5 ms·

Jesus, this sounds like my nightmare. Just lead me to my cube and let me get to work.

edgo 14y ago
That's why it is very important to touch the company culture topic during the interview and find out if it's a good match.
scottshea 14y ago
I have to admit I was a bit scared when I read this too. My introvertness makes me want to run from stuff like this. However I do have to say that there should be some effort to greet the new person. I had one job where I was sat in a cube and no one around me me said hello. I had to reach out and they were so dispirited I got a lukewarm response. It was a chilling effect for a first day. Oh and I could not do anything with my machine since it was not set up.
kijin 14y ago
Exactly. There are some types of people who like it when you dig into their Facebook profile to find out who their favorite band is. But there are just as many people who will find it creepy that you stalked them online, or who will get outright angry because they expect separation between their job and their hobby. My hunch is that more of the first type become managers and more of the second type become makers, although I don't have any data to back it up. Likewise, there are some types of people who obsess over doing memorable (but otherwise not particularly valuable) things for the sake of memorability, whereas for others, the first day is just another fucking day and nothing would be more memorable than actually writing a beautiful piece of code and seeing it in production. I'm guessing that the first type of people are responsible for most of those corporate picnics that result in severely interrupted coding sessions. If you're the first type and you like to work with the same type of people and you want to make it a company tradition, by all means do so. It's your company after all. But please don't make it a surprise. Be very upfront about your "traditions" when you interview candidates, so that the other half of the human population will know well to stay away from your company. Disclaimer: Of course I'm exaggerating. Still, work != party.
pbiggar 14y ago
This isn't about embarrassing you. This is about showing that they care about you. Clearly, in your case they would prepare something to suit you - perhaps a gourmet basket sent to your house or similar, in a way that wouldn't embarrass you.
- kijin 14y ago
  @elliptic's complaint is not about embarrassment, it's about respecting people's conceptions of appropriateness. For example, if he likes to keep work strictly separate from the rest of his life, having anything delivered to his home that isn't strictly necessary would be a violation of his principles and therefore a gesture of disrespect. For another example, people with Asperger's can look embarrassed when you violate their rules. But the symptoms that neurotypicals tend to interpret as embarrassment can just as well be a sign of deep indignation. Actually caring for a person means respecting their opinions and preferences, up to and including a preference for an utterly unmemorable day at work, or a preference that their boss does not exploit unfair advantages.
  - pbiggar 14y ago
    I think we're actually agreed on the issue. In the original article, it said they looked through someone's (obviously public or shared) facebook for something they would like. Clearly, they would also (well, ideally) sense the right level of respectfulness for people who value unmemorable days.

edgo 14y ago

That's why it is very important to touch the company culture topic during the interview and find out if it's a good match.

scottshea 14y ago

I have to admit I was a bit scared when I read this too. My introvertness makes me want to run from stuff like this. However I do have to say that there should be some effort to greet the new person. I had one job where I was sat in a cube and no one around me me said hello. I had to reach out and they were so dispirited I got a lukewarm response. It was a chilling effect for a first day. Oh and I could not do anything with my machine since it was not set up.

kijin 14y ago

Exactly. There are some types of people who like it when you dig into their Facebook profile to find out who their favorite band is. But there are just as many people who will find it creepy that you stalked them online, or who will get outright angry because they expect separation between their job and their hobby. My hunch is that more of the first type become managers and more of the second type become makers, although I don't have any data to back it up. Likewise, there are some types of people who obsess over doing memorable (but otherwise not particularly valuable) things for the sake of memorability, whereas for others, the first day is just another fucking day and nothing would be more memorable than actually writing a beautiful piece of code and seeing it in production. I'm guessing that the first type of people are responsible for most of those corporate picnics that result in severely interrupted coding sessions. If you're the first type and you like to work with the same type of people and you want to make it a company tradition, by all means do so. It's your company after all. But please don't make it a surprise. Be very upfront about your "traditions" when you interview candidates, so that the other half of the human population will know well to stay away from your company. Disclaimer: Of course I'm exaggerating. Still, work != party.

pbiggar 14y ago

This isn't about embarrassing you. This is about showing that they care about you. Clearly, in your case they would prepare something to suit you - perhaps a gourmet basket sent to your house or similar, in a way that wouldn't embarrass you.

kijin 14y ago
@elliptic's complaint is not about embarrassment, it's about respecting people's conceptions of appropriateness. For example, if he likes to keep work strictly separate from the rest of his life, having anything delivered to his home that isn't strictly necessary would be a violation of his principles and therefore a gesture of disrespect. For another example, people with Asperger's can look embarrassed when you violate their rules. But the symptoms that neurotypicals tend to interpret as embarrassment can just as well be a sign of deep indignation. Actually caring for a person means respecting their opinions and preferences, up to and including a preference for an utterly unmemorable day at work, or a preference that their boss does not exploit unfair advantages.
- pbiggar 14y ago
  I think we're actually agreed on the issue. In the original article, it said they looked through someone's (obviously public or shared) facebook for something they would like. Clearly, they would also (well, ideally) sense the right level of respectfulness for people who value unmemorable days.