This hits hard! Well said, and makes me think. I’ve been pondering the work/life balance and why I don’t feel part of the “kool aid gang” at work, who seem to live and breathe the job. And I don’t even work for the private sector anymore. Lots to think about, thanks.
People who want you to bleed for your job will bleed you dry and then they will toss you aside and move on to the next person. Someone should ask him if he’s willing to bleed for his employees. Without them he would literally not have a company.
How about we normalize not dying for your job? That guy is a sociopath.
Wow it's like another version of prosperity gospel!
"Airbnb’s stated mission is “[creating] a world where anyone can belong anywhere.” In reality, this has resulted in people feeling like they no longer belong in their own neighborhoods."
Oh! And not just that! I'm sure it'll be a huge surprise but there's been quite a bit of racism involved in AirBnB rentals too. Honestly I just refuse to use the service. In many cases it's actually worse and more expensive than a hotel (especially with the 'surprise' cleaning fees). But the fact it takes housing stock off the market when people need affordable places to live is reason enough to avoid supporting it.
I worked for a firm that had a great culture until it didn’t. I had many life changes during my time there and my office worked with me every step of the way. I worked hard and was loyal. However, through many mergers, layoffs and other events, the corporate culture turned into much of what Stephen described here. I retired 3 years early, because no amount of money was worth losing my mind.
Btw, love Severance. Really hits home to those of us who have survived the corporate bullshit.
I work in high tech. Worked for a few startups… And larger companies in which the mentality is pretty much work til you drop what the fuck is a weekend…
… yeah, can’t say it has ever done a lot to make me actually happy… Has kept me and mine warm and fed, okay… Sometimes the work has been interesting… But burning weekends and evenings when there’s a world out there and people who might miss you being in it really is a bit of a mug’s game.
To answer the interview question: if I had a year left, I might do a Bowerick Wowbagger, travelling around to Ted Talks, corporate retreats and the like, and attempting personally to insult every company founder or manager who’s ever said the words ‘one hundred and ten percent’.
I never really knew what corporate culture was until I worked for a company that had a good one. People were happy and looked forward to working. I realized that it was because they stressed work/life balance. They had unlimited PTO and for the most part, no one was greedy with it, each deciding for themselves if 3 weeks was enough and others using more and less. Good companies understand burn out and what happens then. THAT is visionary; seeing what happens to productivity when you demand fealty. Luckily the company I work for now feels the same. The thought is you work to live not live to work. Emotionally happy employees can be more productive. You’ve got vacation time. Please use it. FTR the company has been around for 50 years so they understand the long view.
I used to teach high school English. For 17 years. I was really dedicated to it and although the pay was crap and I spent most of my evenings and all my weekends grading and prepping, it was really fulfilling to see those kids work, succeed, and go off to college better prepared. But I was exhausted all the time. And then I was just too exhausted to care anymore.
Now I work in a research library and the whole ethos is, when you leave at 5, you're done. On weekends, don't read your email. Please take a long walk at lunch so you can re-focus. If you need to move your folks into Assisted Living, please go do it; we'll cover for you. If your kid is sick, go take care of her. I'm 61 now and I can see doing this until I am well past 70, because these people actually care about my mental and physical health and in return they are getting a lot of loyalty.
Lordy, these corporate captains of industry are soulless, narcissistic, selfish monsters. If they want people to love (nay, even simply "like") working for them, then they need to do the work to make their company a welcoming, nurturing, rewarding place. The expectation that we wage slaves should happily toil for the master not for rewards but simply for their exclusive benefit is just gross. But more than gross, it's sociopathic.
This hit me like, well, a ton of bricks. Profound. And I work for one of those tech companies led by a 'visionary' who actually said in an all-hands meeting that people should want to work here 'for free' because of the corporate ethos and mission. You first, buddy.
Beautifully outlined, thank you, and so necessary for everyone to understand.
I recently met up with a former student who had been hired as a Production Engineer at a concrete company but was told to work onsite with construction for “awhile,” which had by then stretched into a few grueling months. When he had a review with management and asked about moving into his promised position, they told him they wanted people who were “really conmitted” and “had a passion for concrete.” We laughed together in the coffee shop, but it was a terribly potent issue for him - he needs a job to live; he is not averse to sweat labor but that was not his expectation. 😔
If you're expected to bleed for your job, you work for vampires.
They're expecting the employees to have CEO values and vision without the CEO salaries. Figures.
This hits hard! Well said, and makes me think. I’ve been pondering the work/life balance and why I don’t feel part of the “kool aid gang” at work, who seem to live and breathe the job. And I don’t even work for the private sector anymore. Lots to think about, thanks.
People who want you to bleed for your job will bleed you dry and then they will toss you aside and move on to the next person. Someone should ask him if he’s willing to bleed for his employees. Without them he would literally not have a company.
How about we normalize not dying for your job? That guy is a sociopath.
Wow it's like another version of prosperity gospel!
"Airbnb’s stated mission is “[creating] a world where anyone can belong anywhere.” In reality, this has resulted in people feeling like they no longer belong in their own neighborhoods."
Oh! And not just that! I'm sure it'll be a huge surprise but there's been quite a bit of racism involved in AirBnB rentals too. Honestly I just refuse to use the service. In many cases it's actually worse and more expensive than a hotel (especially with the 'surprise' cleaning fees). But the fact it takes housing stock off the market when people need affordable places to live is reason enough to avoid supporting it.
I’ve never used AirBNB and never will for these reasons and more.
I worked for a firm that had a great culture until it didn’t. I had many life changes during my time there and my office worked with me every step of the way. I worked hard and was loyal. However, through many mergers, layoffs and other events, the corporate culture turned into much of what Stephen described here. I retired 3 years early, because no amount of money was worth losing my mind.
Btw, love Severance. Really hits home to those of us who have survived the corporate bullshit.
I work in high tech. Worked for a few startups… And larger companies in which the mentality is pretty much work til you drop what the fuck is a weekend…
… yeah, can’t say it has ever done a lot to make me actually happy… Has kept me and mine warm and fed, okay… Sometimes the work has been interesting… But burning weekends and evenings when there’s a world out there and people who might miss you being in it really is a bit of a mug’s game.
To answer the interview question: if I had a year left, I might do a Bowerick Wowbagger, travelling around to Ted Talks, corporate retreats and the like, and attempting personally to insult every company founder or manager who’s ever said the words ‘one hundred and ten percent’.
I never really knew what corporate culture was until I worked for a company that had a good one. People were happy and looked forward to working. I realized that it was because they stressed work/life balance. They had unlimited PTO and for the most part, no one was greedy with it, each deciding for themselves if 3 weeks was enough and others using more and less. Good companies understand burn out and what happens then. THAT is visionary; seeing what happens to productivity when you demand fealty. Luckily the company I work for now feels the same. The thought is you work to live not live to work. Emotionally happy employees can be more productive. You’ve got vacation time. Please use it. FTR the company has been around for 50 years so they understand the long view.
I used to teach high school English. For 17 years. I was really dedicated to it and although the pay was crap and I spent most of my evenings and all my weekends grading and prepping, it was really fulfilling to see those kids work, succeed, and go off to college better prepared. But I was exhausted all the time. And then I was just too exhausted to care anymore.
Now I work in a research library and the whole ethos is, when you leave at 5, you're done. On weekends, don't read your email. Please take a long walk at lunch so you can re-focus. If you need to move your folks into Assisted Living, please go do it; we'll cover for you. If your kid is sick, go take care of her. I'm 61 now and I can see doing this until I am well past 70, because these people actually care about my mental and physical health and in return they are getting a lot of loyalty.
Lordy, these corporate captains of industry are soulless, narcissistic, selfish monsters. If they want people to love (nay, even simply "like") working for them, then they need to do the work to make their company a welcoming, nurturing, rewarding place. The expectation that we wage slaves should happily toil for the master not for rewards but simply for their exclusive benefit is just gross. But more than gross, it's sociopathic.
This hit me like, well, a ton of bricks. Profound. And I work for one of those tech companies led by a 'visionary' who actually said in an all-hands meeting that people should want to work here 'for free' because of the corporate ethos and mission. You first, buddy.
Beautifully outlined, thank you, and so necessary for everyone to understand.
I recently met up with a former student who had been hired as a Production Engineer at a concrete company but was told to work onsite with construction for “awhile,” which had by then stretched into a few grueling months. When he had a review with management and asked about moving into his promised position, they told him they wanted people who were “really conmitted” and “had a passion for concrete.” We laughed together in the coffee shop, but it was a terribly potent issue for him - he needs a job to live; he is not averse to sweat labor but that was not his expectation. 😔
“If you want to tell me what to do, put me on the fucking payroll” 👍🏼