I'm still oncall but if there's a issue that triggers a review to make changes so it never happens again. N+1 on everything, and N+2 redundancy on critical systems. A single failure should be a non-issue. It should take multiple failures inside of a single system to engage the oncall. Human error should be eliminated by not allowing changes during big holidays. Many companies lock down from Thanksgiving to new years.
While things can and will still happen, properly implemented and managed systems should eliminate the most if the oncall issues. The ones that do come up will be an "all hands on deck" kind of thing. People will be less afraid of oncall then they know they rarely get called.
Once you've worked on call for a good employer, you'll absolutely understand what I'm saying. The idea of being alone person shackled to a pager biting your nails because it's a holiday becomes a thing of the past.
"you're too good for hourly work, we're going to make you salaried, it's great now you can just focus on getting your work done and not have to worry about hours on the clock. But you still have a timesheet and we still expect you to be here 9-5 and you can't leave early unless it's approved by your manager. Also you'll have to work 60-80hrs a week until we are caught up which should be sometime around Q3 of next year. But you're empowered now and we are flexibile"
Even among those who were no longer religious, folks often had families who still hold these beliefs.
(I was educated in a Catholic school, was an altar boy, and will never return to either place, so I use the term "cultural Catholicism" to distinguish my agnosticism from the full blown atheism I see on HN which often has a bit too right libertarian branding for my left libertarian tastes.)
