Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Work Culture Canary?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 104 posts

Re: Ask HN: Work Culture Canary?

#41

Post by eastbound »

pingpongrandom wrote: post #22

This may be a bit of a different scale, but pay attention to how many lawyers are in the company. If the amount dramatically increases for some unknown reason, it's probably a good time to depart.

I left some famous startup, not because it reached 1000 employees, but because the motto changed from:

“Be the change you seek”

to

“We advance humanity”.

With a little legless girl from Africa, for whom we build the software that helps the doctor that helps the girl.

I still have the poster hanging behind me as a CEO. To remind people of what not to become. We’re just making fucking software, don’t stay late, go take care of your family, they’re the most important thing in your life.

Re: Ask HN: Work Culture Canary?

#42

Post by lrvick »

dugmartin wrote: post #13

Mine is when human beings working at the company start becoming referred to as “resources” instead of people.

Once a CEO giving a tour of the engineering department to a potential investor and loudly described us as the monkeys that hammer out code for him.

This was never forgotten and marked the beginning of a major engineering exodus.

Re: Ask HN: Work Culture Canary?

#43

Post by lrvick »

Mandatum wrote: post #38

https://steveblank.com/2009/12/21/the-elves-leave-middle-ear... Once they cut benefits that are widely lauded. Holiday-free PTO, exercise and health benefits, stuff that makes sense to anyone to attract talent when times are tough. You can cut corners, you can cut bonuses when times are tough - but you can't cut benefits. It's a short-term way of thinking, and you'll lose your best employees over it.

Two companies I worked at went to shit shortly after free lunches got the axe.

Re: Ask HN: Work Culture Canary?

#44

Post by tornadofart »

blueflow wrote: post #24
tornadofart wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All within reason, I assume? Or would you be OK with jokes about skin color and such? I'm not humoring you, I'm genuinely interested in your answer.

You can make sexist or racist jokes as you want if you are the butt of the joke yourself. It still makes other people laugh.

If we can agree on 'knowing the difference between jokes and harrassment / mobbing' then I'm with you on this. It's all about context. 'Just a prank / joke' is too often an excuse for things that are actually worse.

Re: Ask HN: Work Culture Canary?

#46

Post by etothepii »

pingpongrandom wrote: post #22

This may be a bit of a different scale, but pay attention to how many lawyers are in the company. If the amount dramatically increases for some unknown reason, it's probably a good time to depart.

I've always genuinely been baffled by how Theranos was able to hire all those security guards and making everyone that left the company sign an NDA.

Re: Ask HN: Work Culture Canary?

#47

Post by hk__2 »

donw wrote: post #14
blueflow wrote: post #2

How jokes are reacted to. Jokes can be unfunny or tasteless, but when someone argues big concepts that a joke must not be made, its a big red flag.

Exactly. The difference between a joke and bullying is that if it's a joke, the mark gets a laugh out of it as well. Also that the honor of being the mark rotates around the group somewhat fairly. If you're either never the butt of the joke, or always the butt of the joke, you know that the people around you either don't respect or trust you.

> The difference between a joke and bullying is that if it's a joke, the mark gets a laugh out of it as well.

Not really. You never know if they genuinely laugh or if it’s a way to attenuate the group pressure they’re the victime of.

Re: Ask HN: Work Culture Canary?

#48

Post by hk__2 »

Markoff wrote: post #21
taffronaut wrote: post #5

Every time I take a can of soda from the fridge, I replace it with two. I exhort my colleagues to do the same. However we have yet to reach my goal of 2^64 cans which makes me suspect there are some bad apples.

That doesn't make sense, if everyone done it you would run out of fridge capacity within few hours, why not take one, replace one?

> That doesn't make sense, if everyone done it you would run out of fridge capacity within few hours, why not take one, replace one?

It makes sense because not everyone does it.

Re: Ask HN: Work Culture Canary?

#50

Post by afandian »

Markoff wrote: post #21
taffronaut wrote: post #5

Every time I take a can of soda from the fridge, I replace it with two. I exhort my colleagues to do the same. However we have yet to reach my goal of 2^64 cans which makes me suspect there are some bad apples.

That doesn't make sense, if everyone done it you would run out of fridge capacity within few hours, why not take one, replace one?

I think it was unspoken in the GP's comment that you would have to acquire an exponential number of fridges too.

Maybe this is the solution to the empty office space problem?

Post reply on HN