Valley of the Pampered

America’s tech companies have long spared no expense to offer amenities to their employees. Now Meta, Google and company are setting a new tone.

It’s a rude awakening. For a long time, employees at Google, Facebook and other American technology companies could feel like they were being pampered. Their employers spared no effort to provide them with amenities, whether a free gourmet cafeteria or generous benefits. They were in a good bargaining position because the industry was desperately searching for personnel.

But the starting position has changed very rapidly. Business has dropped off significantly for many companies; Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has had to accept a revenue loss for the first time.

The tone in Silicon Valley is now changing. There are hiring freezes and firings. CEOs are making clear that they want to apply more pressure on their personnel from now on. They are catching on to the fact that excessive entitlement has become pervasive in their companies and that many employees are lacking dedication. For employees, it is a sobering realization: The balance of power has rapidly shifted to their disadvantage.