That it's being framed as politics is way off the mark. What's being discussed at the workplace isn't foreign policy; it's authoritarianism vs democracy. That's an existential threat. People are getting executed in the street by those supposed to serve and protect, and business leaders want employees to "just be apolitical"? Asking employees to ignore an existential threat is like asking humans to not experience emotion, to the tune of "Just ignore the chaos around you and do your job, peasant." It's wrong to enforce people to ignore the injustices that affect them.
Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission
681–690 of 1001 posts
Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission
#682Earlier quoted context omitted.
There is a lot of value in removing political activists from your company, and so it's worth paying them to leave. Aside from the combative toxic environment they generate, they are also often the source of disgruntled rogue employees that will generally behave improperly, misrepresent coworkers, leak documents, raise alarms about operations they don't understand, and generally draw the company into litigation. In a…
I suspect your comment isn't really being offered in good faith, but can you name a specific example of a company where a coworker did one of these things: > leak documents, raise alarms about operations they don't understand, and generally draw the company into litigation and it was actually a case of misguided political activism rather than legitimate whistleblowing? I suppose maybe in slaughterhouses or animal tes…
It's a very minority view on HN, but important to keep in mind that there are quite a few people who consider what Snowden did "a case of misguided political activism".
Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission
#683This must feel harsh for those on the receiving end, but is the right thing to do. It is not effective to try and turn every company into a rights activism group just because it is a group of people. This may be a sign that it’s become increasingly hard to organize or take part in such activism outside of work. What happened?
> What happened? I'm partial to Aaron Levie's take on this[1]: > An alternative take on the importance of companies taking a stand on critical social issues that impact our employees and communities: when there's a vacuum of leadership from the government in dealing with these topics, businesses often need to lead more than ever. When we have had presidents who were willing to condemn white supremacy, we tended not t…
Closely related, but in the opposite direction: the Waltons (of Wal-Mart), Koch brothers (industrial conglomerate including such banal brands as Molex), and Green family (of Hobby Lobby) all got involved because they thought that they needed to take a critical stand on issues where they thought a leadership vacuum existed. They felt that the government wasn't doing enough to support their notion of an ideal way of life.
The country is tearing itself apart right now because we really do have two camps with opposite beliefs that each feel they are fighting for the survival of the nation itself. Read what the other side says about themselves, and not just what your side says about them.
Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission
#684My buddy works at a FAANG that has a strong corporate position on BLM, LGBTQ rights, and climate change. In fact, all of the FAANGs do. Anyone kicked out of Coinbase that will pass the interviews will be welcomed with open arms, regardless of political positions.
I speculate that this is a way for Coinbase to carry out its first round of layoffs.
Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission
#685Earlier quoted context omitted.
There is a lot of value in removing political activists from your company, and so it's worth paying them to leave. Aside from the combative toxic environment they generate, they are also often the source of disgruntled rogue employees that will generally behave improperly, misrepresent coworkers, leak documents, raise alarms about operations they don't understand, and generally draw the company into litigation. In a…
In my experience, the vast majority of employees don’t want their workplace to become a political battleground. Even those who occasionally discuss politics at work and are mature enough to behave like adults about it. It’s tempting to think of this in terms of Democrats vs Republicans or right vs left, but that’s not really the domain of the most problematic employees. The most problematic employees are the ones who…
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Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission
#686I agreed with what Brian Armstrong said in his blog post and thought it was admirable to publicly take that position, but now I have even more respect for his dedication. I don't know if the severance package is good or not, but it seems generous and it gives employees who aren't aligned with the company an easy way out.
There is a lot of value in removing political activists from your company, and so it's worth paying them to leave. Aside from the combative toxic environment they generate, they are also often the source of disgruntled rogue employees that will generally behave improperly, misrepresent coworkers, leak documents, raise alarms about operations they don't understand, and generally draw the company into litigation. In a…
You could reasonably extend this to your friends and neighbors as well.
Growing up, politics was private outside of the family dinner table. Any dedication to an injustice or a good cause was done through donating or volunteering. No yard signs, no shouting, no blaming.
I understand that dramatic actions bring attention, but I just hope that we can start focusing more on doing our own part and leading by example rather than preaching and focusing on how much others are doing. This goes for everyone on the modern political spectrum.
Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission
#687My buddy works at a FAANG that has a strong corporate position on BLM, LGBTQ rights, and climate change. In fact, all of the FAANGs do. Anyone kicked out of Coinbase that will pass the interviews will be welcomed with open arms, regardless of political positions. I speculate that this is a way for Coinbase to carry out its first round of layoffs.
They’ll do fine! BLM is a a step down from a Terrorist organization.
Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission
#688There's no such thing as an apolitical organization the size of Coinbase.
Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission
#689I see this as strategically genius whether you agree with it or not. He's totally neutered the ability of employees to take strong political stances within the company going forward and he's made it clear where the company stands in away that makes it very hard for people to come back later and defend staying if they were interested in these kinds of politics.
If you want to stay focused on building a company and not on debating the subjective merits of sociopolitical systems, this is a winning move.
Re: Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission
#690Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is impossible. When the very technology you work on is employed in entirely political ways (i.e. dragonfly), you cannot separate work from the world.
Cash is a technology that is one of the biggest enablers of drug trafficking and child prostitution. Does this serve as an argument for employees of the Treasury Department (which prints and mints said cash) to engage in politics in the workplace? Much of technology is agnostic to politics, and enables much evil and good alike. This does not, in my mind, serve as justification for technology creators to intertwine po…
This is quite Amusing, because the treasury department is involved in efforts to prevent human trafficking: https://home.treasury.gov/news/featured-stories/combatting-h...