What does that even mean?
Do you mean "Do you feel like you're going to be fired?"
No, not at the moment...
Otherwise, please be more specific...
Ask HN: Do you feel psychological safety at your job?
41–50 of 131 posts
Re: Ask HN: Do you feel psychological safety at your job?
#42I am an American, so of course not.
You know we do have welfare/unemployment/rental assistance too, right?
I would argue that a disproportionate number of FAANG employees have lifestyle crept outside the realm where existing social programs could be helpful. Healthcare in this country is still practically tied to your employer (or super expensive cobra) and in this industry that employment is likely at-will, so that assistance doesn’t feel sufficient. At least not for a country that purports to be the world’s primary economic engine (maybe at exporting exceptionalism).
Re: Ask HN: Do you feel psychological safety at your job?
#43Camaraderie is an illusion with management or your boss. We're not comrades, we're their subjects. We can have comradeship with our peers, of course, but that's unlikely to provide a safety net where none of us are unionized. So no, I don't feel safe. I smile and say polite things when they mention how great the company is or how the sales are, or what a great year it will be!(how will any of this benefit me, besides…
Referring to yourself as a "subject" is a very unhealthy worldview. There are a lot of bad bosses, but there are a lot of great ones who regularly put their neck on the line for the teams they serve. It sounds like you've had some bad experiences, but you should not generalize them to the whole world.
Re: Ask HN: Do you feel psychological safety at your job?
#44Two rules:
Rule #1: Have enough savings in your bank account to pay all your living expenses for at least one year. (Obviously easier said than done.)
Rule #2: Follow Rule #1. (If you do, you'll have time to figure everything else out. That might mean finding a new job.)
Re: Ask HN: Do you feel psychological safety at your job?
#45I think you might be too attached to your daily habits and routines.
I'm self-employed, but I've battled that feeling on longer jobs where I started to feel immense anxiety and almost a depression-like state when a job was coming to a close and I was just going to have to find something out.
Socializing with people helps, getting involved at my church and back when I was younger I would do things with my neighbors and that sort of thing.
Unless you're completely devoted to some mission at the corp you work for, always remember that you bring that money home to your family first, and everything else about work is secondary to that. It's likely you're not saving the world at work, and it's also likely (statistically, not based on you personally) that the company would survive if you were to disappear or quit.
It's tough though. It takes a distinct effort to acknowledge this and counteract it, but it is worth doing precisely because of what you're feeling now. It's scary to have your habits and routines and comforts threatened with change.
Not every change is good, not ever change is bad, not ever proposed change will always come to, and not every change is announced prior. What is certain, is that you must find a way forward in a world that changes every day, whether you like it or not.
Re: Ask HN: Do you feel psychological safety at your job?
#46Camaraderie is an illusion with management or your boss. We're not comrades, we're their subjects. We can have comradeship with our peers, of course, but that's unlikely to provide a safety net where none of us are unionized. So no, I don't feel safe. I smile and say polite things when they mention how great the company is or how the sales are, or what a great year it will be!(how will any of this benefit me, besides…
I started managing a team a couple years ago, prior to which I was an individual contributor for a little over 20.
What you describe demonstrates a lack of honesty and integrity. All I can say is I’m glad you are not on my team.
Re: Ask HN: Do you feel psychological safety at your job?
#47I can guess which FAANG you're at. "psychological safety" has been floating around the office recently. I mostly feel secure because (a) my ratings have been good, and more importantly (b) I don't think my team is going to get axed because we maintain a pretty core feature. I think if you're in the bottom 6-8% or whatever they set the low ratings at, you're in danger. And if you're on a team that doesn't generate mon…
What you describe is more job security. Physilogocal safety is about feeling safe to speak up without being punished or humiliated for speaking up on ideas, concerns, or mistakes (etc.). If nobody is communicating properly it may be an indication your company has many people that don't feel safe.
Re: Ask HN: Do you feel psychological safety at your job?
#48The amount of derision and defensive comments is kind of interesting. There are two groups it's seems.
Yeah, it's hard and unless I am critical to operations or revenue I'm worried.
or 2 - what do you mean? Its work, nbd. Why should I.
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the latter seems like the kind of person who probably will be let go imo.
Re: Ask HN: Do you feel psychological safety at your job?
#49Camaraderie is an illusion with management or your boss. We're not comrades, we're their subjects. We can have comradeship with our peers, of course, but that's unlikely to provide a safety net where none of us are unionized. So no, I don't feel safe. I smile and say polite things when they mention how great the company is or how the sales are, or what a great year it will be!(how will any of this benefit me, besides…
I understand that my boss is not my friend, but to describe oneself as a “subject” is not something I relate to. In fact, I think it’s absurdly dramatic.
It’s not though - when you look at what really “drives” the relationship. You trade your labor for money in a system designed to keep us so anxious, we will accept as little wage as possible, by the same capital owning class.
We are subject to their desires as they are bound, by law, to choose profit for shareholders over employees.
We are their subjects. “Ain’t no war but class war” applies to us in tech as much as it does to the miners a mile underground in PA.
Re: Ask HN: Do you feel psychological safety at your job?
#50Interestingly I’m a few years over 30 years info my tech career and it was avoid 10 years ago I could see the fnords at last. There is no safety, there never was. There’s no golden ring, there is no winning, there is no camaraderie, there is no value in promotion, the respect of your peers is meaningless, and it’s all just a sham to get you to expend more of your soul for less money. Once I had pierced the ceiling into ultra senior management of mega corps and was able to see how the system worked from top to bottom, it was obvious. The shared delusion is increasing apparent as you get more senior. You see yourself telling people to tell the lies knowing it’s a lie, and see the lie spread throughout the organization.
If you want material substance and human connection you have to take the lie of corporate life out of the equation, the lie of scarce seniority, the lie of compensation for merit, the lie of peer respect, the lie of all the various attachments and see reality for what it is. You may still keep doing the lies, I do, because they’re functionally useful and I’ve got financial commitments and need their money. But I know what it all is now, and my life is much richer for it.
If you seek that realizing you’ve been deceived by a massive shared illusion, you will find what you thought you had.