The abuses described in the Verge article [0] are painful to hear about. Just try and read the CEO's Slack screed about "teaching accountability" without sounding like a DreamWorks villain. Think about the hours those employees were forced to work, the time off they were deprived, the family trips and plans repeatedly disrupted with the slimmest of notice, if any. The Away management team comes across as manipulative and maximally exploitative at the expense of their employees' well-beings, topped off with a CEO intent on forcing her abysmal work-life balance and sleep schedule on the rest of her staff.
With that all laid out, Graham's flippant comment that companies can "safely ignore" backlash against such business practices strikes me as callous and out-of-touch, particularly given his role in the venture-funded system which fosters such conditions in the first place. Another dispatch from the world of rich guys that would have the rest of us slaving away in China's 9-9-6 model [1], interspersed in their feeds with reports of the little moments with family and friends that they'd rather we exchange for a few extra percentage points on their returns.
With that all laid out, Graham's flippant comment that companies can "safely ignore" backlash against such business practices strikes me as callous and out-of-touch, particularly given his role in the venture-funded system which fosters such conditions in the first place. Another dispatch from the world of rich guys that would have the rest of us slaving away in China's 9-9-6 model [1], interspersed in their feeds with reports of the little moments with family and friends that they'd rather we exchange for a few extra percentage points on their returns.
[0] https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/5/20995453/away-luggage-ceo...
[1] https://www.ft.com/content/42daca9e-facc-11e7-9bfc-052cbba03...