Why Tech Employee Productivity Cratered

Let’s talk about how techies got nerfed

If you ask any tech industry employee about their current mindset, chances are you’re going to get a blank stare for 15 to 30 seconds while they try to figure out which side you’re on.

I know because I’ve asked, and I get that reaction… a lot.

I’ve had many surprisingly candid discussions with a lot of tech industry folks recently, up and down the chain of command. I’m going to slip into the shoes of your (above) average tech employee and help us all figure it out.

Like therapy, but without the stupid apps or candles.

The Blowback Against Tech Is Hitting Hard

People hate techies now. It’s a thing. It’s real.

But it’s super-misdirected.

It’s no secret that, for a number of reasons — including the dystopian aura around AI and the constant hammering of short-term profits over innovation — the tech industry has stopped building things that customers want.

It’s a once-in-a-generation episode of hubris, fueled by a constant string of wins from the beginning of the 21st century straight into the Etch-a-Sketch shake up brought about by pandemic chaos. The result is something we haven’t seen since the dot-bomb era at the turn of said century.

None of this should fall on the heads of the employees of these tech companies, but there’s a trickle down effect that’s unavoidable. It bores into your brain every time some comedian makes a joke about “tech bros” — which isn’t you but you know it’s going to roll downhill to you.

I’ve seen a number of thought-piece articles and videos that all begin with some form of “Hey, remember when it was cool to work for Google/Apple/Facebook?” or any other giant tech company.

And it was cool to work for a tech company. And it isn’t anymore.

But it also didn’t used to be in the olden times.

I’m old enough to remember a time when everyone else was getting rich in finance and insurance and commercial real estate and there I was in a gray cubicle with a beige box, anonymously click-clacking away at my keyboard.