'It's not a good look. It's yet another unspoken sign of disrespect'
The tech industry has long been known as one in which workers are pushed to their limits writing code and pushing products to market.
But the new owner of Twitter seems to be taking this to an entirely different level.
New photos have surfaced online showing makeshift beds being set up in conference rooms and other offices at the San Francisco location, according to The Guardian.
This troubling news is being investigated by the city’s building inspection department.
“We investigate all complaints. We need to make sure the building is being used as intended. There are different building code requirements for residential buildings, including those being used for short-term stays. These codes make sure people are using spaces safely,” says Patrick Hannan, Department of Building Inspection spokesperson.
It seems as if these employees are being worked so hard they have to remain on site and put in long hours.
Musk responds
In response to the allegations, Elon Musk directed his ire toward municipal officials: “So city of SF attacks companies providing beds for tired employees instead of making sure kids are safe from fentanyl. Where are your priorities @LondonBreed!?” he tweeted, including a photograph of a 10-month-old who died from an accidental overdose of the deadly drug.
Last month, the company’s director of product management, Esther Crawford shared a picture of herself sleeping in the offices. “When your team is pushing round the clock to make deadlines sometimes you,” she said on Twitter, showing her lying on the floor behind conference room chairs.
Some other workers reportedly were unaware of the new working conditions, according to Forbes.
“It’s not a good look. It’s yet another unspoken sign of disrespect. There is no discussion. Just, like, beds showed up,” said an unidentified employee.
The firm seems to have installed four to eight beds per floor, according to another report in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Just in November, the company laid down the law for workers providing a hard deadline to submit to Musk’s new rules, saying, “Going forward, to build a breakthrough Twitter 2.0 and succeed in an increasingly competitive world, we will need to be extremely hardcore.”
“This will mean working long hours at high intensity. Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade,” said Musk.
