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I don't think there's any harm in having an internal all-hands where labor and management can discuss how a company can forward social aims. Having a ban hammer

I don't think there's any harm in having an internal all-hands where labor and management can discuss how a company can forward social aims. Having a ban hammer come down like this gives the impression the company doesn't care about employees, and while that may be the truth for many more companies, it's never the impression you want to set. Have a chat, blow off some steam (people are stressed about other stuff too), then keep working. For one, I really like Netflix's commitment to keep $100M in black-owned banks, so they can farm out loans to under-represented communities. Progress is a state of mind, but I think that one move has the potential for a lot of materially positive change.

wonderwonder 6y ago
This comment is only addressing the airing of political / social opinions at work, not the rest of the email which seems ill judged at best. Sounds like the issue with this topic is that employees are requesting that the company not sell to certain companies / organizations. When an established company loses $91 million in a year it starts to worry about survival. I can understand the CEO being terrified of the employees losing focus on productivity and earnings and turning their focus on things that cost money rather than produce it. On top of that the internal discussion of how a manager working late sets a bad example means a good portion of the employees have lost the plot and see the company as a hang out where certain things are expected. I appreciate work life balance as much as the next person but castigating someone for working harder and trying to succeed is a dangerous precedent for the employees of a struggling company to take. Another issue with allowing controversial subjects to become common discussion points in work is that people disagree and this can lead to problems working together. If Bob is a massive supporter of BLM and goes around expecting everyone to agree with him and Sam responds All lives matter, there are going to be issues. Same with someone being an ardent Trump supporter going around speaking about him to everyone and being shocked when someone expresses disdain. Its not conducive to an acrimonious work environment. The company eventually goes under and Portland has lost its largest tech company. Just a side note, issue with New Relic is just the software is not great, I genuinely don't like using it, its not a good experience. I do wish them and all other companies the best.
- agrippanux 6y ago
  We don’t actually know the reason why the manager was called out for working hard. Was it because they are naturally awesome and motivated? Is it because they were covering for a problem with the team? Is it because the manager is new and doesn’t have experience delegating? Without the context it’s impossible to draw a conclusion.

wonderwonder 6y ago

This comment is only addressing the airing of political / social opinions at work, not the rest of the email which seems ill judged at best. Sounds like the issue with this topic is that employees are requesting that the company not sell to certain companies / organizations. When an established company loses $91 million in a year it starts to worry about survival. I can understand the CEO being terrified of the employees losing focus on productivity and earnings and turning their focus on things that cost money rather than produce it. On top of that the internal discussion of how a manager working late sets a bad example means a good portion of the employees have lost the plot and see the company as a hang out where certain things are expected. I appreciate work life balance as much as the next person but castigating someone for working harder and trying to succeed is a dangerous precedent for the employees of a struggling company to take. Another issue with allowing controversial subjects to become common discussion points in work is that people disagree and this can lead to problems working together. If Bob is a massive supporter of BLM and goes around expecting everyone to agree with him and Sam responds All lives matter, there are going to be issues. Same with someone being an ardent Trump supporter going around speaking about him to everyone and being shocked when someone expresses disdain. Its not conducive to an acrimonious work environment. The company eventually goes under and Portland has lost its largest tech company. Just a side note, issue with New Relic is just the software is not great, I genuinely don't like using it, its not a good experience. I do wish them and all other companies the best.

agrippanux 6y ago
We don’t actually know the reason why the manager was called out for working hard. Was it because they are naturally awesome and motivated? Is it because they were covering for a problem with the team? Is it because the manager is new and doesn’t have experience delegating? Without the context it’s impossible to draw a conclusion.