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Woke at Work: Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics and failing

economist.com

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Re: Woke at Work: Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics and failing

#221

Post by throwarayes »

A feature of US work culture is that you invest your “whole self” into work. As in work isn’t just a thing you do for money, but a calling... Additionally, there’s a lack of basic social services. Those that do well can carry guilt, this leads to USs tipping culture, among other things.. also in the US private companies wield a lot of political power and capital.

Companies work in this context to attract talent. And people look to large powerful employers to large, important projects for social good. This could mean working at SpaceX to colonize Mars or wanting AWS to have carbon neutral data centers. I want to at least hope my company isn’t a soulless behemoth, but actually lives up to the mission or advertising.

So it’s only natural any kind of social or political issue is going to fall into this category. Including issues of racial equity...

Of course the market can decide what things here they want in companies they work at. It’s not a black and white “politics or no politics” line. Everything and anything can be political.

Re: Woke at Work: Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics and failing

#222

Post by phendrenad2 »

efitz wrote: post #165

> according to a new Harris poll commissioned by Paradigm, a diversity consultancy, more than two-thirds of adults in America want to be able to discuss racial-justice issues at work I just plain do not believe this poll.

This was never a problem pre-pandemic. People would discuss these issues at lunch or at the watercooler. If you were bothered by politics interrupting your little heads-down work bubble? Just take lunch at your desk or pack your own water bottle. But in the WFH age, there's no getting away from it. These discussions happen in company general chat, where often important business also happens.

Re: Woke at Work: Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics and failing

#223

Post by galactus »

smegger001 wrote: post #163
jdgoesmarching wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was about to say, this is the most chilling HN sentence I’ve ever read. The totality of our existence from 8-5 is not owed to someone who profits from our labor and skills because they got lucky with some seed money or an inheritance a decade ago. That’s just the divine right of kings with extra steps.

It is not "divine right of king" by any stretch of the imagination. It is a contract for exchange of service between to parties. Because you agreed to exchange their money for your labor. During that time you are obligated to do what you are agreed to be paid to do under the conditions agreed to at time of hire. And yes they are owed your skills because they are paying you for them, that is how any exchange of servic…

You are right, we are selling our labour. But the idea that that means that we are selling our _time_ is a recent development in human history. Most societies in the past would have a hard time even understanding the idea that one's time could belong to your employer, es explained by David Graeber in "bullshit jobs"

Re: Woke at Work: Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics and failing

#224

Post by iandanforth »

I see a lot of anti-politics-at-work commentary here. This makes me wonder what the posters would do working for companies that have an explicit social agenda. If the politics are baked into the company, does that void the "politics and work should be separate" point?

Re: Woke at Work: Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics and failing

#225

Post by ransElectronics »

The only way that wokeness will go away is if there is a monetary incentive for it to go away. Once that happens, if it ever happens, it will likely take 20+ years for these cancerous wretches to be purged from their institutional power. Just like it took about 20 years for them to weasel in and destroy everything.

Re: Woke at Work: Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics and failing

#226

Post by kwdc »

eric4smith wrote: post #7

People are human. But work is work. The canonical point of a workplace is to come together to fulfill the aims of the entrepreneurs. The personal aims of the workers are fulfilled best outside of work. Just stop to think about it logically for a minute... is the workplace the best place to circulate a petition condemning something that has nothing to do with work? The workplace necessarily is going to bring together…

Perhaps hiring should measure people's ability to tolerate opposing views? It can't be good to work with people who can't stay civil in the face of disagreements. Surely that is a sign of a lack of emotional intelligence?

Re: Woke at Work: Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics and failing

#227

Post by incadenza »

jdgoesmarching wrote: post #83
yakshaving_jgt wrote: post #3

> last week Alphabet, Google’s parent, had to deal with another internal petition circulating among employees, this one calling on the firm’s leadership to make a statement “recognising the violence in Palestine and Israel”. It's a special kind of hubris to believe that despite over a thousand years of conflict in the region, the right people to comprehensively understand and solve the problem are some people who mak…

Nobody is fighting over theological differences, they are fighting over land. Specifically, land that was conquered by the British who promised it to both parties, failed to manage a compromise, tossed the problem to the UN who drew up horrible borders, then allowed Israel to settle beyond those borders without consequence. The entire history of this issue is roughly 100 years old and almost entirely due to imperiali…

They quite literally are. I would encourage you to listen to the arguments put forth by the Israelis currently settling across the internationally recognized borders in the West Bank.

Re: Woke at Work: Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics and failing

#228

Post by andreilys »

_jal wrote: post #99
eric4smith wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow. Most businesses are started with neither. But with the sweat off the back of the founders. When will we acknowledge that one of the most noble pursuits in human history is to provide paid employment for your fellow man??

> When will we acknowledge that one of the most noble pursuits Christ, this Superhero CEO bullshit has to stop. It is beyond absurd. Is the multi-hundred X income multiplier really insufficient, they need their egos stroked constantly, too? I have co-founded a startup, and otherwise have worked at them for almost the entirety of my adult life. I know how much work, risk, and pain is involved. But this apparent need f…

Society would be better off glorifying entrepreneurs than instagram celebrities.

Also most founders do not get a multi-hundred X income multiplier. Instead they fail and often go into debt. Yes there are some outsized winners, but the vast majority don’t. That’s why we should be elevating those individuals to promote a culture of risk-taking.

Re: Woke at Work: Why tech firms are trying to run away from politics and failing

#230

Post by smegger001 »

archsurface wrote: post #2

I have no tolerance for politics at work. As far as woke at work goes, not too long ago someone in my office commented on slack "I don't approve of unnecessarily gendered emoji" - I can't even begin to imagine what sort of mind produces such thoughts. First world problems? No idea.

the one that gets me is adding race to emoji. they all used to be 'Simpsons yellow', a skin tone not found in any ethnic or racial group, and as such not representing or excluding any group but now we have black white and other various skin tones for our happy-faces. WHY? Does black happy face mean something different than white happy face isn't happiness universal? why bring race into something that was simply meant to express emotion?
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