Ask HN: At which tech companies do employees act (and are treated like) adults?

[AspiringAdult]

I am being serious here (this is a throwaway account for obvious reasons).

I enjoy working in the tech industry. I like working with people, and get a kick out of creating and shipping products. But I am getting somewhat frustrated with the childish Valley work culture.

Unlimited snacks and tricycles at work are not selling points for me. I can feed and entertain myself just fine. I would simply like to work with people that get stuff done (efficiently) ... and then carry on with the rest of their lives. Less small talk, more productivity.

Are there tech companies in or near SF where this happens? It would be great to get a list going.

[danielam]

I've always found this frustrating myself. I was never a fan of immaturity, but I have absolutely no patience for it at my age (it's one reason I hated my last company). The cultish character of some startups and tech companies also creeps me out. In general, I guess an infantile workforce is easier to manipulate than a group of mature adults. Or maybe there's something in the free snacks...

My personal experience has been that companies that need tech (vs. tech companies), as well as the older players, tend to have employees with a greater level of average or at least apparent average maturity. The Peter Pan syndrome you have in mind seems to be fairly unique to new tech, but not new businesses in general. Maybe instead of working for a tech company, you should consider working for a company that has a tech team instead.

[Someone1234]

Pretty much anywhere that is an establish business.

An obvious example is Microsoft. But really take any software or technology company that is more than a few years old and you don't find people acting this way. It is just brand new startups or those who wish to pretend like they were brand new startups that do.

[chrisBob]

I am glad to hear that I am not the only one who doesn't think "happy hour with your coworkers every week" and "we all vacation together" is a perk.

[Blackthorn]

I think you're a little confused, to be honest.

Having a lot of snacks lying around isn't the same thing as missing adulthood, and not having a lot of snacks lying around is not an indicator of adulthood. They're not correlated.

What you actually want to look for is information on how you'll actually work. What responsibility you have. Whether or not you're trusted to make your own decisions. That sort of thing.

[AspiringAdult]

Look, I get that. I don't credit roosters for sunrises either. Let's not go down that road.

It's just not a selling point for me, and not appealing when used as such ("Come work here, we have great snacks.") Usually accompanied by claims of "unlimited vacation" and "a fully decked out Macbook Pro." I understand that these things can also exist in an environment where people are treated like adults (e.g. given responsibility, trusted to do their work, given privacy and space).

I would, of course, rather know more about the actual work environment. This information is just hard to obtain unless you personally know someone at the company - someone who is willing to talk candidly about it. Occasionally, a company makes puts such values front and center (e.g. 37 Signals). I was hoping to get more examples.

[pain]

If we are asking about culture from an innocent standpoint of maturity and mapping, it ties directly to social issues we still hear categorically ignored as minority issues and money issues.

If we want a stable culture we need to address the hierarchy of needs errors, without numb economics and unchecked corporal pleasure, with enough pattern recognition to pay serious attention to habits of terms of 'model, view, and culture.'

[PebblesHD]

As has been said by many here already, more established companies and companies that need tech will generally have a more mature work force. I suffered from the same problem and took (in my opinion) a safe alternative, working in a bank development division managing the online properties and apps. Its an established environment with professionals that are treated as such.

[general_failure]

Startups which separate life and work are hard to find. Especially very early stage startups. This is why you should always get a bunch of stocks when you join startups. Once the startup is doing well, they go the standard route of hiring HR and business-y guys. That transition gets rid of most of the tricycles (mostly because more space is needed to house the extra people...)

[mritun]

Come and interview at Amazon.com. We have offices in CA too. The culture is somewhat mixed, and there are places that keep things sane while respecting most people's, um, peculiarities.

[jd3]

One of my senior friends will be working at Amazon full time after he graduates this spring. He's one of our best & brightest. Amazon seems like a great fit for him.

[AspiringAdult]

Good idea, thank you!

[phonon]

Try companies that make high-end enterprise apps. Guidewire would be a good choice near you.

[csixty4]

I work remotely. I get to create exactly the kind of work environment I want.

[rapphil]

I would say companies that deals with industrial stuff.

[imagination]

any company funded without vc money fits your needs