In Silicon Valley, a new generation of technological entrepreneurs He is turning his back to the traditional workday of 40 hours. A case that has generated a heated debate is that of Daksh Gupta, founder and CEO of the STARTUP GREPTILwho has implemented an extreme day model that has raised a large dust in the Reddit threads. Gupta, only 22 years old, considers that working 80 hours per week is not only not excessive, but is necessary to survive in the current technology industry.
An extreme workday. Daksh Gupta published in late 2024 in Your X profile That his company did not offer any type of conciliation between working and personal life, literally affirming: “Greptile does not offer balance between working and personal life.” As he said in that same message, the days in his company begin at 9:00 and end at 23:00 or even later. “We also work on Saturdays and sometimes on Sundays. I emphasize that the environment is very stressful and that poor work is not tolerated,” the CEO added without ambiguity.
The work culture defended by Gupta shows An important change Among the managers and founders of Silicon Valley, who are erasing the boundaries between working and personal life. What was traditionally understood as labor exploitation, some see it now as An extreme form of commitment professional. In the case of Greptile, this commitment can mean days of 14 hours from Monday to Sunday.
Competition as justification. In one Interview with Inc.comGupta argues that this time demand responds to the reality of technological startups. The CEO declared that “this is an extremely competitive space. Nobody cares about the third best company, not even the second best, in any software category. If you are going to strive 95%, it is the equivalent of striving to 0%.”
His position generated an intense debate on networks and, as confirmed in Your X profilehe received numerous criticisms and even death threats for applying this policy. Gupta, however, insists that changing his work form would mean a competitive disadvantage that cannot be allowed. “We face very intense competition,” he said to justify the sacrifices required by his employees.
Silicon Valley and the culture of hyperproductivity. What for many may seem an unsustainable work excess, in Silicon Valley begins to become a norm, such and as they publish in The confidential. The so -called “new culture of effort” to which Daksh Gupta gave visibility, is referring to figures such as Elon Musk, who has publicly defended The extreme days. “No one has changed the world working 40 hours a week,” said the millionaire CEO of Tesla in one of Your messages in x. At the same time, Tesla’s own investors They asked the tycoon Dedicate at least 40 hours a week to do your job as the CEO of the electric car manufacturer.
Another outstanding name of this new culture of the eternal working days is Serguéi Brin, co -founder of Google, which also asked his employees a minimum of 60 working hours per week. The era of offices with ping-pong tables And free food has given way to marathon days where, literally, workers are expected to live for the company. As I said Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn, work from 9 to 5 as we know it, is in danger of extinction.
AI was going to end the eternal days. Beyond the regression in labor rights imposed on Silicon Valley, the most ironic thing is that these proposals for extreme days arrive precisely those companies that are developing AI models that promise reduce workload of workers.
No less ironic it turns out that companies like Microsoft or Google ensure that between 25 and 30% of its code is already generated with AI agents, and at the same time they have hardened performance demands and commitment to carry out longer days, under the Shadow of mass layoffs.
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