4 ms·

Probably thinking of things like GDPR, employment laws. Do you actually see no differences at all in the regulatory environment between EU and USA? What's the a

Probably thinking of things like GDPR, employment laws. Do you actually see no differences at all in the regulatory environment between EU and USA? What's the american equivalent of the retirement age the French are so upset about? Can you fire someone on the spot in the EU?

marginalia_nu 3y ago
Those things, as well as very real differences in taxation.
skrebbel 3y ago
GDPR holds if you sell in the EU, irrespective of whether you are in the EU. Also it’s really quite a decent law, barring a few obvious quirks. It can only be a serious hindrance to success for the scummiest kinds of startups. We can’t fire people on the spot but close enough (here in NL). It’s true ish that we can’t motivate people with fear though, we have to actually make them like their jobs, and carefully consider at the right moment whether to extend contracts. Again, not really a hindrance. The % of tech workers in both the EU and the US that are near any country’s retirement age is so small that I think either you’re kidding or you’re not really trying to make an actual argument at all.
- marginalia_nu 3y ago
  > We can’t fire people on the spot but close enough (here in NL). It’s true ish that we can’t motivate people with fear though, we have to actually make them like their jobs, and carefully consider at the right moment whether to extend contracts. Again, not really a hindrance. It's not really about motivation. Difficulty of terminating employment can make employees a real liability when you're small if they turn out to be a bad fit. Bigger businesses can accept it as cost of doing business, but it may break a small business.
  - bboozzoo 3y ago
    > It's not really about motivation. Difficulty of terminating employment can make employees a real liability when you're small if they turn out to be a bad fit. Given significantly smaller salaries and the typical 3-6 months probationary period before going full time, I don't think this is much of a risk. If someone turns out to be a 'bad' fit 6 months in, the employee isn't the only thing in need of looking into.

marginalia_nu 3y ago

Those things, as well as very real differences in taxation.

skrebbel 3y ago

GDPR holds if you sell in the EU, irrespective of whether you are in the EU. Also it’s really quite a decent law, barring a few obvious quirks. It can only be a serious hindrance to success for the scummiest kinds of startups. We can’t fire people on the spot but close enough (here in NL). It’s true ish that we can’t motivate people with fear though, we have to actually make them like their jobs, and carefully consider at the right moment whether to extend contracts. Again, not really a hindrance. The % of tech workers in both the EU and the US that are near any country’s retirement age is so small that I think either you’re kidding or you’re not really trying to make an actual argument at all.

marginalia_nu 3y ago
> We can’t fire people on the spot but close enough (here in NL). It’s true ish that we can’t motivate people with fear though, we have to actually make them like their jobs, and carefully consider at the right moment whether to extend contracts. Again, not really a hindrance. It's not really about motivation. Difficulty of terminating employment can make employees a real liability when you're small if they turn out to be a bad fit. Bigger businesses can accept it as cost of doing business, but it may break a small business.
- bboozzoo 3y ago
  > It's not really about motivation. Difficulty of terminating employment can make employees a real liability when you're small if they turn out to be a bad fit. Given significantly smaller salaries and the typical 3-6 months probationary period before going full time, I don't think this is much of a risk. If someone turns out to be a 'bad' fit 6 months in, the employee isn't the only thing in need of looking into.