Do you think the 9-9-6 work culture is right?
Yesterday, I came across a job posting from a specific SF company that offered Yesterday I came across a job posting from a specific SF company that offered a salary of 250k – 1M (including equity), but realistically, I don't think they have that money; they're just grinding to satisfy investors and succumb to too much hustle culture.
Requirement: be available on-site from 9 AM to 9 PM 6 days a week in the office (and I bet even Sunday would be dedicated to meeting some team members in "free time"). In addition, they were willing to hire those who would relocate to SF.
I applied for this job as a joke and was supposed to book a call with someone from the team in less than 2 hours. The fact that it happened on a Saturday night just indicated that they take their hustle culture seriously.
What's your opinion on this? (I won't name the company)
On the one hand, I found the enthusiasm of young people great (I understand that some are around 20 years old), but on the other hand, it seems very restrictive. I don't know how this work works in their office, but I don't think anyone can maintain high levels of commitment and focus for 12 hours at a time. So I assume that during these 12 hours of availability, they may not be 100% dedicated to work. So it may not be very productive and it takes away from personal time. For people who have their own company and a full share, I understand this workload, but for employees, I don't really understand it. Am I weird? :D
Replies
MultiDrive
At one of my previous jobs, I covered Europe, the USA, and Australia :D I didn’t have meetings like this very often, but from time to time they happened late in the evening or early in the morning (around 6 a.m.).
I must admit it’s tough, if it’s a short-term situation, that’s okay. But over a longer period, it really affects your private life. So I agree that this kind of schedule is probably easier for younger people.
Still, I think it’s more of a short-term role for anyone. Eventually, people want time for themselves, their families, and self-development - simply a personal life. Otherwise, even higher earnings stop being as attractive as they might seem. 🙂
minimalist phone: creating folders
@tetianai But you could work from home or remotely, right? There is a full presence required :D
MultiDrive
@busmark_w_nika Remotely, but it still has a huge impact on your life. You can’t really go out because you know you have a meeting later at 9 or 10 p.m.
And the hardest part is when you have a late meeting and another one early the next morning. It didn’t happen very often, but still - I didn’t have a clear schedule; everything felt chaotic.
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@tetianai OMG, I do not have a life because I realised I would be okay not to be out at 10 PM :DD
MultiDrive
@busmark_w_nika :D
If this is a “just a start” company that has suddenly realized its potential due to unexpected customer demand, and is now trying to cope until additional resources are acquired, this approach might make sense. However, it is not suitable
for “life as usual” mode. If this were an IT position, I’d be very cautious. In job interviews, you are often asked to demonstrate how to save milliseconds, yet you are expected to spend your work life at this scale of inefficiency.
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@vladster It sounds too robotic to live a normal life (more like slavery).
Curatora
You are not weird at all. I largely agree with your instinct.
This kind of schedule can make sense for a founding team that has full ownership, full context, and full upside. Expecting the same from employees is a different story. Even with equity on paper, most employees are trading a huge chunk of their personal life for something that may never materialize. The risk and the reward are simply not symmetrical.
There is also a myth that constant pressure produces exceptional work. Short bursts of intensity can work, but sustained 12 hour days usually reduce quality, especially for creative or strategic work. Fresh, calm minds solve problems differently. You cannot brute-force clarity, insight, or good judgment by extending office hours.
Availability does not equal productivity. Being present for 12 hours often just stretches the same amount of real output across more time, while quietly burning people out. Hustle culture looks impressive from the outside, but it rarely compounds in a healthy way.
Ironically, this is something we think about a lot while building @Curatora . The goal is to help people do better work with clearer signal, not more hours. Focused effort beats prolonged pressure almost every time.
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@imtiyazmohammed TL;DR: Work smart, not hard ;) Let's have a look at some countries, they are trying to apply 4 day work week :)
Sustainable output > performative exhaustion. Great teams ship on energy, not hours.
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@zypressen and it is more effective and timesaving ;)
@busmark_w_nika For me, just thinking about working one day on the weekend is enough to drain my energy. True rest isn’t optional — it’s part of the system.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@zypressen I should keep this on my mind :D