Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale • Hacker News Board

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#171

Post by zeroonetwothree » Thu, May 14, 2026, 5:57 PM UTC

maxwellito wrote: post #4

I have a genuine question for Meta engineers: what were you hoping to gain by working at this company? What motivated you, and what were your aspirations?

When I worked there pre covid it was just a really fun environment. Lots of smart people, a lot of autonomy to choose what you work on, good quality dev environment and tooling, a culture of collaboration and problem solving (“nothing is someone else’s problem” actually was a real thing). And the pay was top of market.

Now I guess all that is gone though so you are only left with the $?

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#172

Post by desolate_muffin » Thu, May 14, 2026, 5:58 PM UTC

carabiner wrote: post #166

Freedom2 wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting. Could you elaborate on any specifics for this claim?

996 culture, and Zuck has a particular fondness for China, Chinese people due to his wife.

ok so no evidence, just racist innuendo

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#173

Post by syndacks » Thu, May 14, 2026, 5:58 PM UTC

Imagine the cognitive dissonance at play there, doing some DS work, realizing your product actively makes people depressed...all while driving back to your 5M+ home in a Tesla listening to podcasts about sunning your ballsack

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#174

Post by desolate_muffin » Thu, May 14, 2026, 6:01 PM UTC

delis-thumbs-7e wrote: post #140

foobar_______ wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Serious question - I know this will come off as inflammatory but I am genuinely curious. Do you ever talk to coworkers about the addictive, polarizing nature of Meta recommendation feed algorithms? There is pretty solid research around teen health (specially girls) around how many problems it causes. Is the pay just so good you turn a blind eye? Honestly, I can understand that if I am being honest. But I don't see as…

Not OP and never worked at Meta, but according to Sarah Wynn Williams’ Careless People, the incentive is not so much the pay, it is the options. If you get in and leave before x number of years or get fired (not 100% sure how it works) you will lose the golden ”never having to work again” -ticket. Apparently it keeps people pretty meek and helps silence the jiminy Cricket in the backgrpund.

Not really how it works anymore. Everyone just gets 4 year RSU grants with an even vesting schedule and no lockout period, and it has been that way for a long time now. I've never really heard of anyone at Meta getting options (maybe possible for execs?).

That said, with enough stock growth, the stacking RSU grants can still enter into "never having to work again" territory depending on your role/level and how many grants you've been able to stack.

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#175

Post by mannanj » Thu, May 14, 2026, 6:06 PM UTC

discordance wrote: post #43

Hey Meta folks, remember that time when Facebook: - harvested user data which helped a company manipulate a US election and the Brexit outcome? - played a role in spreading hate speech, which was used to support a genocide in Myanmar? - harmed the mental health of a generation of young people. Just highlighting some data points. I'm really not suggesting you stand up for yourself and do something that might harm your…

People downvote you because they are gullible, naive, peace-loving hippies or wait I mean they hate the hippies, but also still hate any semblance of eye-for-an-eye or retribution or revenge. It's better that you bend over, take it, and then just complain passively aggressively on social media about being powerless.

Dont propose anything that the powerful do. Because you are supposed to be a subservient slave knowing your place.

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#176

Post by mannanj » Thu, May 14, 2026, 6:09 PM UTC

bradlys wrote: post #84

discordance wrote: post #43

Hey Meta folks, remember that time when Facebook: - harvested user data which helped a company manipulate a US election and the Brexit outcome? - played a role in spreading hate speech, which was used to support a genocide in Myanmar? - harmed the mental health of a generation of young people. Just highlighting some data points. I'm really not suggesting you stand up for yourself and do something that might harm your…

Wonder when Americans will apply this to themselves with their own government which does far worse things everyday instead of posting these comments.

Who knows. Probably when they are pushed some more. Most populations you'll find will tolerate more abuse than you think; isn't it easy to measure the abuse factor of a peoples' by just measuring and varying the things like food, cost of living, basic comforts and then striving to meet just above the minimum threshold?

And, finally, when you as a leader cannot meet those needs any longer, you push for war as the chimpanzee alphas do and prolong your position of power even longer.

edit: to answer your question, I think when they are less sick, have more perceived power and agency. The Americans of today are more sick, more self-perceived as disempowered, and in general a naive and gullible, cowardice people.

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#177

Post by dogleash » Thu, May 14, 2026, 6:09 PM UTC

hsuduebc2 wrote: post #83

ninininino wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is Zuck just too...neurodivergent or lacking in social awareness or low EQ or whatever the case may be to understand morale? Or just so cut-throat/trusting that people who don't currently work there want the META paycheck badly enough that even if morale is horrible they can just backfill departures?

I personally believe that he is just piece of shit. Unhinged, greedy, selfish one. Some people are made this way, some people evolve into that state. I don't really think it's some sort of diagnosis.

It is a schoolyard bully mindset in adult language. Someone acts differently than your idealized version of yourself in the same situation -> insinuate that they are not just different, but they are so abnormal as to constitute a medical condition.

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#178

Post by mannanj » Thu, May 14, 2026, 6:12 PM UTC

glaslong wrote: post #8

Currently at Meta. This place has always been a bit ruthless in the 8+ years I've been around to observe. But the article is accurate. Never seen people this universally fed up. I thought tech was too cushy for it to happen, but there's serious collective action posting out in the open all over the place. It's also never been more cutthroat, backstabby, scope-grabby, political, and uncertain. There seems to be a flyw…

It's like this (or was before I left) in Capital One. So I think it's a universal big corporation type of thing. And beyond that its probably a bigger part of the trend of break down in dignity and morals.

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#179

Post by rsweeney21 » Thu, May 14, 2026, 6:31 PM UTC

Anon1096 wrote: post #124

rsweeney21 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also work at Meta. The chaos and instability is awful. But I think they could fire pretty much everyone and the ads business would still continue to grow at nearly the same rate. I think it will take a very long time for leadership to feel the effects of what they've done.

I'm guessing you have 0 insight into the work that the ads, ranking, apps, and sales teams do to keep the gravy train flowing and even expanding 30% every year. If Meta fired even just half the ranking workers, the recommendation models (both ads and feeds) would very quickly become stale and start shedding many Fortune 500 companies worth of revenue.

I'm guessing you have 0 insight into how monopolies work.

Re: Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

#180

Post by coldpie » Thu, May 14, 2026, 6:33 PM UTC

Anon1096 wrote: post #170

coldpie wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand what you're saying, but no, I don't agree. These companies have positioned themselves so that it is often unavoidable to do business with them. If you have a visual arts business you are more-or-less required to have an Instagram account, and maybe even advertise on it. It's where your customers and business partners are and if you want to participate in that space, you're handicapping yourself so severe…

It's interesting you call these sites and advertising opportunities absolutely necessary for things like visual arts businesses and yet don't think they are doing any good in the world. If the ad spots and targeting didn't exist then niche internet-ads-dependent businesses also would not.

Advertising is necessary for many businesses. The way Meta & Google sell ads and show them to users by algorithmically monetizing human attention is incredibly harmful to society & humanity. Meta & Google have been so successful at their business and at manipulating governments to avoid regulations and anti-trust enforcement that they have effectively put all other methods of advertising out of business. So, the only way for businesses to advertise now is to participate in the incredibly harmful world of online advertising as run by Meta & Google.