3 ms·

Guess it depends on so many factors. I live in an 8 story building and I hardly see my neighbors, so unless we could car pool some days I couldn't care less if

by wink 4y ago

Guess it depends on so many factors. I live in an 8 story building and I hardly see my neighbors, so unless we could car pool some days I couldn't care less if coworkers past and present I like or dislike are living next door. We have many blocks of old "company" apartments for the railway employees (used to be state owned, so even a little different) in my town (and probably in the whole country) - so they're technically co-workers in an org with many 10k of employees, but the chance your neighbor is visible in your daily life at work is pretty slim. Kind of a non-story, but if it helps the employees it sounds good, not much to discuss I guess?

ghaff 4y ago
"Company towns" sets off all sorts of alarm bells and rants. But the reality is that, in a lot of smaller cities, there pretty much are one or maybe two dominant employers and everything else exists primarily in service of people working for those employers. As in the case of one person I know, if you live in Bentonville you're probably working for Walmart and if your position is eliminated and you can't get a new one, you're probably moving.
- HPsquared 4y ago
  [flagged]
  - eppp 4y ago
    Seems kind of silly to pay rent for company housing though.
    - HPsquared 4y ago
      It has to be paid for either way. Could be offered to rent by employees or simply provided as benefit. Probably tax rules will decide which path to take...
  - mperham 4y ago
    Companies already control workers by controlling access to their health care (wanna start your own business? quit a toxic work environment? can't because you can't afford losing healthcare!). This is one solution to the lack of housing but a massive side effect is that we consolidate even more power in the hands of employers.
- madcaptenor 4y ago
  Not necessarily. You could be working for a Walmart supplier! Once I got an email from a recruiter saying they were looking to fill a position at a large retailer in northwest Arkansas. Just come out and say it!
- moe091 4y ago
  and those towns are guaranteed to stay that way if even housing is controlled by that singular employee

by wink 4y ago

ghaff 4y ago

"Company towns" sets off all sorts of alarm bells and rants. But the reality is that, in a lot of smaller cities, there pretty much are one or maybe two dominant employers and everything else exists primarily in service of people working for those employers. As in the case of one person I know, if you live in Bentonville you're probably working for Walmart and if your position is eliminated and you can't get a new one, you're probably moving.

HPsquared 4y ago
[flagged]
- eppp 4y ago
  Seems kind of silly to pay rent for company housing though.
  - HPsquared 4y ago
    It has to be paid for either way. Could be offered to rent by employees or simply provided as benefit. Probably tax rules will decide which path to take...
- mperham 4y ago
  Companies already control workers by controlling access to their health care (wanna start your own business? quit a toxic work environment? can't because you can't afford losing healthcare!). This is one solution to the lack of housing but a massive side effect is that we consolidate even more power in the hands of employers.
madcaptenor 4y ago
Not necessarily. You could be working for a Walmart supplier! Once I got an email from a recruiter saying they were looking to fill a position at a large retailer in northwest Arkansas. Just come out and say it!
moe091 4y ago
and those towns are guaranteed to stay that way if even housing is controlled by that singular employee