3 ms·
> “We have so many community members within Microsoft who have lost family, lost friends or loved ones,” said Abdo Mohamed, a researcher and data scientist. "Bu
by lolinder 2y ago
> “We have so many community members within Microsoft who have lost family, lost friends or loved ones,” said Abdo Mohamed, a researcher and data scientist. "But Microsoft really failed to have the space for us where we can come together and share our grief and honor the memories of people who can no longer speak for themselves."
Grief is hard and what's happening in Gaza is tragic, but this is not what the workplace is for. Why is it Microsoft's job to provide the described space?
Maybe this is less of a thing on the coasts, but where I live people have families, friends, churches, bars, clubs, and many other outlets that are designed for this kind of personal reflection and mourning. We don't expect our workplace to provide it for us because we don't live at work. We go into work to earn money to provide means for us to live our lives outside of work. To the extent that we want our coworkers to be involved in those spaces, we invite them to be.
More than anything else what I'm getting from this is that the death of the third space on the West Coast must be well and truly complete, if this kind of line sounds reasonable there.
- bbqfog 2y agoThe issue is that Microsoft does active business with Israel. It's not just completely non sequitur.
- lolinder 2y agoThat is a different complaint and not the one they're fronting. They are framing this event as a personal mourning space, not a protest against company policy. If they need their personal mourning space to be provided by their employer, that's indicative of a major gap in their non-work support networks. If they're camouflaging a protest against company policy as personal mourning space, then they're abusing people's support of emotional wellness to justify hosting a protest on private property.
- s1artibartfast 2y agoI think it can still be both; Lack of outside life and internal protest. >Hossam Nasr, said the purpose of the vigil was both “to honor the victims of the Palestinian genocide in Gaza and to call attention to Microsoft’s complicity in the genocide” because of the use of its technology by the Israeli military.
- FireBeyond 2y agoExcept that Microsoft does organize spaces for many other issues, causes and such. You can argue whether they should or shouldn't, and I think that's valid. But when it gets selective, it gets muddy.
- throwawayian 2y agoI hate this take. Expecting employees to compartmentalize their personal lives completely during work is unrealistic and dehumanizing. I’ve worked with American companies for years and sat through countless meetings where U.S.-specific events were addressed—9/11, BLM, elections, Black History Month, Thanksgiving, natural disasters, even sensitivity and active shooter trainings. Outside of local disaster/issues, none of these are directly relevant in my country, yet we empathize, because it’s human to care. Here’s the problem: When divisive topics arise, companies either censor them entirely or let them play out. Censorship may be inhumane, but it’s efficient. Or, a company can solicit feedback and allow employees to hold non-disruptive, neutral events outside of work hours. If this is the path, it has to be consistent. No exceptions for topics like the war in Ukraine or U.S. cultural movements. This approach avoids corporate bias while enabling individual expression without disturbing business. Publicly held or large companies shouldn’t hold positions on sensitive issues, but employees should have the freedom to engage, with policies that prevent harm or offense. And, by the way, a vigil doesn’t count as harmful.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- lazystar 2y ago> the death of the third space on the West Coast must be well and truly complete 100% gone. I've been wondering lately if companies might benefit from investing in getting the third space back; increase in employee creativity would offset the drop in overtime hours.
- stogot 2y agoWelcome to Corporate Orthodox Church & Bowling Center. We are really glad you’re here. Everyone in accounts receivable is down on Lanes 12-14, and the software engineers are practicing choir right now. Have a seat anywhere you’d like and grab some kool-aid. You’re allowed one drink, but you’ll need to authenticate to the VPN first.
- lazystar 2y agoexactly! my org had one of those bowling trips a few years ago for a holiday party, and it was a lot of fun. just need a way to quantify the benefits to productivity...
- thefz 2y ago> Maybe this is less of a thing on the coasts, but where I live people have families, friends, churches, bars, clubs, and many other outlets that are designed for this kind of personal reflection and mourning. We don't expect our workplace to provide it for us because we don't live at work. We go into work to earn money to provide means for us to live our lives outside of work. To the extent that we want our coworkers to be involved in those spaces, we invite them to be. Yet corporations are eager to show allyship and support to the cause of the moment whenever it provides benefits in term of image and recognition.
- cempaka 2y agoAt my company the CEO sent out a long email after October 7 lamenting how horrible and unjustified it was. Did the same occur at any of these BigTech MIC puppet companies?
- bbqfog 2y agoYes, the MS CEO made several statements: https://www.geekwire.com/2023/microsoft-ceo-heartbroken-by-attacks-on-israel-tech-giant-has-nearly-3k-employees-in-the-country/ https://www.geekwire.com/2023/microsoft-ceo-heartbroken-by-a... Microsoft was also very recently working on this: https://www.timesofisrael.com/microsoft-launches-ai-platform-to-preserve-october-7-testimonies/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/microsoft-launches-ai-platform...
- cempaka 2y agoRight, so, the Silicon Valley workplace is in fact a forum for political perspectives, as long as they're in line with the imperatives of the MIC and the profits to be made from selling to it.