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At this company, we are family

pboyd.io

291–300 of 343 posts

Re: At this company, we are family

#291
post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think your "learn to force yourself to work" suggestion is seriously misguided. I think it's misguided to think that there aren't many people force themselves to work in that and worse conditions. Why? They need the money. It's seriously misguided, to think you can have any successful career without being able to force yourself to work. Quitting work everytime there is a hicup will not generally lead to a success…

> If cleared for work and needed to keep their job, yes I would. Many people do in fact force themselves to work after truamatic events such as being hit by a car or being in a car accident. And some people end up committing suicide after severe depression, so? "Push yourself harder" isn't usually the answer.

Actually, it normally is. In fact, mental hospitals will force you to get up get dressed, etc because being active is usually the answer.

Very few treatment plans haver "quit your job and do nothing" to solve depression. Being unemployed is normally more depressing than having a job. It's a downward spiral.

Re: At this company, we are family

#292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I moved from the UK to the US recently and I'm not sure it's worth my while. Sure, I make more than 2x the salary, but the cost of living of a bit tech hub chips away most of it. Specially housing, which has increased dramatically since Covid. Even with my big fat tech salary, getting in the properly ladder seems to be years away. Pay less taxes? sure, but then you have to pay for everything and then some, and everyt…

The key is to not live in a tech hub or hcol area. You can make a great salary in the 200-300k range in lower cost of living areas and basically live like royalty.

My employer forces me to go to the office, which is in a HCOL area.

Maybe after I get my green card I can get a pay cut and move to a LCOL area. But again, is it worth it? I can also get a fully remote job and move back to my hometown by the mediterranean.

Re: At this company, we are family

#293
post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If cleared for work and needed to keep their job, yes I would. Many people do in fact force themselves to work after truamatic events such as being hit by a car or being in a car accident. And some people end up committing suicide after severe depression, so? "Push yourself harder" isn't usually the answer.

Actually, it normally is. In fact, mental hospitals will force you to get up get dressed, etc because being active is usually the answer. Very few treatment plans haver "quit your job and do nothing" to solve depression. Being unemployed is normally more depressing than having a job. It's a downward spiral.

> Very few treatment plans haver "quit your job and do nothing" to solve depression.

Since nobody is advocating "doing nothing", I think you have a nice strawman going on there.

In another post you also equate being depressed with "flaking out".

I'm going to guess you know nothing about clinical depression, so spare me the description of what you think the treatment plans are.

Re: At this company, we are family

#294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did they actually pay Netflix level? Either with huge cash salaries or very very large equity packages?

I don't understand why people think that this philosophy only makes sense if you have gigantic compensation packages. What's so off-putting about: "Do well and you stick around, do poorly and you go away"?

There's a certain risk any time you take a new job of "how well will my view of poor performance align with my manager's view?"

In a "regular" company there's usually a longer leash if you don't get that right on day 1, or if circumstances change and the specific skills you were brought in for aren't as relevant anymore.

In the Netflix model there's a by-design higher chance of it instead resulting in you losing your job.

So if you aren't compensating with $$$ for that increased risk, it's going to leave you with more of the folks without other good options and fewer of the folks who say "I can get the same money with less pressure if I take this other role instead."

Re: At this company, we are family

#295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did they actually pay Netflix level? Either with huge cash salaries or very very large equity packages?

I don't understand why people think that this philosophy only makes sense if you have gigantic compensation packages. What's so off-putting about: "Do well and you stick around, do poorly and you go away"?

Because the philosophy revolves around the competitiveness of the position. Sports teams have limited roster, and make bales of cash (or are planning on doing so, with massive funding). The goal is for the position to have some cachet.

Why put up with "do well and stay or poorly and you go away" when other places pay the same for better culture and less drama?

One note: high turnover causes lots of workplace challenges - so you have to have a carrot along with your stick or you'll create a doom loop. Just "do well and stick around" is way to glengary glen ross for me.

Re: At this company, we are family

#296
post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Well, you did reply to someone claiming severe depression and burnout, so the specifics matter. I did say that it's a skill they should learn not that they should have done it in this case. So if we're saying specifics matter, the entire context of specifics matter. > If you meant to post about hard work and doing stuff that might not be enjoyable in pursue of a paycheck, that's fine, but do you think it's warrante…

> I did say that it's a skill they should learn not that they should have done it in this case. So you gave unrelated advice to someone telling you about a bout of depression? Hm. > Telling them everything is ok is not the nice thing to do. It's an easy thing to do. I think you'll find your "easy way" is not the way to treat severe depression. It's a long, hard road. You think being depressed is "flaking out"? Shame…

> So you gave unrelated advice to someone telling you about a bout of depression? Hm.

They literally asked if they were being unprofessional and if they should have forced themselves to work. Telling them that being able to force themselves to work is a useful skillset if they want to keep a job is not unrelated.

> You think being depressed is "flaking out"? Shame on you.

No, the fact you need to come up with just an absurd statement really shows what you're all about.

They didn't give the industry standard notice period, they as far as we can tell, just said "I'm not coming back". That is flaking out. If you did it because you were depressed or because it's sunny outside doesn't really change the fact it's flaking out.

> At which point would you say it's ok to admit you were wrong and that you misread the post? Is this really the hill you want to die on?

Misread what? You need to misrepresent my position.

In another comment you said I have no experience of depression.

I've been on sucide watches so extreme, they took away my clothes, gave me untearable clothes, only gave me fingerfood, left me in an empty room with just a mattress and an untearable blanket, and had someone sit there and watch me nonstop. The reason I know that mental hospitals will force you to be active is I was there and they annoyed the shit out of me with it. I was diganosed with depression at the age of 9. One professional said that I had been depressed for so long that I basically considered it normal. I almost certainly have more experience with it than many others.

You also implied a strawman argument because I think someone who says they struggled to brush their teeth because they were so depressed would have been sitting around doing nothing because well they couldn't even brush their teeth. That's just extrapolating. Very simple logic.

Re: At this company, we are family

#297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it's voluntary and they're buying your food/drinks?

If it's voluntary then there is no problem. "Voluntary" means that there will be no adverse effect on your employment if you decline to participate. Your characterization of the activity strongly implies that not participating will come with consequences to your job.

The opposite. Participating benefits your career.

Curious what you think about this: Say there's no company sponsorship or involvement. You get invited to happy hour or a round of golf with the higher-ups completely on your own dime. Its obviously beneficial to pal around with your superiors. Is that a problem?

Re: At this company, we are family

#298
post #247

When I was young I worked at a company that said things like "we are family" and kind of meant it. It wasn't really a good thing unless you were a low performer. We had some people who were hired into jobs they couldn't do well, but they got to keep those jobs because it was like their role in the family. People basically never got fired, including the couple guys in the corner who barely did any work but had been th…

I contracted at a company once which operated like a family. Once you got hired, it was really difficult to get fired. So much so, most people there hadn't heard about anyone ever getting fired. Eventually, someone heard through the grapevine what a firing offense was: Getting caught having sex on the company campus with a coworker. But! The first time was a warning. That company had soooo much money to burn. Lots of…

I understand OP is beeing cheeky, yes? But I don't know company he is referring to

If anyone could reply to this with the answer I'd appreciate it

Re: At this company, we are family

#299
I love reading the bizarre screeds that companies put on their websites as a mission statement. Once I saw a company website shouting that they had a “relentless obsession with customer satisfaction.” I was like, take a deep breath Bob. You’re gonna burst a blood vessel.

Re: At this company, we are family

#300
post #298
post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I contracted at a company once which operated like a family. Once you got hired, it was really difficult to get fired. So much so, most people there hadn't heard about anyone ever getting fired. Eventually, someone heard through the grapevine what a firing offense was: Getting caught having sex on the company campus with a coworker. But! The first time was a warning. That company had soooo much money to burn. Lots of…

I understand OP is beeing cheeky, yes? But I don't know company he is referring to If anyone could reply to this with the answer I'd appreciate it

my guess is Amway
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