Employers pushing back in debate over work-life balance

Time now for another Big Talker and if the pandemic brought one bright spot with it, some employees say that silver lining was a new kind of work-life balance, a freedom, a flexibility maybe, the whole work from home thing. But if you ask the Wall Street Journal, the party is over and apparently employers are rolling out the reckoning, said with dramatic effect because the journal says, and I quote, employers are getting brutally honest with applicants warning them of long hours and few boundaries. Companies are in control again. For example, they say Shopify is looking for a product manager who can quote, keep up with an unrelenting pace. Ouch. Well, I mean, they're putting it out there, right? A healthcare marketplace called Solace added this to their job description. If you're looking for work-life balance, this isn't it. A software company called Rilla came right out and said, please don't join us unless you're eager to work 70 hours a week in person. Now, other job listings are also clear. You will work long hours. The business environment there is competitive. You must hustle. So what is going on here? Well, it seems as part of a rebound post pandemic for a lot of companies, especially the ones where everybody was working from home and maybe now they're all coming back into the office. They are not interested in your flexible schedules. They don't care. They don't care about your remote work demands. They're not offering you perks. The job market is opening up. So many people are applying right now and they're being picky. They have more choices. They have more candidates. They're coming right out and being brutally honest about what they're looking for. You want in? You will work. Sound like too much? Don't bother. Go do something else. Here's the quote. The pendulum has swung and companies are in control again. Take it or leave it. You say that with a smile. I didn't write it. I mean, listen, don't say they're not honest about it. When the pendulum is swinging that hard and saying 70 hours a week and just deal with it, I think what they're going to deal with is the same thing again, where the employees do rise up and come together and say, we're not doing this. And I think you're going to have that struggle. I mean, I kind of agree with the work in person and I know it's not for everybody and works for everybody, but I don't blame companies for saying I want you here and to be a part of the team or, you know, being your full self here and not in an interview telling me how you don't really want to work here that much. I get that that's not appealing, but at the same time, there does need to be some kind of balance. There needs to be an understanding that employees have lives or it just can't be successful for everybody. To your point, I think the collaboration that comes in those small moments at the water cooler, at the coffee action, I think those are really important for collaboration and for partnership and creativity. I also really do appreciate that companies are being honest with their job applicants and saying, this is what you should expect. I think I would rather go into a situation with eyes wide open and understanding worst case scenarios so that then if it's actually better than they're saying, great, feels like a bonus, right? It's called work for a reason, but I would think if I was applying for one of these jobs, I wouldn't be going to stay. I'd be going because I get something out of being there and I'm looking to move on. And do you really want to invest in me? And I'm a great employee, but you've told me up front, this is not a place where you can get married and have kids and build a life. No, because 70 hours that you'll be working, you're only getting paid for 40. Yeah. Yeah. So if you marry somebody there, cause that's the only place you're going out. I guess. All right. Still ahead. I've got.