Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi has a blunt message for candidates hoping for an easy ride at the $141 billion ride-hailing giant: the company's demanding work culture is non-negotiable, and it extends to answering emails over the weekend. Employees counting on trends like coffee badging or four-day workweeks to coast by, he indicated, will not last long — shorthand, in recent years, for a broader corporate debate over office attendance, flexible schedules, and how much of workers' personal time employers can reasonably expect.

"We're going to be really demanding," Khosrowshahi said on the Diary of a CEO podcast earlier this year. "If you're not performing, we're going to let you know. And if you don't fix it, we're going to push you out."

Khosrowshahi took the top job at Uber in 2017 and quickly moved to turn the company around. At the time, the ride-hailing firm was losing $2.5 billion to $3 billion a year and, in his assessment, resting on some of its early success. To get the business back on track, he said, he took a hard look at his team and overhauled the company's work culture — including expectations for off-hours. The turnaround he oversaw ultimately carried Uber to the public markets in a closely watched 2019 IPO.

"Part of working hard is sending emails to the team on a Saturday," he said. "And if I don't get a response on Saturday, sending them an email on Sunday with a question mark. What's going on?"

By his own account, the philosophy has delivered results: Khosrowshahi pointed out that Uber generated $9.8 billion in free cash flow last year. While he concedes that working at the company is no cakewalk, he argues employees have real agency, learn a great deal, and can make a tangible difference in the world. His stance makes him one of the more forthright voices in a long-running corporate debate over after-hours availability — a discussion that has only grown louder as hybrid schedules and constant connectivity blur the line between work time and personal time.

"While you will have worked hard, you're going to have a great time," the CEO said. "But don't come here if you want to coast."

Work Ethic as 'the Most Important Skill in Life'

For Khosrowshahi, the demanding culture is not merely a tool for corporate transformation — he framed it as a core competency for success.

"To me, the most important skill in life is a skill of working hard," he said on the podcast.

The two-time chief executive, who spent more than a decade running travel company Expedia before taking over at Uber, said professionals too often fixate on their career path, debating whether to become a computer programmer or a doctor, or whether to study the liberal arts. The real key to achievement, he argued, is not picking the ideal line of work — it is simply working hard and letting success follow.

He said he has passed that same advice along to his children and urged others to do likewise, adding that even as the top boss, he never lets up.

"I'm not going to let anyone outwork me," Khosrowshahi said. "They may be smarter, talented, et cetera, but I'm not going to let anyone outwork me. And I think that's a huge advantage that you have, and over a period of time, that advantage compounds."

Hard Work, With Boundaries

That said, Khosrowshahi maintained that hard work does not mean a never-ending grind. Even he sets boundaries around personal time: whenever he is in town, he blocks off two hours to have dinner with his family. But just after the meal ends, he is back to checking emails at 9:30 p.m., and he goes through his inbox again when he wakes up at 5:30 a.m.

Some balance is achievable while working hard, he insisted — but something will always have to give.

"We believe in flexibility. People confuse lack of flexibility to working hard: You can work hard, and at the same time you can have flexibility," he explained. "Of course, there are tradeoffs. Life is about tradeoffs."

For prospective hires, the expectations are now spelled out publicly by the CEO himself rather than left to unwritten rules — and for employers elsewhere, Uber's approach offers a high-profile reference point as companies across industries keep testing where to draw the line on off-hours availability.

A version of this story was published on Fortune.com on March 4, 2026. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.