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This is ignoring the obvious power imbalance, because your boss can fire you. I completely agree that you should try to communicate openly whenever possible, b

This is ignoring the obvious power imbalance, because your boss can fire you. I completely agree that you should try to communicate openly whenever possible, but let's not pretend like it's a level playing field. Of course, if the situation is so bad you can't talk openly with your boss, I'm not sure how much you're really losing by being fired (assuming you are able to find employment elsewhere, as is often the case for engineers today).

professorTuring 7y ago
Communicating openly is a mistake. You should communicate in the way it serves both your purpose and the enterprise and to communicate you must know your audience and how the message should be passed in order to succeed. Sometimes the only way to change things is to incept the idea.
- bradknowles 7y ago
  The above statement is certainly true in some places of employment. Been there, done that. I choose not to work in such places anymore. Obviously, not everyone can do that.
  - scruple 7y ago
    How do you know beforehand what sort of environment you're really involving yourself with? What sort of heuristics exist during the hiring / interview phase that let's you sort good from bad? I have a few of my own sniff tests, but outside of knowing (and really trusting) a contact at a place, it's sort of a crap shoot. My experience has shown me that it can take years to find the seams that you need to tug on to expose deep-seated work culture problems.
    - OnlineGladiator 7y ago
      During every interview, I always ask "what do you like about working here?" It's extremely easy to tell by how they react whether or not they're being forthcoming. So far it's been 100% effective for me, at least for choosing good places (it's possible I filtered good places erroneously but I wouldn't know because I never accepted the offer). There are other more specific questions you can ask, but they tend to vary enough I wouldn't offer them as general advice.
      - cpeterso 7y ago
        Can you share an example of an answer that would discourage you from working somewhere? Just the interviewer's reluctance to answer or giving a superficial answer? I have asked interviewers the opposite: what aspects of the team or company need improvement and what steps are being taken to address them? Of course they will sugarcoat their answer, but you can still glean some insight into the company culture for addressing problems.
        OnlineGladiator 7y ago
        The only thing I look for is whether or not they seem happy while answering. If people really like their jobs, they will smile and tell you how great it is and you'll believe them. In my experience most people don't really like their jobs and are just in it for the paycheck (there's nothing wrong with that, bit if you're talented enough to be picky you should be).
  - professorTuring 7y ago
    Some places = every big corp and big consultancy firms.
tumetab1 7y ago
Power imbalance, income imbalance, responsibility imbalance. Your boss is more responsible at everything you should also do - communicating, noticing issues, noticing morale issues, being able to understand an issue beyond half-sentences, raising issues with management, trying to fix the issues, etc. So I say, damn it. If the boss doesn't understand that I'm making my last warning before going over his head, bad luck for him. Maybe I wasn't clear enough but if I wasn't clear enough, bad luck for him. Should have noticed it anyway, he/she is being payed to do so.

professorTuring 7y ago

Communicating openly is a mistake. You should communicate in the way it serves both your purpose and the enterprise and to communicate you must know your audience and how the message should be passed in order to succeed. Sometimes the only way to change things is to incept the idea.

bradknowles 7y ago
The above statement is certainly true in some places of employment. Been there, done that. I choose not to work in such places anymore. Obviously, not everyone can do that.
- scruple 7y ago
  How do you know beforehand what sort of environment you're really involving yourself with? What sort of heuristics exist during the hiring / interview phase that let's you sort good from bad? I have a few of my own sniff tests, but outside of knowing (and really trusting) a contact at a place, it's sort of a crap shoot. My experience has shown me that it can take years to find the seams that you need to tug on to expose deep-seated work culture problems.
  - OnlineGladiator 7y ago
    During every interview, I always ask "what do you like about working here?" It's extremely easy to tell by how they react whether or not they're being forthcoming. So far it's been 100% effective for me, at least for choosing good places (it's possible I filtered good places erroneously but I wouldn't know because I never accepted the offer). There are other more specific questions you can ask, but they tend to vary enough I wouldn't offer them as general advice.
    - cpeterso 7y ago
      Can you share an example of an answer that would discourage you from working somewhere? Just the interviewer's reluctance to answer or giving a superficial answer? I have asked interviewers the opposite: what aspects of the team or company need improvement and what steps are being taken to address them? Of course they will sugarcoat their answer, but you can still glean some insight into the company culture for addressing problems.
      - OnlineGladiator 7y ago
        The only thing I look for is whether or not they seem happy while answering. If people really like their jobs, they will smile and tell you how great it is and you'll believe them. In my experience most people don't really like their jobs and are just in it for the paycheck (there's nothing wrong with that, bit if you're talented enough to be picky you should be).
- professorTuring 7y ago
  Some places = every big corp and big consultancy firms.

tumetab1 7y ago

Power imbalance, income imbalance, responsibility imbalance. Your boss is more responsible at everything you should also do - communicating, noticing issues, noticing morale issues, being able to understand an issue beyond half-sentences, raising issues with management, trying to fix the issues, etc. So I say, damn it. If the boss doesn't understand that I'm making my last warning before going over his head, bad luck for him. Maybe I wasn't clear enough but if I wasn't clear enough, bad luck for him. Should have noticed it anyway, he/she is being payed to do so.