Nvidia CEO reveals why he chooses to “torture” his employees

Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang runs a tight ship at his trillion-dollar tech company, and the whole process sometimes involves a little pain, according to the CEO.

In a recently resurfaced interview with Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, Haung claims he finds value in torturing his employees instead of firing them.

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“People know I’d rather torture them to greatness,” Huang said. “I would rather torture you into greatness because I believe in you. And I think coaches who really believe in their team torture them to greatness.”

He also claimed in the interview that he works seven days a week, citing that he has an excellent work-life balance.

“I work from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed, and I work seven days a week,” Huang said. “When I’m not working, I’m thinking about working.”

His comments, which were made in May, came even before a recent report from Bloomberg revealed that there is alleged tension in the work culture at Nvidia due to expectations of long hours.

Nvidia Corp. co-founder and chief executive Jensen Huang speaks during an event in Taipei, Taiwan, Sunday, June 2, 2024.

Bloomberg/Getty Images

A former Nvidia employee in the report claimed he was expected to work seven days a week, often working until 1am or 2am. Another former employee also said she would attend about seven to 10 meetings a day, which often involved “fighting and yelling.”

Despite the alleged tension, Nvidia employees are rewarded handsomely in stock grants as the company’s stock has soared over the past few years. Nvidia stock is currently selling for about $102 per share, which is about a 2,100% increase from what it was selling for about five years ago.

Workers are becoming increasingly serious about work-life balance

Work-life balance has become a controversial topic in corporate America since the Covid pandemic has allowed many people to work from home, giving them more control over how they do their work and how they do it. align with personal life.

Currently, attitudes toward work-life balance appear to be divided among U.S. employees. According to a 2023 survey by The Muse, which surveyed 1,600 US workers about their views on work-life balance, 45% of workers said they “work harder than your peers and making personal sacrifices to achieve your work goals is necessary to advance your career.”

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Most workers in the survey also defined work-life balance as “having the flexibility and autonomy to adapt to personal needs as they arise during a work day or week.”

Additionally, 70 percent of workers said work-life balance is the most important feature of a new job, surpassing “compensation, opportunities for learning and growth, office culture, and perks and benefits.”

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