4 ms·

I don't know if they still operate that way, but the Valve Manual For New Employees is actually a fun read. Evidently you just roll your desk over to the projec

by osobo 6y ago

I don't know if they still operate that way, but the Valve Manual For New Employees is actually a fun read. Evidently you just roll your desk over to the project group you want to be a part of and roll with it. https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/apps/valve/Valve_NewEmployeeHandbook.pdf https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/apps/valve/Valve_NewEmployee...

typon 6y ago
Read lots of blogs/posts by ex-Valve employees who portray this libertarian dream as a terrible place to work though. Although that could just be because its the gaming industry and not Valve specifically
- bart_spoon 6y ago
  In a related article about Newell, he is trying make arrangements to have developers come to NZ for work during the pandemic as Valve, according to Newell, has seen productivity drop by 50-75% since working from home started. That’s a ton, and worse than most companies. I have to imagine this management/work culture is at least partly to blame.
  - versteegen 6y ago
    The article debunks the claim Valve is planning to come to NZ.
  - mcv 6y ago
    If work culture revolves strongly around people meeting each other at lunch or in the bathroom and discussing ideas there, then moving their desks together to work on those ideas, then I can imagine working from home hurts that way of working. They need more informal online chat channels, probably. Maybe an algorithm than randomly matches employees to each other to chat about what they're working on at the moment. But I can imagine it's hard to replace the direct contact.
kabdib 6y ago
It's still a pretty accurate description of how Valve works.
swyx 6y ago
I enjoyed the part where "everyone is equal, but gaben is more equal than others, if you get our meaning"
- heavenlyblue 6y ago
  I can't find it in text, which page is it on?
  - swyx 6y ago
    i wrote that from memory, pardon for misquoting. page 55 - "Gabe Newell — Of all the people at this company who aren’t your boss, Gabe is the MOST not your boss, if you get what we’re saying."

by osobo 6y ago

typon 6y ago

Read lots of blogs/posts by ex-Valve employees who portray this libertarian dream as a terrible place to work though. Although that could just be because its the gaming industry and not Valve specifically

bart_spoon 6y ago
In a related article about Newell, he is trying make arrangements to have developers come to NZ for work during the pandemic as Valve, according to Newell, has seen productivity drop by 50-75% since working from home started. That’s a ton, and worse than most companies. I have to imagine this management/work culture is at least partly to blame.
- versteegen 6y ago
  The article debunks the claim Valve is planning to come to NZ.
- mcv 6y ago
  If work culture revolves strongly around people meeting each other at lunch or in the bathroom and discussing ideas there, then moving their desks together to work on those ideas, then I can imagine working from home hurts that way of working. They need more informal online chat channels, probably. Maybe an algorithm than randomly matches employees to each other to chat about what they're working on at the moment. But I can imagine it's hard to replace the direct contact.

kabdib 6y ago

It's still a pretty accurate description of how Valve works.

swyx 6y ago

I enjoyed the part where "everyone is equal, but gaben is more equal than others, if you get our meaning"

heavenlyblue 6y ago
I can't find it in text, which page is it on?
- swyx 6y ago
  i wrote that from memory, pardon for misquoting. page 55 - "Gabe Newell — Of all the people at this company who aren’t your boss, Gabe is the MOST not your boss, if you get what we’re saying."