Featured Image Credit: Getty/Justin Sullivan
Topics: Artificial Intelligence, Money, Technology
Niamh Spence
Topics: Artificial Intelligence, Money, Technology
Working long hours is fine as a one off, but doing it regularly is the recipe for the dreaded burnout.
Yet for employees of one particular tech company, it's the standard and is expected from them with some workers not leaving their desks until 2am.
Artificial Intelligence company Nvidia has an 'always on' mentality, with workers expected to be at their desks seven days a week and often until into the early hours of the morning.
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The business, which makes chips that power artificial intelligence technology, has a low staff turnover which ordinarily would be a sign of a happy workforce - but that allegedly isn't the case here.
A former engineer at Nvidia told Bloomberg News of their experience working at the business, which despite the gruelling schedule has seen many employees stay and not want to leave.
With employees receiving high salaries and bonuses, they have said they feel they have 'golden handcuffs', meaning it's impossible to leave and they continue working despite long hours, a temperamental work culture and almost no work/life balance.
One employee also reported that she would often attend up to 10 meetings per day, many with 'shouting and fighting'.
Others have reported similar and described the company as 'a pressure cooker' where meetings often descend into shouting matches.
Yet despite the obvious red flags, she like others sticks with the tech giant due to the excellent salary and benefits.
Yet with the world of work set to change, with the founder of LinkedIn predicting 9-5 will soon be no more, having a huge salary but no work life balance could mean more employees look elsewhere.
Whilst we all get that the odd hard and long day might happen, doing it constantly sounds like a recipe for chronic burnout and this has become the trigger for many people looking for better roles.
Last year, a survey of 10,243 global workers by US think-tank Future Forum found 42 percent reported burnout, its highest figure since May 2021.
Having such a gruelling work schedule comes with health risks too, as a May 2021 study by WHO and the International Labour Organisation suggested that an estimated three-quarters of a million people die annually from ischaemic heart disease and stroke, due to working long hours.
Yet for those at Nvidia, it appears the lack of sleep and graft are to be expected.
Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s co-founder and chief executive officer, has previously commented on the culture in his business. He told CBS's 60 Minutes in an interview: "If you want to do extraordinary things, it shouldn’t be easy."
When contacted by UNILAD, a spokesperson for Nvidia declined to comment.