Checked-out employees are a real problem. Checked-out executives are an even worse problem, though, because they set the tone for their departments and their disconnectedness will be noticed by the people working underneath them in the org chart. Eventually, the motivated people leave and the only people who remain are those who are also checked out (and enjoying the free pass from their checked-out boss) or the disgruntled who loathe the situation but would rather complain about it than leave. Not a fun place to be!

However, the opening example in this article seems different:

> A friend of mine recently turned down a job promotion that included a raise of $100,000 a year. He has some financial flexibility to turn down the offer, since he’s already a mid-level executive at a Fortune 1000 company and makes about $300,000 annually. He said he determined “it just wasn’t worth it” since the promotion called for more travel and more time away from family.

That’s reasonable. You don’t have to travel and be away from your family to make good contributions to a company. You don’t have to chase every single raise.

The bigger problem would be this example exec’s commitment to their side company. An executive who hangs on to their paycheck, benefits, and prestigious position while using their time to build their own company on the side is not good for a company. There is no way this person is maintaining a mid-level executive job at a big company, dedicating time to their family, and also building their own company on the side.