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In Silicon Valley, Working 9 to 5 Is for Losers

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Re: In Silicon Valley, Working 9 to 5 Is for Losers

#11

Post by taurath »

There's plenty of work life balance available for people who want it, and not on shitty teams. The people who believe and have the passion to work for 18 hours a day either are just plain passionate or are being played. At every job I've had I could come in (or not) for 5 hours a day as long as I attend catchup meetings and get my work done.

There's another class of people that truly believe they are the next Jobs or Bezos or Serge or Larry. There will always be those people in the valley, but the good part is at least for now nobody has to work either for or with them if they don't want to. They can say everyone who isn't as "passionate" as them are losers but nobody has to listen to them.

Re: In Silicon Valley, Working 9 to 5 Is for Losers

#12

Post by donw »

monksy wrote: post #2

This is one of their favorite reasons for recruiting people without experience: They're unlikely to say no and more unlikely to be married or have familial commitments.

This brings to mind one of my favorite little idioms: "If you think hiring experts is expensive, try hiring amateurs."

Re: In Silicon Valley, Working 9 to 5 Is for Losers

#13

Post by sjg007 »

SmirkingRevenge wrote: post #7

In my anecdotal experience perusing glassdoor and talking to various tech company recruiters (as I job hunt), a lot of companies these days (in the valley and elsewhere) seem to be touting "good work life balance" and "9-5 hours" as a selling point.

Remember they are selling..

Re: In Silicon Valley, Working 9 to 5 Is for Losers

#14

Post by drewg123 »

That's nonsense, at least for Google.

In my organization, it was rare to work more than 8 hours. I worked ~8 hours at the office, and did little more than check email occasionally on evenings / weekends, and still managed to be promoted to staff SWE after 2 years. I knew several people that would arrive at 9:30 and leave by 4pm. It was like a vacation after the small IHV that I worked for previously.

Re: In Silicon Valley, Working 9 to 5 Is for Losers

#15

Post by dogruck »

If you work 9 to 5, you're paid accordingly. Of course, some people foolishly work even more hours for little additional pay.

If you want to earn more, you either need to work more, or you need to prove that your work generates revenue. If you are a revenue engine, a company will always pay you. Otherwise, you're just a bee in the hive.

Re: In Silicon Valley, Working 9 to 5 Is for Losers

#18

Post by theDoug »

drewg123 wrote: post #14

That's nonsense, at least for Google. In my organization, it was rare to work more than 8 hours. I worked ~8 hours at the office, and did little more than check email occasionally on evenings / weekends, and still managed to be promoted to staff SWE after 2 years. I knew several people that would arrive at 9:30 and leave by 4pm. It was like a vacation after the small IHV that I worked for previously.

Speaking as another Googler, but over in Product Marketing Management, my experience of working hours and reward, and that of others, is similar to your observation.

I remember being told on day two of Noogler training (paraphrasing) “if you find yourself working evenings and weekends something is messed up.” We actively want to find where efficiencies can be made or where more support is needed. Someone working 'harder' (AKA additional ass-in-chair-hours) does not deliver that.

Re: In Silicon Valley, Working 9 to 5 Is for Losers

#19

Post by dogruck »

monksy wrote: post #2

This is one of their favorite reasons for recruiting people without experience: They're unlikely to say no and more unlikely to be married or have familial commitments.

Yes, and this quickly leads to ageism and sexism. Want to hire a 28 year old woman who just got engaged and is excited about starting a family? Want to hire a 43 year old person who prefers spending evenings with his/her kids over grinding away at the office?

Re: In Silicon Valley, Working 9 to 5 Is for Losers

#20

Post by uiri »

I was expecting an article about the crazy traffic in the Bay Area and people working weird hours (6am to 2pm or 1pm to 9pm or crazier) to compensate. I was kind of disappointed by the article decrying workaholism which is by no means required to get ahead anywhere in Silicon Valley.
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