The organization man of the new millennium

The organization man of the new millennium Recently I read about a company which has three full-timers whose only job is to make employee life fun. They plan outings, parties, raffles, all reportedly in an effort to stave off headhunters and to keep engineers working 12- 15 hours days. Here is a little note to the hundreds of employees at this company: HELLO OUT THERE? Are you people morons? Why are you at a company that consumes all your free time with work and then, as a bonus, sucks up the only hours you have left to sleep and shower? This is not an office with perks. This is serfdom. This is paternalism. This is the organization man of the new millennium. If youre at a company like this one, you need to get a life. The only people who are willing to work at this kind of place have no life outside of work. If you have friends who are not at the company, they are probably no longer your friends. If you have a family and you work at a company like this, you will get what you deserve: Kids who have no relationship with you. And do not, I repeat, do not tell me that you have to work at a place like this because of the incredible projects you get to work on. People who are truly talented do not have to suffer draconian hours and insulting perks in order to get on good projects. In fact, you can bet that the people who are amazing at their job, are smart enough to live a life outside of their job. So check this out: You are surrounded by sub-par workers when you work at a place that does not respect employees personal lives because only sub-par workers put up with that. Heres another thing some of you will tell me: You have to pay dues in your profession. But you know what? Thats an excuse you use for having someone else take care of your career path. Sure, you can play the law firm or consulting firm game, and put in huge number of hours just because the rule is that you put in huge number of hours to get to the next level. But you dont need to do that. You can make your own path, which is not so far fetched if you are good at what you do. You can freelance, you can work at a small firm, you can intern for someone who will mentor you, or you can become an entrepreneur. The demographic starting businesses at the fastest rate is 18-34. Now you know why. My brother, Erik, is at an investment banking firm at the grunt level. He has been working twenty-hour days without anyone batting an eye. When he looks above himself in the ranks, it doesnt seem to get better. People dont have a lot of control over their workloads, or the timing of their work, and people dont seem particularly happy. So hes leaving the bank for a smaller firm where people have lives. And this is why: Because the smartest people in the world are in a position where they have control over their work and room to grow a personal life. Its a fact. You might say, But they paid their dues. To this I say, Who cares? Its a new world out there, and theres no reason for you to have to pay dues just because the generations before you were not creative or independent enough when they thought about their careers. And wait. Everyone who is about to send mail to me about how young people need to learn to work hard think about this: There are many ways to work hard. Thinking rigorously, and putting ones heart into a job are different than working long hours. In fact, Id say of those three ways to work hard, long hours is the biggest cop-out. So work with your heart and your mind, and make sure you have time to use both of those in your personal life, too.