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We like to call it the lottery factor. Would the project keep going if someone won the lottery and took off to an off-grid tropical island. Less morbid that w
by jedberg 2y ago
We like to call it the lottery factor. Would the project keep going if someone won the lottery and took off to an off-grid tropical island.
Less morbid that way.
- ainiriand 2y agoI'd argue that it is easier being hit by a bus so you have to factor that.
- jedberg 2y agoTrue, it's about 1000 times more likely to get hit by a bus, but only 5% of those are fatal. So it's not that far off. And still less morbid. :)
- sam_bristow 2y agoI tend to phrase it as hit by a bus OR jump on a bus to another company.
- EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 2y agoDon't know anyone who won a lottery big, or got hit by a bus, but know several people who quit cause of crypto riches.
- erik_seaberg 2y agoA good employee will want to hand off his projects and take questions, but you need to be ready if he can't.
- rightbyte 2y agoYe using sudden death as an eupheism for changing employer leaves a bad taste. It is like when people complain about people using sports metaphors. I say that at least it is not military metaphores. Also, there is usually no handover anyways. So the suddeness factor is not that important.
- swiftcoder 2y ago> Ye using sudden death as an eupheism for changing employer leaves a bad taste. Well, see, we can't just straight-up tell employees that we're not going to give them promotions or raises, so they'll have to jump ship in a year... That'd be a disaster for morale!
- wccrawford 2y agoPeople who win the lottery give their 2 weeks notice, and you can call them on the phone afterwards if you really have to. People hit by a bus disappear immediately. It's just not the same thing.
- swiftcoder 2y agoOnce the big tech employers started having security march employees out of the office the moment they handed in their notice, a lot of folks stopped giving them two weeks notice. Also, it's not guaranteed that your management will actually tell you if they did - one employer asked me not to tell my team I was leaving until the last day for morale...
- bravetraveler 2y agoBeing marched out isn't universal. A household company [left out of FAANG, but still huge] let me actually do a hand off during that time
- Lio 2y agoIt's just gallows humour. To me "lottery factor" seems overly po faced and pious. I prefer bus factor because... memento mori.