s asset disclosure deals with adaptable point membership, though CoAP utilizes a steady asset revelation framework.
3. Being a lightweight protocol, it has minimal authentication features.
4. MQTT is decoded. It utilizes TLS/SSL (Transport Layer Security/Secure Sockets Layer) for security encryption.
5. It’s challenging to make an internationally versatile MQTT organization.

Applications Of MQTT in the IoT industry

• Car Industry: MQTT IoT projects in the car industry reduce vehicle robbery avoidance, vehicle observing, and far-off support of vehicles.
• Transport Operations: One of the best MQTT conventions in the IoT model is in the strategies area. MQTT IoT centre points, for example, Airtel IoT, assist with following cargo vehicles and give continuous cautions to cargo wellbeing and development.
• Home Computerization: IoT dashboards use MQTT to oversee home gadgets immediately with your cell phones.
• Agriculture: The emergence of smart farming has enabled farmers to monitor soil pH, temperature, and humidity – essential for effective yielding and overall farming techniques. 
• Energy Industry: IoT MQTT boards in the energy area help to construct a more brilliant energy network and upgrade power utilization by purchasers.

Conclusion

MQTT assumes a significant part in making IoT projects more ‘low-lift’ regarding specialized determinations while accomplishing the ideal associations among gadgets, servers, and applications. The publish and subscribe model in MQTT makes it simple to be adopted in IoT. Additionally, choosing the correct cloud service will enhance a high-quality service for your project with the help of MQTT brokers.