Having worked for many different tech companies, the concept of 'cult companies' seems like a trend. Though I can't say for sure if this is only affecting the tech industry or all industries.
One of my ex-colleagues was hired straight out of university by a company and he did not take a single holiday in 4 years because his boss would always try to make him feel guilty or would imply that there would likely be negative consequences for him as an employee.
After he eventually quit and changed companies, he had very low expectations and he couldn't believe how much better that second company was... It was a startup so it wasn't exactly low-stress by my standards; it goes to show how extreme the differences can be between companies that even a job which I considered challenging seemed like a walk in the park to him given what he had experienced before.
Years ago, I had a very local Hongkong Chinese boss. My holidays were constantly being challenged as "Hey, can you move that holiday?" By dumb luck, I was listening to him one day talk to his boss about an upcoming wedding. "It is so important. I cannot miss that wedding." After that, every single holiday of mine was a wedding or funeral. And I heard him several times "defend" my holiday plans: "Oh, he cannot move that holiday -- wedding/funeral". Ri-don-kulous!
That's a great example of how people tend to build complex ethical models in their minds to maintain the illusion that they are just and consistent with others.
One of my ex-colleagues was hired straight out of university by a company and he did not take a single holiday in 4 years because his boss would always try to make him feel guilty or would imply that there would likely be negative consequences for him as an employee.
After he eventually quit and changed companies, he had very low expectations and he couldn't believe how much better that second company was... It was a startup so it wasn't exactly low-stress by my standards; it goes to show how extreme the differences can be between companies that even a job which I considered challenging seemed like a walk in the park to him given what he had experienced before.