I think we're talking past eachother. The entire point here is not about the objective reality of how well your engineering team is doing - I couldn't possibly know enough to make that call.
The point is that engineering leaders (not ICs, but leadership responsible for communicating their teams' success) need to be actively shaping this narrative. And to do that, they need to be aware of the negative stereotypes and pre-existing perceptions that are there already. You can't just walk in and demand better treatment, you need to understand how you're perceived, read the room, and structure your strategy accordingly. Other CXOs all do this - they know that they are working against stereotypes and norms so they actively structure their narrative to help reflect what's actually happening (ex: marketing execs tend to de-emphasize the creative parts of their job, because they don't want to be seen as profligate spenders who throw money around for vague concepts like "awareness").
As much as it might hurt to confront the fact that some people have the wrong idea about you, it's your literal job as an executive.
And if you're an IC, you should be demanding this of your tech leaders. THEM neglecting this could cost YOU your job.
Product management's job is not to explain engineering. Engineering does not work for product management. Product's job is to figure out what to build by working with all stakeholders and customer input.
"Other functions would do well to bring the same kind of focus on enabling productivity, happiness, and autonomy to their workers. In fact, CTOs-turned-CEOs I know tend to be some of the most kind, creative, and abundance-minded leaders I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. They have an inherent understanding on the importance of culture and making people feel valued."
I'd actually really like to believe that what you've written is true. If hundreds and thousands of tech workers were empowered toliterally quit the workforce if their higher needs weren't met, I'd be DELIGHTED.
But the reality is that the jobs with "real perks" are really hard to get and few and far between. They require powerful networks, timing, and luck. Most of the folks I know who were impacted by the recent layoffs just want a place where they can make a good living and feel appreciated.
Buddy...the point is really, really not unlimited PTO.
NO ONE treated workers at scale like Google did in earlier decades. It was literally wild and unprecedented.
Engineers for many decades had unprecedented job mobility and bargaining power. Certainly not a bad thing in and of itself, but it's an outlier experience that's ending.
Unfortunately, companies don't organically and spontaneously decide to treat their workers well. Leaders need to fight for it...and most engineering leaders just aren't positioned to right now.
Hi! Author here - that's actually...kinda the point.
The good treatment you mentioned doesn't organically happen. Your leaders have to fight for it and maintain it. And eng leaders...just aren't in the fight right now.
If good eng leaders actually stepped up and brought the ethos of enabling creativity, autonomy, and well-being to the rest of the org, everyone would be in a better place.
Author here! Came when I saw my Substack blowing up.
This isn't to imply that engineers are universally treated well, but that RELATIVE to other workers, they held far more bargaining power and faced better working conditions across the board. Most companies outside of the tech bubble don't even have the concept of unlimited PTO.
There's probably something broader to be said re: this point on bargaining power of workers in general, but this is above my pay grade.