Facebook co-founder Moskovitz: Tech companies risk destroying employees' lives
Facebook co-founder Moskovitz: Tech companies risk
destroying employees' lives
By Marco della Cava, USA TODAY 9:29 a.m. EDT August 21,
2015
SAN FRANCISCO - The tech industry threatens to
cannibalize itself, forcing its talented and young workforce to pursue work
over life with the inevitable end result being compromised results and
miserable employees.
That's the not the rant of a Silicon Valley outsider
jumping on the anti-Amazon bandwagon launched by a recent New York Times expose
of the Seattle's company's grinding business practices.
Rather, it's the regretful lament of Dustin Moskovitz,
one of the founders of Facebook and current CEO of workplace collaboration
start-up Asana.
"It is with deep sadness that I observe the current
culture of intensity in the tech industry," Moskovitz wrote in a
Medium.com essay Thursday titled "'Work Hard, Live Well." Its
sub-headline: "Amazon isn't the only company burning out their employees
with unsustainable expectations. Let's break the cycle."
"My intellectual conclusion is that these companies
are both destroying the personal lives of their employees and getting nothing
in return," he writes, citing the example of a recent Asana candidate who
described a rival company's practice of offering company dinners late so
workers would stay on into the night. "This kind of attitude not only hurts
young workers who are willing to 'step up' to the expectation, but facilitates
ageism and sexism by indirectly discriminating against people who cannot
maintain that kind of schedule."
Moskovitz cites research conducted by automotive pioneer
Henry Ford, which concludes that fewer hours actually increased employee
output. "The research is clear: beyond 40 to 50 hours per week, the
marginal returns from additional work decrease rapidly and quickly become
negative," he writes.
So why are some tech companies driving their workers
furiously? "It must be some combination of one, not knowing the research,
two, believing the research is somehow flawed or doesn't apply to them (they're
wrong), or three, understanding that many people see these cultural artifacts
as a signal about the intensity and passion of the team."
The essay opens with a confessional tone, with Moskovitz
posting a photo of his somewhat chubby 2006 self and noting that it was "a
great year for Facebook, one of the worst years for me as a human." He
describes drinking more soft drinks than water, and often going without sleep
or food.
"You might think, but if you had prioritized those
things, wouldn't your contributions have been reduced? Would Facebook have been
less successful? Actually, I believe I would have been more effective: a better
leader and a more focused employee. I would have had fewer panic attacks, and
acute health problems—like throwing out my back regularly in my early 20s. I
would have picked fewer petty fights with my peers in the organization, because
I would have been generally more centered and self-reflective. ... AND I would
have been happier."
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