Ms. Nietfeld‘s story is, sadly, a common one that it seems like every worker (especially female workers) have to learn at some point. It’s well written and really lays bare the harsh realities of...
Ms. Nietfeld‘s story is, sadly, a common one that it seems like every worker (especially female workers) have to learn at some point.
It’s well written and really lays bare the harsh realities of working for an all consuming tech company. It’s really just a step away from the old company town model.
As soon as my complaint with H.R. was filed, Google went from being a great workplace to being any other company: It would protect itself first.
Remember that no company’s HR department cares more about you than protecting the company.
I’d structured my life around my job — exactly what they wanted me to do — but that only made the fallout worse when I learned that the workplace that I cherished considered me just an employee, one of many and disposable.
I hear this over and over again, especially with high paying tech jobs. They lure in younger employees and try to indoctrinate them into the “there is no work life balance when work is fun!” way of thinking. It’s a fallacy that allows companies to take advantage of their employees.
The harassment is something I can't speak to, but that aside: yes, it can be a rude awakening when you find out that an organization won't love you back. Also, when leaving a company (or even just...
The harassment is something I can't speak to, but that aside: yes, it can be a rude awakening when you find out that an organization won't love you back.
Also, when leaving a company (or even just a team), you find who are your friends and who were just co-workers. A good proxy for this might be whether you get together regularly outside of work.
I find it difficult to believe that people are getting taken advantage of when they make boatloads of money and go on to other lucrative work. That is still very privileged. But yes, definitely do not stick around in bad situations. Switching companies is a common way of getting both a change of scene and more money.
It can be harsh and impersonal in much the same way that living in a big city can be harsh and impersonal. But still really nice, and many people do make friends anyway.
As a general rule, I don't hang out with my coworkers outside of work. I'm quite friendly with many, but... I'm forced to spend 40+ with them to make ends meet. I've got plenty of other people in...
As a general rule, I don't hang out with my coworkers outside of work. I'm quite friendly with many, but...
I'm forced to spend 40+ with them to make ends meet. I've got plenty of other people in my life I'd rather see in that sparse time off.
I find it difficult to believe that people are getting taken advantage of when they make boatloads of money and go on to other lucrative work.
Just because the wage is higher doesn't make you any more valued as a person. Those high wages are paired with monstrous expectations and strenuous hours.
Mental work is incredibly taxing. It won't destroy your body the way hard labor does, but it's harder to clock-out (brain doesn't care that it's 2 am and you're trying to sleep). It takes a mental toll, you put in 8, 10, 12 hours and you're basically a zombie because every ounce of mental stamina is exhausted. Makes it harder to de-stress, and mental health issues propagate.
Not trying to go all woe-is-me on it, but there's definitely plenty of room for discrimination and exploitation at higher wages.
Even doctors are not immune. Nurses have it worse, especially due to horrid wages, but you hear about their days and it's pretty easy to justify medical professionals making top dollar.
Sometimes. Not always. There are exceptions, but on many teams, Googlers in software engineering can set their own hours. I wouldn't compare it with the sort of thing that happens in medical...
Those high wages are paired with monstrous expectations and strenuous hours.
Sometimes. Not always.
There are exceptions, but on many teams, Googlers in software engineering can set their own hours. I wouldn't compare it with the sort of thing that happens in medical residency or to new hires at financial firms (based on what I've heard), and you don't have to be "on" every day like a teacher or doctor.
I think it might be better compared to graduate school, except that you're paid extremely well. You can have days when you're not getting all that much done, as long as you actually do get enough done eventually to keep your boss and peers happy.
Yet, somehow I managed to become somewhat unhappy and unproductive in a cushy environment. I had... many days like that. Not to the point where I had any real pressure on me to shape up, but just stagnating and not meeting my largely self-imposed goals. I had minor, occasional accomplishments. I felt guilty about being paid so much. (I guess those are "expectations" of a sort.)
I solved it by going on unpaid leave for a while to see if it would help, and then deciding I liked not working better than going back. So, now I'm early-retired. I will never have to work again thanks to Google, so it doesn't seem like a bad deal.
One thing I should point out: sometimes compensation has little to do with what you did at work and everything to do with what you didn't get around to doing. I think my story at Google was quite boring, and the main thing that was untypical about it was staying for over a decade, and, crucially, procrastinating about exercising options and selling granted stock, as it went up by >10x in a decade.
Maybe it's giving Google too much credit to think of its stock performance as compensation? The IRS considers it capital gains. But that's effectively how it worked out, and this sort of luck was available to many Googlers. And still is, it seems?
Thank you, that's a great insight. I've felt that same way as you in my jobs, this kind of brooding aimlessness. It tends to be interwoven with what I described, and for me it really kicks in...
Thank you, that's a great insight. I've felt that same way as you in my jobs, this kind of brooding aimlessness. It tends to be interwoven with what I described, and for me it really kicks in after a bout of hard work that gets tossed aside or ignored.
But sadly, I am not a Googler. My wages, while high compared to many, certainly aren't early-retirement material. I had the same feeling of not wanting to return after FMLA for my first kid, but still got to slog it out for another 20-30 years (less if M4A or UBI happens).
That's why I'm trying to figure a way out of a desk job without a huge pay cut. I suppose I could try to find a better workplace, but stability is far more important in these precarious days.
Trickier for you since you have kids (I don't), but the job I have currently I took a very large pay cut from my previous job. But it's something I really enjoy and find fulfilling in ways that my...
That's why I'm trying to figure a way out of a desk job without a huge pay cut
Trickier for you since you have kids (I don't), but the job I have currently I took a very large pay cut from my previous job. But it's something I really enjoy and find fulfilling in ways that my previous job was never going to be able to do. Absolutely worth it.
Ms. Nietfeld‘s story is, sadly, a common one that it seems like every worker (especially female workers) have to learn at some point.
It’s well written and really lays bare the harsh realities of working for an all consuming tech company. It’s really just a step away from the old company town model.
Remember that no company’s HR department cares more about you than protecting the company.
I hear this over and over again, especially with high paying tech jobs. They lure in younger employees and try to indoctrinate them into the “there is no work life balance when work is fun!” way of thinking. It’s a fallacy that allows companies to take advantage of their employees.
The harassment is something I can't speak to, but that aside: yes, it can be a rude awakening when you find out that an organization won't love you back.
Also, when leaving a company (or even just a team), you find who are your friends and who were just co-workers. A good proxy for this might be whether you get together regularly outside of work.
I find it difficult to believe that people are getting taken advantage of when they make boatloads of money and go on to other lucrative work. That is still very privileged. But yes, definitely do not stick around in bad situations. Switching companies is a common way of getting both a change of scene and more money.
It can be harsh and impersonal in much the same way that living in a big city can be harsh and impersonal. But still really nice, and many people do make friends anyway.
As a general rule, I don't hang out with my coworkers outside of work. I'm quite friendly with many, but...
I'm forced to spend 40+ with them to make ends meet. I've got plenty of other people in my life I'd rather see in that sparse time off.
Just because the wage is higher doesn't make you any more valued as a person. Those high wages are paired with monstrous expectations and strenuous hours.
Mental work is incredibly taxing. It won't destroy your body the way hard labor does, but it's harder to clock-out (brain doesn't care that it's 2 am and you're trying to sleep). It takes a mental toll, you put in 8, 10, 12 hours and you're basically a zombie because every ounce of mental stamina is exhausted. Makes it harder to de-stress, and mental health issues propagate.
Not trying to go all woe-is-me on it, but there's definitely plenty of room for discrimination and exploitation at higher wages.
Even doctors are not immune. Nurses have it worse, especially due to horrid wages, but you hear about their days and it's pretty easy to justify medical professionals making top dollar.
Sometimes. Not always.
There are exceptions, but on many teams, Googlers in software engineering can set their own hours. I wouldn't compare it with the sort of thing that happens in medical residency or to new hires at financial firms (based on what I've heard), and you don't have to be "on" every day like a teacher or doctor.
I think it might be better compared to graduate school, except that you're paid extremely well. You can have days when you're not getting all that much done, as long as you actually do get enough done eventually to keep your boss and peers happy.
Yet, somehow I managed to become somewhat unhappy and unproductive in a cushy environment. I had... many days like that. Not to the point where I had any real pressure on me to shape up, but just stagnating and not meeting my largely self-imposed goals. I had minor, occasional accomplishments. I felt guilty about being paid so much. (I guess those are "expectations" of a sort.)
I solved it by going on unpaid leave for a while to see if it would help, and then deciding I liked not working better than going back. So, now I'm early-retired. I will never have to work again thanks to Google, so it doesn't seem like a bad deal.
One thing I should point out: sometimes compensation has little to do with what you did at work and everything to do with what you didn't get around to doing. I think my story at Google was quite boring, and the main thing that was untypical about it was staying for over a decade, and, crucially, procrastinating about exercising options and selling granted stock, as it went up by >10x in a decade.
Maybe it's giving Google too much credit to think of its stock performance as compensation? The IRS considers it capital gains. But that's effectively how it worked out, and this sort of luck was available to many Googlers. And still is, it seems?
Thank you, that's a great insight. I've felt that same way as you in my jobs, this kind of brooding aimlessness. It tends to be interwoven with what I described, and for me it really kicks in after a bout of hard work that gets tossed aside or ignored.
But sadly, I am not a Googler. My wages, while high compared to many, certainly aren't early-retirement material. I had the same feeling of not wanting to return after FMLA for my first kid, but still got to slog it out for another 20-30 years (less if M4A or UBI happens).
That's why I'm trying to figure a way out of a desk job without a huge pay cut. I suppose I could try to find a better workplace, but stability is far more important in these precarious days.
Trickier for you since you have kids (I don't), but the job I have currently I took a very large pay cut from my previous job. But it's something I really enjoy and find fulfilling in ways that my previous job was never going to be able to do. Absolutely worth it.