Did you hear the one about the Microsoft employee who works 15 hours a week for an annual salary of £225k?
Stories of low-effort, high-paid jobs are racking up thousands of likes and comments on social media sites like TikTok and X. Usually coming from people who claim to work in the tech sector, they are the modern equivalent of El Dorado for stressed out employees.
Whispers of a six-figure salary for a 10 hour workweek even appear to be making some online users consider a career switch to a ‘dream job’ with good work-life balance.
But such Old Worker’s Tales stand in stark contrast to the reality of today’s jobs market. While staff describe easy workdays, Silicon Valley’s finest are laying off workers in droves. And this battle of narratives is causing a disconnect between employees and bosses.
Microsoft myths
The X post that went viral earlier this month claimed that a Microsoft employee works only 15-20 hours per week while earning a salary of $300,000 (around £225,000).
“Talking to my friend who works at Microsoft & apparently he works 15-20 hr weeks & plays [the video game League of Legends] the rest of the time & gets paid $300k for it”, reads the post, which quickly amassed over two million views.
This anecdote is one of many viral internet folk tales that describe dream employment scenarios. Last month, an Amazon manager on the careers forum, Blind made headlines after he revealed he earned $370,000 a year for working eight hours a week.
Each is usually accompanied by comments eager to hear how they can join this supposedly all play, no work career. “What are the reqs for this job and any open positions?” reads one.
Behind the screens
Unfortunately, because the employees these posts describe are anonymous, there is no way to verify if they really do spend hours of the workday slumped over a video game console. It’s worth showing scepticism, however, given the state of the tech industry today.
Microsoft laid off over 10,000 employees last January, and redundancies have snowballed since then. These are not just support roles. In June, 1,000 engineers lost their jobs. In fact, globally, over 100,000 IT jobs have been let go in the second half of this year alone.
That makes the promise of an easy tech role look much less believable. With companies loudly slashing the workforce to save cash, the idea that firms such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are shelling out millions on unproductive team members seems laughable.
Research suggests that the average tech worker is very different from their lazy viral personas. In August, a Workday survey into staff burnout found that 23% of tech firms are now high-burnout-risk organisations. That’s an 8% increase on the previous year’s analysis.
TikTok vs. Reality
Often, ‘dream job’ rumours start on social media. Many originate from #CareerTok, a HR subsect of TikTok. This online community can be positive, producing content that teaches younger users how to stand up for themselves at work or communicate better.
But some self-proclaimed HR experts on TikTok are cavalier about advising viewers to engage in anti-work practices such as quiet quitting (phoning it in by doing the bare minimum at work) or presenteeism. These may be fun trends to follow outside of work. Offline, though, they are more likely to hurt career prospects and cause conflict with managers.
They can also have a mental impact. The creator of the quiet quitting trend now admits he regrets starting the trend after he found it left him demotivated and isolated in the office.
Plus, these posts can inadvertently contribute to the return to work debate. Bosses are trying to force staff into the office amid concerns they are slacking off at home. And who can blame them, when staff are bragging (without evidence) that they work just 10 hours a week?
Let’s be reel
While social media feeds are filled with stories of employees seemingly coasting through their workdays, the reality is far more complex.
Tech giants are increasingly resorting to layoffs, and the pressure on employees to perform is mounting. The gap between these online fantasies and the harsh realities of the job market can lead to frustration, disappointment, and even greater detachment from work.
To address the disconnect, bosses should encourage open communication between workers and management. This will help to build a company culture where staff feel comfortable discussing their concerns and expectations, and can flag if the workload feels unachievable.
And, if you suspect an employee is bunking off at 3pm, take a step back before you begin a performance review. Even bosses can fall victim to the filter effect. If the tasks are being done well, and staff are happy, then managers must trust in the workforce.
