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.
LinkedIn’s cofounder Reid Hoffman says seeking work-life balance is a red flag that you’re ‘not committed to winning’
Submitted 2 months ago by return2ozma@lemmy.world to workreform@lemmy.world
Comments
MolecularCactus1324@lemmy.world 2 months ago
floofloof@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
To be fair, he’s talking to the founders of startups, not employees. But still, he sounds like an ass.
tdawg@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Personally I’d rather have both
jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 2 months ago
Fuck this guy. I say we guillotine him as an example to the others.
jeena@piefed.jeena.net 2 months 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.
TheDemonBuer@lemmy.world 2 months 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.
owenfromcanada@lemmy.world 2 months ago
This is what happens when you survey jackpot winners about the value of lottery tickets.
Telorand@reddthat.com 2 months 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.
aesthelete@lemmy.world 2 months ago
It’s a fucking lotto. Lucky people always think they’re smarter or more hardworking than others.
Empricorn@feddit.nl 2 months 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.
DJDarren@sopuli.xyz 2 months ago
Reid Hoffman can wake up at 4:30am and begin the important work of eating my entire arsehole.
JigglySackles@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I wouldn’t give him the privilege of the entirety. He can just lap at the crusty bits.
lorski@sopuli.xyz 2 months ago
Linkedin is a meat market for capitalist labor. It is very anti- worker, pro capitalist douchebaggery. Fuck Linkedin.
iamkindasomeone@feddit.org 2 months ago
You will never be able to afford a two bedroom apartment with that kind of attitude, sir!
Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
Not everyone hates their family, Reid.
EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com 2 months 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.
FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 months 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.
madcaesar@lemmy.world 2 months ago
You have been banned from /r/capitalism
inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world 2 months 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.
MBech@feddit.dk 2 months 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?
funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 2 months 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.
some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 2 months ago
Fuck off, Reid.
withabeard@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
Excuse me sir, we appear to have a different definition of “winning”.
Empricorn@feddit.nl 2 months 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.
markstos@lemmy.world 2 months ago
The quotes are specifically about early stage startup founders, not employees of huge established startups corporations.
Rakonat@lemmy.world 2 months 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.
TTH4P@lemm.ee 2 months ago
I mean he’s definitely an asshole for many reasons, but the context is “if you are a start-up entrepreneur”
DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 2 months ago
No, he’s still an idiot, and he’ll realize it when he dies, if he’s lucky.
Empricorn@feddit.nl 2 months ago
Like most CEOs that push this toxic shit, hope it’s soon.
MadMadBunny@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
melfie@lemmings.world 2 months 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.
green@feddit.nl 2 months 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
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 2 months ago
Processing the context, you can see how a lot of internet companies have continued the trend of making wage positions “more entrepreneurial”.
polyamorypagan69@lemm.ee 2 months ago
martin4598@lemm.ee 2 months ago
Looking at him, he may need a bit of work-life balance.
roofuskit@lemmy.world 2 months ago
It’s also a good sign you’re not mentally ill.
iAvicenna@lemmy.world 2 months ago
this belongs in linkedin lunatics
tino@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Dude wants to win at work. I win at life.
Red_October@lemmy.world 2 months ago
He doesn’t understand the difference.
Terrapinjoe@lemmy.world 2 months ago
What a loser
EndOfLine@lemmy.world 2 months 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?
NeilBru@lemmy.world 2 months ago
“Hail corporate!”
Vanilla_PuddinFudge@infosec.pub 2 months ago
Fuck this “you can’t get anywhere without stepping on everyone else” attitude.
Ledericas@lemm.ee 2 months ago
might want to look at your linkedin site, what it has turned into
nthavoc@lemmy.today 2 months ago
If anything, Linkedin itself is a redflag just from their psychopathic micromanagers lost in their own world thinking everyone owes them something.
ZephyrXero@lemmy.world 2 months ago
Fuck this guy and anyone who thinks like him
OmegaLemmy@discuss.online 2 months 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!
EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com 2 months ago
Tired of winning yet?
whysofurious@sopuli.xyz 2 months ago
That’s our secret Raid, we don’t want to win.
meyotch@slrpnk.net 2 months 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?
loaf@sh.itjust.works 2 months ago
This guy reeks of chode energy.
SabinStargem@lemmy.today 2 months ago
There are many ways to win in life. LinkedIn isn’t one of them.
TheAgeOfSuperboredom@lemmy.ca 2 months ago
He’s right. I’m committed to getting paid and doing what I want.
saltesc@lemmy.world 2 months 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.