“He’s the NFL version of Adrian Wojnarowski, except well-liked by his colleagues and good on TV.” 🔥
I’ve been remote pre-pandemic and this struggle is an ongoing one. It’s easier if you don’t like your work - I do, and work is where I live, so the lines are constantly blurred no matter how many guardrails I put in place. It is especially difficult when, like many people in companies today, you work with people across time zones - there really is no time to naturally be “off”. We’re just getting started figuring this out
I’m in management (and a worker too) in the high-end client service business. Think investment banking, business consulting, big law firm, etc. Adam Shefter’s life is the way this business works, and it really grinds you down. We would love to see our people (and ourselves) be un-tethered, non-lurking from time to time. But here’s the thing: if you aren’t available when the client wants you, then you will be replaced. Period. There’s a pseudonymous guy who writes online as ‘The Epicurean Dealmaker’ who has written about this in the investment banking industry.
Ultimately, you have to operate that way to stay in the business or you have to leave. Because there is an army of Shefters out there willing to be on constantly and that’s who you’re competing with.
I appreciate this article a lot. Makes me think about the business and how it can change —- but I’m not seeing easy solutions (or really any solutions other than exit of all non-Shefters).
I've found that, in the modern moment of always being on, any act of singular attention feels like a rebellion and is joyously enriching. Even the simplest rule, which for my wife and I means no phones during movies/TV shows, has really helped. When I was growing up my parents were probably annoyed when the kids needed movies to entertain us. Now, watching a movie without interruption, you feel like you're entering a different brain space.
My favorite activity in the world is backpacking (have a kid now and it's been a while) and one of my favorite reasons is: no phones. I like to do 3-4 night trips. The first day is always an adjustment period for not having your phone; not necessarily difficult, but you feel it. But then, after 24 hours, your brain space changes. You don't feel the urge. It's incredible.
Ethan Strauss is the rebellious "outsider" providing us an "insider's" perspective.
Reminds me of "Confessions of a Union Buster" a book I read years ago. Also reminds me of "Confessions of an Economic Hitman", a book I'm familiar with the premise of, and have been meaning to read, but haven't yet.
Ethan, are you or have you considered working on a book where you write about the industry from which you came, and all the insidiousness of it, yet go into great length about how you left it?
I mean this blog does provide a lot of juicy details. But, man - to be a fly on the wall for that 2016 4th of July conversation with your wife!....LOL
“ Next thing you know, your company is out beyond its remit, addressing issues that have nothing to do with the core mission. That is, if anyone can even remember the core mission in a corporation that’s perpetually reacting”.
I have to point out that it’s worse than this. “Addressing issues that have nothing to do with its core mission” is just the way work is these days, at least at large corporations, and I don’t think there is any direct connection to social media anymore.
I’m work for Megacorp. We don’t HAVE Slack or whatever that shit is, nor are we particularly “on” 24-7. But last week a colleague gave a presentation on racism and mass shootings in the US to our 100 person department. With photos. We make widgets.
“The good news is that almost everyone secretly hates this state of affairs”.
That IS good news, and I think it’s more or less correct, based on observation and hushed discussions at work. But it’s going to take more than a silent majority for even minor change. There are going to have to be uncomfortable conversations where people are told that they aren’t allowed to present their politics to captive audiences in the office. And I don’t see any sign of that.
Sports is so hyper competitive that you probably do need to follow all orders and be on all the time to succeed.
I work in pretty competitive businesses and I see a the responsibility for time ownership being on the individual. You have to claim your time. Unless there's something urgent going, you don't have to respond at 10 PM. You don't have to work on vacation. People do it- i do it too - to get more faster. More money, more power, more titles.
But you can get a lot - sometimes even more - by owning your time and getting people to respect it. Note I'm sure there are contrary experiences, but this is what I've seen rising up the ladder in a serious business
Interesting article. Fully remote work has changed my life, allowing much better time with kids and all round better life balance. I'm much less on now on average as not having to be on for 8 hours solid.
Its not impossible for society to try shape these trends of on-Ness though. In a functioning political system, policy can be shaped through right to disconnect legislation which prevents staff being penalised for not checking emails after certain times. See France for example. Obviously zero chance of the US doing that.
In UK a weird trend of going to India for holidays spread across law firms. The reason was you couldn't check email there or India would claim you were providing services and therefore had to pay tax there. So lawyers flocked there simply for the promise of an email free holiday.
Hey, don't know if this is because I listen to these on apple podcasts, but for whatever reason, the audio on the narrated articles is too low, I have to turn my volume to max just to kinda hear it.
Off topic, but how big is your reach right now? I’m listening to Zach Lowe & Dave McMenamin, and Dave referred to the Lakers as a “Mom and Pop Shop,” which I never heard anyone use until you did in your Laker piece. Did people use this about them before, and you were just the first to put it out in public?
I think it (companies recruiting with quality of life) is already happening in my career, tech. Software engineers are hard to find, and many of us started working remote pre-pandemic. There is the occasional on-call shift, but for the most part a 40-hour work week is the max. At my new employer (OpenTable) there is a clear culture of “err on the side of taking a sick day, take a mental health day when you need it, and come back at full strength”. This was not the case even 4-5 years ago.
I'm in a place at my job, just say very large multinational private company, that I don't want to work as much as I used to.
Recently I hung out with a long time friend who is an executive at same company who asked if I wanted a more "cushy" job which he could help me out with and I told him not really, I just don't want to be at work that many hours.
“He’s the NFL version of Adrian Wojnarowski, except well-liked by his colleagues and good on TV.” 🔥
I’ve been remote pre-pandemic and this struggle is an ongoing one. It’s easier if you don’t like your work - I do, and work is where I live, so the lines are constantly blurred no matter how many guardrails I put in place. It is especially difficult when, like many people in companies today, you work with people across time zones - there really is no time to naturally be “off”. We’re just getting started figuring this out
I’m in management (and a worker too) in the high-end client service business. Think investment banking, business consulting, big law firm, etc. Adam Shefter’s life is the way this business works, and it really grinds you down. We would love to see our people (and ourselves) be un-tethered, non-lurking from time to time. But here’s the thing: if you aren’t available when the client wants you, then you will be replaced. Period. There’s a pseudonymous guy who writes online as ‘The Epicurean Dealmaker’ who has written about this in the investment banking industry.
Ultimately, you have to operate that way to stay in the business or you have to leave. Because there is an army of Shefters out there willing to be on constantly and that’s who you’re competing with.
I appreciate this article a lot. Makes me think about the business and how it can change —- but I’m not seeing easy solutions (or really any solutions other than exit of all non-Shefters).
I've found that, in the modern moment of always being on, any act of singular attention feels like a rebellion and is joyously enriching. Even the simplest rule, which for my wife and I means no phones during movies/TV shows, has really helped. When I was growing up my parents were probably annoyed when the kids needed movies to entertain us. Now, watching a movie without interruption, you feel like you're entering a different brain space.
My favorite activity in the world is backpacking (have a kid now and it's been a while) and one of my favorite reasons is: no phones. I like to do 3-4 night trips. The first day is always an adjustment period for not having your phone; not necessarily difficult, but you feel it. But then, after 24 hours, your brain space changes. You don't feel the urge. It's incredible.
Ethan Strauss is the rebellious "outsider" providing us an "insider's" perspective.
Reminds me of "Confessions of a Union Buster" a book I read years ago. Also reminds me of "Confessions of an Economic Hitman", a book I'm familiar with the premise of, and have been meaning to read, but haven't yet.
Ethan, are you or have you considered working on a book where you write about the industry from which you came, and all the insidiousness of it, yet go into great length about how you left it?
I mean this blog does provide a lot of juicy details. But, man - to be a fly on the wall for that 2016 4th of July conversation with your wife!....LOL
“ Next thing you know, your company is out beyond its remit, addressing issues that have nothing to do with the core mission. That is, if anyone can even remember the core mission in a corporation that’s perpetually reacting”.
I have to point out that it’s worse than this. “Addressing issues that have nothing to do with its core mission” is just the way work is these days, at least at large corporations, and I don’t think there is any direct connection to social media anymore.
I’m work for Megacorp. We don’t HAVE Slack or whatever that shit is, nor are we particularly “on” 24-7. But last week a colleague gave a presentation on racism and mass shootings in the US to our 100 person department. With photos. We make widgets.
“The good news is that almost everyone secretly hates this state of affairs”.
That IS good news, and I think it’s more or less correct, based on observation and hushed discussions at work. But it’s going to take more than a silent majority for even minor change. There are going to have to be uncomfortable conversations where people are told that they aren’t allowed to present their politics to captive audiences in the office. And I don’t see any sign of that.
There’s working from home. And there’s your home being work. Not a fan of the latter.
"pernicious problems" is an awesome alliteration
Sports is so hyper competitive that you probably do need to follow all orders and be on all the time to succeed.
I work in pretty competitive businesses and I see a the responsibility for time ownership being on the individual. You have to claim your time. Unless there's something urgent going, you don't have to respond at 10 PM. You don't have to work on vacation. People do it- i do it too - to get more faster. More money, more power, more titles.
But you can get a lot - sometimes even more - by owning your time and getting people to respect it. Note I'm sure there are contrary experiences, but this is what I've seen rising up the ladder in a serious business
Interesting article. Fully remote work has changed my life, allowing much better time with kids and all round better life balance. I'm much less on now on average as not having to be on for 8 hours solid.
Its not impossible for society to try shape these trends of on-Ness though. In a functioning political system, policy can be shaped through right to disconnect legislation which prevents staff being penalised for not checking emails after certain times. See France for example. Obviously zero chance of the US doing that.
In UK a weird trend of going to India for holidays spread across law firms. The reason was you couldn't check email there or India would claim you were providing services and therefore had to pay tax there. So lawyers flocked there simply for the promise of an email free holiday.
"So I guess the question is, is this system what we want, overall?"
Stated differently, "so the question is, what came out of the door, the Lady, or the Tiger?"
Just finished Frank Stockton's story here in summer school. Quite a bit of synchronicity with this piece.
Hey, don't know if this is because I listen to these on apple podcasts, but for whatever reason, the audio on the narrated articles is too low, I have to turn my volume to max just to kinda hear it.
Off topic, but how big is your reach right now? I’m listening to Zach Lowe & Dave McMenamin, and Dave referred to the Lakers as a “Mom and Pop Shop,” which I never heard anyone use until you did in your Laker piece. Did people use this about them before, and you were just the first to put it out in public?
I think it (companies recruiting with quality of life) is already happening in my career, tech. Software engineers are hard to find, and many of us started working remote pre-pandemic. There is the occasional on-call shift, but for the most part a 40-hour work week is the max. At my new employer (OpenTable) there is a clear culture of “err on the side of taking a sick day, take a mental health day when you need it, and come back at full strength”. This was not the case even 4-5 years ago.
Good solid zag article from the usual.
I'm in a place at my job, just say very large multinational private company, that I don't want to work as much as I used to.
Recently I hung out with a long time friend who is an executive at same company who asked if I wanted a more "cushy" job which he could help me out with and I told him not really, I just don't want to be at work that many hours.
This made me think of the "lie flat" movement in China. Will be interesting to see how Gen Z employees start to morph how work is done.