Startups Can Be Very Stressful, But…
Do you really want to work at a startup?
Evan Prodromou has dire warnings for anyone entertaining the thought.
“Employees end up working 80-hour weeks, typically for low or no pay and worthless stock options that never pay out. Guilty that living the “startup lifestyle” (work from home, come in late, have fun) has caused schedule or feature slips, they push themselves too hard at work, to the detriment of their health and home life.”
I completely understand what Evan is saying. And he’s not the only one. Plenty of people lament long work hours and stress in startup environments.
But is that so much different than other work environments?
Stressful work environments aren’t owned by startups
What about lawyers-in-training? Right out of school, they’re often thrust into a law practice working harder than any startup employee. And treated pretty roughly too. A friend of mine in New York was completely fused to her BlackBerry. Days, nights, weekends, holidays, it made absolutely no difference. She’d be called in at a moment’s notice. She’d miss family events, friend’s weddings and other important life “stuff” for work. And she wasn’t alone.
What about medical residents? Ask Tony Hung what 36-hours straight of work in a hospital feels like.
And big businesses aren’t immune to slave driving either. EA Sports is a classic example. A couple years ago (if I remember correctly) there was a huge hubbub with them and the game industry overall about how employees were treated. And companies like IBM aren’t clocking people in “easy does it” 9-5 every day. Most of my IBM friends work longer hours than I do.
Startups can be different
There’s no shortage of examples beyond startups where people are overworked, stressed to the max and sacrificing. That doesn’t make it right, but the magnifying glass is often pointed specifically at startups as hostile work environments.
As well, I don’t think my reasons for working at a startup can be matched completely in other industries and jobs. Some of them yes, but all of them?
And startups don’t have to have ultra-stressful work environments. In other cases there’s less choice. Medical residents can’t switch hospitals to find a “more relaxed” work space. (Of course, they’re out there saving lives, I certainly recognize the difference in magnitude…)
With startups, you can diminish the stress level and the insane hours. I’ve seen it work. Yes, there are lots of “ifs” as Evan points out, but that’s what life is all about anyway…ifs.
I’ve seen the good and the bad
I’ve done my share of sleeping at the office, all-nighters, marathon work sessions…I’m sure there are more on the horizon, but within limits. When starting a company you choose the type of culture you want to create. And a significant part of that culture is tied to work environment, hours, stress levels and expectations. When joining a startup you need to really explore that work environment and culture, understand it as best you can, and see if it’s right for you.
You should know the risk so you can look for it and be prepared for it. But the risk is worth it. And the risk runs through lots of industries and businesses; you can’t hide from it just because you don’t join a startup.
As someone entering their fourth year of running a ’start-up’ business in a new niche market, my philosophy is: - The start up business should have a positive live/work culture and balance right from the beginning. Not possible to achieve all the time, but if the culture of believing that the only way to run a business is to be at work for 12 hours a day is ever going to be broken, it is new businesses that have to start with a new attitude.
If my business can only survive by us having to work 24/7, I don’t want it to survive.
An engaging read as ever, Ben.
I used to work for a start-up. I took a very close look at their business plan before getting involved and everything seemed to be sound. They took on 50 employees with the aim of a return on investment within around two years. Unfortunately their backers pulled out after just one year and everyone was laid off.
Perhaps their recruitment policy was lacking, and the team didn’t pull their combined weight, I’m not so sure, but being part of a liquidation wasn’t the greatest experience.
Still, it’s an experience nonetheless, and one that taught me a thing or two.
I feel like I need to write a blog post on this subject as well, and hope to over the weekend.
Personally I found the biggest source of stress at a startup is the fast pace. You can be doing well one month and the next it’s like your survival is at stake.
There are definitely survival strategies but number one among them in my book is to strive for success but plan for failure. Which calls for a rather schizophrenic outlook on the part of the employee.
Example: you have to give the job your all but always know in the back of your mind that your job could vanish at any moment.
That is a very different sort of stress than a lawyer or doctor I imagine who although they have stressful work environments, they have much more job security over the long haul.
My worst experience involved a startup with no project manager, let alone a business plan. It was a horrible and maddening experience, but you live and learn.
Definitely, startups go bad for the same reasons as established businesses do. So you gotta pick’em right. Is it a viable business and do they have the skill sets?
Once the risks have been assessed, I’m in total agreement — joining a startup can be a thrilling, wonderful, and personally rewarding experience.
Complete agreement that culture starts on day 1.
Which is something workers should always remind themselves… if the culture is already bad, when why would it ever improve?
I sometimes feel like I’m the only one complaining about issues and deficiencies I see… maybe a sign of a bad fit?
[...] 25th 2007, 11:03 pm Filed under: Uncategorized Over at the Instigator Blog, Ben is arguing that startups aren’t necessarily worse than other places for insane hours. I propose we need to start thinking about the part-time [...]
Engtech,
I think the fact that you complain about the deficiencies shows how better suited you’d be to a team that fully appreciate your knowledge.
From what I read in your articles you’d be a great asset to many companies. The key is to find people smarter than you. In my case this can be an easy task. In your case, not so.
Best wishes.
[...] Startups Can Be Stressful, But… by Ben Yoskovitz… Giving some fine examples of Workplace Stress, Ben lets us know that it doesn’t have to be all bad, but the “fit” is the important part. [...]
I’m trying to start up on my own. It’s terribly stressful sometimes. Other times its the best thing in the universe.
I am terribly sorry for the off topic, but I couldn’t find anywhere else to say it. Congratulations Ben and wife with your newborn son!
Start-up business really are stressful. One of my friend have experience to build laundrette, but have bad system and management so the employee can steal the money.
Unfortunately, the business was not yet 1 year.
Great article. I can say I agree with all of that. By reading alot of your articles, I think me and you have alot in common. Anyways, great reading your blog, I’ve subscribed to your feed, and you can expect me to come back often! Keep doing what your doing Ben!
@Lynn - You wrote, “If my business can only survive by us having to work 24/7, I don’t want it to survive.”
I think that’s a great line. Perhaps at the beginning, 12 hours/day is something you’ll have to do, but eventually you can’t, it just doesn’t make sense. In fact, many people will tell you that the best business to start and run is one that you can replace yourself in. And that you should start thinking about replacing yourself almost immediately.
@Webomatica: You wrote, “Example: you have to give the job your all but always know in the back of your mind that your job could vanish at any moment.”
How is that much different from other jobs? Unless you’re unionized are there really any guarantees? Businesses shuffle people all the time. Every day the business section of every paper is announcing massive layoffs somewhere…
I don’t believe there’s any more real security in non-startups vs. startups.
@engtech - If your outlook is consistently negative, it could be a bad cultural fit.
What I’m most interested in is the perception that the corporate world (i.e. non-startup world) is a safer, better place to be. When you start to compare startups and non-startups truthfully I think you’ll see that’s not the case.
There are crappy startups. There are crappy companies. There are great startups. There are great companies.
@Randall — thank you for the kinds words and support. Always glad to have another subscriber (especially one that participates!)
Great post! I thought what you said in the last paragraph was key - “You should know the risk so you can look for it and be prepared for it.”
My company did a survey last year, and almost 4 out of 5 participants (78%) felt that they did not have the skills to cope with stress. So, sometimes, it’s not just about the crazy hours…it’s about knowing what to do when you’ve got too many things to get done in a finite amount of time.
So, yes, you need to ask questions about the culture before you go in, and it also isn’t a bad idea to examine how well you can handle stressful situations.
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