I don’t think it’s quite that black and white. If it’s a matter of “we’re going to be insolvent if we don’t hit this deadline”, and you want to keep getting paid, long hours can be justified. That’s not to say it’s not a failure of leadership that led to that situation, but I really am talking about exceptional circumstances, not arbitrarily-imposed deadlines.
And if the company is in that bad of shape, you’re going to be out of business anyway soon as did the startup I worked for from 2008-2011.
That’s where the whole always being prepared for the shit to hit the fan comes in - having a strong network, enough liquid savings to cover a gap of unemployment, a resume that’s updated at least quarterly, a longer form career document, up to date skillset…
I have never once in 27 years (3 years after my first job) been stressed enough about losing my job to overwork myself and I’ve worked at the shittiest BigTech company (you know the one based in Seattle) where they love to overwork you.
It shouldn't be possible to do this. We shouldn't let companies save themselves by doing this to their workers. Those companies should just go away. It's not the 1800s anymore.
Perhaps. But if you’re in the US your job is likely providing your primary income + health insurance + identity. Your compensation likely includes equity in the company if you’re in tech. So its in the collective interest to make the company survive.
No your job doesn’t provide equity just because you are in software development. Most of the near 3 million software developers in the US are working in boring old enterprise jobs where they don’t receive equity.
That’s not to mention the subset who do receive equity that are working at startups whose equity is statistically worthless.
And if someone’s identity is tied up in thier jobs, their an idiot.
I’ve worked at 10 jobs in my career of over 30 years everything from startups, boring enterprise, BigTech to now working full time for a consulting company. I’m always prepared to jump ship when facts on the ground change. I need a job - not the current job I have.
