Facebook work life balance
Hello friends, I have an offer from facebook but yet to get the numbers. Meanwhile, I am terrified about work life balance stories at facebook. I am diagnosed with severe anxiety and taking medication for it and also expecting a kid in couple of months. I know stories in the internet can be blown out of proportion. So, I request people who have been at facebook to answer the following questions 1) Is WLB really as bad as internet projects ? 2) If yes, what are some of the tips/tricks to chose a better team? 3) Heard there is an internal tool, that will tell us better wlb team with respect to late code checkins I really appreciate the help. Thanks guys Current Tc: 270k Yoe : 10 New TC: yet to know#tech
Don't know about WLB but I'm gonna guess FB's parental leave policy is a bit more generous than Cisco's. Might be worth taking it just for that
Worst advice ever …!
4 mos for non-birthing parent, I think it's like 4-6 mos for birthing.
Hi, I have a friend who joined FB 1 month away from having a baby, so he told the recruiter that he could be on paternity leave any time and recruiter communicated back to the team and said OK. WLB is always team dependent, so it’s probably a good idea to ask your recruiter about expectations to work overtime. Some teams are mission critical so they have to work overtime, but can take time off later.
I hear brutal stories of FB with people committing code at 3 am, chasing for “impact” and trying to do well in regular performance reviews. Sounds far worse than Amazon but Blind ratings suggest otherwise so I am confused.
There are some “personal choice” factor into it. Since there are many ex- Apple & Amazon at FB, many of them still keep the same working mode.
It is worse than Amazon
I think it really depends on team/country.. mine is pretty great
I’d recommend being relatively honest in your hiring manager chats when you do team matching. If you’re an Eng/ PM on a P0 area (like Ads Data, Election Integrity, etc) there is no such thing as WLB. If your future hiring manager balks at the idea of WLB then it’s not a good fit. If they assure you that it’s cyclical (with some times being relaxed & others intense) then it’s a fit. If they tell you WLB is top priority then they’re lying (probably struggling to hire) or lack awareness, so run.
I am ready for the race.... Lol hire me
Some people suggest an internal tool that kind of gives pointers about code checkin times .. do you recommend some other pointers like that ?
In my opinion, if you have anxiety, it might not be the best place for you long term. I have anxiety as well and though I have been there for a long time, I don't think it has been the best decision for me. It's not only about the number of hours you put in, but also the culture is extremely stressful. I have been on many teams and my hours have always been good and no one was committing code at 3am or whatever. But, I'm still stressed because imo FB's culture fosters anxiety. I think the main components are: the Workplace tool and PSC culture. The workplace tool makes it so you think everyone is doing amazingly because making impressive posts is part of how you succeed at work. If you have anxiety, you will not pay attention to the signs that people are struggling and your anxiety will enhance your imposter syndrome. Because you have intense imposter syndrome now, you will be anxious about PSCs which happen twice a year. People around you are obsessed about it because of their own drive or imposter syndrome which will make you care about it a lot and enhance your anxiety. This has been my experience. I've started to look for jobs and it is absurd how much FB on your resume helps though so I think you should go in for at least a year and see how it feels for you. Make sure you're not captured by the golden handcuffs and escape if you think it's bad. I think my best tip is to find a manager you can trust telling about your anxiety. To find that person, talk with your friends at FB who know you and they probably can recommend some good managers.
thank you .. do you know any good teams that you recommend ?
Above ^: As who never had anxiety and now leaving frim because of stress and anxiety Even if you work 40 hrs/week (which I don't think ever happens in my team) you would still get your anxiety worsened.
1) WLB is not good at FB, but there is a significant team-on-team variance. It's better in some teams, worse in other teams (worse in eg. crisis teams, teams going from 0-1, near product launch teams, etc.). you will have some degree of choice before you join 2) use your common sense, established team with no new launches in sight, might have a more stable environment 3) don't know First months with a new kid are always difficult, particularly if you're the primary caregiver, it's going to be a big challenge, no matter the environment. From own experience (primary caregiver), low pressure role for the first year or so after the kid is born is a good option. My partner was much less affected by responsibilities after we had kids, as he was not the main caregiver and was able to take on a high pressure role.
thank you .. do you know any good teams that you recommend ?
Why did I hear "chai pee loo"
What’s the significance of this? I tried googling it to no avail
@google it's an old meme in india https://youtu.be/qTfmj2ex_zg