4 ms·

"retaliation is illegal" I'm not sure what world you think we inhabit. Are we humanoid automatons? The whole welter of human emotion more or less always outwei

by malchow 11y ago

"retaliation is illegal" I'm not sure what world you think we inhabit. Are we humanoid automatons? The whole welter of human emotion more or less always outweighs a programmatic injunction like "retaliation is illegal." Companies are still people working together. They'll probably never be anything but people working together. It does not matter how protected the activity allegedly is; a giant embarrassment campaign run against your company, especially if in pursuit of a particularly feeble branch on the tree of political correctness, means you're out. Or, at least, things won't be pleasant for you. Because your coworkers, above and below, don't like what you've done to their company. One can't write a law preventing that.

sanxiyn 11y ago
It seems rather clear from the article that many coworkers liked sharing salaries, so I am unsure where your "Because your coworkers, above and below, don't like what you've done to their company" came from.
- marrs 11y ago
  I think it said 5% shared the spreadsheet. We know nothing of the other 95%
mister_m 11y ago
The culture has to change from within. There is no reason why that information can't be shared among employees. As the user above you said, retaliatory action to that activity is in fact illegal. Just because the culture of where she works says it is not does not mean she is at all in the wrong for doing it, or that the retaliatory bullshit that was experienced was warranted - even if it was 'expected' as you say. I for one side with the person who threw together the spreadsheet, not with Google who is trying to sneak by with not paying everyone equally. Your assertion that the poster above you lives in a fantasy world for thinking that sharing salary information is a protected activity is frankly a nauseating attitude. One that I hope we all in tech can fix.
balabaster 11y ago
Oh, one can write a law preventing that, but what happens when you write laws to curb human emotion? Very little. Human nature takes generations to alter their behaviour - even with laws making that behaviour illegal. It sucks that we can't be less judgmental, more accepting and more adaptable to the wants of others, but that's the way we are: Flawed. Until we can be more tolerant and accepting of one anothers needs and less bound by our own egos, we will be doomed to repeat this behaviour until we destroy ourselves.
- pjc50 11y ago
  what happens when you write laws to curb human emotion We call this "civilisation".
  - balabaster 11y ago
    Now if only we were as civilized as we'd like to be. It takes many years for these values to become the norm. We make great steps every year and will continue to do so.
- dragonwriter 11y ago
  The law is not intended to curb emotion, it is intended to curb behavior. Living in a community with other people often requires not impulsively indulging every emotional urge.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
pessimizer 11y ago
>I'm not sure what world you think we inhabit. Are we humanoid automatons? The whole welter of human emotion more or less always outweighs a programmatic injunction like "retaliation is illegal." The only reason this argument makes sense to you is that you relate to retaliating against employees who exercise their rights in opposition to the employers goals. There isn't a crime that this argument couldn't be cited as a defence of, from double-parking to serial killing.

by malchow 11y ago

sanxiyn 11y ago

It seems rather clear from the article that many coworkers liked sharing salaries, so I am unsure where your "Because your coworkers, above and below, don't like what you've done to their company" came from.

marrs 11y ago
I think it said 5% shared the spreadsheet. We know nothing of the other 95%

mister_m 11y ago

The culture has to change from within. There is no reason why that information can't be shared among employees. As the user above you said, retaliatory action to that activity is in fact illegal. Just because the culture of where she works says it is not does not mean she is at all in the wrong for doing it, or that the retaliatory bullshit that was experienced was warranted - even if it was 'expected' as you say. I for one side with the person who threw together the spreadsheet, not with Google who is trying to sneak by with not paying everyone equally. Your assertion that the poster above you lives in a fantasy world for thinking that sharing salary information is a protected activity is frankly a nauseating attitude. One that I hope we all in tech can fix.

balabaster 11y ago

Oh, one can write a law preventing that, but what happens when you write laws to curb human emotion? Very little. Human nature takes generations to alter their behaviour - even with laws making that behaviour illegal. It sucks that we can't be less judgmental, more accepting and more adaptable to the wants of others, but that's the way we are: Flawed. Until we can be more tolerant and accepting of one anothers needs and less bound by our own egos, we will be doomed to repeat this behaviour until we destroy ourselves.

pjc50 11y ago
what happens when you write laws to curb human emotion We call this "civilisation".
- balabaster 11y ago
  Now if only we were as civilized as we'd like to be. It takes many years for these values to become the norm. We make great steps every year and will continue to do so.
dragonwriter 11y ago
The law is not intended to curb emotion, it is intended to curb behavior. Living in a community with other people often requires not impulsively indulging every emotional urge.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

pessimizer 11y ago

>I'm not sure what world you think we inhabit. Are we humanoid automatons? The whole welter of human emotion more or less always outweighs a programmatic injunction like "retaliation is illegal." The only reason this argument makes sense to you is that you relate to retaliating against employees who exercise their rights in opposition to the employers goals. There isn't a crime that this argument couldn't be cited as a defence of, from double-parking to serial killing.