Can we talk for a minute about how corporate tech culture is becoming more and more toxic?
The environment is growing increasingly bad for our health. So it feels timely, and a bit urgent. And this topic is not getting enough air time.
We often put on a brave face and pretend like everything is OK, right? But it’s not. Not really. We all know it, yet no one is saying anything. Possibly because everyone is afraid of the (potential) consequences. But have you considered the consequences of saying nothing? Either way, I’m going to speak up on behalf of those who feel they cannot.
I’ve talked to dozens and dozens of people recently. Some still in tech, some who have left. People at different companies, levels, and roles. But one common thread runs through it all: almost no one feels happy or hopeful about it. Morale is at an all time low. Tech has changed in the last couple of years. And it’s not sustainable.
One CTO recently called it sewage in the body. A Principle Engineer from Microsoft described it as ingesting poison and transmuting it, but no longer being able to keep up with the intake.
A Sr Manager at Amazon told me that employees in the halls have started saying “good luck” to each other, instead of “hi” or “how are you?”
A couple TPMs from Expedia told me recently two engineers have gone on emergency medical leave and another left (all for mental health) just within the 3 squads in their program.
It is, quite literally, killing us.
Personally, I used to wake up gasping, convinced I would die if I didn’t do some critical task I had forgotten. A few years ago, I took a medical leave for burnout, depression and anxiety. I started therapy and hired my own coach and mentor, which was when I finally learned to start setting boundaries. Years of long hours, constant pressure, and an “always on” mentality pushed me to the brink, but how I dealt with it made a huge difference.
If you’ve felt any of this, you are not alone. This is one of the primary problems I want to solve. Because what’s going on is not OK. I care about you who are in my circle, and about this industry. And because if we can solve this problem, we can solve any problem.
In my next post, I’ll talk more about why I think this is happening, and what we can do about it.
