This has nothing to do with the alleged erosion of personal lives.
Money is simply not the only aspect of a job that determines how rewarding it is. Other parameters that people find relevant include meaningful mission, ethical concerns, work relationships, power, travel, ability to open source code, to publish and to give talks, access to expensive hardware, innovation, leading others, helping people in need... etc. I find it a bizarrely narrow view to insist that getting paid is the sole motivation to work. In fact, from conversations with folks older and more experienced than me I am under the impression that as we age all these other aspects of our work keep gaining in importance over paycheck.
That said, I understand that in the absence of money the need to get it is an overriding concern. However, I find the focus on money very surprising for a site full of software engineers who by and large can afford the freedom to pursue meaning and self-actualization in their work.
Money is simply not the only aspect of a job that determines how rewarding it is. Other parameters that people find relevant include meaningful mission, ethical concerns, work relationships, power, travel, ability to open source code, to publish and to give talks, access to expensive hardware, innovation, leading others, helping people in need... etc. I find it a bizarrely narrow view to insist that getting paid is the sole motivation to work. In fact, from conversations with folks older and more experienced than me I am under the impression that as we age all these other aspects of our work keep gaining in importance over paycheck.
That said, I understand that in the absence of money the need to get it is an overriding concern. However, I find the focus on money very surprising for a site full of software engineers who by and large can afford the freedom to pursue meaning and self-actualization in their work.