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

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

#231
My problem with politics at work isn’t so much that it’s politics but more that it’s always idiotic performative horseshit. Like please stop pretending you want to “help” a group of people who disproportionately hold the jobs you are automating out of existence etc. More often than not it has more to do with a small number of individuals trying to get more power for themselves than a genuine desire to help anyone.

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

#232
post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Instagram celebrities are just entrepreneurs of fame. Many have made entire fortunes by monetizing social media exposure.

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

#233

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 stop fetishizing and lionizing "job creation"? The ideal business would employ zero people, have zero expenses, and make a 100% profit margin. From a purely business perspective, every job created is an inefficiency. No one sets out to create jobs when they start a business. They set out to make money and create products or services of value - in that order. Employing people is an unfortunate side-effect…

>When will we stop fetishizing and lionizing "job creation"?

When it stops getting politicians elected. No one wants to vote for the person who assures them they will do everything in their power to put them out of work and transfer their value directly to shareholders.

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

#234
post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. Yellow was race-neutral - nobody's skin color. Then the race-ist emojis started... and discrimination sky-rocketed (e.g. there's still no ginger emojis!).

Yellow is more neutral than specific light-to-tan skin tones, but it's certainly not neutral in regards to everyone. Or, to put it another way - if the default for all emoji was a dark magenta skin tone, would you consider that "race-neutral"?

probably would yeah

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

#235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a really disingenuous false equivalency. First, you're implying that all opinions are equally valid. That is... I'll be polite and simply call it nonsense. "Gay people should have rights" and "gay people shouldn't have rights" are not opinions of equal value, and it's not "eating your cake and having it too" to say that the latter opinion is unwelcome. Second, there's a very clear relationship between the "le…

"Gay people should have rights". What "rights" currently are being denied to gays? Honest question

Why nitpick over what is clearly an example? But to indulge, prior to the Obergefell ruling, 31 U.S. states held statues banning same-sex unions. That was just 5 years ago.

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

#236

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…

The workplace is 8+ hours of most people's day. You cannot divorce it from the very real problems that exist in the world.

Actually you can. And it has been done successfully for decades. Proselytizing has no place in the workplace.

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

#237
post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Hey now, those Instagram celebrities are "influencers". They're entrepreneurs too.

I don't think either is particularly worthy of "glorification". I'd reserve glory purely for people who help other people without much monetary reward.

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

#238

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…

I don't understand why so many people get so angry about something so inconsequential.

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

#239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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"

Time is easy to measure. It could well be line of code or Completion of work, but that will quickly become highly subjective. If someone finds a better way to measure and pay for the software engineers, it could open plethora of possibilities.

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

#240
As someone straddling the line between gen x and millennials, the concept of partnering with your corporate bosses to advocate for political causes far astray from your company's products, particularly without regard for the ability of capitalism to co-opt that energy in a cynical pursuit of profit, is basically insane to me.

It seems like people have become so desperate to fill the widening void of meaning and purpose that they are willing to graft it even onto their at-will employment contract.

And as someone who watched the internet exponentiate the number of niche subjects and communities it shocks me how much homogeneity there seems to be in how people think and speak today.

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