Arthur Patterson shares about the challenges of working in the tech industry.
“Don’t go work in tech, Arthur,” my friend warned me. “They are going to chew you up and spit you out.” It took a decade, but I eventually was spit out of tech, at 59, dismissed on a stormy Tuesday morning along with a thousand others. A decision made to maximize a profitable company’s profits. Do I regret not heeding the warnings, going into an industry known for unpredictable turns?
I consider myself fortunate, but changed, surviving what I’m told is the equivalent of two tech lifetimes. The company was like tech kudzu, growing nonstop for eight years. And like kudzu’s ability to dazzle with beautiful greens and quick, invasive spread, I was enveloped by what I knew wasn’t a standard workplace. What a ride. And what pride I had in my successful, socially conscious employer.
There’s a fine line, however, between success and excess. Lavish happy hours meant to reward our hard work became a minor weeknight outing. Free snacks, nonstop lattes and wellness perks became normal. Gone were the makeshift kitchens and the delicious potlucks of past workplaces. In their place were catered lunches and branded puffer jackets.
I went into this knowing there was a tradeoff for competitive pay and plush perks. Though I wonder if the over-the-top environment exists to seduce employees, impress competitors, or to distract, while upper management hopes to make that tech magic happen once again? In my decade there, my socially conscious employer had to toe the line of a blue-chip company.