Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

[Harry Haller]

Maybe Phil’s 80 hours is like Tim’s 8GB equals 16GB.
It’s not what it seems.
I.e., 8 hours of work and 8 hours of hanging around the spaceship.
Basically a fairytale.
Phil’s not roughnecking in an oilfield.
He doesn’t need the money and he’s doing what he wants to do.

 

[ric22]

Executives at a large global company are effectively working 24/7. Early morning/late night meetings to deal with timezones, travel, and weekends are the norm. Counting hours are irrelevant. They fit work into their daily life. Work life and personal life just become intertwined so it doesn't feel like work. I respond to emails on the weekend to get deals done and have early/late meetings because of timezones all the time. It's just the nature of a global business.

You're saying all execs at all global companies work 80h weeks? 🧐

 

[zoozx]

Lucky Him.

 

[bLackjackj]

I'd also work 80+hrs a week if I was being paid $US11 Million+ dollars a year by apple! 🤦‍♂️,...what a life Phil has and he also gets unlimited Apple hardware. I'm guessing being a "fellow" enables him to Work From Home without penalty 😏😎😉

 

[Ethosik]

Why do people keep bringing up "work"? Trying to define "work" here. It speaks volumes that none of you all have worked in a leadership or executive position. Sometimes those dinners make or break BIG BIG BIG contracts/business partnerships.

Every time a leader or C-Suite employee in general, not just here but everywhere, gets brought up this same attitude arises. "I AM THE ONE FLIPPING BURGERS!!!!"

I know most of you don't intend to have it presented this way, and its mostly on me since I deal with it all the time being in a similar position. But its just ridiculous when people make statements like this.

You would think the current state of the world people would be more accepting to this. But I have literally been in the same situation as him, having to work 80 hours a week for a long stretch. It wears you down. And people just don't care in your personal life. It has caused strains in my relationships in many ways, especially those "friends" and "family" that are all "BOOHOO so what you work 80 hours a week". Or like a few people posted here, I have been told "you didn't actually WORK" or "define work please".

When you are at this level, your responsibilities are exponential. You having an important "dinner" is work, with a potential business partner or an existing one that you need to re-establish the partnership with or improve said relationship. Whatever the situation. New partnership or improving a partnership is growth for the company (leads to more revenue, leads to raises/bonuses and more jobs at the company, etc), losing partnerships is layoffs and decline for the company. You literally have other people's lives at stake in the bad path.

 

[mdatwood]

You're saying all execs at all global companies work 80h weeks? 🧐

Exec workdays are simply different (is dinner with a partner company exec work? Yes.). That's why I said counting hours is irrelevant. But I doubt any exec at a global company would remain an exec if they stopped answering the phone at 5PM their time.

 

[crsh1976]

Executives at a large global company are effectively working 24/7. Early morning/late night meetings to deal with timezones, travel, and weekends are the norm. Counting hours are irrelevant. They fit work into their daily life. Work life and personal life just become intertwined so it doesn't feel like work. I respond to emails on the weekend to get deals done and have early/late meetings because of timezones all the time. It's just the nature of a global business.

Execs like Phil don't get where they are by counting their hours and they chose to devote their entire time to whatever they're doing. Execs are available for an extended amount of hours per day, but it's not like they script and QA and negociate SLAs directly either. To your point, it's about overseeing and being reachable at all times - this definitely does not fit in a 9 to 5 schedule.

What's funny is that after the Epic Games debacle, it reads a lot like damage control - nobody will cry for Phil, regardless what Apple is trying to do with this sort of scripted communication, working 80 hours/week is not a trophy for having no personal life, and it does not guarantee business deals are successful either.

 

[Ethosik]

I guess he isn‘t up to date with the latest research. It has been proven with studies across different countries and cultures, workers are even MORE productive with 4 day workweeks, working only 32 hours.

Working 80 hours to produce less than what others can within 32 hours are ineffective and ignorant.

Sorry, that doesn't fly in the real world. If a CEO of your biggest vendor calls you at 11 PM, you pick up. If your servers go down at 11 PM, you resolve the issue.

 

[VaruLV]

Who cares how many hours one overpaid millionaire works?

 

[Zimmy68]

ok, feel about him however suits you ... for a person in that position and compensation, he should be working 80hr weeks ...

True but if a person at his level is actually spending 80 hours a week on the App store, there is a gigantic failure somewhere in the company.

 

[ric22]

Exec workdays are simply different (is dinner with a partner company exec work? Yes.). That's why I said counting hours is irrelevant. But I doubt any exec at a global company would remain an exec if they stopped answering the phone at 5PM their time.

Long hours is one thing... but 80hours is a nonsensical fallacy. It is flat out illegal in some countries to work long hours, let alone this many. The only way you could get to 80 hours would be by going on a work trip during the week and counting the hours you sleep in the hotel towards the tally.

 

[ksec]

Known as a Jobs "mini-me,"

I am sorry but that Title belongs to Scott Forstall.

 

[Papanate]

With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store.

Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working close to 80 hours a week.

Schiller is known for responding to emails almost immediately, and answering phone calls at all hours. He testified during the Epic v. Apple lawsuit to ardently defend the App Store, and he is involved in Apple's EU messaging as well. Schiller joined in on Apple PR calls with members of the media when the iOS 17.4 changes were announced, and he spent time explaining how the DMA will impact user privacy and security in Europe.

When Apple terminated the Epic Games developer account in March to prevent it from creating an alternate app marketplace, it was Schiller who sent an email to Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney to suggest that the account had been shut down because of Epic's criticism of Apple's DMA compliance. Schiller's email did not go over well with the European Commission, and Apple ultimately reversed its decision.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple CEO Tim Cook defers to Schiller when it comes to App Store matters. Schiller joined Apple back in 1987, left in 1993, and returned in 1997 when Steve Jobs came back to Apple. He has been at the forefront of some of Apple's biggest product launches, developing marketing strategies for everything from the iPod to the Mac.

He was one of the main supporters of adding third-party apps to the iPhone, working to convince Jobs to launch the App Store in 2008. Known as a Jobs "mini-me," Schiller has reportedly kept Jobs' philosophy alive at Apple. Under his watch, human review has remained a key part of the App Store, and the App Store has grown into a major revenue stream for Apple.

Must have a rotten family life - unless they like it when he’s not home - that said anyone who is working 80 hours weeks is disorganized and can’t delegate IMO.

 

[pali2704]

I wish I could say that it's a good thing.

 

[visualseed]

Long hours is one thing... but 80hours is a nonsensical fallacy. It is flat out illegal in some countries to work long hours, let alone this many. The only way you could get to 80 hours would be by going on a work trip during the week and counting the hours you sleep in the hotel towards the tally.

The Macintosh was built on 100 hour work weeks.

 

[dmr727]

100% agree.
my response to all this, is that's his choice, and if he loves it, even better.

My choice in life is to work around 35 hours a week doing something I am passionate about. I don't earn huge $$ but it doesn't matter

Absolutely. I don't begrudge other people's decisions - everyone has their own situation. But for me personally, although I love my job, I love spending time with my wife and daughter even more.

 

[cocky jeremy]

He's still overpaid.

No, he's not. If someone helps bring in billions, payment in the form of millions is more than justified.

 

[SpaceJello]

The ”research” is done with a desired set result. Thats How ”research” is done today. Also theyre confusing hrs with Jobs that are not needed etc. Makes no sense. Just the fact calculating the same Work hrs for totally different jobs is Plain stupid & defies common sense…

a) You are assuming research is done with a set desired result. Have you reviewed them?
b) You may have confused jobs not needed and working hours. They are two different research concepts and areas. the research isn’t on both of them.

 

[SpaceJello]

Sorry, that doesn't fly in the real world. If a CEO of your biggest vendor calls you at 11 PM, you pick up. If your servers go down at 11 PM, you resolve the issue.

We define how people contact us. It is our issue when we didn’t let your vendor to not call you at 11 PM. Why are you letting people treat you like that? And I am speaking from real world experience.

Servers down at 11 PM is totally than a 9-5 job here. May as well compare to people who work night shifts too then and say how it is so unfair a nurse has to work at 3 AM.

Your arguments only make sense when you already assumes it is “normal” or “required” to have someone call you at 11 PM cause of work.

 

[ric22]

The Macintosh was built on 100 hour work weeks.

Santa Claus delivers all the world's presents at Christmas 🎅

 

[Mainsail]

At one point in my career, I had a boss that worked 80 hours per week. He lived in the office.....figuratively not literally. Eventually, I was promoted to his role and later his boss' job. There was no way that job required 80 hours per week, and I never understood why he was putting in those endless hours. I suspected that he was hiding from his family and home life....but, I can't say that for sure. I would suggest that there are many reasons people put work at the center of their lives, and sometimes work satisfies a personal need outside of what is required to get the job done.

 

[Mainsail]

Must have a rotten family life - unless they like it when he’s not home - that said anyone who is working 80 hours weeks is disorganized and can’t delegate IMO.

Of course, there are exceptions, especially when making a push to complete an important project or deadline. I would imagine that Eisenhower was putting in some long hours during the run-up to D-day, but no one would accuse him of being disorganized or unable to delegate.

 

[MacLoveMacHate]

he really has courage.

A word choice that haunts—I wonder who wrote that line for him?

 

[mevans7]

At least that’s what his time card says.

 

[JippaLippa]

We are all just prisoners here of our own device

*devices
It's an ecosystem, after all 🤣