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Workplace Wellbeing Is a Scam?

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Re: Workplace Wellbeing Is a Scam?

#191

Post by boringg »

granshaw wrote: post #67
barrkel wrote: post #57

Wellbeing, even when it's sincere, is a top-down effort - as in way up the tree-tops - and usually raining down diagonally from a different org. Meanwhile, down on the leaves of the org tree, you have delivery pressure from users, peers, and so on. If the pressure is high, no amount of messaging about wellbeing will make any difference. Taking time off, whether it's some kind of leave or for some wellbeing meetings o…

Let me tell you, delivery pressure exists even right at the very top. You think there’s no pressure as a CEO/COO beholden to 30% top line growth this quarter? I sometimes think about being in that position and it seems pretty scary too

100%. However the bias for people to write comments are through the lens they see the world. Most people are in the middle to lower strata of an organization (just as a numbers part) therefore they only see their own lens.

That and a general narrative from the news media that C-Suite has it pretty good relative to the rest of the world (financially they definitely do).

Re: Workplace Wellbeing Is a Scam?

#192

Post by Viliam1234 »

afpx wrote: post #63
JackPoach wrote: post #7

Did working conditions really got much worse over the past 20 years? Or are people just becoming more entitled? I agree with the premise that workplace wellbeing is a bunch of BS (and just a small part of much large corporate BS universe), but is 2021 much different from 2001? I understand blue collar complaints and unfortunate situation workers found themselves in after union busting or outsourcing. But what's gotte…

The biggest negative change that I've seen since the 90s has been the adoption of agile methodologies. We used to have decent cadence in releasing software - maybe every couple of months, or even six. Now, everyday seems like a fire drill or a race to nowhere in particular. Managers generally seem to have lost the ability to plan or predict out over periods longer than a month. I thought this was just my bad luck, bu…

Yeah, similar here. Twenty years ago, when I was freshly out of university, I had my office with a door I could close, and a window I could open. I was given a task (one task, not multiple tasks to do in parallel) and was left alone to do it. I asked what needs to be done, then I did it. I was treated like a competent adult.

These days (before COVID-19, because that made things a bit unusual) the industry standard is open spaces without fresh air. Daily meetings in the morning, and then optionally more meetings during the day. Doing a few things in parallel, almost every week is a deadline for something, no time to refactor or learn new things. Free coffee.

Re: Workplace Wellbeing Is a Scam?

#193

Post by TeMPOraL »

throwamon wrote: post #166
chasd00 wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Parents making children pay rent after they turn 18 i have two boys, if they're >= 18 and doing nothing but laying on the couch i don't see asking for rent being unreasonable at all! Coddling young adults as if they're still children does so harm to everyone.

Whether or not you're right, you just reinforced my point of there being some (maybe semi-conscious) scorekeeping happening, and the point on there maybe being some underlying issue (psychological or even social - we know young adults living with their parents is becoming a trend and I'm sure in many cases there's much more to it than simply "being coddled as if they're still children").

It's not score keeping. It's recognition that we don't live in a post-scarcity society, and our needs don't satisfy themselves. Labor and money are still required to keep quality of life in a household at a stable level.

I don't think turning 18 is the common boundary line here. Entering the workforce is. If you're making money while still consuming your parents' household resources, it's only reasonable to contribute something back. FWIW, I'd hope most people who generate income while living with their parents would recognize this as obvious, and volunteer to pay rent.

Re: Workplace Wellbeing Is a Scam?

#194

Post by dmalik »

SyzygistSix wrote: post #86
mathattack wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s amazing how many people don’t realize that the Beyoncé concert in the office comes from the same pool of money as compensation. (The company only does it because it’s cheaper than bonuses) And everyone showers Instagram with photos of the show.

Was that a real thing or was the Beyonce concert hyperbole?

At BlackBerry we had Aerosmith, Van Halen, and U2 on different occasions.

Re: Workplace Wellbeing Is a Scam?

#195

Post by _huayra_ »

geofft wrote: post #109
shoto_io wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I came here to say exactly that. There is pressure everywhere. CEOs are scared of boards. Boards are scared of shareholders. It's just not that visible because there is no tool like "OfficeVibe" showing this transparently. Sure, they get paid well. So you could argue that they have to take the pressure.

Stop having boards and shareholders then. Or, at least tell them, our growth target this year is 2%, our growth max is 10%, if we grow more than that I'm concerned about the pressure on my employees and my goal is to have a great and sustainable place to work and not to fill the universe with paperclips, and I'm going to start laying off sales and marketing if we're taking on more commitments than we can handle. We'r…

I wonder if anyone works in a worker cooperative software company. I'd imagine there are some, but I wonder what kinds of software they do / products they make.

From what I've read about co-ops, I would definitely love to work at one one day. Even having to work more hours would feel more meaningful because I'd by benefitting my own bottom line in a way, not just going towards the CEO's private island fund.

Re: Workplace Wellbeing Is a Scam?

#196

Post by vageli »

Narnach wrote: post #125
geofft wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stop having boards and shareholders then. Or, at least tell them, our growth target this year is 2%, our growth max is 10%, if we grow more than that I'm concerned about the pressure on my employees and my goal is to have a great and sustainable place to work and not to fill the universe with paperclips, and I'm going to start laying off sales and marketing if we're taking on more commitments than we can handle. We'r…

Yep, I think for long term sustainability we need many more B Corps, because otherwise we’re all working ourselves to the bone for private equity companies (which often seem to be the aggressive profit seeking shareholders). There is a lot of value in being good for your people, the environment and the rest of your supply chain.

Do you mean B Corps as benefit corporations defined by some state statutes, or those certified to be B corporations by B Lab certification?

Re: Workplace Wellbeing Is a Scam?

#197

Post by ErikVandeWater »

belval wrote: post #185
telmo wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, but the typical CEO/COO does not have to worry about their family becoming homeless if they lose their job. Let us not be disingenuous about the stakes here.

Employees targeted by workplace wellbeing efforts are employees that need to be retained, almost always because of limited availability (see software). Let's no kid ourselves into thinking that in 2021 a software engineer will go homeless if they lose their job.

Software engineers can go bankrupt on healthcare costs alone. Either for them, or their family. Losing a job on top of high healthcare costs can force bankruptcy.

Re: Workplace Wellbeing Is a Scam?

#199

Post by ErikVandeWater »

jodrellblank wrote: post #165
wilsonrocks wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tea and coffee ought to be a baseline in any office environment imo. I think it'd be worth it for companies to just pay for it, otherwise employees set up a tea club, spend work time doing it and fall out over it.

Terence McKenna used to remind people that tea and coffee benefit an employer more than an employee - it's not a break to rest, it's an employer encouraged chemical stimulant to make you work harder. As an employee, you're hyped to work harder - which isn't necessarily a benefit to you at all. That companies have then reframed it as an "employee perk" is a very slick PR move.

I agree with the idea that many employee perks are actually detrimental to employees. But this one is pretty 50/50. I'm going to drink two cups of coffee every day no matter what, so employer-provided coffee benefits me. After-hours coffee I agree with.

Re: Workplace Wellbeing Is a Scam?

#200

Post by astura »

reader_mode wrote: post #36
JackPoach wrote: post #7

Did working conditions really got much worse over the past 20 years? Or are people just becoming more entitled? I agree with the premise that workplace wellbeing is a bunch of BS (and just a small part of much large corporate BS universe), but is 2021 much different from 2001? I understand blue collar complaints and unfortunate situation workers found themselves in after union busting or outsourcing. But what's gotte…

>If you are miserable in your current workplace, the only real change you can make is moving to job that brings you joy. I have no doubt some people manage to find this, but at this point I want a job that pays well and is tolerable, I've done the fun job for less money enough to know I'm terrible at predicting what's going to be "fun" to work on. If I'm paid more I need to sell less of my time and get to find things…

Work is work, not personal entertainment. Once one learns to accepts that, they will be in a much, much better path to life satisfaction.

Definitely look for a job with high pay, good benefits, lots of time off, etc., etc., But it's extremely unlikely you're going to find one that actually brings you joy - so learn to live with that.

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