‘Work Harder Than Everyone Else’ Is Terrible Advice

Three healthier, saner alternatives to Michael Bloomberg’s strategy for career success

Democratic presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks at a campaign event on January 30, 2020, in Washington, D.C. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Here’s my recipe for success: Each morning, I get up before the sun, pull on my work diaper, and sit down at my desk, where I will remain planted for the next 18 to 20 hours. If I get hungry, I bend over and gnaw at the legs of my chair (though I try not to do it too much — hunger is weakness, and the wood shards are very uncomfortable to digest). At the end of the day, I rise, soiled and dizzy, and stagger away, congratulating myself on another job well done.

Just kidding. I’ve never eaten any of my furniture. If the above scenario sounds like a quick ticket to burnout, social isolation, and general misery, well, that’s because it is. But it’s also the strategy espoused by the CEO, former mayor, and current presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg in a recent viral interview clip. “My key to success,” he says, “[is] make sure you’re the first one in there and the last one to leave. Don’t ever take a lunch break or go to the bathroom. You keep working. You never know when that opportunity’s going to come along.”