Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke discourages employees from side hustles in company memo, saying their jobs require their undivided attention.
In a leaked memo, Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke put limits on employees having side hustles, saying Shopify requires 'unshared attention'::Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke discourages employees from side hustles in company memo, saying their jobs require their undivided attention.
My employer is the same. I was almost fired for attending a (unpaid!) hackathon during a weekend. A colleague was fired for doing volunteer work in weekends.
That's so wild. A smart company would be begging their employees to learn how to solve new problems on the weekend for fun. Intellectually curious people are exactly who you want.
The only way this would make sense would be if you signed an NDA or something that would prevent you from participating in the specific hackathon, because secrets.
No NDA, completely different sector. Stated reason was the same as in the article: "we need your full undivided attention", followed by some bullshit that they were "concerned" I would be overworking myself. Maybe they should have reduced the work load at work if they were truly concerned, as I was pulling 60+ hour work weeks at the time.
My company will actually donate money equivalent to your hours volunteered (albeit at some lower wage of like $10/hr) when volunteering with any one of hundreds of charities and they have an application to submit new charities if yours isn't listed.