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This is the sort of policy I try to implement at every place I work. People get super comfortable working For years without knowing how their product really wo

This is the sort of policy I try to implement at every place I work. People get super comfortable working For years without knowing how their product really works. Having people learn all aspects of the product drastically improves the focus of everyone on problems that actually matter. Losing people that don’t want to participate is often a good thing.

paulcole 5y ago
Agree with this 100%. It’s fine to say “this type of work is beneath me.” It’s not fine to say “this type of work is beneath me” and then expect to continue working at a company whose values say otherwise.
- danaris 5y ago
  There's a big difference between "this type of work is beneath me" and... - This type of work is not what I interviewed and hired for - This type of work will aggravate my bad back/knees/rotator cuff/etc - This type of work triggers my very strong anxiety - This type of work requires skills I do not have - This type of work requires equipment that the company is not providing me (doesn't matter if I own it; if the company wants it done, they damn well better provide the means) Different people have different needs. If I were hired to be a programmer for DoorDash, and they told me one day that the next I would, instead, be driving my car in unfamiliar neighborhoods, being expected to deliver X amount of product per Y amount of time? I'd be putting in my notice. Just like if I were someone who has no programming background working as a driver for DoorDash, and they told me one day that the next I would be starting work on a project to upgrade feature Z in the app, with an expected delivery date based on highly trained programmers and no training.
  - paulcole 5y ago
    A couple of your examples can be handled by providing a reasonable accommodation/alternative because of established health condition. But the others… > This type of work requires skills I do not have Great, see this as an opportunity to develop new skills! Take it or quit/be fired. > This type of work requires equipment that the company is not providing me OK, either do it or quit/be fired. > This type of work is not what I interviewed and hired for OK, either do it or quit/be fired. Making bad (but legal) decisions and fucking up a business isn’t (usually) a crime — if it is, lock me up! You may not like what your employer is telling you to do, but for the most part either do it or don’t.
  - DarylZero 5y ago
    The programmers are in a position of power over the delivery drivers, through the power of their code. Making the programmers do the delivery driving themselves can help them to identify with those over whom they exercise power. Not really though because the cash stakes aren't real.
    - bluefirebrand 5y ago
      > The programmers are in a position of power over the delivery drivers, through the power of their code I've never worked in a place where programmers decide what to build. At best they decide how to build what they are "asked" (told) to build. If they try and dispute what to build, they are often told to hit the bricks.
      - DarylZero 5y ago
        Programmers like every other human being decide what they are willing to do and what they are not willing to do.
manuelabeledo 5y ago
I see. Will need to keep an eye open for the kind of guy who thinks workers are getting “too comfortable” doing what they are supposed to do.
- treeman79 5y ago
  Is fine. I keep an eye out for people that waste time solving the wrong problems.
  - manuelabeledo 5y ago
    > I keep an eye out for people that waste time solving the wrong problems. Which is exactly what you seem to try to do. The issue with workers not keeping up with the necessities of the business cannot be put on the workers themselves. If communications in a company are so lacking that people need to be shuffled around randomly, in order to understand the needs of the business, then problems run too deep already. In the case of Doordash, making engineers shadow delivery people is overkill and counterproductive, and management obviously doesn't understand what a feedback loop should look like.
- bluefirebrand 5y ago
  In my experience the type of people who are too comfortable at their jobs are the types who frequently take afternoons off to go golfing, not the ones in the trenches building the products or responding to on-call alerts at 2am.

paulcole 5y ago

Agree with this 100%. It’s fine to say “this type of work is beneath me.” It’s not fine to say “this type of work is beneath me” and then expect to continue working at a company whose values say otherwise.

danaris 5y ago
There's a big difference between "this type of work is beneath me" and... - This type of work is not what I interviewed and hired for - This type of work will aggravate my bad back/knees/rotator cuff/etc - This type of work triggers my very strong anxiety - This type of work requires skills I do not have - This type of work requires equipment that the company is not providing me (doesn't matter if I own it; if the company wants it done, they damn well better provide the means) Different people have different needs. If I were hired to be a programmer for DoorDash, and they told me one day that the next I would, instead, be driving my car in unfamiliar neighborhoods, being expected to deliver X amount of product per Y amount of time? I'd be putting in my notice. Just like if I were someone who has no programming background working as a driver for DoorDash, and they told me one day that the next I would be starting work on a project to upgrade feature Z in the app, with an expected delivery date based on highly trained programmers and no training.
- paulcole 5y ago
  A couple of your examples can be handled by providing a reasonable accommodation/alternative because of established health condition. But the others… > This type of work requires skills I do not have Great, see this as an opportunity to develop new skills! Take it or quit/be fired. > This type of work requires equipment that the company is not providing me OK, either do it or quit/be fired. > This type of work is not what I interviewed and hired for OK, either do it or quit/be fired. Making bad (but legal) decisions and fucking up a business isn’t (usually) a crime — if it is, lock me up! You may not like what your employer is telling you to do, but for the most part either do it or don’t.
- DarylZero 5y ago
  The programmers are in a position of power over the delivery drivers, through the power of their code. Making the programmers do the delivery driving themselves can help them to identify with those over whom they exercise power. Not really though because the cash stakes aren't real.
  - bluefirebrand 5y ago
    > The programmers are in a position of power over the delivery drivers, through the power of their code I've never worked in a place where programmers decide what to build. At best they decide how to build what they are "asked" (told) to build. If they try and dispute what to build, they are often told to hit the bricks.
    - DarylZero 5y ago
      Programmers like every other human being decide what they are willing to do and what they are not willing to do.

manuelabeledo 5y ago

I see. Will need to keep an eye open for the kind of guy who thinks workers are getting “too comfortable” doing what they are supposed to do.

treeman79 5y ago
Is fine. I keep an eye out for people that waste time solving the wrong problems.
- manuelabeledo 5y ago
  > I keep an eye out for people that waste time solving the wrong problems. Which is exactly what you seem to try to do. The issue with workers not keeping up with the necessities of the business cannot be put on the workers themselves. If communications in a company are so lacking that people need to be shuffled around randomly, in order to understand the needs of the business, then problems run too deep already. In the case of Doordash, making engineers shadow delivery people is overkill and counterproductive, and management obviously doesn't understand what a feedback loop should look like.
bluefirebrand 5y ago
In my experience the type of people who are too comfortable at their jobs are the types who frequently take afternoons off to go golfing, not the ones in the trenches building the products or responding to on-call alerts at 2am.