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Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

theblockcrypto.com

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Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#281

Post by defertoreptar »

eli wrote: post #192
Zenbit_UX wrote: post #120

Why is a company wanting to be apolitical is controversial? That should be the default, is this an American thing like how masks and healthcare are controversial? I would expect a government to have proper separation from church and state, so why is it weird to want a company to separate politics and mission? I can't see any good coming from being in a work environment where the company supports a political issue I'm…

Forbidding debate is taking an implicit stance in favor of the status quo.

Or it's just acknowledging that it can be disruptive and divisive at a place where your goal is to focus and communicate effectively.

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#282

Post by disposekinetics »

pornel wrote: post #56

This is going to work great for Coinbase. It's very helpful for employers to select for conformists who can be told to shut up, and not stand up for what they believe (unless they believe in the status quo and the company, which is called non-political). Selecting for groupthink^W mission is pretty important in the business of cryptocurrencies. Reduces chances of anyone having a different moral stance that would push…

This all makes Coinbase more attractive to me. I probably won’t be deplatformed no matter my ideology which is a desireable trait.

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#283

Post by sdfqasdghj2 »

dkdk8283 wrote: post #189
Zenbit_UX wrote: post #120

Why is a company wanting to be apolitical is controversial? That should be the default, is this an American thing like how masks and healthcare are controversial? I would expect a government to have proper separation from church and state, so why is it weird to want a company to separate politics and mission? I can't see any good coming from being in a work environment where the company supports a political issue I'm…

I worked at a media company with a reach of 400 million ADI. We had internal meetings more or less instructing employees how to vote. Our hand curated content intentionally catered to this same narrative. It was completely politically biased. I was hired when the company was neutral but over the years the extreme left narrative settled in and we tended to only hire people with the same ideologies. Executive discussio…

> We had internal meetings more or less instructing employees how to vote.

Is that legal?

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#284

Post by throwaway0a5e »

aaronax wrote: post #204
monoideism wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It’s far beyond politics and more a religion than anything. I believe this is a result of the fact that Americans have turned away from organized religion in recent years (note: I'm not religious myself). There seems to be something deep inside of most people that requires a shared spiritual experience. Wokism has emerged to fill that need.

This article really fleshes out what this thread is discussing: https://www.devever.net/~hl/newchurch

One of the guys that article cites clearly has some less savory beliefs about race (that I disagree with, people are mostly the same the world over) but man did he do a good job predicting the ideological battles lines of 2020 for someone writing in 2012.

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#285

Post by sdfqasdghj2 »

adamzapasnik wrote: post #252
Zenbit_UX wrote: post #120

Why is a company wanting to be apolitical is controversial? That should be the default, is this an American thing like how masks and healthcare are controversial? I would expect a government to have proper separation from church and state, so why is it weird to want a company to separate politics and mission? I can't see any good coming from being in a work environment where the company supports a political issue I'm…

I think it used to be like that? My dad taught me not to talk about politics nor religion in a workplace. I think it's for the best.

It's sad. We ought to be able to debate important topics without people getting upset and emotional and ruining each others lives.

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#286

Post by throwaway4715 »

vowelless wrote: post #246
kkhire wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What’s there to admire? This is common sense and he should have set these expectations from the start. why are people discussing politics at work?

> What’s there to admire? Which other Silicon Valley company is doing this?

Facebook

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#287

Post by eeh »

ClumsyPilot wrote: post #75
eeh wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The CEO is declaring the focus political issue is cryptocurrency. The focus is not whales, forests, ice caps, malaria. Why is this controversial?

Interesting definition, so if his crypto platform (hypothetical) is getting used by mafia and for 'tax minimisation' thats apolitical? And if I raise a stink about it, I am an activist?

If a company is breaking the law, some countries offer whistleblower protections.

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#288

Post by sdfqasdghj2 »

eli wrote: post #192
Zenbit_UX wrote: post #120

Why is a company wanting to be apolitical is controversial? That should be the default, is this an American thing like how masks and healthcare are controversial? I would expect a government to have proper separation from church and state, so why is it weird to want a company to separate politics and mission? I can't see any good coming from being in a work environment where the company supports a political issue I'm…

Forbidding debate is taking an implicit stance in favor of the status quo.

I don't see this press release as forbidding debate. This is simply saying that the company won't be taking a stance. That shouldn't stop individual employees discussing political topics as long as they can act like adults and not create a hostile environment.

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#289

Post by baron_harkonnen »

chii wrote: post #140
wwright wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I (and many others) are of the opinion that you can’t truly be apolitical; claiming to be so is its own form of politics (and generally one that supports the status quo). Politics is ultimately about how we engage and collaborate with each other as a society, not just which “party” you like. The very act of being a company is very relative to the laws and regulations your country has, which are of course determined b…

> you can’t truly be apolitical; that's one of those "you're either with us or against us" type of deal - which is not the right way to deal with anything imho. You _can_ be apolitical - as in, you do not let your political views affect what you do. You keep your political views private. You do not try to change anyone else's political views as part of your job.

The view you just described is active support for the status quo.

One fairly non-controversial part of the status quo right now is our dependence on fossil fuels and co2 emissions to keep our economy running.

Saying "I'll keep my views private" means I'm giving an okay to what's happening now. If every individual shares the thinking at every company then it is impossible to even imagine how the most catastrophic climate change can be avoided.

Beyond even this example, it's is politically naive to believe there is some "normal". The status quo today is the politics of the current dominant power (which is largely market forces). Agreeing to be "apolitical" is actively support of this system. Your view is the one that is strongly "with us or against us" in that any opinion other than the dominant political ideology is supposed to be silenced at work.

"Just do you job and don't voice contrary opinions" is a pretty radical political opinion if you ask me, so your definition of "apolitical" is only "A"-political because you are so intensely in opposition to non-status quo beliefs that you disregard them completely.

Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission

#290

Post by dmos62 »

Zenbit_UX wrote: post #120

Why is a company wanting to be apolitical is controversial? That should be the default, is this an American thing like how masks and healthcare are controversial? I would expect a government to have proper separation from church and state, so why is it weird to want a company to separate politics and mission? I can't see any good coming from being in a work environment where the company supports a political issue I'm…

If a person refuses to be political (e.g. vote), that's stygmatized, because it's irresponsible. The same should hold for a group of people (like a company).
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