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> “They create problems, high-school-type problems,” one CEO of a midsized firm told me. “People are making fun of co-workers, they’re acting unprofessionally,

> “They create problems, high-school-type problems,” one CEO of a midsized firm told me. “People are making fun of co-workers, they’re acting unprofessionally, and it’s technically a company system.” The crux of this is that Slack enables long, heated arguments that normally would be defused by: 1. Being surrounded by your coworkers 2. The frown of your manager 3. The strain on the faces of those around you It basically comes down to 80s/90s era concepts of netiquette: try to imagine that the person you're writing your response to is a thinking and feeling individual, and imagine their reaction to your words. Read out your words that you've written in the heat of the moment and think hard about how they'll be felt when read. If you have an employee who is prone to ridiculing others and won't desist from doing so when asked... FIRE THEM

Loughla 6y ago
>If you have an employee who is prone to ridiculing others and won't desist from doing so when asked... >FIRE >THEM Honestly, why does this have anything to do with slack. If it's not there, it will be in the break room or hallway or bathroom or wherever. That's a toxic person being enabled by technology. Not toxic technology magically transforming a person.
- toss1 6y ago
  What it has to do with Slack and every other social media platform is that (vs. break-room trash-talk) it magnifies the harassment - it's instantly amplified, spread more broadly, and is more durable. It also reduces the dampening influences of people's emotional responses in meatspace. Slack may or may not be better/worse than FB, Twitter, etc. in this regard, but all can definitely magnify divisions in any group of people, from a clique to a nation. It is just the dark side of reducing the communication friction that helps people work together better (kind of like a hammer is better than a rock for both setting nails and breaking skulls).
  - hajile 6y ago
    As a manager/owner, if your team/company has such toxic people, you're better off losing them. I also wonder if tech ageism isn't at play here. The social rules of high-school and college are nothing like the social rules of the rest of society. In those places, a person can create a group of friends and only interact with them for the most part. In a real job without high turnover, you have to learn to get along with everyone all the time. Startups (the ones complaining here) aren't known for having lots of older workers who've had time to polish their social skills and have the rough edges worn down (programmers generally aren't known for their amazing social skills in the first place). I'd conjecture that moving 2-3 older devs onto each of those teams could drastically improve the group dynamics.
    - toss1 6y ago
      Absolutely - must lose the toxic people as as fast as possible! They will damage the team at a far faster rate than any possibly contribution they can make. The one good thing in this, is that, although these social media platforms can amplify and spread the toxicity, they can also make it a lot easier to identify & document.
sfgweilr4f 6y ago
I've found putting people in the same room often helps. Especially when there has been an issue. Generally, just actual discussion and a firm reminder that we're all professional adults on the same team is often enough. Recent pandemic events notwithstanding... I'm also a bit gun shy about firing the "problem individual" since I've generally found that particular individual is often the one caught replying and not the instigator. YMMV. Nuance and context and all that. The "heads should roll" thing works but make sure its well targeted and for accurate cause.

Loughla 6y ago

>If you have an employee who is prone to ridiculing others and won't desist from doing so when asked... >FIRE >THEM Honestly, why does this have anything to do with slack. If it's not there, it will be in the break room or hallway or bathroom or wherever. That's a toxic person being enabled by technology. Not toxic technology magically transforming a person.

toss1 6y ago
What it has to do with Slack and every other social media platform is that (vs. break-room trash-talk) it magnifies the harassment - it's instantly amplified, spread more broadly, and is more durable. It also reduces the dampening influences of people's emotional responses in meatspace. Slack may or may not be better/worse than FB, Twitter, etc. in this regard, but all can definitely magnify divisions in any group of people, from a clique to a nation. It is just the dark side of reducing the communication friction that helps people work together better (kind of like a hammer is better than a rock for both setting nails and breaking skulls).
- hajile 6y ago
  As a manager/owner, if your team/company has such toxic people, you're better off losing them. I also wonder if tech ageism isn't at play here. The social rules of high-school and college are nothing like the social rules of the rest of society. In those places, a person can create a group of friends and only interact with them for the most part. In a real job without high turnover, you have to learn to get along with everyone all the time. Startups (the ones complaining here) aren't known for having lots of older workers who've had time to polish their social skills and have the rough edges worn down (programmers generally aren't known for their amazing social skills in the first place). I'd conjecture that moving 2-3 older devs onto each of those teams could drastically improve the group dynamics.
  - toss1 6y ago
    Absolutely - must lose the toxic people as as fast as possible! They will damage the team at a far faster rate than any possibly contribution they can make. The one good thing in this, is that, although these social media platforms can amplify and spread the toxicity, they can also make it a lot easier to identify & document.

sfgweilr4f 6y ago

I've found putting people in the same room often helps. Especially when there has been an issue. Generally, just actual discussion and a firm reminder that we're all professional adults on the same team is often enough. Recent pandemic events notwithstanding... I'm also a bit gun shy about firing the "problem individual" since I've generally found that particular individual is often the one caught replying and not the instigator. YMMV. Nuance and context and all that. The "heads should roll" thing works but make sure its well targeted and for accurate cause.