Why Quit? Because the other company has bigger monitors. • Hacker News Board

Re: Why Quit? Because the other company has bigger monitors.

#211

Post by SatvikBeri » Fri, May 18, 2012, 4:33 PM UTC

knewter wrote: post #176

steve8918 wrote: post #84

Valuing an employee's time is definitely something that should be considered. But even taken a few steps further than "I need another monitor to increase productivity", and you're floating dangerously close to self-entitlement, and simple, pathetic whining. At Yahoo, I distinctly remember a thread on devel-random where one employee, in a single post, complained about things like how ugly the color scheme of the walls…

> It also sounds like the boss didn't bother asking the employee at their 1:1's about what they thought needed changing, or maybe he was just unapproachable. I'm an owner / CTO of a consultancy, and this point always frustrates me. We are only 12 or so employees, and we're all very comfortable with one another (we'll have game nights at the office, watch the GSL, etc). Still, when me and my partner have a 1:1 or talk…

Getting people to open up is a skill. It's also much easier to do with peers.

Honestly, it's enough of a skill that I can't give you "quick pointers"-but check out the book The Charisma Myth, and pay special attention to Focus Charisma. That's the skill that you need to get people to open up about all their problems & concerns.

Re: Why Quit? Because the other company has bigger monitors.

#212

Post by baggachipz » Fri, May 18, 2012, 4:42 PM UTC

_ea1k wrote: post #188

baggachipz wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely true. There is a company here in Charlotte, NC (any dev in Charlotte will know who this is) who puts all the toys on display to attract employees: flat screens on the wall, all the monitors on your desk you can handle, etc. etc. The actual company, though, is a soul-crushing hell hole with more churn than an amish dairy farm. That place is pure evil.

Interesting... I worked in Charlotte for a few years and can't think of anywhere like this. I wonder who you could be referring to?

Let's just say the first word in the name is "Red" and the second is "Ventures". And there is no third word. They're consistently on the Inc. 500's "best places to work" list because they strong-arm employees into rating them well and most likely pay for the recognition.

Re: Why Quit? Because the other company has bigger monitors.

#213

Post by pivo » Fri, May 18, 2012, 4:43 PM UTC

jroseattle wrote: post #119

nirvana wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Big monitors, small offices. Give me a room where I can close the door. I'll share it with one other person, but it can't be a tight fit. If you expect me to work while you're interrupting me every 5 minutes, then you don't really expect me to be productive. Also good- conference rooms for ad hoc meetings. (Maybe for the people who like to work together in a room they can take over a conference room or whatever.... m…

Yeah, the office thing has always been a function of available space for us. Some of our folks want complete isolation, others like an open environment. I've always tried to accommodate personal preferences, so I try to pull that from folks as we work together. Sometimes, what somebody wanted last year changes with this year; I try to be accommodating to allow everyone to change around; no need letting the workplace…

I'm envious, that's very enlightened. I've mentioned to my current and past bosses the fact that not everyone wants to work in a romper room environment and would actually prefer quiet instead, only to receive incredulous responses. The ability to recognize that your own preferences might not be optimal for everyone else is a surprisingly rare skill.

Re: Why Quit? Because the other company has bigger monitors.

#214

Post by glhaynes » Fri, May 18, 2012, 4:43 PM UTC

RandallBrown wrote: post #209

philbarr wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coming from the UK, I'm always amazed at how important health insurance is in the US, and what a broad range of quality of healthcare there is. Our company provide a free, private healthcare (BUPA), but I've never felt the need to use it. Recently, I had surgery for an ACL tear. Unfortunately, for some reason, it later went septic. The day the consultant found it was septic he rushed me into surgery that afternoon an…

All that would likely have happened in the US also. Most people have health insurance. The ones who don't still get medical care, it just costs them money. If they don't have the money, they can settle with the hospital on a payment plan they can afford. It's definitely not perfect, but it's not as bad as it seems at first glance. I'll see posts about people's 30,000 dollar hospital bill, but in reality they'll never…

But, still, medical bills are a major (#1?) cause of bankruptcy. And our health outcomes are significantly worsened by how many people never get preventative care.

Re: Why Quit? Because the other company has bigger monitors.

#215

Post by markkanof » Fri, May 18, 2012, 4:44 PM UTC

jroseattle wrote: post #119

nirvana wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Big monitors, small offices. Give me a room where I can close the door. I'll share it with one other person, but it can't be a tight fit. If you expect me to work while you're interrupting me every 5 minutes, then you don't really expect me to be productive. Also good- conference rooms for ad hoc meetings. (Maybe for the people who like to work together in a room they can take over a conference room or whatever.... m…

Yeah, the office thing has always been a function of available space for us. Some of our folks want complete isolation, others like an open environment. I've always tried to accommodate personal preferences, so I try to pull that from folks as we work together. Sometimes, what somebody wanted last year changes with this year; I try to be accommodating to allow everyone to change around; no need letting the workplace…

You sounds like a very enlightened manager. I particularly like your point about evaluating the situation periodically. People's preferences change over time and it's great that you try to adjust as they do.

Re: Why Quit? Because the other company has bigger monitors.

#216

Post by pivo » Fri, May 18, 2012, 4:49 PM UTC

gnarizard wrote: post #69

jroseattle wrote: post #37

For the engineers I've hired onto my team, I insist they be provided the very things that I want as an engineer: - Two big monitors - New dev machine/laptop, running latest bits - A top-of-the-line chair - Some natural light (not to be confused with *natty light*) These are the non-negotiable items, and having taken a few senior mgmt positions, it's now something I state upfront: this is how we roll, no exceptions. T…

Natural light can't be emphasized enough. I just moved to a window-less fluorescent fishbowl shared by three analysts/developers, and I've never had so many headaches.

Maybe it's not possible if you're sharing a room, but in the past I was in a similar situation with regard to natural light. I turned off the ceiling fluorescents and brought in incandescent desk and floor lamps. It made the room much more comfortable and got rid of my headaches.

Re: Why Quit? Because the other company has bigger monitors.

#217

Post by huhtenberg » Fri, May 18, 2012, 4:54 PM UTC

knewter wrote: post #176

steve8918 wrote: post #84

Valuing an employee's time is definitely something that should be considered. But even taken a few steps further than "I need another monitor to increase productivity", and you're floating dangerously close to self-entitlement, and simple, pathetic whining. At Yahoo, I distinctly remember a thread on devel-random where one employee, in a single post, complained about things like how ugly the color scheme of the walls…

> It also sounds like the boss didn't bother asking the employee at their 1:1's about what they thought needed changing, or maybe he was just unapproachable. I'm an owner / CTO of a consultancy, and this point always frustrates me. We are only 12 or so employees, and we're all very comfortable with one another (we'll have game nights at the office, watch the GSL, etc). Still, when me and my partner have a 1:1 or talk…

Sounds like your guy left because he wanted to leave, and the insurance was a made-up excuse.

Re: Why Quit? Because the other company has bigger monitors.

#218

Post by mkconor » Fri, May 18, 2012, 4:56 PM UTC

RandallBrown wrote: post #209

philbarr wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coming from the UK, I'm always amazed at how important health insurance is in the US, and what a broad range of quality of healthcare there is. Our company provide a free, private healthcare (BUPA), but I've never felt the need to use it. Recently, I had surgery for an ACL tear. Unfortunately, for some reason, it later went septic. The day the consultant found it was septic he rushed me into surgery that afternoon an…

All that would likely have happened in the US also. Most people have health insurance. The ones who don't still get medical care, it just costs them money. If they don't have the money, they can settle with the hospital on a payment plan they can afford. It's definitely not perfect, but it's not as bad as it seems at first glance. I'll see posts about people's 30,000 dollar hospital bill, but in reality they'll never…

Health insurance in the US is highly variable. Many plans expect consumers to pay a substantial portion of their medical bills. The term "underinsured" tries to capture this segment of the population that is nominally insured but in reality would incur huge bills if they took advantage of their insurance. And while some people manage to get out of paying their bills by exploiting HIPAA, most just take the massive hit to their credit and walk away from it. So no they don't end up paying that much, but the stress and economic fallout they endure is nothing to wave away either.

Re: Why Quit? Because the other company has bigger monitors.

#219

Post by varelse » Fri, May 18, 2012, 4:58 PM UTC

Google is the only employer that ever offered me a 30" monitor from day one. Google was also the absolute worst employer of my professional career. I've gone into why on other threads - just take it as a given that Google and I really really clashed culturally - and the best thing to do was to leave as fast as I possibly could.

That said, I can certainly see a manager who asks upfront what I need to be productive as a good sign and an absolute refusal to consider such needs as a bad one.

Re: Why Quit? Because the other company has bigger monitors.

#220

Post by varelse » Fri, May 18, 2012, 5:01 PM UTC

penetrator wrote: post #48

it's hard for me to imagine that the first apple computer would be have been created if woz insisted on using a large cinema projector, much less two projectors he hacked a regular tv instead, and that's how apple was born

Back in those days, printers were macho 160-column beasts that could spew out 10,000+ lines of code in one continuous folded scroll.

I then debugged by taking that enormous scroll of paper to the beach, the park, or somewhere else pleasant and scribbled all over it.

While I love 30" monitors, something has been lost in abandoning that method of reviewing code. Just sayin'...