If you want to join hx, you should have a good understanding of what "hard work" means to you, and how you feel about it. Lots has been written on this subject - it's an important life consideration, and potentially controversial subject. Both the words "hard" and "work" have different meanings to different people; you should seek a company whose interpretation aligns with yours. This section explains ours.
For us, hard work is an output; it's what happens when you combine the heady mix of interesting challenges, enthusiastic people and a work environment that supports and encourages "going hard at hard problems" together, in the context that the right type of stress helps us grow and improve.
With this in mind, we should be clear - while we aren't remotely at the extreme end of the spectrum for a Series A fintech, hx has never been a 9-5 company, and as our clients and team become increasingly multinational, a positive attitude to both intensity and flexibility is an essential quality in an hxer. Left to their own devices, successful hxers do more rather than less; most of the time it's because they really enjoy it, and occasionally it's because it needs to be done.
It's worth unpacking our meaning of "work" however: for hxers who take on our biggest challenges, the balance of work is generally favourably skewed away from grunt work, towards interesting problems that are as fun to go at and developmental as they are taxing. One of our team members describes it nicely as "being given the keys to the chemistry lab after school". hx isn't an "60 hours of sprint points" place!
This, combined with the enthusiasm that characterises hxers means that we spend a lot of time exploring, learning and experimenting in our chosen domains. Meetups, hackathons, podcast/book groups, or helping out at code clubs are part of daily life at hx. Lots of this is done in work time; lots is also done outside! We often do this together. If you want to thrive and have fun at hx, this needs to come naturally to you.
However, no-one at hx is one-dimensional. In fact, you'll find that the "hx passion" also manifests in an impressive density of semi-professional extra-curricular skills from chess to shooting in the team! Our attitude to flexibility has made it easier for hxers to grow and thrive in all parts of their lives - personal, professional, and in the overlap between both.