3 ms·
From the engineer's medium post: > For example, someone changed the default desktop wallpaper during the walkout last year so that the Linux penguin was holdin
by helen___keller 7y ago
From the engineer's medium post:
> For example, someone changed the default desktop wallpaper during the walkout last year so that the Linux penguin was holding a protest sign. The company has never reacted aggressively in response to a notification such as this in the past. It’s always been a celebrated part of the culture.
I suppose this was her mistake: ""It's always been a celebrated part of the culture"
Google clearly does not always operate in good faith with it's employees on labor relations issues. The correct approach for her to take would be to get written approval from her manager on the popup
Her job was supposedly to "write browser notifications so that my coworkers can be automatically notified of employee guidelines and company policies while they surf the web", and this was supposedly a notification of one such company policy, but it was naive to think she could just approach her job in good faith and be treated in good faith. BigCorp follows the law of the jungle, and workers are not unionized at google so every engineer has to cover his or her ass before treading into contentious waters.
For what it's worth, after reading both points of views I think her actions were highly reasonable. But I would never implement that kind of notification like she had done, not without written approval from my boss and maybe my bosses' boss to cover my ass.
- debt 7y agoIt’s sort of ridiculous to think any boss would approve this, which is why she did it the way she did it in the first place.
- helen___keller 7y agoI don't really agree. The notice is required by law to be posted in workplaces. It's also required by law for Google to post it on their intranet. It's not a stretch to provide a link to that intranet info, in an add-on that provides links to company policy - assuming you are operating in good faith. But again, law of the jungle and all that. If I were her boss and she came to me for approval, I also would get approval from my boss and my bosses' boss.
- settsu 7y ago> But I would never implement that kind of notification like she had done, not without written approval from my boss and maybe my bosses' boss to cover my ass. If this is something that goes through your mind, the organization you are at is broken and probably dangerously hostile.
- helen___keller 7y agoNo, this is just the truth of working at BigCorp. Most engineers can pretend office politics doesn't exist because they're working in primarily nonpolitical roles. But office politics exists, for any office. And unionization is political.
- kick 7y agoHow is a big corporation exclusive from being "broken and probably dangerously hostile"? It seems likely that they all are.
- helen___keller 7y agoOk. I perhaps unfairly was defending against the comment "[more] broken and probably dangerously hostile [than other comparable organizations]"
- settsu 7y agoActing from the motivation of CYA as you described it is not a part of a healthy mode of operation in any relationship, personal or professional. An approach that has some form of checks, however formal (for purposes of quality and accountability), is entirely reasonable, and especially where there is a notable risk of exploitation (historical or likely potential.) But I've worked full-time essentially non-stop for a quarter century in a wide range of organizations (in an employee context: 3-person small business up through several thousand people enterprises), and default distrust is a red flag regardless.
- Ocerge 7y agoThe entire landscape of being a wage slave is "dangerously hostile". I can't think of any place I've ever worked where I would think this was a good idea if I wanted to keep my job. Not saying I agree that I should lose my job for organizing in this manner, just saying the net you're casting is probably too narrow.