Elon Musk's 'Twitter Hotel' Could Get Him Into Trouble
Elon Musk is notorious for promoting an intense hustle culture within his organizations, with employees expected to work abnormally long hours in order to meet deadlines. While some embrace their dedication to work as a badge of honor and would consider it a blessing to have access to proper suites, others at Twitter are bracing for a rampant swing of an increasingly imbalanced work-life ratio under the new ownership, as the company now has proper sleeping quarters complete with hotel-like amenities.
It's reported that new Twitter owner Elon Musk often sleeps at Twitter as he continues a series of sweeping internal transformations for the social media company. His willingness to do so is a callback to Tesla fables of him sleeping on the floor of his engineering facilities in its earliest days. Having a nap in the corner of a recreational room is one thing, but to convert entire suites into bedrooms sends a chilling message that you might be expected to spend your life at work just to keep up with heightened demands.
Is hustle culture getting out of hand?
According to the BBC, Twitter had been providing sleeping bags for office sleepers before — a photo posted by one of its own product managers confirms as much — so the sleep rooms would be a huge upgrade. Photos of some of the sleeping quarters show beds, convertible couches, and other pleasantries meant to help induce quality regenerative rest. One photo even shows a wardrobe and wall decor, nicer than some 4-star hotel rooms, even.
NEW: The BBC has obtained pictures of inside Twitter – rooms that have been converted into bedrooms – for staff to sleep in.
The city of San Francisco is investigating as it's a commercial building. pic.twitter.com/Y4vKxZXQhB
— James Clayton (@JamesClayton5) December 7, 2022
Workplace sleep suites sound fun until the city shuts you down for illegally operating a hotel, however. Twitter will soon undergo an investigation by San Francisco's Department of Building Inspection over the reports of hotel-like sleeping arrangements. Twitter's HQ lease reportedly leaves room to sublease the space for several needs, including sleeping accommodations, but it's unclear whether that gives the company latitude to operate in such a capacity for its own use.
Either way, local law supersedes lease terms, and it dictates that building codes must be enforced differently depending on how they're used. It's unclear what the repercussions would be should Twitter be found in violation. Mind you, no one is forcing employees to sleep at the office, but Twitter is located in the Bay area, where traffic congestion can mean hours-long commute times. Coupled with longer working hours to compensate for a severely gutted workforce, some Silicon Valley workers suspect Twitter employees will eventually have to spend more time with their employer than their own families.