3 ms·

I'm not a Meta-hater, but the tone of this is always destructive when it comes up. It's basically soft layoffs that try and paint those leaving/pushed out as "

by gedy 4y ago

I'm not a Meta-hater, but the tone of this is always destructive when it comes up. It's basically soft layoffs that try and paint those leaving/pushed out as "unmotivated" or "can't keep up with the rest of us". I wish companies would be more honest that they aren't doing well, over hired, etc instead. I kinda get mgmt types thinking this will keep remaining feeling motivated, safe, etc. but it's very phoney to a lot of us who've been through this before.

hinkley 4y ago
I've heard it asserted that your median level of talent doesn't change much with these strategies. But that means you're losing people that you could probably ill afford to lose.
- redisman 4y ago
  When things get nasty and it’s clear the good days are over it’s usually those most able to leave (the actual best employees) who get the message
  - deckard1 4y ago
    but where do they go? You can't escape the recession. All the FAANGs are in it. A startup seems even more risky in this atmosphere.
- doktorhladnjak 4y ago
  I’ve worked at a couple places that took this layoff philosophy. Twelve months later headcount was back to the same level. More of the best employees left on their own volition after layoffs. Company spent a bunch in severance and damaged reputation for no real gain. Shareholders I guess felt they got their pound of flesh.
- go_elmo 4y ago
  Maybe you didnt mean it that technical, but the median is very robust to outliers. So your first statement is true but the conclusion is not necessarily.
  - hinkley 4y ago
    No, this is an old saw and we see it happen over and over and the managers never learn. When they announce things like this, or voluntary layoffs, they mean for the lower quartile to leave in droves and for the overall quality of the remaining employees to improve. For the amount of stuff per dollar to increase. But what actually happens is that a few of the lower quartiles leave, and at least as many from the upper quartiles leave. None of the Dunning Kruger people leave because they’re all that and a bag of chips. So you tend toward mediocrity. Doubly so because when the changes that management expected don’t happen, now everyone knows there is likely to be a round of involuntary layoffs. So the people you have left either start playing it safe or become demotivated, further lowering the stuff per dollar. And now the company is doing worse, and some idiot upstairs thinks it’s just their predictions coming true, instead of self fulfilling prophecy. Not that I mean any of this as a lecture or warning for Zuck. More like a movie trailer. I hope it all burns and we get to watch it happen. But more likely they’ll turn into Microsoft. Fewer teeth, but still essentially the same bastards they always were, because changing a negative founder culture is really, really hard for any social or business group.
JKCalhoun 4y ago
> I kinda get mgmt types thinking this will keep remaining feeling motivated, safe, etc. That seems completely counterintuitive to me. Seeing your co-worker tip off the end of the plank doesn't make me feel safe as we are all inching closer to the end of it. Though it would motivate me to look for a job elsewhere.

by gedy 4y ago

hinkley 4y ago

I've heard it asserted that your median level of talent doesn't change much with these strategies. But that means you're losing people that you could probably ill afford to lose.

redisman 4y ago
When things get nasty and it’s clear the good days are over it’s usually those most able to leave (the actual best employees) who get the message
- deckard1 4y ago
  but where do they go? You can't escape the recession. All the FAANGs are in it. A startup seems even more risky in this atmosphere.
doktorhladnjak 4y ago
I’ve worked at a couple places that took this layoff philosophy. Twelve months later headcount was back to the same level. More of the best employees left on their own volition after layoffs. Company spent a bunch in severance and damaged reputation for no real gain. Shareholders I guess felt they got their pound of flesh.
go_elmo 4y ago
Maybe you didnt mean it that technical, but the median is very robust to outliers. So your first statement is true but the conclusion is not necessarily.
- hinkley 4y ago
  No, this is an old saw and we see it happen over and over and the managers never learn. When they announce things like this, or voluntary layoffs, they mean for the lower quartile to leave in droves and for the overall quality of the remaining employees to improve. For the amount of stuff per dollar to increase. But what actually happens is that a few of the lower quartiles leave, and at least as many from the upper quartiles leave. None of the Dunning Kruger people leave because they’re all that and a bag of chips. So you tend toward mediocrity. Doubly so because when the changes that management expected don’t happen, now everyone knows there is likely to be a round of involuntary layoffs. So the people you have left either start playing it safe or become demotivated, further lowering the stuff per dollar. And now the company is doing worse, and some idiot upstairs thinks it’s just their predictions coming true, instead of self fulfilling prophecy. Not that I mean any of this as a lecture or warning for Zuck. More like a movie trailer. I hope it all burns and we get to watch it happen. But more likely they’ll turn into Microsoft. Fewer teeth, but still essentially the same bastards they always were, because changing a negative founder culture is really, really hard for any social or business group.

JKCalhoun 4y ago

> I kinda get mgmt types thinking this will keep remaining feeling motivated, safe, etc. That seems completely counterintuitive to me. Seeing your co-worker tip off the end of the plank doesn't make me feel safe as we are all inching closer to the end of it. Though it would motivate me to look for a job elsewhere.