Pixar exec slams 3 A.M. calls as toxic, cites Jobs, Musk, and Bezos as icons of a culture he’s leaving behind

A Pixar executive said Steve Jobs, his former boss, used to call workers anytime, even at 3 a.m. or on vacation. This made work stressful. Steve Jobs didn’t care if people were resting. If he wanted to talk, you had to answer, even if it was late at night or during holidays, as per reports.

Pete Docter said he doesn’t want to copy this style of leadership at Pixar, even though sometimes he also slips into after-hours work habits. Steve Jobs helped start Pixar. He bought it from Lucasfilm in 1986. Disney bought Pixar in 2006 for $7.4 billion. Jobs loved the movies but let the animators do their work, as per the report by Fortune.

Steve Jobs and his work

Docter said Jobs was good at knowing when to step back and let the creative team do their work. He often said, "this is not my business." Jobs was also very good at quickly understanding problems and giving advice, even if he didn’t know much about the project.


The culture of bosses expecting employees to be “always on” is not new. Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are examples of leaders with this culture. Elon Musk is known for sending emails at strange hours, like 2,30 a.m., and expecting his workers to work hard too. Musk said in 2018, “There are easier places to work, but nobody ever changed the world with 40 hours a week”, according to the report by Fortune.

Amazon’s culture also expects workers to respond to emails quickly, even late at night. If employees didn’t reply fast, they got text messages asking why. Jeff Bezos has said he wants work-life “harmony,” which means blending work and life, not strict “balance.” The Pixar executive, Pete Docter, sees this “always-on” culture as toxic and wants to leave it behind in his leadership style, as per reports.

FAQs

Q1. Why did Steve Jobs call Pixar workers late at night?
He was very passionate and wanted to talk about work anytime.

Q2. What work style is Pete Docter trying to avoid?
He wants to avoid the habit of disturbing workers outside work hours.