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“About one-third of Basecamp employees accepted buyouts today”

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Re: “About one-third of Basecamp employees accepted buyouts today”

#891

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I’d hate to go into work and be harassed about being “silent is complicit” (which seems like it was one of the major drivers of the change) What is the source for this?

The original "Changes at Basecamp" post banning political discussion: "You shouldn't have to wonder if staying out of it means you're complicit"

Given what else we have learned about what went down from Casey Newton I would not believe things from the original post without a second source.

Re: “About one-third of Basecamp employees accepted buyouts today”

#892
post #791

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone has laughed at these kinds of jokes. Also, if someone had a funny name and they went against progressive politics, then they would be laughing about it. How about all the Donald Drumpf stuff from Oliver. It puzzles me what progressives actually do laugh at when so much is forbidden and everything is somehow insensitive. Most likely is that they are all just hypocrites.

The difference is punching up versus punching down.

Real differences, not made-up nonsense.

Re: “About one-third of Basecamp employees accepted buyouts today”

#893

I laud them for standing up for their ideals. That said, as a conservative, I don't ever "bring my whole self to work", even if my employer says to, because (a) I know my personal views are not welcome in the Bay Area, and (b) I think it's concerning that many companies are trying to become more than just a place to work on interesting stuff and get paid for your work. They must now make political views known that al…

I'm curious, what conservative views do you hold that you think would make you so incompatible?

Not OP, but small government principles, religious morals and being in favor of the government's defense functions are conservative views that are definitely not welcome in most parts of the Bay.

Re: “About one-third of Basecamp employees accepted buyouts today”

#894
I am sure many of these people will land on their feet, but I would absolutely not hire someone who quit their last position because they were told to stop talking about politics at work.

Is there any place where you can exist, in 2021, without having political viewpoints crammed down your throat?

Some people just want to work. If you want to change the world go do it outside of business hours.

Re: “About one-third of Basecamp employees accepted buyouts today”

#895

What I think is lost in the conversation here is that people don’t really have organizations they can go to to advocate their political positions. People have their families, their jobs, and maybe a couple of friends and that’s about it. They need an outlet to push the ideas and causes they care about. The workplace is one of the few places where they can feel like they’re having an impact, but that’s not really appr…

I think for the people who are so passionate they can't imagine not engaging with politics at work should look for careers in NGOs. I don't feel any disdain for activists, I just don't really want to work with them, and I think we'd both be happier if they were engaged in work that had first order effects on their beliefs instead of second or third

People who are passionate about something would most likely like to recruit new people to their cause. Working for an NGO is a dead end as everyone is already on the same page there.

Re: “About one-third of Basecamp employees accepted buyouts today”

#896
post #152

Interestingly the employees who left have the best career prospects. Entire iOS team, head of marketing and head of product team. The 6 months free money is hard for anyone entering a strong job market to pass up. A lot of comments seem to think 1/3 left because of the no politics policy. 1 / 3 left because it would increase their wealth or give them the summer covid took away last year. How many people would leave y…

Yes, people are reacting to the policy. But it's definitely that the policy is a reaction to something as well. Probably, the founders believed that the toxicity of the internal culture had reached a point where it was extremely detrimental to the workplace. And, knowing DHH, it was probably not only a financial decision but a lifestyle one. He may have realized that the advocates that actively discussed and promoted…

It reaks of fu money to me. Not everyone can afford this kind of move.

Re: “About one-third of Basecamp employees accepted buyouts today”

#897

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, DHH is very outspoken politically, and fairly progressive. Of course there was going to be a selection bias where they hired similar people. This shouldn't have come as a surprise to them, and they should have realized the backlash. Shockingly bad foresight.

I agree, the Verge article mentions this explicitly that DHH and JF are routinely outspoken on progressive issues: > Both founders are also active — and occasionally hyperactive — on Twitter, where they regularly advocate for mainstream liberal and progressive views on social issues. What did they expect?

This caught him off guard because the progressive camp has since split into two groups: one that favored Hillary in 2016 and accuses the other of being class reductionists and the other that favored Bernie and accuses the first group of being identity reductionists. DHH is more aligned with the latter and is now discovering that he clashes with the former.

Re: “About one-third of Basecamp employees accepted buyouts today”

#898
post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of their iOS devs who left has been incredibly vocal about how he no longer felt like this was somewhere he could work because of this policy and its effects, so I think you're plainly wrong (or insisting that there's no way we could take a person at their word). https://twitter.com/georgeclaghorn It's a lot more likely that the 1/3rd that left both left because they were unhappy with the policy, and because they…

> a new job hunt takes 3 Where is this? At Senior level in London it can take days once you're good and ready.

That was my experience as well in London and very similar here in Helsinki, Finland.

Re: “About one-third of Basecamp employees accepted buyouts today”

#899

Imagine being so insufferable that your CEO will half ruin his company to get you out. That's the takeaway here.

Imagine being such an insufferable CEO/CTO that 1/3rd of your company quits after you blindside them with new policies and benefit changes in a public blog post.

There are more in this industry that align with the OP than you apparently believe.

Re: “About one-third of Basecamp employees accepted buyouts today”

#900
post #152

Interestingly the employees who left have the best career prospects. Entire iOS team, head of marketing and head of product team. The 6 months free money is hard for anyone entering a strong job market to pass up. A lot of comments seem to think 1/3 left because of the no politics policy. 1 / 3 left because it would increase their wealth or give them the summer covid took away last year. How many people would leave y…

I'm not sure I'd want to hire someone who left their previous company because they felt they had the right to brow beat other staff with their political opinions.

What if they left because the company was imploding and 1/3 of their colleagues were leaving?
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