Well, the debate on the work culture in Big-Tech Firms is amidst the news and discussions once again, but this time it’s about too relaxed working environments!!. A Microsoft Software Engineer recently posted on ‘X’ about how a colleague of hers recently resigned from Microsoft due to a too-relaxed atmosphere. This has once again given rise to a discussion about the working atmosphere for all the wrong !! Yeah we see you :)), Well, not all people find their jobs to be too demanding.
Manisha Goyal, who is working at Microsoft as a software engineer, recently posted on ‘X’. The post mentioned about how a colleague of Manisha from Singapore recently resigned from Microsoft claiming that he found the job too “chill”. He resigned from the company in just 20 days due to this reason.
The post has gone viral on ‘X’ and it exactly says “A guy from Singapore joined my team. Ex-Microsoft. Resigned in 20 days. When I asked why, he said: ‘The work is too chill. If I stay, I’ll stop growing. At 45, I’d enjoy this. But right now, I need the grind.’ Me: sitting here, chilling for the last 2 years.”
Mixed Reactions on ‘X’
The post from Manisha drew various responses from people like one user commented: “He did it right. If you genuinely want to grow, you must be grinding. Sitting in a company without real work or growth opportunities is enjoyable, but it ruins your career.”, however some people had different view points like one user who “This is interesting because in my desi family, everyone always talks about having a ‘good enough’ job that doesn’t require a lot of work,”.
While one user compared it to his profession, “A Haldiram chef left the organisation where he had all the facilities of a formal setup. After Haldiram introduced a central kitchen and frozen food, his work was reduced to reheating and serving. When I asked why he left, he said: ‘I need to stay in the habit of making food from scratch, else I will lose touch and forget things. Later, no one will pay me much for reheating and serving.’”
One user even criticised the decision outright, writing: “That Singapore guy is an idiot. What if he doesn’t live till 45 to enjoy the chill, but instead passes away during his grind? You are better off chilling now. You won’t regret losing out on the chill when your time comes.”.
Work-Life Balance
The crux of the matter is that you might have different viewpoints on this issue like believing the grind is important in the early phase of your career or that there needs to be a balance between grind and calmness. However this debate is very pivotal amidst the backdrop of Mass layoffs in Big-Tech firms due to automation and AI. companies like Microsoft, Meta and Google are now adjusting their empoloyee work policy against the backdrop of these changes. Moreover, people have now started to justify the unhealthy levels of grind for people which is taking a toll physically and mentally.
thus, the government should intervene in this matter and work on formulating a work policy framework. The framework should contain guidelines about the minimum and maximum number of hours an individual can and should work.
