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This is timely in light of the "Dear Future Homejoy Engineer" job posting[1] that is currently on the front page. It starts off with "so it's xmas eve and i'm i

This is timely in light of the "Dear Future Homejoy Engineer" job posting[1] that is currently on the front page. It starts off with "so it's xmas eve and i'm in the office with several other folks who didn’t have plans for xmas either. everyone is cranking away. we’ve decided to watch the interview later and then get dinner and drinks together" and gets more depressing from there. This article speaks about "four core needs" of employees ("physical, emotional, mental and spiritual") but the author doesn't seem willing to consider the possibility that employers aren't capable of meeting these deep personal needs in the first place. Personally, I think the imbalance, chaos and unsustainable pace you see in even the supposedly "best" workplaces is more often than not just a reflection of the fact that large numbers of individuals don't set boundaries, prioritize or make a dedicated effort to invest in their own health and well-being. These people are not going to go to the Googleplex or a hot startup's swagged-out SOMA digs and suddenly find enlightenment. Unhappy, unbalanced people are going to be unhappy and unbalanced wherever they go and in many cases, they'll seek out environments that are unhappy and unbalanced. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8794956 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8794956

righttoremember 12y ago
Given that some people are "unbalanced, unhappy" people, isn't it actually a good thing, rather than "depressing" as you say, that they can find companionship in their workplaces. Is it really better for people with nothing to do at Xmas eve to go home and be alone anyway? Is it the employers responsibility to ensure that the company culture makes zero allowances for these people?
- smacktoward 12y ago
  It's not the job of employees to provide companionship for their employers. You're hiring workers, not friends. If employees want to get together on their own time and spend the holiday together, that's cool. But it gets less cool the more you mix in expecting them to do work for you and/or fill in gaps in your social life.
  - wellactually 12y ago
    "Everyone deserves a happy home... at work."
smacktoward 12y ago
Dear God, that Homejoy job posting is terrible. Just completely tone deaf. > right now i’m taking a quick break and after a quick lap around the office, i notice actually many more people here. i wonder — how am i so fortunate to be the ceo of a startup where people are so driven? I dunno, maybe the people noticed that the CEO is at work on Christmas Eve and fear that if they aren't there too they'll be pigeonholed as slackers? Leaders lead by example. If you, the CEO, are sitting in the office on Christmas Eve, you won't have to tell people they're expected to come in. They'll observe your behavior and come to that conclusion for themselves.
- bbarn 12y ago
  Not to be a huge ass, but the lack of using capital letters, while proving the shift key does in fact function (@, % both featured in posting) only further solidifies the idea I had in my head that this is a crazy person posting. Not a fun, quirky, startup CEO kind of crazy, but more the delusional, oblivious type of crazy.
  - Pyxl101 12y ago
    I feel exactly the same way. I can't stand it. It's not as if it takes noticeably more effort to press shift. Furthermore, typing like that will actually take extra effort on mobile devices which automatically capitalize after periods. It's displeasing typography that does not parse well. It is like a constant distraction in every sentence that deflects my attention away from the author's message.
  - bravo22 12y ago
    maybe he is channeling e.e. cummings :)
    - wonnage 12y ago
      (she, but thanks for playing)
      - bravo22 12y ago
danso 12y ago
I'm glad I wasn't the only person to think this...it was one of the most depressing job ads I've ever read. Even if the truth really was that Homejoy was so great that employees are willing to work on Christmas there...very, very few people on the outside are going to believe you. And the ones who do give you the benefit of the doubt, they may feel more pity than admiration about your work ethic. Note/edit: it is possible that none of the employees working at Homejoy tonight celebrate Christmas...but then, that wouldn't be much of a sacrifice then, nor something to really remark for this job ad, any more than if it were just a typical Wednesday/Thursday of a work week.
ryanmarsh 12y ago
I'm imagining a nifty little startup office at night, open plan, with 15 or so people. It looks like any other late night push to hit a goal except it's Christmas eve and barring any cultural reasons these poor souls have nothing better to do than ... go into the office? I want very much for them to to discover family and love and presence and how much more it matters than "work". No matter how much you love work it can't love you back. The lottery ticket can wait just one night. This reminds me of The Family Man http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0218967/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0218967/
turdlesby 12y ago
What consistently cracks me up about these stupid job postings from these startups is how so full of bullshit the language is. Like they're all on the verge of discovering the Ark of the Covenant. "We're here to make a difference that will change the way the world looks at...washing your dog. Yes the Dogwashy app will completely reinvent shampooing and grooming as we know it. Don't you want to spend your X-Mas break working here so you can tell your grandchildren that you were part of the revolution?"
gumballhead 12y ago
What's makes that better is that Homejoy is rated 2.7 on glass door. To be fair though, I don't have an account on there so I couldn't read past the first page of reviews and most of the negatives were contractors.

righttoremember 12y ago

Given that some people are "unbalanced, unhappy" people, isn't it actually a good thing, rather than "depressing" as you say, that they can find companionship in their workplaces. Is it really better for people with nothing to do at Xmas eve to go home and be alone anyway? Is it the employers responsibility to ensure that the company culture makes zero allowances for these people?

smacktoward 12y ago
It's not the job of employees to provide companionship for their employers. You're hiring workers, not friends. If employees want to get together on their own time and spend the holiday together, that's cool. But it gets less cool the more you mix in expecting them to do work for you and/or fill in gaps in your social life.
- wellactually 12y ago
  "Everyone deserves a happy home... at work."

smacktoward 12y ago

Dear God, that Homejoy job posting is terrible. Just completely tone deaf. > right now i’m taking a quick break and after a quick lap around the office, i notice actually many more people here. i wonder — how am i so fortunate to be the ceo of a startup where people are so driven? I dunno, maybe the people noticed that the CEO is at work on Christmas Eve and fear that if they aren't there too they'll be pigeonholed as slackers? Leaders lead by example. If you, the CEO, are sitting in the office on Christmas Eve, you won't have to tell people they're expected to come in. They'll observe your behavior and come to that conclusion for themselves.

bbarn 12y ago
Not to be a huge ass, but the lack of using capital letters, while proving the shift key does in fact function (@, % both featured in posting) only further solidifies the idea I had in my head that this is a crazy person posting. Not a fun, quirky, startup CEO kind of crazy, but more the delusional, oblivious type of crazy.
- Pyxl101 12y ago
  I feel exactly the same way. I can't stand it. It's not as if it takes noticeably more effort to press shift. Furthermore, typing like that will actually take extra effort on mobile devices which automatically capitalize after periods. It's displeasing typography that does not parse well. It is like a constant distraction in every sentence that deflects my attention away from the author's message.
- bravo22 12y ago
  maybe he is channeling e.e. cummings :)
  - wonnage 12y ago
    (she, but thanks for playing)
    - bravo22 12y ago

danso 12y ago

I'm glad I wasn't the only person to think this...it was one of the most depressing job ads I've ever read. Even if the truth really was that Homejoy was so great that employees are willing to work on Christmas there...very, very few people on the outside are going to believe you. And the ones who do give you the benefit of the doubt, they may feel more pity than admiration about your work ethic. Note/edit: it is possible that none of the employees working at Homejoy tonight celebrate Christmas...but then, that wouldn't be much of a sacrifice then, nor something to really remark for this job ad, any more than if it were just a typical Wednesday/Thursday of a work week.

ryanmarsh 12y ago

I'm imagining a nifty little startup office at night, open plan, with 15 or so people. It looks like any other late night push to hit a goal except it's Christmas eve and barring any cultural reasons these poor souls have nothing better to do than ... go into the office? I want very much for them to to discover family and love and presence and how much more it matters than "work". No matter how much you love work it can't love you back. The lottery ticket can wait just one night. This reminds me of The Family Man http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0218967/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0218967/

turdlesby 12y ago

What consistently cracks me up about these stupid job postings from these startups is how so full of bullshit the language is. Like they're all on the verge of discovering the Ark of the Covenant. "We're here to make a difference that will change the way the world looks at...washing your dog. Yes the Dogwashy app will completely reinvent shampooing and grooming as we know it. Don't you want to spend your X-Mas break working here so you can tell your grandchildren that you were part of the revolution?"

gumballhead 12y ago

What's makes that better is that Homejoy is rated 2.7 on glass door. To be fair though, I don't have an account on there so I couldn't read past the first page of reviews and most of the negatives were contractors.