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I often thought about quitting my FANG job (not Amazon though) and leaving my salary behind for a less stressful job with better work-life balance, as we so oft

I often thought about quitting my FANG job (not Amazon though) and leaving my salary behind for a less stressful job with better work-life balance, as we so often read about. But then I realized it’s not illegal to manage my own stress and set my own work-life balance, and keep my salary. The company could fire me, if it’s not enough for them, but so far they haven’t. I think this is often overlooked. People set artificial expectations on themselves and say it’s the culture. Maybe at Amazon it is. In my experience it wasn’t.

mft_ 3y ago
You make a good point, but... * people are all different * managers are different * roles are different * teams are different ...which goes to say, everyone's experience is likely to be close to unique, and what works for one person is actually unlikely to work for another.
- glimshe 3y ago
  Managers make an enormous difference in sweatshop jobs like Amazon. I've been in a tough group in a large company but a great manager was able to create a pleasant team work culture.
  - dainiusse 3y ago
    This. The problem is not your company - it is your manager.
yodsanklai 3y ago
> leaving my salary behind for a less stressful job with better work-life balance, as we so often read about. Is work-life balance that much better somewhere else though. Pay is much less for sure but all jobs come with their own constraints and difficulties. > But then I realized it’s not illegal to manage my own stress and set my own work-life balance, and keep my salary. The company could fire me, if it’s not enough for them, but so far they haven’t. Exactly. I think if I was at the point of burnout, I would try to stick to 9-5, do my best and see what happens. However, this is easier said than done. For me, the main cause of stress is fear of underperforming, not deadlines. My colleagues are skilled and work hard. It really doesn't feel good to be outpaced. I don't want to be fired for performance reason (suffering from imposter syndrome already). In any case, I think resilience and stress management should be things we work on, just like any other skills we need at work. If that's possible, maybe the key is to refuse promotion and stay at a level where you can manage the expectations.
ajma 3y ago
I've done this too at many FANG companies. I've put too many expectations on myself. And at other times I've managed my own work-life balance. It's possible but it takes some foresight to set it up.
Tommstein 3y ago
> People set artificial expectations on themselves and say it’s the culture. Maybe at Amazon it is. In my experience it wasn’t. We're talking about a company where management is always looking for excuses to fire you because they have mandatory firing quotas they have to meet no matter what. Your experience at better companies is not representative of Amazon.

mft_ 3y ago

You make a good point, but... * people are all different * managers are different * roles are different * teams are different ...which goes to say, everyone's experience is likely to be close to unique, and what works for one person is actually unlikely to work for another.

glimshe 3y ago
Managers make an enormous difference in sweatshop jobs like Amazon. I've been in a tough group in a large company but a great manager was able to create a pleasant team work culture.
- dainiusse 3y ago
  This. The problem is not your company - it is your manager.

yodsanklai 3y ago

> leaving my salary behind for a less stressful job with better work-life balance, as we so often read about. Is work-life balance that much better somewhere else though. Pay is much less for sure but all jobs come with their own constraints and difficulties. > But then I realized it’s not illegal to manage my own stress and set my own work-life balance, and keep my salary. The company could fire me, if it’s not enough for them, but so far they haven’t. Exactly. I think if I was at the point of burnout, I would try to stick to 9-5, do my best and see what happens. However, this is easier said than done. For me, the main cause of stress is fear of underperforming, not deadlines. My colleagues are skilled and work hard. It really doesn't feel good to be outpaced. I don't want to be fired for performance reason (suffering from imposter syndrome already). In any case, I think resilience and stress management should be things we work on, just like any other skills we need at work. If that's possible, maybe the key is to refuse promotion and stay at a level where you can manage the expectations.

ajma 3y ago

I've done this too at many FANG companies. I've put too many expectations on myself. And at other times I've managed my own work-life balance. It's possible but it takes some foresight to set it up.

Tommstein 3y ago

> People set artificial expectations on themselves and say it’s the culture. Maybe at Amazon it is. In my experience it wasn’t. We're talking about a company where management is always looking for excuses to fire you because they have mandatory firing quotas they have to meet no matter what. Your experience at better companies is not representative of Amazon.