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Meta Layoffs

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121–130 of 282 posts

Re: Meta Layoffs

#121
post #18

A lesson from Valve, which supposedly has no org chart: a company with no hierarchy has politics instead. I'm certain other companies that have tried that model have the same problem.

well, i think you mean there are always politics

Would you rather have obvious politics or invisible politics.

Re: Meta Layoffs

#123
post #58

> > Our early analysis of performance data suggests that engineers who either joined Meta in-person and then transferred to remote or remained in-person performed better on average than people who joined remotely. This analysis also shows that engineers earlier in their career perform better on average when they work in-person with teammates at least three days a week. This requires further study, but our hypothesis…

Another perspective on your first point (learning from senior peers) is that after you spend a certain period of time learning, you're on your way to becoming a "senior" as well - and you're supposed to be on the hook for overseeing the next batch of younglings. Remote working needs to (and I believe it can, we probably haven't found the right combination yet) solve for paying it forward.

Re: Meta Layoffs

#124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The other deep irony is that many tech companies ruined the office by forcing open office designs. It was no secret that employees found them difficult places to be productive. And now they wonder why nobody wants to go there.

One counter argument to this take is: If cube farms or offices with doors are so much better, where are the companies without open-offices and outsized performance financials. I suspect most employees just aren't that productive for it to matter much. There is probably some small percentage who are more productive, and even fewer who are much more productive, but their needs are overwhelming by larger business decisi…

> If cube farms or offices with doors are so much better [...]

Then again peacooks have like huge swag backs for no good reason other than looks.

I feel the concept of open offices are abit like agile. It is a virtue signaling "cult".

It doesn't matter it is counterproductive. You just need it to get the female peacooks.

Re: Meta Layoffs

#125
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is anyone meant to respond to that? Can’t you apply this thinking to any company?

Office structure doesn't affect what products people are willing to pay for.

Maybe the products produced by developers that can concentrate better are more valuable and people are willing to pay more for them. Seems like Apple provides 2.4 trillion reasons.

Re: Meta Layoffs

#126
post #19

Everything is rolling along smoothly, and then, bam: > High caliber, experienced employees probably get just as much done at home at the office, or maybe more… “Probably” is the key word, here. It signals to me that the author is tired of writing at this point and throws in something with little conviction or defense. I care about this point, and am inclined in the opposite direction: I think less work is done in off…

> Withholding any self reflection to qualify myself as “high caliber”, I can say > I’m an experienced employee - and feel that my productivity dwindles in person > due to distractions and thus an inability to “zone in”.

> That means that I’m putting in extra hours outside work to achieve the same > level of pre-RTO productivity. I’ve heard the same from others. Together, we’ve > expressed concerns about the sustainability of these efforts.

I agree with this observation. WFH gives you the ability to mute chat where as with the office if you don't respond, its show up and discuss(aka interrupt). I've had some days in the office where I've left not knowing what exactly was done for the day but being mentally exhausted. I would say its the intangible items or project status such as all the information you dispensed or clarified, stopped people looking at the wrong problem, figured out the real problem, commented on a proposal, etc that is over-looked and not counted towards "work". This "glue" is what employers are really paying you for by being in the office, but don't want to recognize, instead basing what they pay you on the language you know, vendor products, projects, etc. With WFH you don't have to make the "glue" as much since you can focus on your project, setup the meetings you need, when you need, and you don't have to use non-work time for work. This makes other employees less effective, more-so caused by the organization than the individual, which leads to the perception/feeling that "more gets done" when people are in the office.

In my job experience good management recognizes the glue, can make the glue, account for needing glue or provide the justification for someone else to make glue. Poor management can not, thus everyone back to the office.

Re: Meta Layoffs

#127
I have seen the 'manager does nothing' situation, and it is a bad idea. The notion that line managers just do people management and literally nothing else is just egregiously harmful to the industry. This is how you end up with three layers of people who do nothing, as explained in the article.

A line manager ought to be in the trenches, handling oncall, writing some code now and then, automating the bits of drudgery away, project managing, product managing, code reviewing and generally being an engineer. None of these things have to be done all the time and to the highest level of performance, but the idea that managers delegate all of these responsibilities leads to yes-men being promoted. If, as a manager, you do none of these activities, how on earth do you evaluate your people? You become the Vladimir Putin of your team, fed horseshit by people who have agendas or loudmouths while completely missing out on the concerns of people who do the actual work, with absolutely no idea of the actual performance and problems of the team.

Re: Meta Layoffs

#128
post #7

I just have to point out the irony that a company which believes so much in virtual work that they renamed themselves after the "metaverse" is now thinking to require employees to return to the office.

it just shows that the management don't have a clue what they're doing. they just fomo into trends.

Re: Meta Layoffs

#129
post #7

I just have to point out the irony that a company which believes so much in virtual work that they renamed themselves after the "metaverse" is now thinking to require employees to return to the office.

it just shows that the management don't have a clue what they're doing. they just fomo into trends.

probably pretty likely to happen when you've built a company that basically spread misinformation for a profit, things will get pretty confusing.

Re: Meta Layoffs

#130
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They built an entire metaverse office with little conference rooms full of avatars. It was comical.

Who doesn't like bringing everything terrible about the real world into the virtual one? Next thing you see they'll be having virtual commutes with virtual cars waiting 40 minutes just to go to your virtual office. But hey it's all metaverse, which means it's awesome and shiny, right?

I think it was somewhat common trope in sci-fi novels of 80s and 90s to justify virtual commute as a camouflage for loading time. Back when fastest Internet was 56k, it made sense.
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