4 ms·

This reads like a bizzaro nightmare of a workplace for introverts. Seems like a bad long term strategy to be this "peoply" (and make it an uncomfortable place f

by kriro 11y ago

This reads like a bizzaro nightmare of a workplace for introverts. Seems like a bad long term strategy to be this "peoply" (and make it an uncomfortable place for a good chunk of the workforce).

Joeri 11y ago
If you read the book mentioned in the article it is not quite so brainwashy. I expect it doesn't make sense for a majority of workplaces as is, but it didn't sound like teal workplaces where bad places to work. In fact, it sounded like the sort of place I would love to work, but at the same time I knew that the majority of my coworkers would not fit in. The basic tenet as I understood it is that you can replace the structure of management with a structure of decision-making processes where decisions are taken at the lowest possible rung (where lowest means as close as possible to the work the decision impacts). It's not democracy, but it is self organized. It's a book worth reading if you want to reset your expectations on what corporate hierarchy must look like. From the article I didn't get the sense zappos is doing it right though. People aren't supposed to be afraid to speak up.
- cableshaft 11y ago
  You can still have the titles and have meetings where those with a 'lower' title can have input on decisions if you foster a culture where that is commonplace. I once worked for a company that had managers, etc, but the president would call in the developers and designers and artists regularly for a project meeting if they were involved and the devs/designers/artists could (and did) speak up about how feasible things were, how long they thought it would take them, and how they thought it could be better. It was a mostly flat hierarchy (basically devs -> one layer of leads/managers -> president), but it did exist.
officemonkey 11y ago
I think introverts will be just fine. It seems that the job is all about "have fun while getting the job done" and if my fun is "let's sit over here, drink tea, pet my cat, and review these quarterly reports" then I'm pretty sure they're going to support that.
27182818284 11y ago
> workplace for introverts Zappos strikes me as one of the last places to apply if I were an introvert. I'm not sure you can get there without being somewhat of an introvert as even the article mentions putting you on the phone with customers regardless of your role.

by kriro 11y ago

This reads like a bizzaro nightmare of a workplace for introverts. Seems like a bad long term strategy to be this "peoply" (and make it an uncomfortable place for a good chunk of the workforce).

Joeri 11y ago

If you read the book mentioned in the article it is not quite so brainwashy. I expect it doesn't make sense for a majority of workplaces as is, but it didn't sound like teal workplaces where bad places to work. In fact, it sounded like the sort of place I would love to work, but at the same time I knew that the majority of my coworkers would not fit in. The basic tenet as I understood it is that you can replace the structure of management with a structure of decision-making processes where decisions are taken at the lowest possible rung (where lowest means as close as possible to the work the decision impacts). It's not democracy, but it is self organized. It's a book worth reading if you want to reset your expectations on what corporate hierarchy must look like. From the article I didn't get the sense zappos is doing it right though. People aren't supposed to be afraid to speak up.

cableshaft 11y ago
You can still have the titles and have meetings where those with a 'lower' title can have input on decisions if you foster a culture where that is commonplace. I once worked for a company that had managers, etc, but the president would call in the developers and designers and artists regularly for a project meeting if they were involved and the devs/designers/artists could (and did) speak up about how feasible things were, how long they thought it would take them, and how they thought it could be better. It was a mostly flat hierarchy (basically devs -> one layer of leads/managers -> president), but it did exist.

officemonkey 11y ago

I think introverts will be just fine. It seems that the job is all about "have fun while getting the job done" and if my fun is "let's sit over here, drink tea, pet my cat, and review these quarterly reports" then I'm pretty sure they're going to support that.

27182818284 11y ago

> workplace for introverts Zappos strikes me as one of the last places to apply if I were an introvert. I'm not sure you can get there without being somewhat of an introvert as even the article mentions putting you on the phone with customers regardless of your role.