I read this article and said, "Yup, that sounds like a lot of startups I've worked with." I should say with, and not for. I've been a freelancer for 20 years,

I read this article and said, "Yup, that sounds like a lot of startups I've worked with." I should say with, and not for. I've been a freelancer for 20 years, and while I love to help my clients succeed, and I definitely work too many hours, I don't have someone standing over me, expecting that I'll work 60-hour weeks, be around for 7 p.m. meetings, or explicitly tell me that my needs are secondary to the company's needs. Startup employees -- and hi-tech employees in general -- are expected to work long hours, and to put family and friends aside, all in the name of... well, what? Sometimes it's lots of money, but too often it's because this is what they're expected to do in so many companies. It's true that tech companies are (and have always been) desperate for good talent, and people who are great can often get great salaries and benefits. But it's rare for a company to say, "Yeah, we'll pay you tons, give us access to our cafeteria, and offer on-site massages, and you don't have to be here more than 40 hours per week." I'm OK with asking employees to pitch in before a deadline, or in an emergency. But that should mean a few days every few months, not a few months out of each year. And those descriptions of "graduation" e-mails that Lyons mentions in the article just gave me the chills. Something is wrong if these are the expectations at lots of high-tech companies, and I have to wonder if Lyons is right, that we're looking at some very well-paid people who have little or no power, and move to a new job every year or two not just to get more money, but to get a bit more control over their own schedules, or some better work-life balance.