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I think this underestimates the degree to which the people on these companies legitimately believe what they’re saying. I’ve worked at one of these companies an
by ninth_ant 2y ago
I think this underestimates the degree to which the people on these companies legitimately believe what they’re saying. I’ve worked at one of these companies and absolutely would fall into your category of being a true believer at the time.
People of all stripes are extremely willing to embrace ideas that justify their own personal benefit. A rich person might be more likely to believe in trickle-down economics because ultimately it enriches them — but that doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily a false belief. An American might sincerely believe that gun proliferation is safe, because the information they process is filtered by their biases as it’s important to their cultural identity.
So when your stock options will pay out big from the company’s success, or even just if your paycheque depends on it — you’re more likely to process information and ideas though the lens of your bias. It’s not just being a gullible true believer tricked by the company’s elite — you’re also just willing to interpret it the same way in no small part because it benefits you.
- soulofmischief 2y agoAnd a non-American may think the right to bear arms is antiquated and that a trained, armed populace isn't instrumental to a functioning democracy. What's your point? How have you established that this is the biased viewpoint and not your own?
- dgfitz 2y ago[flagged]
- ska 2y ago> It’s not just being a gullible true believer ... “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!” - Upton Sinclair (1930's ?)
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- TrainedMonkey 2y agoModern hiring process, esp culture fit, is designed to ensure that fraction of true believers inside the company is meaningfully higher compared to the outside.
- remus 2y agoI think it is simpler than that: people generally tend to work for companies who's products they think are interesting and useful. It's much easier to go into work each day when you think you're spending your time doing something useful.
- sroussey 2y agoThat’s also a good reason to underpay, historically.
- dzikimarian 2y agoMaybe I'm naive, but I'll gladly take small compensation hit in exchange for not hating my job.
- sroussey 2y agoOr a large hit or even work for free for a prestigious job. Magazines and talent agencies were like this.
- timeon 2y agoThere is huge gradient between not hating the job and believing in fake mission.
- wongarsu 2y agoIn a way, liking the job is part of the compensation package. That's why places like game development and SpaceX can pay little for bad working conditions and still have enough applicants. It's only really an issue if you get tricked by a facade or indoctrinated into a cult. For companies that are honest the dynamic is perfectly fine
- Forgeties79 2y agoThere’s also the added layer that if you admit the place you’re working at is doing something wrong/immoral, not only do you suddenly feel a conscience-driven pressure to do something about it (leave even) but also it opens the door that maybe you had been contributing to something “evil” this whole time and either didn’t catch it or ignored it. Nobody wants to believe they were doing something wrong basically every day.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]