I've been in jobs like you've described. I've found that often the feeling of being "burned out" had a lot more to do with what I was working on and who I was working with rather than how much time I was spending doing it. There are limits to that, of course, but I find myself willingly doing extra on my current job because I love it so much.
Sure, I'm in a great location, but I had a window office at my last job and have 1/8th of a table here. Still, I'm sitting next to seven really smart people who all seem to "get it" in terms of work and technology, so I don't miss that office.
That brings me to your comment on PG's judgement, what he and YC seem to mostly do is make investments based on people. If you're with good people, you're off to a great start. There are certainly other things that matter, but in my opinion, coworkers are the core of the work experience.
Edit: to note that the quality of the people involved, and how you mesh with them matters at all sizes and ages of companies. You may be just as happy at a different "BigCo" as I have been happy at some very large companies and most of what I remember is who I worked with.
Sure, I'm in a great location, but I had a window office at my last job and have 1/8th of a table here. Still, I'm sitting next to seven really smart people who all seem to "get it" in terms of work and technology, so I don't miss that office.
That brings me to your comment on PG's judgement, what he and YC seem to mostly do is make investments based on people. If you're with good people, you're off to a great start. There are certainly other things that matter, but in my opinion, coworkers are the core of the work experience.
Edit: to note that the quality of the people involved, and how you mesh with them matters at all sizes and ages of companies. You may be just as happy at a different "BigCo" as I have been happy at some very large companies and most of what I remember is who I worked with.