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A layoff fundamentally changed how I perceive work

(mertbulan.com)
1041 points mertbio | 1 comments | 27 Jan 25 08:22 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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lm28469 ◴[27 Jan 25 09:30 UTC] No.42839108[source]▶
That's what happened during my first job almost 10 years ago. "we're different than other companies, we're family", "business is always personal", yadda yadda

Then one day out of nowhere "hey btw we're not going to renew your contract, we're nice so we give you an extra 10 days of vacation don't bother coming back tomorrow, oh and all your accesses have been revoked". At least I got the reality check right away, some people get that way down the line when their whole persona has already been built around their job

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agumonkey ◴[27 Jan 25 10:06 UTC] No.42839358[source]▶
One thing that astonishes me, is that most people want to have a real team to be part of, contribute, give our best.. yet most jobs are just a game of lies and end up being the opposite (there are some good bosses but the stats are low). It's like two needs that can never meet.
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formerly_proven ◴[27 Jan 25 10:53 UTC] No.42839615[source]▶
I've been part of two really good teams, one went away because the company closed, the other because it was managed into smithereens. It honestly seemed like it didn't sit right with any level of management to have a bunch of at best average teams and then one very good team in the same org chart, they seemed to prefer to just have every team scrape along.
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agumonkey ◴[27 Jan 25 11:38 UTC] No.42839969{3}[source]▶
Maybe society is submitted to a law of averages..
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BriggyDwiggs42 ◴[27 Jan 25 21:09 UTC] No.42845643{4}[source]▶
Systems built around profit seek efficiency, thus standardization.
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agumonkey ◴[28 Jan 25 08:16 UTC] No.42850036{5}[source]▶
even without the notion of profit, averages reduce risks and helps survival imo
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1. BriggyDwiggs42 ◴[30 Jan 25 02:49 UTC] No.42874254{6}[source]▶
No that’s not it. Averages are easy to reason about top down. Averages are like manufactured parts; you can replace them when they break or slot them in where they’re needed. They’re easy to herd as a manager because they all work the same way. Before we had societies, this sort of reasoning wouldn’t have been very useful. A tribal chief doesn’t need uniformity, he needs to understand his members, all of whom he knows from birth, well enough to utilize their talents.