'I think you see a culture that rewards dedication to a company or a start-up and rewards the merging of one's identity with the company,' says the writer.
"I think we're seeing narratives of disillusionment now because we were sold this story about Silicon Valley, all of us were very respondent to it and we have seen, in recent years, this story start to fall apart," Wiener told CNBC. That story includes promises of identity, security, and value for the workers who help companies succeed.
Companies and executives made lofty promises, like Google's famous motto "Don't be evil," while pushing workers to be "Down For The Cause" at all costs, often leading to burnout, Wiener reflected in her book. "An entire culture had been seduced by ambitious, aggressive, arrogant young men from America's soft suburbs," she wrote.
"It didn't get as much attention as it should have gotten in part because people weren't taking Facebook seriously enough or were quite eager to buy into Facebook's story about itself," Wiener said. "And now I think there's a greater willingness to push back against that story, whether it's about Facebook or Google or the industry at large — and deconstruct it and challenge it.
Wiener started blogging about her experience and observations in Silicon Valley in the years leading up to her book, but disguised them. "At the time, I said, 'I'll write this as fiction — that'll feel safer for me.'"
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