Elon Musk’s Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE) grew to become a brief authorities group on January 20 via President Donald Trump’s executive order. In simply two weeks, Musk has led the division to undertake a Silicon Valley-like startup mentality in the direction of its work hours, with Musk lately bragging that DOGE is placing in extra-long hours because it tries to chop again on authorities paperwork.
In a Sunday submit on X, Musk wrote that “DOGE is working 120 hour[s] every week. Our bureaucratic opponents optimistically work 40 hours every week. That’s the reason they’re shedding so quick.”
Associated: Elon Musk Warns Tesla Workers They’ll Be Sleeping on the Production Line to Build Its New Mass-Market EV
The day prior, Musk wrote on X that “Only a few within the paperwork truly work the weekend, so it is just like the opposing crew simply leaves the sphere for two days! Working the weekend is a superpower.”
A 120-hour workweek means 17 hours and eight minutes of labor each day, together with Saturday and Sunday. In accordance with knowledge for December from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the everyday U.S. worker works a mean of 34.3 hours per week.
DOGE is working 120 hour every week. Our bureaucratic opponents optimistically work 40 hours every week. That’s the reason they’re shedding so quick. https://t.co/dXtrL5rj1K
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 2, 2025
DOGE is not the primary group the place Musk has carried out workweeks longer than common. When Musk took management of Twitter in October 2022, he informed workers that they need to anticipate to work 80 hours per week and obtain fewer perks like free meals. Less than half of Twitter’s 4,000 staff selected to remain, with the bulk choosing three months’ severance as an alternative.
It is not simply Twitter. Staff at Tesla, the place Elon Musk is CEO, have reported sleeping on the floor after 12-hour shifts after working six or seven days per week.
Musk elaborated on how he put within the hours on an April episode of the podcast, In Good Firm, hosted by Nicolai Tangen, CEO of $1.6 trillion Norges Financial institution.
“I’ve performed many, many stretches of 100-hour weeks, the place roughly six hours per day is sleeping,” Musk mentioned. “I might not advocate that. That is for emergencies.”
Musk mentioned that he put in these 100-hour weeks throughout the early days of his startups when he would sleep under his desk and work “each waking hour.” He outlined these days as stretches of ultra-hard work and mentioned he might maintain the dash for a number of years at a time.
Associated: Elon Musk Has Resorted to Sleeping at Tesla’s Factory to Try to Get it Back on Track
Roi Ginat, CEO of Infinite AI, told Business Insider that whereas he routinely works 85 hours every week, working a crew “too onerous for too lengthy” is a recipe for “fatigue and burnout.”
“I consider that Elon’s tweet is about an effort, not a brand new normal at DOGE,” Ginat said.
DOGE will not be a authorities company however a gaggle created to work alongside the White Home to carry down prices. Musk is aiming to chop a minimum of $1 trillion from the federal funds via DOGE. It is unclear how many individuals are working alongside him, however a December announcement from Trump exhibits that Katie Miller, the previous deputy press secretary for the Division of Homeland Safety throughout Trump’s first time period, is a part of the DOGE crew.
