3 ms·
It's toxic for employees to say, "This is a bad thing we should explicitly avoid doing", and it's A-OK for employees to say, "Don't let anyone hear you say we a
by thomastjeffery 3y ago
It's toxic for employees to say, "This is a bad thing we should explicitly avoid doing", and it's A-OK for employees to say, "Don't let anyone hear you say we are doing these bad things. If you must talk about these things, use different words, or you will draw critical attention to our behavior."?
Bullshit.
- yongjik 3y agoGoogle: Don't use words that make it sound like we're doing illegal things, when taken out of context. If you have a genuine concern, talk to our legal department. Your interpretation: "Don't let anyone hear you say we are doing these bad things." I'd say I don't buy that. (Edit: sorry I worded by initial comment with too much snark. Speaking of toxic environment...)
- thomastjeffery 3y agoYour entire argument assumes these words are being taken out of context. So you really believe that? I sincerely don't.
- SpicyLemonZest 3y agoI really believe that. From everything I've seen, Google consistently does the right thing with regards to avoiding search lock-in, and is substantially above the industry standard in doing so. Just try changing the default search engine in Chrome vs. Edge!
- yongjik 3y agoSeems like we're talking about different things. For one thing, I could see the possibility that some part of Google may have engaged in unethical behavior. It might even have been at the C-level. It might have crossed the antitrust law, who knows. I have no idea. On the other hand, I do believe that when Google was sending this message company-wide, pretty much everybody understood it as "Don't use these words because they can be taken out of context and then you're going to have a lot of pain," not "Don't use these words because then we cannot hide the unethical things we might be doing." I was there at Google.