The Disneyfication of a University • Hacker News Board

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#81

Post by flattone » Mon, Feb 10, 2020, 6:33 PM UTC

duxup wrote: post #43

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #23

A good rule of thumb is that the more a corporation talks about "culture", the more the employees should be wary that they are getting fleeced. A lot of companies have realized that they get employees to work harder for less if they are able to get the employees to develop some sort of emotional attachment to the company. If you as an employee are getting a lot of push about "company culture" and the company is tryin…

That's a choice though. If you care enough to put in some extra time ... you've chosen to care. There's no "fleecing" with that.

not exactly. I think. The point of flagging caution here is to provide a 1) persons consciousness a reminder to observe these corporate behaviors and use that consciousness to inform your 2) desires/choices > actions.

It's common (i think) to just start work, play along, make friends and skip many valuable versions of item 1. I skip it often... but i know people who pay a lot of attention. Like lawyer level attention to the mechanics of a relationship, what's being said and what is being exchange, and how are people being influenced.

Some places feel like company is out harvesting black hat social engineers to work against their employees. Excuse the language, i don't mean this in any alarmist tone. But anecdotally i've felt this and mostly (sadly) ignored the feeling out of laziness or lack of awareness or cause.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#82

Post by markstos » Mon, Feb 10, 2020, 6:33 PM UTC

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #23

A good rule of thumb is that the more a corporation talks about "culture", the more the employees should be wary that they are getting fleeced. A lot of companies have realized that they get employees to work harder for less if they are able to get the employees to develop some sort of emotional attachment to the company. If you as an employee are getting a lot of push about "company culture" and the company is tryin…

That's good advice for people who prioritize maximizing salary and emotional detachment.

Some companies aren't trying to underpay employees, they are charging a fair price to their customersrather than fleecing them. Or they corporately care amount more than the fiscal bottom line.

This requires employees willing to work for a fair wage and not maximum compensation.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#83

Post by bobthechef » Mon, Feb 10, 2020, 6:34 PM UTC

On a related note, I worked with a guy once who actually said that perks like free snacks were more important for him than a raise because "it's nice" and that it shows the company appreciated you.

Now, I'm not saying having snacks is bad, but you must have drowned in the koolaid to think that a couple of bags of chips in place of a raise shows the company appreciates your work.

One in a while I meet a poor guy like him.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#84

Post by markstos » Mon, Feb 10, 2020, 6:34 PM UTC

bitwize wrote: post #61

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #23

A good rule of thumb is that the more a corporation talks about "culture", the more the employees should be wary that they are getting fleeced. A lot of companies have realized that they get employees to work harder for less if they are able to get the employees to develop some sort of emotional attachment to the company. If you as an employee are getting a lot of push about "company culture" and the company is tryin…

> A lot of companies have realized that they get employees to work harder for less if they are able to get the employees to develop some sort of emotional attachment to the company. This is the kind of bullshit I inoculate myself against by telling myself: This is not your life. These are not your best friends. This is you farming gold out of a megacorp so you have the means to advance the story-driven missions that…

Most businesses are small businesses.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#85

Post by brightball » Mon, Feb 10, 2020, 6:34 PM UTC

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #23

A good rule of thumb is that the more a corporation talks about "culture", the more the employees should be wary that they are getting fleeced. A lot of companies have realized that they get employees to work harder for less if they are able to get the employees to develop some sort of emotional attachment to the company. If you as an employee are getting a lot of push about "company culture" and the company is tryin…

You're on the right track, but I think you're taking a more cynical view of it (just to be frank).

Whether you're a business, volunteer organization, sports team or anything else you want the people working with you to be motivated. No matter what. Motivation is the goal.

If you get into motivational psychology, especially for people in the software field, studies consistently show that motivation for us boils down to 3 things: Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose.

In many cases, feeling good about the place that you work will feed into that purpose motive. Having "esprit de corps" with your team feeds it because you want to both help your team to succeed and you don't want to let them down.

That's also why a bad manager, leader, owner, coach, etc will torpedo it fast because you're going to be a lot less motivated for somebody like that.

I know HN isn't big on YouTube links, but this is one of the better short talks on motivational psychology out there (about 10 minutes long).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#86

Post by LordFast » Mon, Feb 10, 2020, 6:35 PM UTC

duxup wrote: post #43

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #23

A good rule of thumb is that the more a corporation talks about "culture", the more the employees should be wary that they are getting fleeced. A lot of companies have realized that they get employees to work harder for less if they are able to get the employees to develop some sort of emotional attachment to the company. If you as an employee are getting a lot of push about "company culture" and the company is tryin…

That's a choice though. If you care enough to put in some extra time ... you've chosen to care. There's no "fleecing" with that.

Care isn't a high priority in today's environment, both political and economic. It's about whether the equation all checks out.

Ironically, as someone who's always been the type of personality to make sure that the equation checks out, I've come to see that it doesn't make the world a better place.

C'est la vie.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#87

Post by zionic » Mon, Feb 10, 2020, 6:35 PM UTC

Consultant32452 wrote: post #65

The most common reason people leave companies is not compensation. It's usually about relationships, primarily with the boss but also coworkers. I'm on the spectrum, so I function a bit like an automaton which places little value on the social aspects of work, but most people aren't like that. This is how "on the spectrum" I am. One time I was on a team that did a team building exercise where we went to a local chari…

>I genuinely did not understand that was a weird/socially unacceptable thing to do.

If it makes you feel any better, I found this line/story absolutely hilarious.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#88

Post by PakG1 » Mon, Feb 10, 2020, 6:36 PM UTC

Consultant32452 wrote: post #65

The most common reason people leave companies is not compensation. It's usually about relationships, primarily with the boss but also coworkers. I'm on the spectrum, so I function a bit like an automaton which places little value on the social aspects of work, but most people aren't like that. This is how "on the spectrum" I am. One time I was on a team that did a team building exercise where we went to a local chari…

Whenever I see someone post on Facebook or LinkedIn the meme that "People don't remember what you do for them, they remember how you make them FEEL", I'm always like: hell no, doesn't happen with me. Really get annoyed by that meme.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#89

Post by Nasrudith » Mon, Feb 10, 2020, 6:38 PM UTC

jdmichal wrote: post #69

ravenstine wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Culture should be apparent. Repetitious reinforcement of the "culture" is propaganda.

Don't mean to nit, just curious about meaning: Did you mean "culture should be emergent"? Culture has this really interesting property. It's really the cumulative effect of all the decisions and actions taken by every member of the culture. However -- here's the fun part -- the history of those decisions and actions informs future decisions and actions. It becomes somewhat cyclic and self-reinforcing. And because of…

I think that too but I suspect that apparent was meant in a show don't tell or speaks for itself sense. It shouldn't need any self-promotion if it exists and is real instead of a facade.

For a trivial example imagine a three piece suit environment which insists it is a casual working environment while having twelve pages of dress code vs one where they can tell who is there to interview because they are wearing business casual instead of teeshirts and jeans.

Re: The Disneyfication of a University

#90

Post by bumby » Mon, Feb 10, 2020, 6:38 PM UTC

Consultant32452 wrote: post #65

The most common reason people leave companies is not compensation. It's usually about relationships, primarily with the boss but also coworkers. I'm on the spectrum, so I function a bit like an automaton which places little value on the social aspects of work, but most people aren't like that. This is how "on the spectrum" I am. One time I was on a team that did a team building exercise where we went to a local chari…

Is there a chance it's not just "about the feels" but also about team building that may pay dividends later when it comes to "normal work"?

I'm not saying the method used was effective in that regard, but it's possible the aim went beyond what was immediately in front of you. Strongly bonded teams (whether built socially or through adversity) tend to be better teams.

I know HN probably skews towards an industrious/utilitarian/pragmatist point of view, but many of us probably work in teams where not everyone holds the same perspective. Understanding how those people work and are motivated is important.