How the recent tech layoffs changed my view on work

I remember not too long ago when I was partying hard with my colleagues in Vegas during our annual Sales Kick Off (SKO), hopping from one club to another and turning in at 4am to start the day again at 8am. I felt invincible. SKO were events meant to brainwash and motivate us to drive harder in the coming year. Throw in an epic party in Vegas, plenty of shopping, a dash of drinks and team camaraderie, and it worked pretty well.

COVID came and while there was uncertainty in tech, I applaud the approach many techs took. They genuinely put the people first. From flexible work arrangements to home office setups, techs were first to embrace the new workplace. As the pandemic progressed, some techs downsized their operations. I suppose it didn't surprise many of us. Maybe because when COVID struck, we prepared for the impact it might have. While I was concerned, personally I didn't think too much of it.

The so called anticipated "COVID downturn" didn't last very long when the tech's suddenly realised that many enterprises were suddenly spending heaps to modernise their environments to ready themselves for the post pandemic world. From downsizing to "boom-town-charlie" in a matter of months, techs couldn't keep up with the demand. I'm sure you would have heard about the "big resignation", but the reverse effect of that is also the "big hiring movement"! Not only were people moving around, they demanded inflated compensations because there were so many jobs but not enough resources!

The techs saw this as an opportunity to get ahead and poured crazy amount of money into hiring. I will admit that I too benefited during this period and moved on to a new job in early 2022. My first order of business at my new gig was to fill a handful of roles and I was tasked to get it filled as soon as possible. I spent my first 2 months, every single day, interviewing 2 to 3 candidates on average. It was tiring to say the least.

Fast forward to tail end of the year 2022. In 12 months, we moved from crazy bullish to "let's layoff everyone". I was impacted and it was a total shocker for me because unlike the COVID layoffs, I didn't see this coming. Not to mention we just closed a 200% quarter! My organisation started laying off people early, way before Amazon, Meta or Google. The first thoughts that came flooding to most of us that were impacted were "our senior leadership must suck bad, because nobody else is laying off! Why us?!".

Of course, little did we know then, we started the ball rolling...

I've been fortunate to have found another gig now. However, during the short hiatus, I had a lot of time to think and reflect on all that's happened.

Here are my 2 cents...

Working for tech has lost its sheen

For the last 2 decades, many aspire to join tech startups or companies. From funky pantry benefits to Vegas parties, techs were the reference point as to how a workplace should be. Now, when you get laid off via email, how much does that matter?

Looking back, it's all smoke and mirrors. The beer tap and free flow of Doritos are small investments in return for hiring and attracting top talent. But the recent mass layoffs prove it's all a gimmick. I have witnessed hires being let go 3 weeks into the job as part of the layoff exercise.

If you had a choice of roles in any vertical, would tech still be your first choice?

I'd like to think it's a great time for other verticals to capitalise on this exodus of talent in tech. For once in years, tech is not the choice destination for top talents.

Loyalty is overrated

It's cliche and everyone I spoke to responded to me in a similar way. In colloquial Singlish.

Aiyah... there is no loyalty one lah... we have always known it

While we all accept that it does not exist in the corporate world, deep down we all want to believe it's not true. We have seen nepotism in Enterprises happen for years, long service awards and everything else in between. When it works in our favour, it feels like loyalty.

I've come to see it differently. When layoffs happened, leaders were given numbers. In many cases, there was no evaluation as to whether a top performer would stay or go. We were all numbers and resources truly. Hypothetically, if the Amazons, Metas or Googles stuck to their "loyalty", would they have gone bust because they didn't lay off the 10,000 jobs? They would have still made billions but perhaps short of the initial 0.1B target they set out to achieve.

For me, it's a nail in the coffin of loyalty debates.

Quiet quitting

Which leads me to my next thought. When loyalty is not a thing, why is everyone fussing about quiet quitting? The negative spin could also be down to the word "quitting".

I'm not supporting the notion that we should all be lazy and take advantage of our employers. However, I'm now a convert to doing what is asked of me and not more.

If I had to rephrase the term, I would call it "doing what's in my job description".

As you can tell, its never gonna be as catchy as "quiet quitting", so I doubt it will be grabbing any headlines.

I do have great respect for those that have taken a bold step towards "quiet quitting" because by doing so, you have taken control back. Work for yourself and for your best interest.

For me the justification was easy. Every minute that I wasn't doing above and beyond my scope of work, its an additional minute I gained for my family and to those I love.

Means to an end

I ask this question a lot. What does work mean to me? For years, I've spent so much time at work, it is not surprising that I've associated my success in life closely to my success at work. If I had recognition at work, it felt like I'd done well for myself in life and likewise, if I got laid off at work, the reverse happened.

But would I still work if I weren't paid to do it?

Then it was clear as day. As a means of survival and facilitating a lifestyle, work was a necessity. Of course you make some friends along the way, get a pat on the back and such but ultimately the eye is on the prize.

Having a purpose at work was important and in the past, I'd always convinced myself that the tech I sold was used for good and progression. As a side effect of that, I help contribute to the growth of the organisation which I'm proud to be part of. As much as I'm still all for working towards tech for good outside of work, but I have less interest in the notion of "growing a company".

Redefining success

Over the years, I've been envious of what others had and wanted the same. Being in Singapore didn't help because material success is a way of life on this tiny island. Having a luxurious condo, a fancy car, a Swiss made watch and luxurious holidays were part of the lifestyle that defined success.

I lived it up as much as I could but the last 3 years with COVID and the downturn, it was such a wake up call. I realised that I had been defining success through the lens of others.

Success now is the ability to clearly differentiate between work priorities and personal priorities. Success is spending time on things and people I love and cherish. Success is having the courage to walk away from what is not good for me.

I hope this post articulates my thought process. Till next time...