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To the many responses calling this sad, messed up, unhealthy, serfdom, etc. I’d bring more curiosity to this. The reality is that we’re talking about a human n

To the many responses calling this sad, messed up, unhealthy, serfdom, etc. I’d bring more curiosity to this. The reality is that we’re talking about a human navigating the impending restructuring of human relationships and being removed from a product that they clearly cared about. I’ve been there — working on something I believed in, for a company that treated me well, with customers and colleagues who also believed in the product. It’s common advice to treat work as something separate from your personal life, to not rely on work as a social/support system, etc. and I think that’s mostly decent advice. But it doesn’t change the complexity of the relationship someone can have with their work and the people associated with it. When I finally left, it was voluntary and after much planning. If I had been laid off instead, and if I had 6 months to prepare, I’d still be going into the office too. My loyalty would not be to my employer at that point, but to the many humans around me with whom I had relationships and still have relationships years later. What the article describes sounds like a period of transition. Not something to be derided.

sshine 1y ago
What’s sad is not his dedication and loyalty to his workplace, but that he needed to go public with being fired and tell how many hours he poured into it. I’m sure he really made an effort during his long career at Microsoft. And I’m unsure why he was let go. But the repeated theme of “60 hour weeks” and “20 hour weekends” seems like trying to win an argument that he was, in fact, valuable. I don’t know what it’s like to be fired, much less at the age of 59. But it’s nice to hear of the silver lining. I’d want to feel the way he does, and blog less about it.
johnea 1y ago
Since you've commented, I reply instead of a comment directly to the article: This is seriously mental illness. You are WAY too psychologically invested in your job. Work is not life! Seriously, go outside more! There's a HUGE world outside of a cubicle. Expand your horizons. The rewards will vastly outsize any job satisfaction. I'm not being derisive, I'm trying to suggest a path to an improved life experience.
- haswell 1y ago
  > Work is not life! People say this, and I understand the sentiment behind it, but this is not true. Work is a large % of most people's lives, and to pretend it is not is to deny the reality of many people's existence. Most people aspire to work less, myself included, and it's absolutely true that many of the best things in life happen outside of work, but I think it's a bit problematic to pretend people are automatons who can compartmentalize their work and home life. Most brains don't work this way, aspirations notwithstanding. > Seriously, go outside more! There's a HUGE world outside of a cubicle. Expand your horizons. The rewards will vastly outsize any job satisfaction. I've been on sabbatical for 3+ years now. Getting outside more, traveling, spending time not working is exactly why I personally spent a lot of time preparing to leave my last job before I did. I wanted to feel free and unencumbered, and making sure I left things in a good place was an important part of doing that. There are a lot of assumptions packed into your comment that don't align with my personal reality or lived experience, and many of the things you're describing are not mutually exclusive. Diagnosing people with mental illness given the limited information available seems like a pretty questionable position to take as well. If caring about the people I built relationships with and investing time to make their lives easier on my way out the door is mental illness, then yes, I'm mentally ill.

sshine 1y ago

What’s sad is not his dedication and loyalty to his workplace, but that he needed to go public with being fired and tell how many hours he poured into it. I’m sure he really made an effort during his long career at Microsoft. And I’m unsure why he was let go. But the repeated theme of “60 hour weeks” and “20 hour weekends” seems like trying to win an argument that he was, in fact, valuable. I don’t know what it’s like to be fired, much less at the age of 59. But it’s nice to hear of the silver lining. I’d want to feel the way he does, and blog less about it.

johnea 1y ago

Since you've commented, I reply instead of a comment directly to the article: This is seriously mental illness. You are WAY too psychologically invested in your job. Work is not life! Seriously, go outside more! There's a HUGE world outside of a cubicle. Expand your horizons. The rewards will vastly outsize any job satisfaction. I'm not being derisive, I'm trying to suggest a path to an improved life experience.

haswell 1y ago
> Work is not life! People say this, and I understand the sentiment behind it, but this is not true. Work is a large % of most people's lives, and to pretend it is not is to deny the reality of many people's existence. Most people aspire to work less, myself included, and it's absolutely true that many of the best things in life happen outside of work, but I think it's a bit problematic to pretend people are automatons who can compartmentalize their work and home life. Most brains don't work this way, aspirations notwithstanding. > Seriously, go outside more! There's a HUGE world outside of a cubicle. Expand your horizons. The rewards will vastly outsize any job satisfaction. I've been on sabbatical for 3+ years now. Getting outside more, traveling, spending time not working is exactly why I personally spent a lot of time preparing to leave my last job before I did. I wanted to feel free and unencumbered, and making sure I left things in a good place was an important part of doing that. There are a lot of assumptions packed into your comment that don't align with my personal reality or lived experience, and many of the things you're describing are not mutually exclusive. Diagnosing people with mental illness given the limited information available seems like a pretty questionable position to take as well. If caring about the people I built relationships with and investing time to make their lives easier on my way out the door is mental illness, then yes, I'm mentally ill.