Earlier quoted context omitted.
Three out of those four don't seem particularly bad.
...curiously, which three aren't particularly bad?
Depends on your culture.
“Culture fit” is a two way street (2018)
121–130 of 133 posts
Re: “Culture fit” is a two way street (2018)
#122The thing is, homogenous teams perform better than diverse ones, contrary to the common agenda these days. But you can't say I want everybody in my team to be more or less same as me, same culture, same behavioural codes, same common sense and all those things that makes a team perform smoothly like a well oiled machine. So instead they invent all kind of terms and roundabout ways to get to the same results while pre…
> homogenous teams perform better than diverse ones
What evidence do you have for this, and how do you define "homogeneous"? (Homogeneous in terms of what attributes?)
Maybe you've just been on teams where the people aren't very good at getting along with people who are different from themselves. For example, if adding a well-qualified woman to a team of men causes the team to lose productivity, that's probably a sign of immaturity in the team, not a problem with the new member.
Re: “Culture fit” is a two way street (2018)
#123> If really good people who are able to literally work anywhere are still at your company even though they don't have to be, it's probably doing pretty well. If those same people then turn around and leave the company, you should worry. They are the canaries in the coal mine, and fail first. It takes much longer for it to filter down to the folks who don't have the privilege of having so much flexibility and so many options.
Reminds me of this advice as well; https://steveblank.com/2009/12/21/the-elves-leave-middle-ear...
Re: “Culture fit” is a two way street (2018)
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
So a large percent of people have a crappy job and work with crappy people and have crappy bosses. The last century of management still hasn't solved that issue, so it's likely going to be an issue for the next century. I ask myself these questions: 1. Do I have a life outside of work? "Yes" is a good thing. But "No" is not a deal breaker. 2. Is my identity of myself too entwined in the corporation? If "yes" it's tim…
Good list. > How long does it take me to reset from "anger" and "frustration" to calm and productive? If I can't leave in the evening and forget about work then something's wrong. I think it's worth noting that this one really has nothing at all to do with the job. Not to trivialize it at all; it's hard work to change your mind, but it's entirely within your court to learn how to recognize and work with your mental s…
Sure, those are valuable, and useful -- but they shouldn't be necessary as part of dealing with your job.
Re: “Culture fit” is a two way street (2018)
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
Salary as a variable has changed over time; Initially of course there was a minimum to meet my goals. My target was to be able to live somewhere, cover my cost of living, pay down my debts, and save 10% of my salary in long term savings. Then as expenses started moving from being "in the future" to being "in the past" I was able to be more flexible on salary. It helps that I have never equated what I was paid with ho…
I usually ask the questions differently: "Is it worth being paid $X to work here?" "What is the likelihood I'll be paid $X elsewhere" And if they're paying a lot of money, I can tolerate the crappy working conditions -- I first heard of this a couple decades ago as "crying all the way to the bank." A CEO that comes in to fix a company has a similar question. "It's going to be a nightmare to turn this company around,…
I went to exactly one company because of the pay. For me it was a horrible choice, when my only motivation for working somewhere is the paycheck, I don't do my best work. Since that experience I've turned down big offers from companies where I knew from talking to them that they would not score well on my evaluation.
In the long term its better for me and for them that we don't have to go through the dance of 'why aren't you giving us more?' and the ultimate resolution will always be us parting ways.
Re: “Culture fit” is a two way street (2018)
#126The thing is, homogenous teams perform better than diverse ones, contrary to the common agenda these days. But you can't say I want everybody in my team to be more or less same as me, same culture, same behavioural codes, same common sense and all those things that makes a team perform smoothly like a well oiled machine. So instead they invent all kind of terms and roundabout ways to get to the same results while pre…
> homogenous teams perform better than diverse ones What evidence do you have for this, and how do you define "homogeneous"? (Homogeneous in terms of what attributes?) Maybe you've just been on teams where the people aren't very good at getting along with people who are different from themselves. For example, if adding a well-qualified woman to a team of men causes the team to lose productivity, that's probably a sig…
What evidence you got to the contrary? I can't give evidence because it is not possible to prove or disprove, hence the problem with all this diversity propaganda, it is a religion, not a some scientific conclusion.
But I can give examples of very homogenous societies or industries that succeeded beyond expectations. The funny thing is that unconsciously your example just prove my point. The tech industry is a phenomenal success and you know too well that it was mainly white (and some Asians) males who created and developed it. It is not without reason you bring this example of woman in a team. Japan or Korea is an example to a racially and culturally homogenous countries which succeeded.
If you look at almost any new idea in industry, science or arts, it was always a group of like minded people, not very diverse racially or sexually or culturally that pushed it forward. From blues music to hip hop (black man), from the personal computer to social media (white man) from anime to gaming (Asian man) etc. Homogenous groups is great.
Re: “Culture fit” is a two way street (2018)
#127Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's the problem with dancing with Molly?
"Molly" is another name for ecstasy/MDMA.
I mean, there are people named Molly. I definitely have a lack of cultural fit with people that freak out at coincidences, because I see so many every day. Accidental double entendres are a thing that happens.
Re: “Culture fit” is a two way street (2018)
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
That is absolutely true, and in the original article there was a mention of folks trapped by US visa rules (leave your job, go back to your origin country). To address your question though, if I were mentoring Alice I would ask which is more important to her, money or happiness? I learned long ago that it is useless to argue which is more important but it instructive to know in a person which one is key. If she think…
I appreciate your practicality and empathy. I know I'd want to be mentored by you. At least in her situation (Seattle) the pay difference might be drastic enough that it would be a deal breaker. There's also the issue of lifestyle creep, where you now have a mortgage you can only afford with the stressful/unhappy position you have.
Lifestyle creep is the real danger.
Re: “Culture fit” is a two way street (2018)
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've had that (the gaslighting) happen to me so many times. "You didn't do this assignment" "Er, yes I did, here it is" "Well, you didn't keep me up-to-date on it" "Er, here are my weekly status report e-mails" "But you know I don't read my e-mails" Huh? Another good one was the following: I had assigned one of my reports a task before going on vacation. During said vacation, my "manager" pulls said report from that…
"I don't read my e-mails" sounds like a grievance case "Manager X is NCI because …"
What's NCI?
Re: “Culture fit” is a two way street (2018)
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've had that (the gaslighting) happen to me so many times. "You didn't do this assignment" "Er, yes I did, here it is" "Well, you didn't keep me up-to-date on it" "Er, here are my weekly status report e-mails" "But you know I don't read my e-mails" Huh? Another good one was the following: I had assigned one of my reports a task before going on vacation. During said vacation, my "manager" pulls said report from that…
I'm intrigued: What part of German labour laws make it illegal to not tell you why your employer does not give you a voluntary payment (e.g.: A bonus)?
As the other commenter wrote: bonuses are variable compensation that is part of the negotiated contract/wage, so not at all 100% voluntary.
So the employer can refuse to pay the bonus, but they have to give a valid reason. There are two levels to this: first, basic employment law, which places very hard limits on what you can do. Second, many companies (like this one) have agreements between the works council and the company, agreements that regulate these and other matters and become part of the employment contract, and are therefore also legally binding and enforceable.
In all cases, the employer has to have valid, provable performance-related reasons, these have to be communicated to the employee in a timely fashion and the employee given a chance to improve their performance.
In my case, management was so clueless that they knew none of this, they thought that bonuses were gifts they can shower on people they favour on a whim, just like a king to his subjects.
It was a bit of a rude awakening. :-)
They then tried to create a "case" retroactively, but apart from the fact that there was no case, it also wouldn't have mattered at that time.