Isn't this a question of how "hierarchy" is handled? I work in software too and here everybody is basically equal when it comes to pitching ideas and input. The

Isn't this a question of how "hierarchy" is handled? I work in software too and here everybody is basically equal when it comes to pitching ideas and input. The decisions are bundled around the team leads and managers but they welcome input and suggestions to improve for everybody. The managers jobs is just to manage resources and not to be a king or a general in an army (and thus being full of themselves). "Traditional industry" is based heavily in "I'm paid more, therefore I'm better than you" and those people just don't want to hear what was wrong about their decisions. These industries are driven by the magnates, the admirals and the kings of the world for centuries so that's how their structures evolved to mimic this. Software is new, it has a different set of goals and different means to achieve it. Make it better for everyone and be more productive VS. make yourself look good and shit on everybody else that isn't directly useful for your benefit. You will find outliers in each direction in each industry. The fundamental difference is: Do I accept others as my peers because my role is just "manager" (to perform the management function) OR Do I want to cover my ass as much as possible and gain an advantage over everybody under my command? I worked in Kitchens, Trash removal, Callcenters, Hotels, Banking ... it all boils down to "Am I treating people as other human beings or as resources I can shuffle around to my advantage". It is the latter that your parents are most likely complaining about and something that the lavish financial freedoms in the software world -paired with the freedom to do away with traditional hierarchy- have afforded people to deal with differently. You will still find assholes in software and good people in "traditional" industry.