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What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

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Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#221
post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No offence, but if you’ve never worked in the particular cult-like pressure cooker that is Big Tech, then you can’t relate. The article was not about culture shock.

I worked at a Fortune 200 company for a time. It wasn't big tech. It was a very famous insurance company. It also had a cult-like atmosphere and many people there felt it was the biggest thing that had ever happened to them. I'm a former military wife. So I was involved in protecting national security while changing diapers and generally being viewed by the planet as a big fat nothing homemaker. "Loose lips sink ship…

That sounds JUST like USAA...

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#222
post #170
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m a man and don’t have direct experience with this, but a few female friends, my wife, and both of my younger sisters have had unwanted sexual experiences at work. It was a sobering moment when I realized this. I’ve been in the tech industry for over 10 years and I don’t think that anything similar has happened to any of the people I have worked with, but honestly, I have no idea. I’m not sure if I’m oblivious or j…

I know there are a lot of shitty people out there but one should also note that the workplace is one of the places where people tend to meet their partner. There is a lot of flirting going on in general and some of that by nature will be unwanted. As an example early in my career I used to work with a woman that was also pretty new and we had some chemistry. Nothing really came out of it but we did spend some time to…

The worst case scenario for you is you don't get a date. The worst case scenario for them is their work environment is now unsafe because they had to reject you. I encourage you to listen to women's thoughts on this issue, which are almost universally negative toward workplace romance.

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked at a Fortune 200 company for a time. It wasn't big tech. It was a very famous insurance company. It also had a cult-like atmosphere and many people there felt it was the biggest thing that had ever happened to them. I'm a former military wife. So I was involved in protecting national security while changing diapers and generally being viewed by the planet as a big fat nothing homemaker. "Loose lips sink ship…

That sounds JUST like USAA...

I consider this question to be a form of attempted doxxing and inappropriately invasive. It's not actually a secret what company I used to work for. I have named it on HN before. But I am not going to name it here in this comment.

PSA:

This sort of invasively "friendly" comment can go very bad places and often seems to have a gendered component where men who wouldn't dare to do something so rude to another man don't hesitate to do it to a woman. It often is very obviously motivated by an attempt to chat her up in hopes of making a personal/romantic connection.

I have had multiple men ask me where I lived, men who sometimes had a clear and undeniable history of couching the same question quite differently when aimed at a man. They generally tried to be "chatty" and "friendly" with me in a way that assumed I was obligated to answer the question while stating up front that they understood if a man didn't want to answer a question like that on a public forum and was under no obligation to do so.

I'm not putting this here with any expectation that the person I am replying to nor any man here will care. I fully expect to be ROFLstomped for saying it on HN.

I'm putting it here for the women and other minorities who often seem to not realize that they can decline to answer such a question, flag it and even email the mods if they feel especially threatened by something going on. You don't have to "politely" answer extremely impolite questions that may have a clearly predatory intent or, at a minimum, that act with callous disregard for your personal safety by eliciting personal information you chose to not include in your comment and may not want publicized for some reason.

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sales people often fly biz class because their customers are. I don't know if it is the same here, and overseas offices have different rules than Redmond (MS China we never got biz class even though many of us flew way more than N times a year on 12 hour flights).

Friend of mine in auditing had her pre-arrivial days to resolve jetlag cut. Because that's who you want reviewing the books, someone who can barely keep their head up... Penny wise and all that. (My info is several years old, hopefully that policy was changed back!)

> Because that's who you want reviewing the books, someone who can barely keep their head up...

Depending on how carefully I've been keeping those books, quite possibly :)

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a huge difference between a luxury and something that indicates you have achieved a lavish and impressive lifestyle. A cup of coffee at starbucks is a luxury.

Off topic warning. > A cup of coffee are starbucks is a luxury. In Melbourne, Australia a coffee at Starbucks is considered: 1. A sign that you’re a tourist. 2. A sign that you’re a masochist. 3. A cry for help. 4. All of the above. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself :)

:) Calling it a luxury isn't a judgment on whether or not it's any good. It just means its an expensive thing you don't actually need.

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds JUST like USAA...

I consider this question to be a form of attempted doxxing and inappropriately invasive. It's not actually a secret what company I used to work for. I have named it on HN before. But I am not going to name it here in this comment. PSA: This sort of invasively "friendly" comment can go very bad places and often seems to have a gendered component where men who wouldn't dare to do something so rude to another man don't…

It's sad we make it a war zone

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I consider this question to be a form of attempted doxxing and inappropriately invasive. It's not actually a secret what company I used to work for. I have named it on HN before. But I am not going to name it here in this comment. PSA: This sort of invasively "friendly" comment can go very bad places and often seems to have a gendered component where men who wouldn't dare to do something so rude to another man don't…

It's sad we make it a war zone

It's sadder still that attempts to promote the peace by commenting on best practices are typically received with open hostility.

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds JUST like USAA...

I consider this question to be a form of attempted doxxing and inappropriately invasive. It's not actually a secret what company I used to work for. I have named it on HN before. But I am not going to name it here in this comment. PSA: This sort of invasively "friendly" comment can go very bad places and often seems to have a gendered component where men who wouldn't dare to do something so rude to another man don't…

Get over yourself. The commenter said it sounds like USAA, likely because he/she worked there or knows about the culture and felt you hit the description on the head.

Nobody cares about doxxing you and nobody cares that you are a woman. It’s a fucking comment about an insurance company.

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do keep in mind that probably hundreds or thousands of people have read your comment here without reacting; these few negative replies are an extreme minority of the total population your words have reached.

Thank you for your concern. But I'm fine. Choosing to engage with a specific comment is not necessarily evidence that I'm all up in arms about it. It is an unfortunate truism that there is generally more to say when people have a difference of opinion than when they see things the same way. It is unfortunate because it tends to promote an appearance of fightiness rather than conversation in online forums, even when t…

>I would be respectably high on the leader board.

A weird thing for someone to say who claims not to care about karma.

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's sad we make it a war zone

It's sadder still that attempts to promote the peace by commenting on best practices are typically received with open hostility.

I really hear you, it's hard because in my mind the solutuon would be something along the lines of going back in time a couple thousand years and starting then, it's a delicate thing to care about on both sides and it shouldn't be. We preach equality but the games don't stop- I don't really have the perfect answer here
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