Hmh, I've been working for PwC Germany a decade or two ago and while I wasn't "junior" by any stretch of imagination I had my share of "crunch time". I distinctly recall that PwC was an employer that cared a lot about their people. Back then we were in the office a lot and the amenities provided were top-notch, far surpassing any startup I have seen since. Weekend work was an exception, not the rule. Of course, being huge and in Germany they had an employee council and to follow local labor laws. So, coming to think of it, it might be more a Germany thing than a PwC thing ;)
My wife was a lawyer at a Big 4 and got fired when they suspected that she was pregnant. Even though the corporate propaganda was full of "inclusivity" and other woke bullshit.
Interestingly enough, it was during Covid, she had to work from home and their main complain was that she wasn't "bonding enough with the team". Yes no shit when everyone is buried under 12h of work and bars are closed, what was she supposed to do? Those partners will do anything, including illegal things, to get to their 3% growth target.
You can give all the examples of socialism working in other first-world countries, and you still won't get through to the temporarily embarassed millionaires.
I think you underestimate the HN userbase, there are a lot of heavyweights here, ranging from big names operating with less visibility, to Principles or SWE6+ at FAANGs.
