Basecamp Employee Handbook • Hacker News Board

Re: Basecamp Employee Handbook

#31

Post by nhangen » Tue, May 02, 2017, 4:38 PM UTC

skolos wrote: post #6

bluetidepro wrote: post #3

> Sabbatical - Every three years, employees are eligible to take a one-month-long sabbatical. Just give a heads-up preferably three months in advance, so we can coordinate the work-load accordingly. I wish this was more common in the tech industry. I know for other industries this is basically a standard thing, but it seems like many tech companies don't do this.

One-month-long? Isn't it too short for sabbatical? How is it different from vacation? I think I might not understand what they mean by sabbatical.

Most vacations, at least in the US, are 1 week in length. Upper middle class takes maybe 2 weeks. The wealthy of course take as long as they want.

I don't think I've ever had a vacation longer than 10 days.

Re: Basecamp Employee Handbook

#32

Post by scurvy » Tue, May 02, 2017, 4:38 PM UTC

piqufoh wrote: post #24

Under parental leave; > You may also choose to take an additional 8 weeks leave unpaid. Note that this does not guarantee your employment. We're simply keeping your job open for an additional 8 weeks, unless your position becomes redundant. Is it just me, or does that sound a little harsh? (Maybe I'm used to UK workers rights) Isn't this exactly the reason why many parents don't take the parental leave they probably…

This is curious considering DHH's involvement in Basecamp and how often he espouses European ideals. You'd think they had a year of maternity and paternity leave.

Re: Basecamp Employee Handbook

#33

Post by tptacek » Tue, May 02, 2017, 4:39 PM UTC

maccard wrote: post #29

toomuchtodo wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems like the best course of action is to ship devices ahead of you and not transit the border with any tech on your person.

The best course of action is either don't travel to the US, or don't carry the devices at all. I wouldn't be surprised to find my electronics had been confiscated when importing them ahead of my travels.

With just a few possible exceptions, the real rule you're advocating for is "don't travel internationally with electronic devices". Your protections in most of Europe are also not great, and the big .EU countries are if anything more hair-trigger about sending people back.

Agree or not, really all I'm saying is: "don't try to leverage your superior tech skills to outsmart customs". You are probably better at tech than the customs agent you talk to first at the border. You are not better than the customs department as a whole. Money buys a lot of tech ability, and countries have a lot of money.

Re: Basecamp Employee Handbook

#34

Post by toomuchtodo » Tue, May 02, 2017, 4:39 PM UTC

maccard wrote: post #29

toomuchtodo wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems like the best course of action is to ship devices ahead of you and not transit the border with any tech on your person.

The best course of action is either don't travel to the US, or don't carry the devices at all. I wouldn't be surprised to find my electronics had been confiscated when importing them ahead of my travels.

I'm a US citizen who lives in the US. Not traveling to the US is not an option.

Re: Basecamp Employee Handbook

#35

Post by [deleted] » Tue, May 02, 2017, 4:40 PM UTC

piqufoh wrote: post #24

Under parental leave; > You may also choose to take an additional 8 weeks leave unpaid. Note that this does not guarantee your employment. We're simply keeping your job open for an additional 8 weeks, unless your position becomes redundant. Is it just me, or does that sound a little harsh? (Maybe I'm used to UK workers rights) Isn't this exactly the reason why many parents don't take the parental leave they probably…

[deleted]

Re: Basecamp Employee Handbook

#36

Post by josefresco » Tue, May 02, 2017, 4:41 PM UTC

piqufoh wrote: post #24

Under parental leave; > You may also choose to take an additional 8 weeks leave unpaid. Note that this does not guarantee your employment. We're simply keeping your job open for an additional 8 weeks, unless your position becomes redundant. Is it just me, or does that sound a little harsh? (Maybe I'm used to UK workers rights) Isn't this exactly the reason why many parents don't take the parental leave they probably…

Agreed- they should clean that language up a bit to reassure those utilizing parental leave that the "leave itself" won't lead to their job loss. There should also be language that commits them to at least notifying and discussing "redundancies" with you well in advance of you returning from leave.

Re: Basecamp Employee Handbook

#37

Post by movengeance » Tue, May 02, 2017, 4:42 PM UTC

andygcook wrote: post #13

For anyone interested in handbooks and culture codes, my startup, Tettra, curated all the ones we could find on CultureCodes.co. Will add Basecamp to the list soon too.

Looks like the slideshow framework you're using to iframe in the handbooks is broken; i couldn't page through any of the companies I clicked through on.

Re: Basecamp Employee Handbook

#38

Post by dceddia » Tue, May 02, 2017, 4:42 PM UTC

I didn't know Basecamp was behind WeWorkRemotely.com. That's cool to learn.

Evidently, they also sold it off recently: https://github.com/basecamp/handbook/blob/master/product-his...

Re: Basecamp Employee Handbook

#39

Post by madmax108 » Tue, May 02, 2017, 4:42 PM UTC

> TL;DR: Don't Travel With Work Data

> If you don't need your work laptop (or tablet/phone), don't bring it with you!

> Wipe company data from your phone before crossing the border. Restore it afterward.

I've heard this advice quite a few times in recent times. Wonder how useful advice like this (and the implications of this) actually is.

Re: Basecamp Employee Handbook

#40

Post by tptacek » Tue, May 02, 2017, 4:43 PM UTC

scurvy wrote: post #32

piqufoh wrote: post #24

Under parental leave; > You may also choose to take an additional 8 weeks leave unpaid. Note that this does not guarantee your employment. We're simply keeping your job open for an additional 8 weeks, unless your position becomes redundant. Is it just me, or does that sound a little harsh? (Maybe I'm used to UK workers rights) Isn't this exactly the reason why many parents don't take the parental leave they probably…

This is curious considering DHH's involvement in Basecamp and how often he espouses European ideals. You'd think they had a year of maternity and paternity leave.

50 person companies can't as a rule guarantee year-long parental leave; that's just not realistic. They can do their best to make it work, but no company of this size in this kind of market can make promises like that.