Valley job-clingers: Why you need to get fired

July 21, 2009 | Paul Boutin

“Valley culture has an unwritten rule that if you don’t like a job, or if you think your company isn’t going anywhere, you leave. Instead of hanging around the office whining, you walk out the door and find something better and cooler to do. Because skilled tech workers are hard to find and interesting companies abound, employees, not employers, call the shots. This was true at Apple in 1984, and it’s still true at Facebook today.” My latest opening essay for Wired magazine drags the knowledge of several local economists and researchers into the glaring summer sun of Silicon Valley. These experts agree: Valley techies are currently clinging to their jobs, throwing away their most unique and valuable trait, which is their total lack of loyalty to employers. Are you hanging onto a job you no longer like? You need to be fired, my friend. It’s good for you, and good for America’s technology sector.