Look, this is nice for github employees, but it's worth noting that this is not an easy decision for all companies to make.
We (developers) aren't like factory workers cranking out widgets by the hour. We're paid to think deeply about challenging problems. For me, that means chewing on a problem for a long time, often when I'm not at work. Honestly, when a problem is challenging, I can't get it out of my mind. I'm thinking about it, at least a little bit, on the weekends -- heck, maybe even while I'm sleeping. And those are the problems I enjoy the most.
When a savvy software company hires someone, they understand that this is how developers operate. They will offer handsome compensation because they expect this.
Ultimately, competition for your thinking time is a zero-sum game. If you're working on a hard problem at work, you might think about it at home. Similarly, if you're working on an interesting side project you might think about it at work. You can't help it.
That doesn't mean companies should never allow side projects at all. There should be room for negotiation. But if we don't acknowledge the basic facts of the situation, then we aren't negotiating in good faith.
Companies can't track your thinking. They can know when you're using their equipment. I'm fine with them owning what I do with their hardware, networks, anything they pay for... but they can not own my off-time, and they most certainly do not own my mind.
What I build in my offtime is mine; this is in fact where every entrepreneur starts. What you're proposing is that all innovation should stay in the hands of the employer, and you as an employee are shackled at all hours.
I know that some states have different laws in this area, but CAs are strong, and no one owns what you do when off from work and using your own equipment but you. Do not ever give up that right or we all lose.
If the company wants all of your ideas, even the ones you come up with on the weekends, then they should offer you a higher salary than the companies that don't demand that time.
As it turns out, many companies do exactly this. And (apparently) their developers decided it was a fair deal. But if you don't like that deal, that's an entirely reasonable choice. In that case, just don't work for such a company, even if they offer better salaries.
It would be unfair to say "don't take the job if you don't like the deal" if there weren't other options, but the fact is that there are lots of other options. There are plenty of software jobs that don't include such clauses, especially in the non-profit and academic sector.
The problem isn't the single employer, it's when every employer does this, and it's your only option, and this is the trend.
So we must resist it at all levels. And again, what you state is actually not enforceable in CA, as our laws protect your personal work. It might in fact be one reason why the valley exists here.
> When a savvy software company hires someone, they understand that [thinking deeply about a work problem, even during nights and weekends] is how developers operate.
This isn't really the _reason_ that companies have these kinds of policies though... Ultimately companies have a legal problem of sorting out what they own from what they don't. This is especially important when the company sells it's assets. The default/simple approach is to try and "own everything". (Not saying this is good for employees, but it is simple for companies.)
>This isn't really the _reason_ that companies have these kinds of policies though
I think it's fair to say that there are multiple reasons. The one you listed is definitely one of them. Joel Spolsky wrote about this a few months ago:
I think about work problems that way, but I think the same way about my side projects.
I don't know exactly what my contract says about side project IP but I'm assuming it's a vanilla "we own what you make on company time and/or relating to company business".
I have zero problems with that.
What would the alternative be from the perspective of my employer? Assuming they own the game I make on weekends because I'm an employee? Or hoping that because they pay me so well, I'd spend any time coding on evenings doing stuff that benefits my employer?
Of course I think about my side projects while working, just like I think about my work problems at home, or my family while working. It's hard to imagine not doing that. I work 8 hours per day and if it's interesting work I might think about it in the evening. But no compensation would make me an employee in my spare time.
We (developers) aren't like factory workers cranking out widgets by the hour. We're paid to think deeply about challenging problems. For me, that means chewing on a problem for a long time, often when I'm not at work. Honestly, when a problem is challenging, I can't get it out of my mind. I'm thinking about it, at least a little bit, on the weekends -- heck, maybe even while I'm sleeping. And those are the problems I enjoy the most.
When a savvy software company hires someone, they understand that this is how developers operate. They will offer handsome compensation because they expect this.
Ultimately, competition for your thinking time is a zero-sum game. If you're working on a hard problem at work, you might think about it at home. Similarly, if you're working on an interesting side project you might think about it at work. You can't help it.
That doesn't mean companies should never allow side projects at all. There should be room for negotiation. But if we don't acknowledge the basic facts of the situation, then we aren't negotiating in good faith.