Google techie works 4 hours on Sunday: ‘Don't get paid for work-life balance’

The debate around work-life balance refuses to die. Much has been said and written about juggling the personal with the professional, about employees being expected to put in overtime without extra pay, about CEOs who endorse it and those who oppose it. Reigniting this debate once again on social media is a Google techie who got candid about work-life balance after working for four hours on a Sunday.

Anu Sharma, a software engineer with Google, revealed that she spent four hours working on a Sunday due to a production issue. She said that contrary to popular perception, being on call for an established company is more difficult than being on call for a startup. Sharma ended her post with a reflection on work-life balance, saying companies don’t pay their employees for balance.

Google engineer’s post

“Spent last 4 hours in a production issue on Sunday. Being on call in FAANG company is much tougher than startups, and the impact is bigger. Trust me, you don't get paid for your work-life balance,” Sharma posted on X on Sunday, April 27.

In tech, being "on call" means you're responsible for responding to urgent issues or outages outside of regular working hours, while FAANG is the acronym referring to the five major American technology companies: Facebook (now Meta), Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google.

The Google techie’s post sparked a heated debate on X, with some accusing her of being derisive towards startups and others calling her ungrateful.

“You get paid more than 40 LPA+ working at Google, don't cry for on call. You work under AC not in heat.There are labourers and other delivery people working. If a company pays ypu that much they expect you to do some work not just make ‘day in a life’ vlog eating,” wrote one X user.

“Just 4 hours in a production issue on a Sunday changed your mindset? The bigger picture is that you work for a reputed company and you get paid for your skills, commitment, dedication & experience. If you want work-life balance, you might have to look for something else,” another said.

Some people agreed with Sharma’s take, with a user named Neeraj Singh writing: “Being on call at a big company hits way different — the pressure’s real and it doesn’t matter if it’s Sunday. People don’t realize you’re trading a lot more than just time.”