What would Citizens United be under the serfdom analogy? Does it have a place in Capitalism?
HR is not your friend, and other things I think you should know
231–240 of 471 posts
Re: HR is not your friend, and other things I think you should know
#232Done correctly, a lot of what HR does is never visible to the employee. “No, the law won’t let you do that” style correction before a bad policy can be implemented.
Yea, whenever these HR stories come up I always think to myself: who are all these people where HR is part of their day-to-day? Maybe I’m extremely lucky. Almost all companies I’ve worked for, I’ve interacted with HR twice: once on my first day where they hand me a bunch of papers to sign and once more on my last day when I turn in my badge. That’s it! Otherwise they are totally invisible, and I have no idea who they…
> who are all these people where HR is part of their day-to-day?
This post is _especially_ for folks like you. When something shitty happens at work, you might contemplate contacting HR for the first time in your life. This post is a warning: HR defends the company's interest, not yours. They are not a neutral court of appeals.
Re: HR is not your friend, and other things I think you should know
#233Many people think that they live in a free democracy. In reality, something like 50% of all working people are employed in a strict hierarchical organisation that is essentially feudal in its nature. Most employees are the equivalent of serfs, overseen by lords, with a king in charge. The common employees don't get a vote. Their managers are not elected. They don't get a say in policy. The managers in turn form a str…
Why do you want to view the world like this? This kind of mindset puts you in a very weak position. I look at it like this: I work for a company because it's a win-win. They need some work done, and I need money. In fact, as a coder, the company is the one in the weak position. If I leave for another company, I can get paid the exact same amount instantly. They will have to get a new person, pay them the same, but fi…
The overwhelming majority of people have whatever job they can get. They don't get to be selective, because they have bills, and kids, and rent to pay.
Re: HR is not your friend, and other things I think you should know
#234Many people think that they live in a free democracy. In reality, something like 50% of all working people are employed in a strict hierarchical organisation that is essentially feudal in its nature. Most employees are the equivalent of serfs, overseen by lords, with a king in charge. The common employees don't get a vote. Their managers are not elected. They don't get a say in policy. The managers in turn form a str…
If anything, the modern corporation is modelled after military with squad/platoon/company structure. You have people in the trenches, you have HQ rats/architects. Sometimes you have commissars ;)
Re: HR is not your friend, and other things I think you should know
#235Many people think that they live in a free democracy. In reality, something like 50% of all working people are employed in a strict hierarchical organisation that is essentially feudal in its nature. Most employees are the equivalent of serfs, overseen by lords, with a king in charge. The common employees don't get a vote. Their managers are not elected. They don't get a say in policy. The managers in turn form a str…
Work isn’t life anymore. That’s where the serfdom analogy breaks down.
I am utterly subservient to those to whom I report. I obediently tug my forelock to HR all the way from 8am to 4:30pm but at that point I turn off my company devices and am my own person.
If you draw a $200k salary and work until bed-time in a shared flat with no garden then I suppose it’s a different story — one of the chattel post-grad SWE — but at least you have $300 a day on which to live.
Re: HR is not your friend, and other things I think you should know
#236Many people think that they live in a free democracy. In reality, something like 50% of all working people are employed in a strict hierarchical organisation that is essentially feudal in its nature. Most employees are the equivalent of serfs, overseen by lords, with a king in charge. The common employees don't get a vote. Their managers are not elected. They don't get a say in policy. The managers in turn form a str…
Come on, this is counterfactual hyperbole. In actual feudalism, if you disagreed with the king he could arbitrarily kill you or jail you.
Sure, corporations are lame and if you work for one you're a cog in a machine, I agree it can suck. But it's crazy to suggest that this somehow invalidates democracy.
The first job of a functioning government is to establish a monopoly on violence and prevent it from being used against the people. Sure there are times when modern democratic governments fail at this but they do a pretty good job of making sure that Jeff Bezos can't literally murder his lowly serfs when they get out of line. He can take their jobs but he can't take their lives and that's a far cry from how things worked in the Inquisition.
When you make spurious claims like implying that we don't live in a democracy, you're dishonouring the millions of people throughout history who wrested power away from the kings and warlords of the past, bit by bit, and built a system which at least places a few limits on its most powerful members.
Re: HR is not your friend, and other things I think you should know
#237Many people think that they live in a free democracy. In reality, something like 50% of all working people are employed in a strict hierarchical organisation that is essentially feudal in its nature. Most employees are the equivalent of serfs, overseen by lords, with a king in charge. The common employees don't get a vote. Their managers are not elected. They don't get a say in policy. The managers in turn form a str…
Serfs were literally bound to the land. They could be bought sold and conveyed and were not allowed to leave.
Say what you will about companies and inequality or lack of representation; that may have merit, but you can quit with two weeks notice. Serfs were not afforded those rights.
Re: HR is not your friend, and other things I think you should know
#238Many people think that they live in a free democracy. In reality, something like 50% of all working people are employed in a strict hierarchical organisation that is essentially feudal in its nature. Most employees are the equivalent of serfs, overseen by lords, with a king in charge. The common employees don't get a vote. Their managers are not elected. They don't get a say in policy. The managers in turn form a str…
Cynical but sadly true.
Re: HR is not your friend, and other things I think you should know
#239Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why do you want to view the world like this? This kind of mindset puts you in a very weak position. I look at it like this: I work for a company because it's a win-win. They need some work done, and I need money. In fact, as a coder, the company is the one in the weak position. If I leave for another company, I can get paid the exact same amount instantly. They will have to get a new person, pay them the same, but fi…
Are you under the impression that everyone here is in the same kind of position of power that you are? 1. Not everyone here is a coder. 2. Not everyone who codes is in the US, or a small number of other countries, where salaries for coders are high. 3. Not everyone lives in a part of the US with multiple employers that they could work for (relocation may be infeasible for various reasons). 4. The company may be spons…
Anyone can have a voice in the outcome of their life and society around them. When you give up on this belief, you relinquish power and control to others. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Stop focusing on the power of others, and obtain your own power and influence, and then govern with empathy for others.
Re: HR is not your friend, and other things I think you should know
#240Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why do you want to view the world like this? This kind of mindset puts you in a very weak position. I look at it like this: I work for a company because it's a win-win. They need some work done, and I need money. In fact, as a coder, the company is the one in the weak position. If I leave for another company, I can get paid the exact same amount instantly. They will have to get a new person, pay them the same, but fi…
Everybody is replaceable, no matter how confident they might feel.
Not if you have majority share control - then everyone can toss right off.