I truly don’t think most people in tech, especially managers & executives, grasp the concept of work-life balance in 2025.

Between the calls to force folks back into offices under the guise of “improved collaboration” (not getting into that now), the revival of extreme hustle culture thanks to AI & vibe coding, and other signals, it seems like the norm is once again pushing for as much work in one’s life as possible.

This is, at best, conducive to burnout, and at worst outright exploitive. I am starting to wonder if, for some areas of tech, that is the point – the returns on tech investment seem to benefit a smaller and smaller pool of people, and those who don’t want to work to be in that shrinking pool need to work harder and/or decide whether this increasingly cutthroat culture is right for them. The political landscape in the US also seems to be directly incentivizing this way of thinking.

All to say: I am grateful to be working for a tech company that does not think this way and is still thriving.