Tech Companies Coddled Their Employees. Now They're Firing Them

I have a naive, old-style viewpoint. I view myself as a professional and approach my job that way. In return, I expect to be treated like a professional. As Max Weinberg said, “Show up, do a good job, and give them more than their money’s worth.”<p>If you want to act like a drill sergeant, hire 18 year olds.

Maybe if they got payouts on the same scale for their effort that the top bosses and VCs got, they’d work those extra 45 minutes a week. Since neither Musk nor a VC can accomplish a thing without the people who do the work, maybe they can change their tune. Those that are parents are probably proud that they give their family a high standard of living, even though the kids are pure cost center with no resale value. They could be proud that they made so much money and enabled others to live well too.<p>At least Musk hasn’t yet slipped and said that work makes you free.

&gt; Facebook, where Andreessen has long sat on the board, touts its Recharge program, in which workers are encouraged to take a 30-day sabbatical every five years. During the pandemic, Twitter added company-wide mental health breaks called “days of rest,” on top of already-generous leave policies.<p>These are the perks that the article is saying are now the subject of derision.<p>One month of vacation in 5 years, and random few days off during the year. That&#x27;s just baseline decent treatment, who wrote this nonsense, and why?

&gt; Moreover, while tech valuations are way down, it’s not at all clear that employees have lost their leverage. The labor market remains extremely tight, and with stock prices depressed, big companies have been forced to compromise on planned office re-openings, allowing employees to work from home indefinitely, while agreeing to big salary increases.<p>This excerpt undermines the point of the article. Who cares that a bunch of VC’s and CEO’s think “woke employees” should be fired, when the reality is the labor market for these employees is as tight as ever. Trash writing.

&gt; Such perks are now the subject of derision. Tech employees who were once encouraged to bring their whole selves to work are publicly mocked as woke crybabies by venture capitalists who see Musk as the leader of a righteous cleanse.<p>??? This reads like something written on Breitbart<p>Funny because Michael Bloomberg wrote the following in an article earlier this week:<p>&gt; But as more outlets prioritize eyeballs over brains, the need for hard-nosed reporting and hard-headed analysis is growing.<p>IMHO: Bloomberg should put his money where his mouth is. I actually considered subscribing to Bloomberg earlier this week. Glad I didn&#x27;t waste my money on garbage