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LinkedIn’s cofounder Reid Hoffman says seeking work-life balance is a red flag that you’re ‘not committed to winning’

⁨467⁩ ⁨likes⁩

Submitted ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨return2ozma@lemmy.world⁩ to ⁨workreform@lemmy.world⁩

https://fortune.com/2025/04/02/reid-hoffman-says-the-best-founders-dont-have-work-life-balance-anything-short-means-theyre-not-committed-to-winning/

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Comments

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  • TheAgeOfSuperboredom@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    He’s right. I’m committed to getting paid and doing what I want.

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    • saltesc@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      Right? “Winning” what exactly? Reid Hoffman’s trying to be the best at being the most miserable and unfulfilled. The most regrets on his death bed.

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  • MolecularCactus1324@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    Until I have the same unlimited upside as a founder does, I’m committed to work life balance. If you’re a wage employee, there is not point in giving your life to your job.

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    • floofloof@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      To be fair, he’s talking to the founders of startups, not employees. But still, he sounds like an ass.

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    • tdawg@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      Personally I’d rather have both

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  • jjjalljs@ttrpg.network ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    Fuck this guy. I say we guillotine him as an example to the others.

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  • jeena@piefed.jeena.net ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    I worked at a couple of startups and every single one was a success with good exit strategies, and we had good work-life balance. His view is factually false.

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  • TheDemonBuer@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    “The people that think that’s toxic don’t understand the start-up game, and they’re just wrong,” he said. “The game is intense. And by the way, if you don’t do that, eventually, you’re out of a job.

    For those who disagree, working at a startup is a choice, Hoffman insisted.

    But the reward on the other side is second to none; the 100 or so first employees at LinkedIn don’t need to work anymore, he added. Microsoft purchased the professional networking platform for $26.2 billion in 2016.

    That’s good for the 100 or so first employees at LinkedIn, but I’m certain that the VAST majority of employees who bust their ass trying to help get a start-up off the ground don’t have anywhere near that end result. I’m sure it isn’t worth it for 99% of employees of start-ups.

    But if you want to take on the challenge, hoping that maybe you’ll be one of the lucky ones, go for it, but don’t fucking drag a spouse/significant other, or children into that nightmare. If you want to commit your entire life to a start-up, then fucking commit.

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    • owenfromcanada@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      This is what happens when you survey jackpot winners about the value of lottery tickets.

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      • Telorand@reddthat.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

        That’s called Survivorship Bias, and it’s a fallacy! I would expect nothing less than irrationality from a billionaire that got lucky and thinks his hard work in particular was what got him where he is.

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    • aesthelete@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      It’s a fucking lotto. Lucky people always think they’re smarter or more hardworking than others.

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    • Empricorn@feddit.nl ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      It’s like listening to successful YouTubers say all you gotta do is commit to the grind and you’ll achieve your dreams. Even focusing solely on the numbers, it’s literally dishonest.

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  • DJDarren@sopuli.xyz ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    Reid Hoffman can wake up at 4:30am and begin the important work of eating my entire arsehole.

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    • JigglySackles@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      I wouldn’t give him the privilege of the entirety. He can just lap at the crusty bits.

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  • lorski@sopuli.xyz ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    Linkedin is a meat market for capitalist labor. It is very anti- worker, pro capitalist douchebaggery. Fuck Linkedin.

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    • iamkindasomeone@feddit.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      You will never be able to afford a two bedroom apartment with that kind of attitude, sir!

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  • Showroom7561@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    Not everyone hates their family, Reid.

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    • EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      I’ve worked with a number of workaholics over the years. A few have straight-up admitted that they were taking on extra work to get away.

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  • FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    I want to live in a place where life isn’t a game with winner or losers, but a fun experience to share with those you love.

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    • madcaesar@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      You have been banned from /r/capitalism

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  • inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    I mean that’s fine for the guy or gal trying to start up their own business, which is what his talk was about, in the class he was addressing.

    This should not apply to the workers though which is what way to many of business owners seem to forget once they start touring s profit and hiring people.

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    • MBech@feddit.dk ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      What they forget is that other people aren’t going to be as comitted to their business as they themselves are. They’re not going to care as much for the simple fact, that if the business takes off, they’re not going to earn any of the profits. Why would I work 50 hour weeks like the founder, if I don’t stand to actually reap the benefits?

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      • funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

        not to mention a lot of US companies have “bonuses” to encourage you, but haven’t the foresight to think that an unmet bonus - usually out of the person’s hands, at least in my experience - is just a pay cut, and pay cuts are the worst thing you can do for morale and productivity.

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  • some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    Fuck off, Reid.

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  • withabeard@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    Excuse me sir, we appear to have a different definition of “winning”.

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  • Empricorn@feddit.nl ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    Does “winning” mean you ignore family, friends, and self-care to further enrich giant corporations…? Cuz if so, I suggest this dude jump up his own asshole.

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    • markstos@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      The quotes are specifically about early stage startup founders, not employees of huge established startups corporations.

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    • Rakonat@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      He (and the exploitive class he is part of) want you to neglect your personal life and be productive so they can do the opposite.

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  • TTH4P@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    I mean he’s definitely an asshole for many reasons, but the context is “if you are a start-up entrepreneur”

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    • DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      No, he’s still an idiot, and he’ll realize it when he dies, if he’s lucky.

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      • Empricorn@feddit.nl ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

        Like most CEOs that push this toxic shit, hope it’s soon.

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  • MadMadBunny@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    The context is important:

    for small businesses and entrepreneurs

    lemmy.ca/comment/15704649

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    • melfie@lemmings.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      I think it’s fair enough to put in some really intense years with the promise of a nice payoff and ability to retire early, as opposed to spreading that effort and payout over decades with work / life balance. The problem is when that same intense effort is asked of anyone who will not be getting such a payout at the end. Even workers with equity in a start-up can get the shaft due to the fine print where the VCs take the lions share of the exit money and the workers end up with a paltry sum to that won’t even cover their medical bills later on after the stress takes its toll on their bodies.

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    • green@feddit.nl ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      This context does not change anything. Not prioritizing health shows a critical misunderstanding of what wealth is, and how to reap its benefits. You are not likely to be a good business person if you do not understand fundamentals.

      That being said, if you’re willing to cheat/lie/steal you can ignore a lot of the fundamentals - which is the route most of these “cofounders” took

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    • HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      Processing the context, you can see how a lot of internet companies have continued the trend of making wage positions “more entrepreneurial”.

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  • polyamorypagan69@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    Image

    Kings deserve the Guillotine!

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  • martin4598@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    Looking at him, he may need a bit of work-life balance.

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  • roofuskit@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    It’s also a good sign you’re not mentally ill.

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  • iAvicenna@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    this belongs in linkedin lunatics

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  • tino@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    Dude wants to win at work. I win at life.

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    • Red_October@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      He doesn’t understand the difference.

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  • Terrapinjoe@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    What a loser

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  • EndOfLine@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    These narcissist CEOs cannot grasp the idea that “life” is employees working for themselves and pursuing their own interests instead of working for others.

    What kind of commitment does Reid Hoffman have towards seeing his employees win?

    What kind of profit sharing do LinkedIn employees enjoy? What’s the salary / compensation disperancy look like between the average employee and the C-Suite executives? What’s the medical insurance and parental leave packages look like? What about education reimbursement?

    Seriously, who is “winning” in Reid Hoffman’s ideal scenario?

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    • NeilBru@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      “Hail corporate!”

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  • Vanilla_PuddinFudge@infosec.pub ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    Fuck this “you can’t get anywhere without stepping on everyone else” attitude.

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  • Ledericas@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    might want to look at your linkedin site, what it has turned into

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  • nthavoc@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    If anything, Linkedin itself is a redflag just from their psychopathic micromanagers lost in their own world thinking everyone owes them something.

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  • ZephyrXero@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    Fuck this guy and anyone who thinks like him

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  • OmegaLemmy@discuss.online ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    I agree, it’s not winning unless you’re crying, exhausted and with barely any more money than any other average folk unable to use it properly hoping for early retirement just before the economic crash leads you to being fired and having nepotism replace you instead!

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    • EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      Tired of winning yet?

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  • whysofurious@sopuli.xyz ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    That’s our secret Raid, we don’t want to win.

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    • meyotch@slrpnk.net ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      You can win. You can lose.

      You can go poke around the garden with a rake on a sunny morning to discover what spring has wrought, also. Maybe have some friends over later?

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  • loaf@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    This guy reeks of chode energy.

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  • SabinStargem@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    There are many ways to win in life. LinkedIn isn’t one of them.

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