A Google software engineer named Devon shared with Fortune a unique work arrangement. According to Devon, he spends approximately one hour each day on his job. Mornings are reserved for coding, while the rest of his work hours are dedicated to his startup project. This situation has brought attention to the ongoing debate about whether big tech employees engage in what’s termed as “fake work,” where their actual contributions might be limited.
At Google software engineers can earn substantial base salaries, potentially reaching up to $718,000 per year. Interestingly, Devon, a software engineer in his twenties, claims to earn a six-figure income by working around five hours per week.
Devon’s daily routine involves waking up around 9 a.m., attending to morning tasks like showering and having breakfast, and then focusing on Google-related work until around 11 a.m. or noon. The remaining part of his day is devoted to his startup, as described to Fortune.
Devon’s outlook on work seems to be influenced by observing colleagues who invest long hours without necessarily progressing in their careers. He suggests that there might be limited motivation to exceed expectations or go beyond the norm in terms of effort, considering the corporate hierarchy.
For privacy protection, Fortune used the name “Devon” when reporting this information. They confirmed the engineer’s salary by examining his Google offer letter and assessing screenshots depicting his engagement with startup tasks during work hours. Google had not provided a response to Insider’s inquiry at the time of the report.
Instances such as these have prompted discussions about the compensation of employees in tech giants like Google and Meta, raising questions about whether they are being well-paid for minimal work efforts – a phenomenon referred to as “fake work” by some tech experts.
Amid the pandemic, prominent tech companies engaged in hiring sprees driven by what Silicon Valley investor Keith Rabois calls the “vanity metric” of headcount. This involves expanding the workforce to gain a competitive edge.
Critics argue that these companies might not have had enough tasks to keep their newly hired staff occupied. This year, both Google and Meta executed significant layoffs.
Billionaire CEO Thomas Siebel of the enterprise AI firm C3.ai told Forbes that many new hires from these companies seemed unproductive while working remotely, contributing very little.
The concept of “fake work” could arise from excessive hiring or could result from poor management practices. Devon’s unconventional work schedule illustrates changing perspectives on work, with an increasing emphasis on achieving work-life balance, particularly among Generation Z employees.
These evolving attitudes are reflected in contemporary workplace trends like “quiet quitting,” where employees fulfill only the basic expectations of their roles, sometimes even less, just to maintain their positions. Another trend, “bare minimum Mondays,” involves deliberately minimizing work on Mondays to prevent burnout for the rest of the week.
Devon shared with Fortune that he has not encountered suspicion about his limited work hours at Google. During a previous internship at the company, he admits to having worked “probably under two hours a day.” This approach allowed him to take an uninterrupted week-long trip to Hawaii while still being employed.
Devon emphasized, “If I wanted to work longer hours, I would have chosen a role at a startup,” highlighting his perspective on work-life balance.
Ref: https://www.businessinsider.com/google-employee-says-he-works-one-hour-days-fortune-2023-8