4 ms·

No offence, but if you’ve never worked in the particular cult-like pressure cooker that is Big Tech, then you can’t relate. The article was not about culture sh

by cgh 7y ago

No offence, but if you’ve never worked in the particular cult-like pressure cooker that is Big Tech, then you can’t relate. The article was not about culture shock.

DoreenMichele 7y ago
I worked at a Fortune 200 company for a time. It wasn't big tech. It was a very famous insurance company. It also had a cult-like atmosphere and many people there felt it was the biggest thing that had ever happened to them. I'm a former military wife. So I was involved in protecting national security while changing diapers and generally being viewed by the planet as a big fat nothing homemaker. "Loose lips sink ships." So I viewed my corporate job as merely a day job of no special importance, thus I was not sucked into the cult-like atmosphere of the place. I imagine I would be equally resistant to the cult-like atmosphere at a tech company.
- simondedalus 7y ago
  Maybe your experience is “another interesting perspective worth writing about or considering” and not a refutation of the author’s experience and her conclusions about what it meant.
  - DoreenMichele 7y ago
    My original comment wasn't intended as refutation of anything. It was intended to offer a broader perspective on her piece. She waited 18 months to say publicly what she thought about it. She's still quite young and 18 months is not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things. I'm 53. I had an affair in my twenties. I then read as much research as I could get my hands on. Some common themes: People frequently are unfaithful while physically separated from their spouse. It's a common feeling that it somehow doesn't count if you are far apart. In fact, some people use that stance as justification to have an ongoing long distance affair. Affairs are common in stressful situations. When things are overwhelming, humans have a weird habit of reaching for a smidgen of distraction and comfort amid the chaos. Although popular opinion is that affairs ruin relationships, cause and effect almost always runs the other direction: Affairs don't kill relationships. Instead, relationships in their death throes foster affairs. I generally consider 18 months to not be a whole lot of time to gain perspective on international and cross cultural experiences. Cultures and nation's tend to be far older than the individuals in them and it can take quite a long time to digest the intersection where two such things meet in one person's life and, unfortunately, all too often grind on that specific individual.
    - lioeters 7y ago
      I for one appreciated your original comment - thanks for sharing your experience and perspective. It's a good point, that culture shock and dissonance, growing up and being humbled by the unreasonable chaos of the real world, are important aspects of what the author of the article lived through. The phrase "cult-like atmosphere" of corporations is meaningful too. Having lived in different national/regional/organizational cultures, I'd agree that there's a significant correspondence between culture and cult.
- throwmeaway1235 7y ago
  > So I was involved in protecting national security How. By bombing some random people in the desert who never did anything to you or your family? All you Americans should get a grip. Build a wall and stay behind it. "We found weapons of mass destruction" my ass.
- blantonl 7y ago
  That sounds JUST like USAA...
  - DoreenMichele 7y ago
    I consider this question to be a form of attempted doxxing and inappropriately invasive. It's not actually a secret what company I used to work for. I have named it on HN before. But I am not going to name it here in this comment. PSA: This sort of invasively "friendly" comment can go very bad places and often seems to have a gendered component where men who wouldn't dare to do something so rude to another man don't hesitate to do it to a woman. It often is very obviously motivated by an attempt to chat her up in hopes of making a personal/romantic connection. I have had multiple men ask me where I lived, men who sometimes had a clear and undeniable history of couching the same question quite differently when aimed at a man. They generally tried to be "chatty" and "friendly" with me in a way that assumed I was obligated to answer the question while stating up front that they understood if a man didn't want to answer a question like that on a public forum and was under no obligation to do so. I'm not putting this here with any expectation that the person I am replying to nor any man here will care. I fully expect to be ROFLstomped for saying it on HN. I'm putting it here for the women and other minorities who often seem to not realize that they can decline to answer such a question, flag it and even email the mods if they feel especially threatened by something going on. You don't have to "politely" answer extremely impolite questions that may have a clearly predatory intent or, at a minimum, that act with callous disregard for your personal safety by eliciting personal information you chose to not include in your comment and may not want publicized for some reason.
    - onesmallcoin 7y ago
      It's sad we make it a war zone
      - DoreenMichele 7y ago
        It's sadder still that attempts to promote the peace by commenting on best practices are typically received with open hostility.

by cgh 7y ago

No offence, but if you’ve never worked in the particular cult-like pressure cooker that is Big Tech, then you can’t relate. The article was not about culture shock.

DoreenMichele 7y ago

I worked at a Fortune 200 company for a time. It wasn't big tech. It was a very famous insurance company. It also had a cult-like atmosphere and many people there felt it was the biggest thing that had ever happened to them. I'm a former military wife. So I was involved in protecting national security while changing diapers and generally being viewed by the planet as a big fat nothing homemaker. "Loose lips sink ships." So I viewed my corporate job as merely a day job of no special importance, thus I was not sucked into the cult-like atmosphere of the place. I imagine I would be equally resistant to the cult-like atmosphere at a tech company.

simondedalus 7y ago
Maybe your experience is “another interesting perspective worth writing about or considering” and not a refutation of the author’s experience and her conclusions about what it meant.
- DoreenMichele 7y ago
  My original comment wasn't intended as refutation of anything. It was intended to offer a broader perspective on her piece. She waited 18 months to say publicly what she thought about it. She's still quite young and 18 months is not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things. I'm 53. I had an affair in my twenties. I then read as much research as I could get my hands on. Some common themes: People frequently are unfaithful while physically separated from their spouse. It's a common feeling that it somehow doesn't count if you are far apart. In fact, some people use that stance as justification to have an ongoing long distance affair. Affairs are common in stressful situations. When things are overwhelming, humans have a weird habit of reaching for a smidgen of distraction and comfort amid the chaos. Although popular opinion is that affairs ruin relationships, cause and effect almost always runs the other direction: Affairs don't kill relationships. Instead, relationships in their death throes foster affairs. I generally consider 18 months to not be a whole lot of time to gain perspective on international and cross cultural experiences. Cultures and nation's tend to be far older than the individuals in them and it can take quite a long time to digest the intersection where two such things meet in one person's life and, unfortunately, all too often grind on that specific individual.
  - lioeters 7y ago
    I for one appreciated your original comment - thanks for sharing your experience and perspective. It's a good point, that culture shock and dissonance, growing up and being humbled by the unreasonable chaos of the real world, are important aspects of what the author of the article lived through. The phrase "cult-like atmosphere" of corporations is meaningful too. Having lived in different national/regional/organizational cultures, I'd agree that there's a significant correspondence between culture and cult.
throwmeaway1235 7y ago
> So I was involved in protecting national security How. By bombing some random people in the desert who never did anything to you or your family? All you Americans should get a grip. Build a wall and stay behind it. "We found weapons of mass destruction" my ass.
blantonl 7y ago
That sounds JUST like USAA...
- DoreenMichele 7y ago
  I consider this question to be a form of attempted doxxing and inappropriately invasive. It's not actually a secret what company I used to work for. I have named it on HN before. But I am not going to name it here in this comment. PSA: This sort of invasively "friendly" comment can go very bad places and often seems to have a gendered component where men who wouldn't dare to do something so rude to another man don't hesitate to do it to a woman. It often is very obviously motivated by an attempt to chat her up in hopes of making a personal/romantic connection. I have had multiple men ask me where I lived, men who sometimes had a clear and undeniable history of couching the same question quite differently when aimed at a man. They generally tried to be "chatty" and "friendly" with me in a way that assumed I was obligated to answer the question while stating up front that they understood if a man didn't want to answer a question like that on a public forum and was under no obligation to do so. I'm not putting this here with any expectation that the person I am replying to nor any man here will care. I fully expect to be ROFLstomped for saying it on HN. I'm putting it here for the women and other minorities who often seem to not realize that they can decline to answer such a question, flag it and even email the mods if they feel especially threatened by something going on. You don't have to "politely" answer extremely impolite questions that may have a clearly predatory intent or, at a minimum, that act with callous disregard for your personal safety by eliciting personal information you chose to not include in your comment and may not want publicized for some reason.
  - onesmallcoin 7y ago
    It's sad we make it a war zone
    - DoreenMichele 7y ago
      It's sadder still that attempts to promote the peace by commenting on best practices are typically received with open hostility.