Tech startup boss praises team of employees for working on the floor: 'You need people who look at a floor and see opportunity'

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Feb 12, 2026 11:00 AM EST

The bar for treating your employees well is literally on the floor. 

How do we all feel about 996 culture? If you've never heard of the concept, congrats! You probably have a healthy work-life balance.

Unfortunately, a lot of people don't. 996 refers to employees who work from 9 AM - 9 PM, 6 days a week. This extreme working style seems especially common in the tech sector. Although it's not an area of business I understand very well, I believe it has something to do with startups having limited money while overpromising about their potential successes. The pay must make this worth it, right? 

This startup had 10 workers there one day when they realized there was a problem. And sadly for the rest of us, this guy decided to share his cute little anecdote on LinkedIn, the increasingly unhinged home of the humblebrag. For this guy, though, there's nothing to brag about, but in true startup-bro style, that would never stop one of these tech fellows from bragging anyway. 

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  • 01
    4 employees, 2 men and 2 women, sit on floor while talking and laughing.
    via Curated Lifestyle For Unsplash+

    4 employees, 2 men and 2 women, sit on floor while talking and laughing.

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 02
    Your startup doesn't need a fancy office. It needs a floor.
    via Alan Yao
  • 03
    We have four chairs. Ten people. Do the math.
    via Alan Yao
  • 04
    Andrew was cooking salmon for the team. While waiting, one person opened their laptop. Then another. Then everyone.
    via Alan Yao
  • 05
    Within five minutes, the whole team was sitting on the ground. Coding. Like feral animals who can't stop shipping.
    via Alan Yao
  • 06
    Nobody suggested it. Nobody asked permission. It just happened.
    via Alan Yao
  • 07
    We shipped a bug fix before the food was done.
    via Alan Yao
  • 08
    You don't need ergonomic chairs to build a company.
    via Alan Yao
  • 09
    You need people who look at a floor and see opportunity.
    via Alan Yao

    Thanks, we hate it! 

    No really — stop bragging until you have something real to brag about. This is insufferable behavior. A lot of people felt that way, as you can check out below. Other professionals called this dude out for his rather pitiful post. It's like he's excited to watch his employees on their race to the bottom — is he enjoying this? Does he like seeing his hard workers fixing their bugs on the floor? Such a shame… I hope those workers all find jobs where they're respected more than this. There are, in fact, workspaces that'll give you — gasp! — a chair to sit in! And as a bonus, they might even ban the other employees from microwaving their fish lunches. Truly, gents, there is nowhere to go from here but up, and I hope that this dude's insane post is their much-needed sign to move onto another company. Literally anything would be better than this. 

  • 10
    4 tech employees work on their laptops on the floor, while 2 sit in chairs, and 1 stands, in empty-looking kitchen.
    via Alan Yao

    4 tech employees work on their laptops on the floor, while 2 sit in chairs, and 1 stands, in empty-looking kitchen. 

  • 11
    John Crist Nothing says 'we value our team' like making 6 out of 10 people sit on the floor. $100 says the four people with chairs are the only ones still there in Dec
    via John Crist

    Invest in your employee's lumbar health! 

  • 12
    James Mulvey I can sit on the floor but cooking a salmon in the office is an immediate dismissal.
    via James Mulvey

    Even handing them a stack of folding chairs would be a kinder act than having them sit on a hard wooden floor together, shoes off, with the salmon heating in the microwave. As this guy mentions, the fish reheating might be the breaking point for many an employee. 

  • 13

    This person was right --- other companies in the comments were literally dropping links to their job applications!

    Caitlin Ner I recommend you buy chairs for your employees and invest in your team instead of treating them like this. A successful startup prioritizes team health. Employees that are treated well will go above and beyond. Employees that are treated like sh*t will churn and move to other companies.
    via Caitlin Ner
  • 14
    Curtis Autery These 996 posts are getting really popular on LinkedIn. I feel like a lot of C-suite folks are flexing like this because the market is flooded with excellent engineers right now, laid off from mismanaged companies that they worked very hard and in good faith for.
    via Curtis Autery
  • 15
    A "work on the floor cause I can't stop shipping" culture is going to backfire spectacularly. Fix that while you can.
    via Curtis Autery
  • 16
    Desks of 4 employees, scattered with snacks, phones, and computers.
    via Marvin Meyer on Unsplash+

    Desks of 4 employees, scattered with snacks, phones, and computers.

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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