Sharlin parent
Well, yes, but you don't have to work.
More like you are not allowed to work. Loss of work experience, loss network, not even accounting for inflation.
I would welcome an opportunity to walk away from the entire tech industry with a guaranteed-for-life income, allowing me to pursue dreams without them needing to be financially viable. Setting up as a high end timber boat builder without ever needing to turn a profit while still having the same income I do now is something I'd jump at immediately.
While I agree with the sentiment, you could lose that income at any time should they close to drop to non compete.
Plus, nobody says you can't work in any other field you like, just not whatever you used to do.
Net present value of 50% of salary for the next 30 years is something like a million dollars for most HN commenters, I'd guess.
Except it's not "for life". It's until they feel free to lift the non-compete. My guess is that most information you take from a company is irrelevant in a couple years. Maybe 5 tops?
Plus it'd almost certainly end with zero notice. You'd get a email saying "you're free to go". Suddenly. After say 26 months.
So it's not like a "pension for life" - just a gap in your employment history.
Oh no, ah jeez, slightly more than one year of income for zero effort, darn.
Any employment gap can be easily explained by saying "I was under a non-compete and being paid garden leave while working on personal projects to keep my skills fresh". It's very common in e.g. the finance world, I believe.
For a lot of people, taking 50% of base salary (absent bonus/RSU/etc.) isn't very practical. Even if there's some alternative like Starbucks.