- LinkedIn’s once-lax culture faced performance crackdowns and layoffs.
- Cushy perks and recharge days were rescinded amid slowing growth.
- The cultural whiplash ended LinkedIn’s “rest and vest” reputation.
LinkedIn’s rude awakening
LinkedIn’s reputation as a cushy “rest and vest” workplace has faced a rude awakening over the past year, with expanded performance oversight, scaled-back perks, and significant layoffs upending its formerly relaxed engineering culture.
Current and former employees describe LinkedIn leadership as directing managers to put 10% of reports on performance improvement plans while rescinding popular morale boosters like monthly recharge days.
The moves coincided with slowing revenue growth and a new “scrappy” mantra for innovation from the top.
Tensions peaked publicly during a September all-hands meeting where CEO Ryan Roslanksy faced employee complaints of retaliation and lack of HR response.
LinkedIn’s cultural shift
Weeks later, the professional network conducted 700 job cuts, including a leaked list of impacted engineering and sales staff.
While the cultural and economic shifts came as a shock after years of ample growth, some see overdue accountability arriving. “We’d become bloated, and many spun wheels without adoption,” one engineer commented positively.
Nonetheless, the fading era of generous perks and leniency gave many LinkedIn workers whiplash. “For years, it was a semi-joke people at Big Tech go to LinkedIn to retire,” an insider recalled of the former stability. “Now it’s not an easy win anymore.”
