This guy is doing enough work to appear like he’s working 40 hours, because the measuring stick is someone not nearly as talented who takes 40 hours to do the same work. He’s not banking a huge salary, he’s not unavailable for long periods and he’s producing quality work. So he flys under the “performance radar” with his manager. Helps that Google measures quantity and quality, not time spent.
Trust me, as a lead of 8, we know you’re when you’re not working 40. But I’ll bust the balls of the guy dropping offline for 2 hours who can’t get his work in, before I bust down the door of the guy getting his work done in 1 hour. Is it his fault for not working 40 hours? No, it’s the idea that he’s not doing his fair share and using 40 hours as the measurement. This isn’t new, some of us have been doing it for decades and most of us have learned to just keep it quiet.