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I often wonder what it is about the software profession that brings this stuff out. Is it that very sensitive people are more likely to be drawn to software? Or

by mdoms 5y ago

I often wonder what it is about the software profession that brings this stuff out. Is it that very sensitive people are more likely to be drawn to software? Or is it that software industry culture breeds this kind of thing? I have friends across many different industries, from government housing to tourism to accounting to logistics to teaching to rubbish collection. None of them would dare talk about "kindness engineering", "psychological safety" or any of these kinds of topics at work. They come in at 8, do their work and go home at 5. Every workplace has assholes, highly empathetic people, drones and whiners to varying ratios. That's just human beings. Sometimes it feels to me like some corners of the software industry have been co-opted by self-help gurus (styled as "happiness engineers" or whatever title they conjure up) because frankly it's a lucrative industry and they've spotted a good target.

groby_b 5y ago
We're an expensive industry, where treating people like dirt turns out to cost a lot of money. And so we're one of the few industries where treating people with respect is actually of interest to leadership. Due to a still-lingering belief in Taylorism and an educational environment that's suboptimal, we're still burdened with a lot of people who think fear-based management ("they wouldn't dare talk about X" is about the fear of speaking up) is useful, so we keep needing to teach people that this doesn't really work. The idea that "all workplaces have assholes" assumes that somehow being an asshole is an immutable quality. For the vast majority of people, it isn't. They've been trained via fear and obedience, and they believe it's the way to results. Teaching them that it isn't helps both get them on a better path, and it makes the overall environment better. Maybe we can't get completely rid of people with negative traits, but we can shift ratios. Yes, there are some people who revel in being an asshole, or just can't change. They're very few. It's worth helping the rest. (Because training somebody is much cheaper than replacing them)

by mdoms 5y ago

groby_b 5y ago

We're an expensive industry, where treating people like dirt turns out to cost a lot of money. And so we're one of the few industries where treating people with respect is actually of interest to leadership. Due to a still-lingering belief in Taylorism and an educational environment that's suboptimal, we're still burdened with a lot of people who think fear-based management ("they wouldn't dare talk about X" is about the fear of speaking up) is useful, so we keep needing to teach people that this doesn't really work. The idea that "all workplaces have assholes" assumes that somehow being an asshole is an immutable quality. For the vast majority of people, it isn't. They've been trained via fear and obedience, and they believe it's the way to results. Teaching them that it isn't helps both get them on a better path, and it makes the overall environment better. Maybe we can't get completely rid of people with negative traits, but we can shift ratios. Yes, there are some people who revel in being an asshole, or just can't change. They're very few. It's worth helping the rest. (Because training somebody is much cheaper than replacing them)