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Google Employee Alleges Discrimination Against Pregnant Women in Viral Memo

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Re: Google Employee Alleges Discrimination Against Pregnant Women in Viral Memo

#161

Post by heymijo »

Bayart wrote: post #86
ben7799 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This current story does not sound like anything weird is going on but some of the stories it sounds like some employees spend a majority of their time setting up protests internally. It is hard to understand how someone can spend significant time in the office fomenting internal protests (even if they are for a good cause) and actually be getting their job done.

I'm guessing it's from people spending too much time at the company and having poor work/private life separation.

Free food, laundry, gym, haircuts, recreation, a swim-in place swimming pool with a lifeguard...it's almost like Google sets it up to blur those work/private life lines.

Re: Google Employee Alleges Discrimination Against Pregnant Women in Viral Memo

#162

Post by paulddraper »

Pfhreak wrote: post #159
paulddraper wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is a glib answer from a position of security. I'd love to know how you figured that one out. > “Politics” is absolutely a core part of the workplace where it starts to affect your rights I am only slightly exaggerating when I say that all politics affects your rights. Again, like religion, super important. But for a variety of reasons, the workplace makes a poor forum.

What do you suggest people do when workplace must intersect with politics. For example, you need access to a gender neutral restroom or shower facility? Should you not advocate for that internally? Let's say you are an ally for someone who needs an affordance like a gender neutral facility, should you not speak up on their behalf?

Company washrooms are not really politics.

Put that in the idea box all you want.

Re: Google Employee Alleges Discrimination Against Pregnant Women in Viral Memo

#163

Post by lazyasciiart »

paulddraper wrote: post #147
jacobsenscott wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no such thing as a "neutral" place. What's happening is you tend to align with the predominate views at your company, and anyone who doesn't keeps their head down. From you point of view it looks neutral, but actually other views are being repressed.

I don't understand. Why do you feel it's required to take some stand (including whatever the majority default is) on free speech, gun rights, immigration quotas, abortion restrictions, tax laws, states' rights, welfare benefits, etc. in the workplace?

Should women be allowed to work? What if they're married and working in close contact with single men? What if they're pregnant? Should the company be allowed to give someone else their job while they are on maternity leave? Should the company even pay them while on maternity leave? All these questions are "politics"

Re: Google Employee Alleges Discrimination Against Pregnant Women in Viral Memo

#164

Post by lazyasciiart »

paulddraper wrote: post #119
groundlogic wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

12-20 years ago, one of my largest life goals was to work for Google. (It's not anymore. I found other fun and rewarding jobs.) I don't get why the Google management team allowed their team to get so... well, violently politicized. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but.. keeping politics out of the workplace worked very well for a very long time.

I agree. Religion and politics. Both super important. Both better discussed outside the workplace.

Does your workplace ever expect people to work after sundown on Friday? How do your orthodox Jewish employees feel about that?

Re: Google Employee Alleges Discrimination Against Pregnant Women in Viral Memo

#165

Post by lazyasciiart »

lrem wrote: post #135
Osiris wrote: post #4

I've spent most entire career at relatively small companies (25-100 employees). I've never seen these types of issues (I can't say they've never happened, I'm just not aware of any). In fact, reading these stories is probably why I've never had the desire to apply to work at any of the large tech companies. I can't say for certain what the differences are, but I think smaller companies tend of have less office politi…

Disclaimer: I work at Google, but this kind of stories reach me mostly via memes. Google has about 100k employees and this kind of shite seems to happen a couple times a year. Let's assume once a month. This gives an incidence rate of 0.000012 per person per year. Meaning that at 100 employees, plugging into [1], after a 100 year career in a place as bad as Google you would have a 10% chance of that happening at your…

What's the incidence rate per pregnancy?

Re: Google Employee Alleges Discrimination Against Pregnant Women in Viral Memo

#166

Post by dsr_ »

paulddraper wrote: post #162
Pfhreak wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you suggest people do when workplace must intersect with politics. For example, you need access to a gender neutral restroom or shower facility? Should you not advocate for that internally? Let's say you are an ally for someone who needs an affordance like a gender neutral facility, should you not speak up on their behalf?

Company washrooms are not really politics. Put that in the idea box all you want.

https://ballotpedia.org/Transgender_bathroom_access_laws_in_...

QED.

Re: Google Employee Alleges Discrimination Against Pregnant Women in Viral Memo

#167

Post by JSavageReal »

tracker1 wrote: post #99

Worth mentioning TFA is wrong about the Damore memo... it wasn't suggesting that women are less disposed to be "good engineers" only that they are less disposed to seek out a career in engineering to begin with. Quality isn't a part of it. But that doesn't fit an SJW narrative.

Was going to mention this as well. Vice deliberately misrepresenting the point of his memo and explicitly mentioning that it's "unscientific". Well no sh, it's a memo. I wonder if there's an agenda there?

Re: Google Employee Alleges Discrimination Against Pregnant Women in Viral Memo

#168

Post by manigandham »

dsr_ wrote: post #166
paulddraper wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Company washrooms are not really politics. Put that in the idea box all you want.

https://ballotpedia.org/Transgender_bathroom_access_laws_in_... QED.

This is an extreme case, and even so HR drafts a policy and the company follows it. What part of this requires intensive debating? There's nothing employees need to do here other than follow the law and policies.

Re: Google Employee Alleges Discrimination Against Pregnant Women in Viral Memo

#169

Post by kaitai »

ben7799 wrote: post #13

I'm always amazed Google management tolerates things like internal message boards aimed at letting employees create Memes on company time. On the "evil point haired boss" level it seems these types of things like their internal message boards cause a lot of trouble for the company. On the less evil side it seems like employees waste a lot of time on these internal sites and all the internal social justice stuff. Mayb…

I don't understand what the f(*& kind of message board this is where a person says, "Hey, I'm having concerning health symptoms & me & my baby might die" and her manager says, "You're not meeting expectations as a manager, all of a sudden!" and this is called "internal social justice stuff".

Complications of pregnancy involving hemorrhage and an early C-section are serious and not really a "management style" issue, and I don't understand why this discussion instead focuses on "dirty laundry", "internal social justice stuff", "wast[ing] a lot of time on these internal sites," "creat[ing] Memes on company time".

Re: Google Employee Alleges Discrimination Against Pregnant Women in Viral Memo

#170

Post by manigandham »

matthewmacleod wrote: post #120
paulddraper wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. Religion and politics. Both super important. Both better discussed outside the workplace.

This is a glib answer from a position of security. “Politics” is absolutely a core part of the workplace where it starts to affect your rights, those of your colleagues, and the actions your employer takes in support or opposition of these.

If it affects your rights then it's a legal matter. There's no reason to be constantly representing and discussing politics at work.
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