I can only speak to my own experience but I usually work 40hrs/week and I got promoted last quarter. The office is usually completely empty by 6pm in Minneapolis. SDE at Amazon, opinions are my own, yada yada yada
I'm an Amazon SDE in NY. When I visit Seattle, after 5:00 or 5:30, it feels pretty quiet. In NY, it might be a bit longer, but tame compared to other places I've worked.
I've heard it varies depending on office location. Apparently the culture in Seattle is pretty demanding but I talked to an SDE in Austin who said they arrive at the office at 10am and leave before 6pm every day, and that their biggest gripe about that job is that it's hard to find parking near the office.
As with everything, it depends a lot on the team. But in general, in Seattle, yes. Amazon also has a ridiculous employee turnover rate in engineering for obvious reasons.
A friend went to work for Amazon in Boston; our workplaces were a half-mile apart. We went out for lunch. He asked if he could bring a coworker whom he thought I would like. Sure, no problem.
My friend shows up alone. Why?
"Oh, we believe in work-life balance, and he wants to leave work at 6 tonight because he wants to see his kids, so he's not taking lunch today."
Anecdata, but it's true.
sample size.
Only in the US. EU has very strict laws and most employees cannot be pressured into crazy hours.
India, Singapore, Canada, Mexico etc?
that hasn't stopped some start ups from doing it anyways. I heard a pretty extreme horror story from a coworker who went to work for a start up in Sweden, of all places.
AFAIK yes. For AMZN deadline is everything, no one cares how you get there.
It depends on the team since some are more mature and focus on stability. It means the teams dont have much room for promotions, but good work life.