I'm a regular user of "BcnEng," a Slack workspace dedicated to Barcelona (software) Engineers. It's a huge group, with almost 15 thousand members. The other day, someone asked if stating "(...) this offer is not for you if you want a 9-5 job" was a red flag in a job offer:

You can see, by the reactions, that many people consider it a red flag. Currently, there is a prevailing sentiment in most Western societies that external factors (e.g., luck, social class) play a dominant role in determining success or failure. As a result, personal effort, discipline, and persistence are often downplayed or even viewed with suspicion. As if striving too hard implies complicity in an unfair system rather than resilience or ambition. But that mindset ignores nuance. Not all roles, companies, or industries are created equal. There's a massive difference between toxic overwork with no upside and consciously choosing to push yourself in a high-growth environment because you believe in the mission, the team, or the potential rewards.

To be clear, I'm not defending crunch culture, unpaid overtime, or exploitative practices where companies mask underpayment with hype. That kind of "hustle" culture should be called out, especially in places like the gaming industry, where companies often use it to avoid fair compensation. What I am pushing back against is the blanket assumption that any job demanding more than 8 hours a day is automatically abusive. That's not always the case. Sometimes, working harder is a strategic, voluntary choice, especially if you're learning fast, building something ambitious, and sharing in the upside.

Let's be honest: no one serious at OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google's AI teams is just clocking in 8 hours and calling it a day. These people are putting in serious time and intensity. Not because these companies are exploiting them, but because they're building frontier-shifting technology. And they know what's at stake. In most cases, they also have a massive financial upside.

Work-life balance matters. I value it deeply, especially with kids. However, I also recognize that prioritizing balance often means de-prioritizing aspects such as career advancement, compensation, or startup equity. These are tradeoffs, not moral failures. I'd rather ask:

One-size-fits-all thinking flattens reality. Not everyone should hustle. Not everyone should coast. But dismissing effort altogether because some companies abuse it? That's just as myopic.

— João