The /”10-page anti-diversity screed” that got a Google employee fired this week is a prime example of many, many societal ills. Besides the larger issues of systematic oppression, workplace harassment, and misogyny and racism that are rampant in the tech industry at large, there’s a simpler lesson to be learned here:
If you’d got a company-wide message board, blog, or Slack channel, maybe use some common sense before blasting something out to the entire staff, including your bosses?
Even if what you’re sending out is something more benign than an indictment of an entire gender, use the same rule of thumb here that you should be using for social media in general: when in doubt, just don’t post it. You’ll never regret it, we promise.
With that said, there are plenty of scenarios where an ongoing workplace issue or culture problem may need to be addressed. Instead of mass producing a digital manifesto, try talking to your direct manager first. Here are some tips on how to best approach things when you’re unhappy at work.
Comments
2 responses to “Thinking Of Blasting Out A Company-Wide Screed? Just Don’t”
Just to throw a drop of water on the roaring blaze of misinformed outrage…
The memo was neither “anti-diversity” (the first three words are “I value diversity” and most of it is about the virtue of diversity and how Google’s good intentions were harming it), nor does it indict an “entire” gender – it points out differences between both genders, and thus highlights the point of diversity.
For if there were not any differences between the genders, then gender diversity would be meaningless.
Anyway, to the point, yep, pick your battles wisely. If you find yourself in an ideological echo chamber, bite your tongue, repress your cause, and don’t speak up. You will offend and be summarily roasted. Instead, leave, and find less fascist organisations that value original thought, contradictory opinions, personal growth and expression.
Unless you like marching rank and file to your own death. There’s safety in numbers, after all.
Great comment lightyear but you are wasting your time. Fanboys of Google will simply think your are a sexist racist pig and if your are a white mail, you should be exterminated immediately. The “anti-diversity” reply was a well researched reply that produced many good points especially around hiring on pure ability but if course, that is not good enough for Google and the left. Having an opinion not in line with the collective us the worst crime.