4 ms·

Do you think that maybe those security procedures exist because big companies have been bit once too many times?

yreg 3y ago
No I don't, because the procedures make very little sense to me. I'm not going to suddenly turn into a criminal when a company terminates my contract. If I'm not trustworthy after they fire me, then I couldn't have been trustworthy before either imo. Afterall, as I said we don't have those procedures around here and it's no problem. We would find them weird (culturally).
- dylan604 3y ago
  You'd be amazed at the number of people that do not take measures in anticipation of this day ever happening. If you give someone with access to critical information no notice about their dismissal, they might not have actually backed up their emails, contacts, or any other work product. If you are the leadership and don't take this action and that "rare" small number of people that might do something untoward does do something, then you are left holding the bag. So, as they say, better safe than sorry. I've even be present when actual criminal activity has been committed, but no charges have been brought but the company is still offered the use of actual police during the dismissal/escorting off premise without making an arrest. So, I guess I'm happy for you that you've never had to experience the darker side of things, but, it's part and parcel around here now of the process.
  - dekhn 3y ago
    Backed up your emails? You can't take your google emails with you when you leave.
    - dylan604 3y ago
      What? I'm not talking about your personal emails. I'm talking about your emails through your company email domain. What has all reasoning just gone out the window in this thread?
      - dekhn 3y ago
        If you work at google, you don't get to backup or take your @google.com emails home. Are you saying you typically take your company email domain emails (IE, "me@work.com") away after you leave a company? I worked at Google for over a decade, I'm pretty familiar with their policies and throughout silicon valley.
  - CydeWeys 3y ago
    > If you give someone with access to critical information no notice about their dismissal, they might not have actually backed up their emails, contacts, or any other work product. That would be terrible IT if users had to explicitly back up any of their work. Hardware fails, or gets lost or stolen. Any even semi-competent company should have source control, regular IT-managed backups, etc., such that work isn't lost for any reason. Also ... why would you need to back up your emails? I can't even imagine a circumstance in which being let go would cause all of your emails to be deleted? They'll just give someone else access to your inbox on the email server if necessary.
- Almondsetat 3y ago
  Do you work for Google in Europe? Or Amazon? we are not talking about small local IT companies
  - yreg 3y ago
    I'm talking about European companies, so no, not Google or Amazon. Say multinational banks.
- fulladder 3y ago
  Here is what I have observed. The use of various procedures (like asking someone to immediately leave the office) is actually mainly driven by managers' and HRs' fear and/or inexperience with layoffs. Basically, these people get together, it's a tough situation for them and not one they have any personal experience handling, and they sort of convince themselves that it's safer to do things in a very cold and impersonal way. By the time the next recession hits, all of these people will have moved up to higher management rolls where they aren't doing the laying off themselves, so the next "generation" starts from scratch and again convinces itself that it's safer if we do everything in a cold and impersonal way. I think this is how you end up with all these silly procedures. I've seen people react unpredictably and emotionally in the workplace, but the layoffs I've seen have actually been entirely smooth. The typical laid off employee is either thinking about the vacation they're going to take (Silicon Valley good times thinking) or how they're going to find a new job (any other industry at any time). The last thing such a person wants to do is trash their own reputation by behaving unprofessionally, and they certainly aren't going to sabotage the employer. But since the managers doing the laying off typically have never done it before, you end up with the kind of weird outcomes described here.

yreg 3y ago

No I don't, because the procedures make very little sense to me. I'm not going to suddenly turn into a criminal when a company terminates my contract. If I'm not trustworthy after they fire me, then I couldn't have been trustworthy before either imo. Afterall, as I said we don't have those procedures around here and it's no problem. We would find them weird (culturally).

dylan604 3y ago
You'd be amazed at the number of people that do not take measures in anticipation of this day ever happening. If you give someone with access to critical information no notice about their dismissal, they might not have actually backed up their emails, contacts, or any other work product. If you are the leadership and don't take this action and that "rare" small number of people that might do something untoward does do something, then you are left holding the bag. So, as they say, better safe than sorry. I've even be present when actual criminal activity has been committed, but no charges have been brought but the company is still offered the use of actual police during the dismissal/escorting off premise without making an arrest. So, I guess I'm happy for you that you've never had to experience the darker side of things, but, it's part and parcel around here now of the process.
- dekhn 3y ago
  Backed up your emails? You can't take your google emails with you when you leave.
  - dylan604 3y ago
    What? I'm not talking about your personal emails. I'm talking about your emails through your company email domain. What has all reasoning just gone out the window in this thread?
    - dekhn 3y ago
      If you work at google, you don't get to backup or take your @google.com emails home. Are you saying you typically take your company email domain emails (IE, "me@work.com") away after you leave a company? I worked at Google for over a decade, I'm pretty familiar with their policies and throughout silicon valley.
- CydeWeys 3y ago
  > If you give someone with access to critical information no notice about their dismissal, they might not have actually backed up their emails, contacts, or any other work product. That would be terrible IT if users had to explicitly back up any of their work. Hardware fails, or gets lost or stolen. Any even semi-competent company should have source control, regular IT-managed backups, etc., such that work isn't lost for any reason. Also ... why would you need to back up your emails? I can't even imagine a circumstance in which being let go would cause all of your emails to be deleted? They'll just give someone else access to your inbox on the email server if necessary.
Almondsetat 3y ago
Do you work for Google in Europe? Or Amazon? we are not talking about small local IT companies
- yreg 3y ago
  I'm talking about European companies, so no, not Google or Amazon. Say multinational banks.
fulladder 3y ago
Here is what I have observed. The use of various procedures (like asking someone to immediately leave the office) is actually mainly driven by managers' and HRs' fear and/or inexperience with layoffs. Basically, these people get together, it's a tough situation for them and not one they have any personal experience handling, and they sort of convince themselves that it's safer to do things in a very cold and impersonal way. By the time the next recession hits, all of these people will have moved up to higher management rolls where they aren't doing the laying off themselves, so the next "generation" starts from scratch and again convinces itself that it's safer if we do everything in a cold and impersonal way. I think this is how you end up with all these silly procedures. I've seen people react unpredictably and emotionally in the workplace, but the layoffs I've seen have actually been entirely smooth. The typical laid off employee is either thinking about the vacation they're going to take (Silicon Valley good times thinking) or how they're going to find a new job (any other industry at any time). The last thing such a person wants to do is trash their own reputation by behaving unprofessionally, and they certainly aren't going to sabotage the employer. But since the managers doing the laying off typically have never done it before, you end up with the kind of weird outcomes described here.