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> A spokeswoman for Facebook said none of the company’s contingent or contract workers have access to facilities such as clinics, gyms, or bring-your-child-to-w
by derekdahmer 9y ago
> A spokeswoman for Facebook said none of the company’s contingent or contract workers have access to facilities such as clinics, gyms, or bring-your-child-to-work days
One thing I liked about AirBnB was their entire staff including cafeteria workers and security guards were full-time employees who ate the same food, had access to the same facilities and events, and went through the first week 'bootcamp' alongside developers, HR, and upper management.
That doesn't solve the wage gap, but it does make a huge difference in developing empathy to see people you've had common experiences with at all levels of the organization.
- danso 9y agoThanks for mentioning this example. Every time I see complaints of how FB (or any big company) should not be using contractors, I'm at a loss to think of companies that employ this kind of support staff. I think most of the companies I've worked have generally outsourced cafeteria and janitorial work, albeit these companies were in much more affordable metros.
- derekdahmer 9y agoIt's a lost opportunity that companies who view themselves as socially progressive and invest heavily in marketing and PR around inclusivity then continue inadvertently maintaining an internal class system of knowledge vs service workers.
- MarkPNeyer 9y agoIt's almost like they value the image of being progressive more than actually being progressive.
- acid__ 9y agoI want to second this, as a former Airbnb employee -- it really did make a visible difference in enthusiasm, sense of community, and just overall work satisfaction.
- tthayer 9y agoathenahealth did something similar. New hires all came in waves and every two weeks there was a new class at Point Lookout on the coast of Maine. Whether you were the new CTO or a call center rep working out of Atlanta, they would fly you up there for a week to get properly indoctrinated. It was a wholly positive experience and it really set the tone for the rest of my time working there.
- oneshot908 9y agoSee also senior and older FB engineers being discouraged from participating in perks and events intended for younger and junior employees because FB can multitask at sucking.
- steffan 9y ago> See also senior and older FB engineers being discouraged from participating in perks and events intended for younger and junior employees because FB can multitask at sucking. Can you elaborate? I don't recall ever seeing anything of the sort while I worked there.
- oneshot908 9y agoThere are all sorts of wonderful shop classes and related perks at FB. Older and senior talent in my experience is discouraged from attending these classes. Maybe they weren't always that way or maybe someone smacked them with a clue bat over that behavior, don't know...
- eitally 9y agoI don't know if this was a special circumstance, but I shared a table with a security guard during my noogler orientation. That made a similar impact on me (and we stay in touch even now, actually). But, at Google, there is also a strong differentiation between full time employees and everybody else (temps, vendors, contractors), with clear and consistently impressed rules about what non-FTEs are allowed to see and do.
- JeremyBanks 9y agoAfter engineer pressure a few years ago Google opened their cafes and some other amenities to many of their contract staff; they used to be more restricted.
- tptacek 9y agoWhy doesn't this happen more often?
- jimmywanger 9y agoIf you give too many benefits to contractors, they become de-facto full time employees, and you have to pay for benefits and health insurance and all that stuff. That happened back in the day with engineers at Google also. They hired a lot of contractors, but you could really only work 6 months out of the year, or else they'd have to classify you as full time with all the attendant benefits. The food and fitness center costs are really a rounding error. Contractors also have to pay to use the shuttle, because again with the benefits/full-time or contractor designation.
- tptacek 9y agoI've been a full-time consultant/contractor since 2005 and felt like I was pretty familiar with the IRS classification rules, and this is new to me. Can you cite where you read this?
- 9y ago
- jimbokun 9y agoBeing allowed to access a health care clinic would provide much more than empathy, that would be a massive economic benefit when insurance costs are so high in the US.