The Other Side of Paradise

Glamorous tech startups can be brutal places for workers

Software firms are supposed to be a paradise for “talent”. Not only are their workers fabulously paid, but they are showered with perks as well. They can gorge themselves on free food cooked by Cordon Bleu chefs. They can snooze in nap pods or, if they feel more energetic, work out in on-site gyms or take yoga classes. There are dry-cleaners on the premises to do their laundry and buses to ferry them to and from work.

There is some truth in this. Such companies have few resources other than their employees’ brains. And the battle for those brains is becoming more intense as the digital revolution reconfigures swathes of the business world. Giants such as Google and Facebook are seeking to reinforce their position at the heart of this new economy by investing heavily in research and expanding into ever more areas. Google’s headcount has grown by 157% in the past five years, to about 60,000. Smaller startups are also scrambling to attract talent; and manufacturers are responding to the digitisation of their industries by hiring coders and other tech geeks. Carmakers such as GM, Ford, Nissan and Toyota have all set up research outposts in Silicon Valley.

This is producing a pay-and-perks arms race. The biggest companies are building awe-inspiring…