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Google engineer jumps to death in NYC, second worker suicide in months

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Re: Google engineer jumps to death in NYC, second worker suicide in months

#91

Post by tedivm »

renewiltord wrote: post #76
mydogcanpurr wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't make me point at the sign... https://killedbygoogle.com/ That's just one example, and I really don't care enough to list more reasons.

It would appear most people don't care about those products, then. I scrolled through and didn't care about the first page. Maybe Hangouts? And I have free GSuite still so don't know why that's on the list.

"Most" people don't trust any of the companies on the link you listed. USPS, which had the #1 spot on the trusted list, is trusted by less than half of US adults (42%).

You can be one of the most trusted companies while still being hated by most americans.

Re: Google engineer jumps to death in NYC, second worker suicide in months

#92

Post by tedivm »

bko wrote: post #58
tedivm wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's really a breath of fresh air compared to a lot of sci-fi that makes humans out to be idiots or malevolent. Did we read the same book? A huge portion was devoted to the cultural revolution, and it definitely made humans look pretty "malevolent" there. I don't think the book really tries to be optimistic, just realistic, which means it calls out a lot of good and bad.

It's been a while since I read it, but I think the cultural revolution served as character development and how the trauma effected some of the characters in the story. It also served as an analogy for suppressing scientific research. It's something that has been overcome and is (somewhat) overcome in the rest of the book and the subsequent novels from the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy. It's not that people are…

I guess my point- which I think we're mostly in agreement with- is that the trilogy was really complex, rather than being "humans stupid" or "humans bad" (or even "humans good"). I love my space opera (Peter Hamilton gets my love) but I also love those really good complex scifi stories such as this.

Re: Google engineer jumps to death in NYC, second worker suicide in months

#93

Post by hgsgm »

jckr wrote: post #90
bhouston wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google employs 200,000 people. Suicide rate in the US is ~13 per 100,000 per year. This means there is an expected base rate of Google employees committing suicide per year regardless of working conditions that is likely higher than just 2. Maybe there is a real issue but two suicides within such large number of employees isn’t statistically significant. EDIT: I added "statistically" in the last sentence to clarify m…

If you want to have a meaningful comparison, then compare Google’s suicide rates with those of people in their thirties, gainfully employed / making six figures and have free access to mental health resources.

Mental health resources at Google are there to collect evidence in case the company closes to fire you and needs to defend against a lawsuit.

Re: Google engineer jumps to death in NYC, second worker suicide in months

#94

Post by hgsgm »

bhouston wrote: post #21
protonimitate wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An employee of Google who jumped from the Google office is a pretty obvious connection. Don't really see how this is clickbait.

Google employs 200,000 people. Suicide rate in the US is ~13 per 100,000 per year. This means there is an expected base rate of Google employees committing suicide per year regardless of working conditions that is likely higher than just 2. Maybe there is a real issue but two suicides within such large number of employees isn’t statistically significant. EDIT: I added "statistically" in the last sentence to clarify m…

2 per year worldwide vs 2 per half-year in NYC office.

Re: Google engineer jumps to death in NYC, second worker suicide in months

#95

Post by renewiltord »

tedivm wrote: post #91
renewiltord wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would appear most people don't care about those products, then. I scrolled through and didn't care about the first page. Maybe Hangouts? And I have free GSuite still so don't know why that's on the list.

"Most" people don't trust any of the companies on the link you listed. USPS, which had the #1 spot on the trusted list, is trusted by less than half of US adults (42%). You can be one of the most trusted companies while still being hated by most americans.

That number is for those who trust it "a lot". The answers go from trust not at all, distrust a little, don't know / can't say, trust some, trust a lot. The 42% is trust a lot. The "trust some" is about that much again.

But you'll have to pay for Brand Intelligence to get that breakdown. Absent that breakdown, you should trust your prior for whether "trust some" is under 8% on a product that has "trust a lot" is 42% and whether or not the most likely value for "trust some" is under 8% on a brand that has "trust a lot" at 42%.

Re: Google engineer jumps to death in NYC, second worker suicide in months

#96

Post by aaomidi »

haswell wrote: post #85
aaomidi wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The timing of the layoffs, etc. yes there is room for speculation. There’s always room for speculation.

Sure, there's always "room" for speculation, and someone will always speculate. But that doesn't give this speculation any basis nor should it excuse irresponsible dialogue that seeks to generate answers for the sake of answers instead of accuracy and real information. There's a time during which such speculation is straight up irresponsible. It fuels narratives and feeds anger for reasons that can't be justified wit…

So you agree there’s room for speculation.

That’s all I was saying. Did not state if I think it’s relevant or not.

Re: Google engineer jumps to death in NYC, second worker suicide in months

#97

Post by a1962w »

SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #79
justrealist wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At some extremes, this is false, right? What about someone becoming an astronaut? Getting elected president? Be cautious who you cede your identity to, but it's OK to be genuinely excited about some career outcomes.

> Identifying with your employer to the extent you view it as the pinnacle of your life isn’t likely to end positively. > At some extremes, this is false, right? What about someone becoming an astronaut? Sorry about the source, but have a look at this workplace discussion between two Russian Astronauts, about how that after the big send-off the job is a "heavy routine" and "depression hits". But they can't give it up…

Lawn chair Larry's story was kinda like that I think. I would love to take the flight but would never want any interaction with the authorities or publicity. They seem to ruin everything.

Re: Google engineer jumps to death in NYC, second worker suicide in months

#98

Post by lnsru »

skyyler wrote: post #83
whywhywhywhy wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Poor taste to use this as a platform for your back to office complaints.

Are you tone deaf? The comment you’re replying to is softly stating that going back into the office is making them feel suicidal. This is a perfect venue to discuss that…

Due to forced back to office somebody must drop their remote master studies. Somebody will not see pregnant wife whole day. Somebody will not be able to pick/bring kids from/to school. Another one must cancel his weight loss program during lunch break (funny enough, this guy is the most productive and kindest one in the whole floor). It’s rude silent layoff, only management wins reducing headcount with such clever measures.

Re: Google engineer jumps to death in NYC, second worker suicide in months

#99

Post by haswell »

aaomidi wrote: post #96
haswell wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, there's always "room" for speculation, and someone will always speculate. But that doesn't give this speculation any basis nor should it excuse irresponsible dialogue that seeks to generate answers for the sake of answers instead of accuracy and real information. There's a time during which such speculation is straight up irresponsible. It fuels narratives and feeds anger for reasons that can't be justified wit…

So you agree there’s room for speculation. That’s all I was saying. Did not state if I think it’s relevant or not.

I never claimed there wasn’t “room” for speculation and I can’t stop people from speculating.

My comment was about the basis for such speculation - for which there is none - and a criticism of this kind of speculation due to the problems it causes.

It’s uninteresting and is often the precursor to misinformation/disinformation.

Re: Google engineer jumps to death in NYC, second worker suicide in months

#100

Post by okdood64 »

bloblaw wrote: post #10

Without an understanding of their motive, I think tying "google" to a person's mental health crisis is clickbait. Folks dealing with mental health issues might end their lives for a variety of factors. This is very sad to hear, but the headline (and article) that attempts to connect an employer to a person's death without any evidence is unfair. Note: I do not work for Google.

> I think tying "google" to a person's mental health crisis is clickbait

It's total clickbait and highlights the shameful narrative on HN and Reddit about "Mmm, Google bad." A guy just died and people are trying to push their own narrative without any sort of validity. Shameful and disgusting.

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