Freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness. That is why I recommend that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.

Viktor Frankl, “Man's Search for Meaning”

Result-Only Work Environment

At Matter Labs, you have freedom to work how you want, when you want and from where you want. The only thing that matters is the results of your work.

Even though we value good intentions, devotion, and hard work as humans, professionally, they do not count.

Getting results means not just executing a task, but achieving desired outcomes. You should keep asking "Why?" to understand the root problem. This will help you correctly diagnose what actually needs to be done. Often, achieving desired results requires much less effort than anticipated, if the problem is correctly diagnosed.

Work Hours

We want you to work smart, not hard, and get things done.

Programming, for example, is creative work. It does not make sense to measure the output of creative work in terms of hours spent. And it'd be weird to require one to work the same amount of hours every day. Instead, the goal is to fulfill expectations.

You can start whenever you want, you can end whenever you want, as long as you follow the rules:

• Be available for questions during the work day (10 a.m. - 5 p.m. CET / CEST).
• Do not delay the task delivery without necessity, and don't delay it regularly.
• Do not allow yourself to sit without a job to do.
• If you won't be available at all, notify your manager.

As long as you perform this way, you can schedule your time at your will. If you don't feel like coding on a specific day (that happens), or if you have an emergency IRL, it's OK to allow yourself to work less today and more tomorrow.

This policy is based on trust and goodwill.

Single Owner

Collective responsibility leads to collective neglect. At Matter Labs, every task, project, and area of expertise always has exactly one owner.

As the owner, it's your responsibility to complete the task or project as fast as possible, while ensuring you are receiving all necessary inputs and reviews on the path to deployment.

A Productive Workspace

It's your responsibility to find yourself a quiet and comfortable workspace with a stable internet connection. It’s your responsibility to manage your time in order to work without interruptions.