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Suicide of an Uber engineer: Widow blames job stress

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Re: Suicide of an Uber engineer: Widow blames job stress

#121

Post by fstuff »

3131s wrote: post #63
glogla wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There seems to be a trend where anything negative against a major company (most often microsoft, apple and google) is flagged rather quickly. My guess is that they realise how important HN is for public perception by tech people and run PR teams here.

Very possible. If an Uber executive or PR person were particularly unscrupulous (would that surprise anyone at all?), another method would be to say something really insensitive in a thread like this and start a flame war to trigger HN's ranking algorithm. Imagine how easy that would be... a somewhat carefully disguised comment with the sentiment of "depression is just weakness, suck it up!" would rightfully send thi…

I noticed that story about flying cars has been posted like 20 times. Maybe the PR from firm is trying to get this story buried in the noise

Re: Suicide of an Uber engineer: Widow blames job stress

#122

Post by Neliquat »

joeblubaugh wrote: post #2

Please know that if you are feeling hopeless, like you are a failure, and that there is no recovering, there are people who will help you. You are not your job or your accomplishments, you are worth it and there are people who love you and will help you. In the Bay Area, call (415) 781-0500 to talk with someone who can help. http://www.sfsuicide.org/

Or better yet, talk to someone you know.

Re: Suicide of an Uber engineer: Widow blames job stress

#123

Post by kfkhalili »

sundvor wrote: post #76
kfkhalili wrote: post #41

Does anyone think that this culture of extreme competitiveness and "working hard" benefits employers before it reaches the employees?

Surely, the question should be whether anyone thinks whether the reverse is the case: Do anyone actually think employees benefit from working themselves (to death..) before employers?

My point exactly.

Re: Suicide of an Uber engineer: Widow blames job stress

#124

Post by Markoff »

joeblubaugh wrote: post #2

Please know that if you are feeling hopeless, like you are a failure, and that there is no recovering, there are people who will help you. You are not your job or your accomplishments, you are worth it and there are people who love you and will help you. In the Bay Area, call (415) 781-0500 to talk with someone who can help. http://www.sfsuicide.org/

real depression is disease, nobody on any hotline is going talk you out if it

Re: Suicide of an Uber engineer: Widow blames job stress

#125

Post by Neliquat »

glogla wrote: post #9
paradite wrote: post #6

Meta but relevant: 57 points in 35 minutes with no heated debates in comments, but not top story, suggesting high number of flags by users if I remember correctly about HN ranking algorithm. Edit: Apparently this was a repost of the story, initially posted 15 hours ago (and 8 hours ago again): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14194112 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14198372 Edit again: Now this submission h…

There seems to be a trend where anything negative against a major company (most often microsoft, apple and google) is flagged rather quickly. My guess is that they realise how important HN is for public perception by tech people and run PR teams here.

Without a doubt. I have had insightful, but critical comments with a dozen karma suddenly downvoted into oblivion. Really lowered my expextations of having meaningful dialouge on HN.

Re: Suicide of an Uber engineer: Widow blames job stress

#126

Post by Neliquat »

defined wrote: post #82

I'd like to address the many comments that try to be helpful and offer advice, while expressing bemusement that the obvious step of just leaving and getting another job was apparently rejected in favor of suicide. Edward de Bono of Lateral Thinking fame wrote a book named "Po: Beyond Yes and No" [1]. While not the most catchy title, in the book he describes the process of forming patterns in the mind as analogous to…

Can you express any way to 'pour ink' in a literal sense? Or is this all just a fun game likening something breathtakingly complex, to 'ruts form'. It sounds distinctly like well meaning bullshit itself.

Re: Suicide of an Uber engineer: Widow blames job stress

#127

Post by Applejinx »

UweSchmidt wrote: post #27
glogla wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There seems to be a trend where anything negative against a major company (most often microsoft, apple and google) is flagged rather quickly. My guess is that they realise how important HN is for public perception by tech people and run PR teams here.

Given that a systematic effort by a PR company with sufficient "organic" looking users and automation could probably eventually "win" any online discussion / voting mechanism, this should be illegal outright. You may only discuss as a private person, stating your own opinion, OR disclose which company/government organization you represent.

Well, NOW you've done it. Now they're immorally bound to do what you suggest, or basically vanish in a puff of logic ;) you've told Uber something it can't do because it would be cheating and would win!

Re: Suicide of an Uber engineer: Widow blames job stress

#128

Post by dang »

skrebbel wrote: post #87
defined wrote: post #25

This is not unique to Uber. I have worked in toxic environments that depleted and debilitated me to the point that, in two cases, I was psychologically completely incapable of even thinking about finding work for three months after being laid off from one, and quitting the other. It doesn't even take abusive bosses who don't like you, although that just makes it far worse. It simply takes being treated like a robotic…

I keep reading stories like these on HN, yet I don't know a single person who has experienced anything even remotely close to this. I don't live in the Bay Area. Are SV startups, in general, really this badly managed? If I add up all anecdata from reading HN comments about toxic work environments, I get the impression that 50% of the Valley is run like this. I have a hard time comprehending how this can happen.

It's sample bias. People who experienced dramatic things are far more likely to comment about them. The community is large enough that even a relatively tiny sample produces many comments under this effect.

Re: Suicide of an Uber engineer: Widow blames job stress

#129

Post by Neliquat »

TuringNYC wrote: post #95
Illniyar wrote: post #30

I think we are missing some information here: "All suggested that he leave his job, but he was adamant that he could not. " The question is why? what conditions need to occur where a man who most likely can get another job easily enough and who has switched jobs before decides that ending his life his a better course of action then switching jobs. They wrote that he eventually saw a psychiatrist, was he prescribed SS…

I know some people, especially women, in this situation right now. They are under tremendous stress at work, sometimes marginalized or bullied. But they are forced to stick through it due to equity agreements. Leaving means some wont see their equity grants vest. Some may be forced into major tax payments if they leave (due to options.) And some lose it alltogether. The way these things work, sometimes you end up pay…

Sorry, but making a deal you later regret is not the same. You can negotiate a slightly higher salary and no options if you can't deal with the risk.

Re: Suicide of an Uber engineer: Widow blames job stress

#130

Post by paradite »

Neliquat wrote: post #125
glogla wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There seems to be a trend where anything negative against a major company (most often microsoft, apple and google) is flagged rather quickly. My guess is that they realise how important HN is for public perception by tech people and run PR teams here.

Without a doubt. I have had insightful, but critical comments with a dozen karma suddenly downvoted into oblivion. Really lowered my expextations of having meaningful dialouge on HN.

I have experienced that frequently. And I think it is easily explained by normal human behaviors.

People see comments that they don't like -> They send the link to their group of friends -> Their friends who share the same sentiment downvotes you in quick successions.

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