41–50 of 92 posts
You're never going to employ blind people? EDIT: Yes, this post is perhaps a bit grumpy. I leave it here because it's been replied to. (And because HN has no strikethrough.)
I don't understand why you'd read their document, find the worst possible interpretation imaginable - one which no reasonable person could assume was valid - and then post about that on Hacker News.
Note: This was written by folks who have never been on the receiving end of a stupid employee lawsuit. There are reasons why you need an employee handbook, and almost all of them are legal CYA.
Seek out better legal advice than these guys did.
- Think one of your co-workers is not performing up to par - might want to consult the employee handbook
- Think you might get laid off - might want to consult the employee handbook
- Wondering how much time you can take off - might want to consult the employee handbook
Employee handbooks are stuffy, boring and read like a dictionary. It is essentially a very light contract between the employer and employee - writing a contract about how there basically are no rules probably makes everyone feel like they are forward thinking but helps very little. Here are some tangible examples...
- There is no rule on vacation so my coworker "John" takes a lot of vacation. Hes pretty responsible about it but sometimes he's out and we really do need him - its begun to frustrate me a little. Is he about to be fired or can I do this too - Im doing a ton of work but would like to go to Europe for 6 weeks? (The problem here is that there is a very real limit on vacation - the limit is a magical number/level of output in the founders/investors/manager's heads and may depend on their mood day to day. What one's expectation of acceptable time off may not match anothers.)
- I like to wear unqiue clothes but now a couple coworkers have started to tease me in ways that are really starting to bother me. (As a side note I think this was part of what occurred with that Kixeye debacle while it was a vary extreme case.) Lets see what the handbook says... oh.
- "Tim" produces like crazy - the problem is that he is not big on communication and doesnt want to be apart of our meetings. Hes doing great work - its just not integrating with the direction everyone else is going.
It probably sounds like Im advocating for the other extreme where every detail is mapped out. Im not - it can be too extreme on structure but I dont think the other extreme is any better. In all honesty this would drive me away - it looks like a dream until money is low, stress is high, somebody is abusing something, or there is political in-fighting (which definitely can happen at small startups).
Do employees actually take vacations at companies without a predetermined number of vacation days?
That said, the content is quite a bit of fluff with not much substance. What I got from this: we all think Zaarly is really cool. We don't care what you wear. We have nice chairs. Have fun!
This wouldn't help an incoming employee onboard any faster, or easier, which is the point of a handbook, no?
It'd be nice to see a "your first day" walkthrough.
Oh, and there'd better be a _real_ policy behind this doc, as they're going to be highly susceptible to lawsuits from their first few terminations.
For an excellent new employee handbook, see Valve: http://www.valvesoftware.com/company/Valve_Handbook_LowRes.p...
> Rules for Work -- We do not have these. Note: This was written by folks who have never been on the receiving end of a stupid employee lawsuit. There are reasons why you need an employee handbook, and almost all of them are legal CYA. Seek out better legal advice than these guys did.
You're never going to employ blind people? EDIT: Yes, this post is perhaps a bit grumpy. I leave it here because it's been replied to. (And because HN has no strikethrough.)
I don't understand why you'd read their document, find the worst possible interpretation imaginable - one which no reasonable person could assume was valid - and then post about that on Hacker News.
On the main text. Zoom the page. Some of the text falls off the left hand side, and there's no way to read it.
I mention the sight thing because it's clearly ignoring the fact that some people cannot see; and other people cannot hear; and other people cannot talk; and other people have neurological problems. It makes assumptions about people's ability to understand visual cues.
But, if you really want to talk about the rest of the document: It assumes people are reasonable, and thus we don't need rules. But we need rules because some people are not reasonable, some people are arseholes. Clear rules give those people hints about what is acceptable, and makes it easier for you to get rid of those people if they don't become acceptable.
It feels like they've left themselves wide open to legal action. All that ambiguity is what lawyers dream of.
Do employees actually take vacations at companies without a predetermined number of vacation days?
For people who have issues with this, I'd suggest asking your manager or whoever is in charge whether X days of vacation per year would be acceptable. And then track your own vacation days and treat them like you would at any other company.
> Rules for Work -- We do not have these. Note: This was written by folks who have never been on the receiving end of a stupid employee lawsuit. There are reasons why you need an employee handbook, and almost all of them are legal CYA. Seek out better legal advice than these guys did.
I could also see this handbook being used against them in the case of harassment, discrimination or wrongful termination suits.
Exactly. And since courts tend to favor employees, Zaarly's corporate neck is very exposed.
Here's one example:
> Whatever it is, it’s cool.
> Also, it is a place where the guys frequently use the women’s bathroom.
All any woman has to do for a harassment lawsuit is point to that phrase in a courtroom. "They will happily invade the place where women are exposed! and it's corporate policy!"
Not the brightest idea in corporate leadership.
And another thing: Suppose they wise up and actually get a real company handbook. All any woman has to do is bring out this version and describe that "Zaarly has a well-documented history of harassment against women."
Edit: s/discrimination/harassment