this post was submitted on 02 Mar 2025
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In the note, shared internally and viewed by the New York Times, Brin urges staff working on Google’s Gemini AI projects to put in long hours to help the company lead the race in artificial general intelligence (AGI).

Some have praised Brin’s commitment to pushing the company’s success, but others argue that his approach reflects an outdated and harmful mindset.

“The hustle-centric 60-hour week isn’t productivity—it’s burnout waiting to happen,” wrote workplace mental health educator Catherine Eadie in a post shared by LinkedIn’s news editors.

Others said they feel that hard work is essential for success, with a COO of a business analytics business writing, “Brin is just being honest—successful people have always put in long hours."

top 48 comments
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[–] [email protected] 3 points 16 minutes ago

If you are a CEO, sure. But if you are not then it's quite the opposite.

If only these capitalist pigs could put themselves in the shoes of others.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 hour ago

60 hours is the sweet spot for maximal control over your employees life with only the normal amount of suicides.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 59 minutes ago

JFC, and with the assholes in the government in collusion with these fuckers, they are likely to be able to make it mandatory.

The 4 day workweek is likely more optimal for humans, at least until we are post-scarcity.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 hours ago

Did that guy ever work anywhere else?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 hour ago

Hurry! Before they change president and figure out all the data we stole from everyone during this glorious time!

[–] [email protected] 24 points 13 hours ago

Spoken to someone who might work 60 minutes a week.

He can get fucked by his 60 hour work week. Sideways.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 14 hours ago

Classic correlation v. causation. The sweet spot for productivity is believing in and wanting to do your work. For some people, this motivates them to spend tons of time working. For some people, this boueys then to high productivity even while exercising great work life balance and avoiding burnout.

Google used to know this, and spend huge amounts of effort and resources on trust, enjoyment, innovation. Now that's something to find at other companies.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 18 hours ago

Hey Brin, kindly go fuck yourself, you out-of-tpuch ass.

[–] [email protected] 111 points 23 hours ago (3 children)

Why? Fuck me, that’s like a 12 hour day over a 5 day week. No-one is doing productive 12 hours day for very long, so he’s basically just arguing for an adult version of fucking daycare here.

[–] [email protected] 61 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

...or 8.6 hours a day 7 days a week with no days off. There's no way to math this that isn't "fuck you, you don't deserve a life outside of working to replace yourself with AI."

[–] [email protected] 24 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Or 10 hour days 6 days a week, only so the "responsible" employees can go to church.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 21 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 35 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Specially developers, you're going to spend the first 3 hours of work every day, fixing all the shitty code wrote in the 3 last hours of the preview day.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 21 hours ago

Yep. If you want max productivity from devs, it's salary and ad hoc.

Do your work when the fuck ever. Just get it done.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 17 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 40 points 20 hours ago

Kicking Sergey Brin in the teeth and working 30 hours a week is max productivity.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

So nice of him to support the abuse of his employees for his personal gain.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 19 hours ago

It's not about productivity. Productivity drops exponentially when people are tired. It's about crushing the human spirit.

[–] [email protected] 63 points 23 hours ago (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 22 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

At this point, it's an insult to clowns.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 22 hours ago

fair, "clown" as in the study of physical comedy is genuinely hilarious

[–] [email protected] 16 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

Not true. They know exactly what theyre doing to extract wealth from the workers.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Yes. The rich prefer slavery if they can get away with it .

[–] [email protected] 4 points 17 hours ago

Even if it's less efficient than better treatment of the workforce

[–] [email protected] 8 points 20 hours ago

Mba say the darnest things

[–] [email protected] 35 points 22 hours ago

Hitting Brin in the balls repeatedly would increase my happiness.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 23 hours ago

My ass it is. We're going the other direction.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

I’d work work 60 hours a week if I was going to get paid the millions they make but I’m not doing that work just to make someone else rich.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (2 children)

It's beyond just making millions for someone else, it's about literally building their replacements.

In the note, shared internally and viewed by the New York Times, Brin urges staff working on Google’s Gemini AI projects to put in long hours to help the company lead the race in artificial general intelligence (AGI).

They want an AGI that will do all the work "for free" and they don't have to worry about pesky human workers who want things like "human rights" anymore.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 hour ago

Most big players in the AI field have already said that they are not going to reach the goals they set for environmental impact by 2030. The "for free" part simply means that Earth will become unlivable for human beings sooner

[–] [email protected] 8 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

Yep, just plug 'em in and they'll work 24x7x52 without a complaint. That's the goal.

"The race" to AGI is just the race to unemployment and complete subservience to the TechBro super-rich and their ilk.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 20 hours ago

Let’s see, can’t grow your own food, can’t make your own clothes, can’t fix your own home, have to pay property taxes no matter what, have to pay for health insurance or you die…

They have a lot of people between a rock and a hard place. Might even be all of us.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 22 hours ago

Please join my TED talk on "Why whip is a more efficient motivational tool than bonuses?"

[–] [email protected] 22 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (1 children)

There's 182,502 employees at Google.

Maybe if Brin wants to work hard, he can do all the work at 60 hours a week himself, since he's so fucking smart.

That's only 10,950,120 hours a week, Brin. Those are rookie numbers! You can do it yourself, right? Right?

You wouldn't be sitting on your ass doing nothing demanding others do all the work, right? Right??


Narrator: Brin was indeed sitting on his ass doing nothing.


Also, for context, 60 hours a week divided by 7 days a week is 8.6 hours a day with no days off or 6 ten hour days with one day off or 5 twelve hour days with two days off.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (2 children)

often these fucks do work 60–100 hour weeks because they are soulless, friendless, loveless, hobbyless people with no interior life or social life.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (2 children)

Nah, they count shit like going to the gym for two hours or having a three-hour-three-martini "business lunch" as part of their "work week" so those numbers are way overinflated. They count every little thing they do that they tell us "isn't working" (like eating) as "work" when it comes to their own schedules.

There's middle managers who really work like that but its because they hate their home lives, their wives, their children.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 16 hours ago

Exactly! I worked at a really small company in a rural area and and even at that insignificant place my bosses would sit around, drink coffee, maybe drive their fancy company cars visiting their friends at another company for chatting and berating their employees for being lazy and being egoistic for having a low working morale. While leaving early everyday. I used to say I'd like very much spend my holidays like they spend their days working.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

"I am the all-important central pillar of this company, so looking after my health needs is how I do my job. It would be bad if I joined investor calls and virtual meetings without getting 10 hours of sleep and 3 square meals per day, so of course that time is billable. And I'll need the company to pay for my various trainers, aides, counsellors, and spiritual advisors who keep me physically and mentally healthy, otherwise we wouldn't have a leg up on the competition."

"Hey, does it make our company look bad if the Apple CEO owns a larger yacht than I do? We need to fix that ASAP. How can we make more room in the budget for my compensation? Do we really need to keep all these engineers?"

[–] [email protected] 4 points 20 hours ago

Now we are talking!

[–] [email protected] 12 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

I work 60-100 hours a week because I own my business.

They aren’t “working” in the same way I am or you are. They don’t work their businesses. Their hobbies social life and business are all blurred. That’s why they can make the claim they are always working but it’s not the same thing.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 19 hours ago

I hope you can return to a healthy balance soon.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) (2 children)

Have fun paying out overtime in developed countries

[–] [email protected] 8 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Assuming overtime pay and other employee benefits aren't completely gutted

[–] [email protected] 8 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago)

That's why I specified developed countries. Countries stuck in the 1800s don't count.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 20 hours ago

They won’t pay overtime. Obviously.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 22 hours ago

60-hour workmonth? Sign me up!

[–] corsicanguppy -4 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

workweek

Joiningwords forno reasonis weirdwhenhyphens stillexist.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 17 minutes ago

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