throwitawayfb (u/throwitawayfb)

throwitawayfb commented on FB to curb internal debate over sensitive issues amid employee discord wsj.com/articles/facebook... · Posted by u/mful

jballer · 5 years ago

I work at FB. I wouldn’t want to be working alongside people who think I’m a mercenary abdicating my moral precepts. And I wouldn’t expect that of my colleagues. So my guess is that you could get away with it easily, but you‘d be doing a disservice to yourself and your team.

throwitawayfb · 5 years ago

No, I certainly wouldn't think of my coworkers as mercenaries for hire, as that's a very simplistic worldview that I don't subscribe to. My net concern is: Will me working at FB be a net good, neutral, or bad for society? I'm fine with neutral, I just don't want it to be a net bad.

throwitawayfb commented on FB to curb internal debate over sensitive issues amid employee discord wsj.com/articles/facebook... · Posted by u/mful

baby · 5 years ago

I’m obviously biased since I work there, but I had the exact same concerns before starting two years ago. In reality things are much more different that what HN makes it sound like. There’s all sorts of people, and not everyone agree, and much like the current climate in the US people are getting more and more polarized. I think it’s pretty awesome that everyone in the company is free to express themselves and debate and openly challenge management during Q&As and other events, but I also recognize that at some point the debates can turn toxic and I can see why we would want to avoid that. Once you realize how things work from the inside, you realize that the majority of people do want to make the world a better place, and that it’s easy to pick on things that didn’t work quite well and forget all of the positive sides that social networks have brought to the world. You can tell me that I’m drinking the kool aid but IMO internally things are really not at all like HN likes to portray it everyday.

throwitawayfb · 5 years ago

Thanks for your perspective, it helps.

throwitawayfb commented on FB to curb internal debate over sensitive issues amid employee discord wsj.com/articles/facebook... · Posted by u/mful

bendoernberg · 5 years ago

How much less would you make working at another, less evil company?

throwitawayfb · 5 years ago

Unknown. No other company has recruited me and made me an offer.

throwitawayfb commented on FB to curb internal debate over sensitive issues amid employee discord wsj.com/articles/facebook... · Posted by u/mful

throwitawayfb · 5 years ago

I've just been given an offer from Facebook and I have a few days to decide to take the job or not. The ethical implications of what I'm doing are intense. On one hand, a near 400k total comp package is very nice, but on the other hand I don't want to make the world worse off. I think if I could make that kind of money working from home for another company it'd be an easier decision. Unfortunately, I have to play the hand I'm dealt.