Getting free of toxic tech culture
blog.valerieaurora.org
Getting free of toxic tech culture
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Re: Getting free of toxic tech culture
#2Quote:
"Staying silent about the unfairness that causes 37% of underrepresented people of color to leave tech helps no one."
As a white male... in the new narrative apparently I am colorless.
Re: Getting free of toxic tech culture
#3> The refrain of how a startup CEO is going to save humanity is so common that it’s actually uncommon for a CEO to not use saviour language when describing their startup. Cult leaders do the same thing: they create a unique philosophy, imbued with some sort of special message that they alone can see or hear, convince people that only they have the answers for what ails humanity, and use that influence to control the people around them.
I agree. I've been working in Silicon Valley for a few years now, and it honestly feels like a page out of Animal Farm. The Orwellian mismatch between rhetoric and action feels like cult-like propaganda to me.
I don't know how veterans of the Valley can keep this up.
Re: Getting free of toxic tech culture
#4Ok, shall we see if we can have an interesting conversation here? I've temporarily turned off flags on the submission, but if the thread goes flameward we will send it down the flamewar chute.
All: if you comment in this thread, make sure your comment is thoughtful and edit out any flamey or trollish bits before hitting the button. The same goes for any thread, of course: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html.
Re: Getting free of toxic tech culture
#5> The refrain of how a startup CEO is going to save humanity is so common that it’s actually uncommon for a CEO to not use saviour language when describing their startup. Cult leaders do the same thing: they create a unique philosophy, imbued with some sort of special message that they alone can see or hear, convince people that only they have the answers for what ails humanity, and use that influence to control the…
I wonder if any managers can answer this, how do, or do you deal with employees that act within their rights and don't drink the cool-aid? There have been so many times where I have worked beyond the call of duty and on reflection I don't know why I did it - there is a low chance of getting a bonus or raise compared to spending the time actually getting paid to do something and you are in your right to say no (to some extent anyway, I remember a colleague got in trouble for going out for not cancelling his dinner plans instead of waiting hours for someone to come out of a 8 PM meeting.)
Re: Getting free of toxic tech culture
#6The moderation mechanisms are the very tools that enforce this cult-like mentality.
And threat of suppression, of course.
Re: Getting free of toxic tech culture
#7> The refrain of how a startup CEO is going to save humanity is so common that it’s actually uncommon for a CEO to not use saviour language when describing their startup. Cult leaders do the same thing: they create a unique philosophy, imbued with some sort of special message that they alone can see or hear, convince people that only they have the answers for what ails humanity, and use that influence to control the…
From what I’ve observed, the idea is to work in hell (edit: obviously hyperbole) until enough money is made to work on your own. Needless to say that doesn’t seem to be the majority experience. The carrot is money and security and the dream of fuck you money. The stick is being a code monkey who is still treated like shit, but who can’t even dream of early retirement and personal projects. It’s a shallow philosophy, but there it is.
The willingness to take tons of shit from above, and the ability to rationalize the waste of talent seems to be what you’d expect from a glorified casino for billionaires. Variable-Ratio reward training will fuck you up.
Edit: I would guess that fear plays a role too. I recall a poster here saying they wished they could change their circumstances, but they look at the guy delivering their pizza and feel terrified that could be them.
Edit: Or a mod can just minimize this, but sadly it changes nothing, least of the the reality of your situation.
Re: Getting free of toxic tech culture
#8I've written software for Intel, Nintendo, Samsung, LG, DirecTV, Applied Materials, Microsoft, and Apple to name a few. My last project was the basis for an entire business line at a 500m/yr company.
I am unemployable because I'm a white male whose in his 40s, has a family, and because somehow, in this industry experience is a bad thing.
It amazes me how intolerant of age and differing opinion tech culture is.
Re: Getting free of toxic tech culture
#9As usual, the actual numbers don't back up the narrative. For example, significantly more men in the study left due to unfairness than women do: 40% vs. 31%. So either women are treated more fairly or these numbers don't mean anything, yet you would never know it from the text, which is all about the horrible things that happen to women.
Hmmm...
Re: Getting free of toxic tech culture
#10> We reject the idea that it is the “responsibility” of marginalized people to stay in toxic tech culture despite abuse and discrimination, solely to improve the diversity of tech.
It is the “responsibility” of marginalized people to stay in toxic tech culture despite abuse and discrimination because they want tech jobs. Some forms of abuse and discrimination are normal aspects of life for everyone. Other forms are completely in peoples heads. And yes, there are some forms, in rare cases, which are legitimate unacceptable abuse/discrimination. These cases are rare based on all the evidence I've seen.