4 ms·

Seriously, I don't know why people are trying so hard to find the negative here in a thousand bucks bonus to all employees. The top ranked comment in this enti

Seriously, I don't know why people are trying so hard to find the negative here in a thousand bucks bonus to all employees. The top ranked comment in this entire thread is currently "But why? [...] What do they need the extra money for?" Talk about crab mentality. If your employer gives you extra money, you take it! Good on Facebook for redistributing some vanishingly tiny fraction of their cash to their employees in this time of crisis.

supercanuck 7y ago
Here is why: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shareholder_primacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shareholder_primacy Why did they choose $1,000? Why not $2,000, $6,000 on any other number for that matter? They are piggy backing on the good will Andrew Yang and Mitt Romney generated.
- nerdponx 7y ago
  Stated another way: this is a $45m PR investment.
  - packetslave 7y ago
    Considering that the only way HN knows anything about this is because some jerk leaked an internal post from Mark, this has nothing to do with PR.
    - Dahoon 7y ago
      "leaked"
    - srpinto 7y ago
      "Mark". Is he your friend?
      - packetslave 7y ago
        In my experience, people mostly refer to him internally as "Mark". Just like at Google they refer to Larry and Sergey as, well, "Larry" and "Sergey".
- godelski 7y ago
  Why pay their employees $200k/yr? Why not $100k? Why not $50k? Why not $0? I mean they are just playing on computers all day. I know this may be a __radical__ idea, but possibly paying your employees more and giving them good benefits helps you: 1) get the best candidates 2) keep the best candidates 3) keep workers happy (read efficient) 4) keeps them working longer hours and taking less time off (less stress). If only there was a plethora of studies and historical evidence to back this.
tathougies 7y ago
Because life is so easy that people need a crisis. This is especially true in the United States, where life is exceptionally easy.
- TheFiend7 7y ago
  Hahaha life is exceptionally easy for people in the US. I had no idea working 2 service jobs and living paycheck to paycheck was the good life!
  - xwdv 7y ago
    It is exceptionally easy in the US to not end up working 2 service jobs and living paycheck to paycheck, some people just screw it up. Not much you can do about that then. People don’t listen, they don’t take things seriously, until it’s too late. If you can’t be an example, be a warning.
    - sybarita 7y ago
      Or maybe, just maybe, people face different struggles and adversity that prevent/delay them from "rising above" the level of working service jobs (which someone still needs to do btw, and those people deserve to live. I see this perspective way too often on here, usually from people with tech jobs/salaries. It's super, super fucked up. It's not actually exceptionally easy to make the jump from service worker to professional for most people. It can be done, but it's not exceptionally easy to study and advance through a professional career path while working multiple minimum wage jobs and supporting a family, struggling with mental illness/addiction/health/etc. Sure it's exceptionally easy if you have a comfortable home life and no responsibilities and are given the opportunities and guidance and support to develop professional skills. And sure there are tons of people who take those opportunities for granted. Fuck those people though we're not talking about them they're a small minority and they fucking suck. The VAST majority of people who get stuck in this wage slavery system don't have any of that. It's not easy at all. Honestly really sad how many people on here don't get this. This shouldn't be controversial in any way. Humans are selfish, lazy creatures in general, including the "successful" ones. We should always have compassion for those less fortunate. I'm on my way to getting a good salary and I recognize how incredibly fortunate I will be to have that. I wont think someone else still working a service job is just lazy or whatever because I understand how hard it is out there. I could care less about downvotes but it's sad to see people "disagree" with empathy.
jka 7y ago
The comment[0] you reference is more nuanced than your brief copy-and-paste shows, and keeps a more neutral tone than you. Despite that, I'll respond. Some of the frustration is because millions of people in the U.S. may be losing their service jobs soon and may find themselves in financial difficulty. Meanwhile many Facebook employees already lead a life of privilege with excellent access to healthcare, free on-site perks, and good base salary and stock options. They are isolated from many of the experiences and problems of the daily grind across the U.S. This bonus can also be seen as a political move by Facebook to undermine the current administration by essentially 'acting faster' than them in providing a demand-side financial stimulus. It doesn't seem likely that they've co-ordinated with government or other tech companies on this policy, since not many employers nationwide would be able to provide the same kind of bonus, raising further inequity concerns. Alternatively it can be seen as a bonus for people who might have been able to cope anyway by adapting their lifestyles temporarily. The median compensation for a Facebook employee is $228,651 according to the article. Either way it will likely be an interesting decision to reflect on as the situation and political landscape develops. [0] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22606846 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22606846
JeremyNT 7y ago
I immediately found myself asking "why" too. It's curious, and to an outsider borderline nonsensical. Of course we all know that Facebook didn't get to where it is by committing random acts of kindness, so it's worth thinking it over and trying to understand what might be behind this decision. It's reasonable to question the actions of one of the most powerful surveillance apparatuses the world has ever known.
- surewhynat 7y ago
  Shopify also gave its employees $1000 to fund work-from-home office equipment. ie, chair, desk, screens ... A thousand bucks doesn't go very far in America. Feels like the wrong thing to be paranoid with Facebook over.

supercanuck 7y ago

Here is why: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shareholder_primacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shareholder_primacy Why did they choose $1,000? Why not $2,000, $6,000 on any other number for that matter? They are piggy backing on the good will Andrew Yang and Mitt Romney generated.

nerdponx 7y ago
Stated another way: this is a $45m PR investment.
- packetslave 7y ago
  Considering that the only way HN knows anything about this is because some jerk leaked an internal post from Mark, this has nothing to do with PR.
  - Dahoon 7y ago
    "leaked"
  - srpinto 7y ago
    "Mark". Is he your friend?
    - packetslave 7y ago
      In my experience, people mostly refer to him internally as "Mark". Just like at Google they refer to Larry and Sergey as, well, "Larry" and "Sergey".
godelski 7y ago
Why pay their employees $200k/yr? Why not $100k? Why not $50k? Why not $0? I mean they are just playing on computers all day. I know this may be a __radical__ idea, but possibly paying your employees more and giving them good benefits helps you: 1) get the best candidates 2) keep the best candidates 3) keep workers happy (read efficient) 4) keeps them working longer hours and taking less time off (less stress). If only there was a plethora of studies and historical evidence to back this.

tathougies 7y ago

Because life is so easy that people need a crisis. This is especially true in the United States, where life is exceptionally easy.

TheFiend7 7y ago
Hahaha life is exceptionally easy for people in the US. I had no idea working 2 service jobs and living paycheck to paycheck was the good life!
- xwdv 7y ago
  It is exceptionally easy in the US to not end up working 2 service jobs and living paycheck to paycheck, some people just screw it up. Not much you can do about that then. People don’t listen, they don’t take things seriously, until it’s too late. If you can’t be an example, be a warning.
  - sybarita 7y ago
    Or maybe, just maybe, people face different struggles and adversity that prevent/delay them from "rising above" the level of working service jobs (which someone still needs to do btw, and those people deserve to live. I see this perspective way too often on here, usually from people with tech jobs/salaries. It's super, super fucked up. It's not actually exceptionally easy to make the jump from service worker to professional for most people. It can be done, but it's not exceptionally easy to study and advance through a professional career path while working multiple minimum wage jobs and supporting a family, struggling with mental illness/addiction/health/etc. Sure it's exceptionally easy if you have a comfortable home life and no responsibilities and are given the opportunities and guidance and support to develop professional skills. And sure there are tons of people who take those opportunities for granted. Fuck those people though we're not talking about them they're a small minority and they fucking suck. The VAST majority of people who get stuck in this wage slavery system don't have any of that. It's not easy at all. Honestly really sad how many people on here don't get this. This shouldn't be controversial in any way. Humans are selfish, lazy creatures in general, including the "successful" ones. We should always have compassion for those less fortunate. I'm on my way to getting a good salary and I recognize how incredibly fortunate I will be to have that. I wont think someone else still working a service job is just lazy or whatever because I understand how hard it is out there. I could care less about downvotes but it's sad to see people "disagree" with empathy.

jka 7y ago

The comment[0] you reference is more nuanced than your brief copy-and-paste shows, and keeps a more neutral tone than you. Despite that, I'll respond. Some of the frustration is because millions of people in the U.S. may be losing their service jobs soon and may find themselves in financial difficulty. Meanwhile many Facebook employees already lead a life of privilege with excellent access to healthcare, free on-site perks, and good base salary and stock options. They are isolated from many of the experiences and problems of the daily grind across the U.S. This bonus can also be seen as a political move by Facebook to undermine the current administration by essentially 'acting faster' than them in providing a demand-side financial stimulus. It doesn't seem likely that they've co-ordinated with government or other tech companies on this policy, since not many employers nationwide would be able to provide the same kind of bonus, raising further inequity concerns. Alternatively it can be seen as a bonus for people who might have been able to cope anyway by adapting their lifestyles temporarily. The median compensation for a Facebook employee is $228,651 according to the article. Either way it will likely be an interesting decision to reflect on as the situation and political landscape develops. [0] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22606846 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22606846

JeremyNT 7y ago

I immediately found myself asking "why" too. It's curious, and to an outsider borderline nonsensical. Of course we all know that Facebook didn't get to where it is by committing random acts of kindness, so it's worth thinking it over and trying to understand what might be behind this decision. It's reasonable to question the actions of one of the most powerful surveillance apparatuses the world has ever known.

surewhynat 7y ago
Shopify also gave its employees $1000 to fund work-from-home office equipment. ie, chair, desk, screens ... A thousand bucks doesn't go very far in America. Feels like the wrong thing to be paranoid with Facebook over.