Saturday, May 1st, 2021
No discussion at work
US software company kicks off wave of layoffs
In the USA, the head of a software company wanted to forbid his employees from discussing politics and social issues in the workplace. There is now a strong headwind from the workforce: a third have already submitted their resignation via Twitter.
After a ban on political discussions in the workplace, around a third of the workforce of a US software company has submitted the resignation. The wave of layoffs began after the head of Basecamp, Jason Fried, announced new company guidelines in a blog post on Monday. This included a ban on “social and political discussions on our company account”.
In addition, “patronizing” employee bonuses such as grants for fitness studios or advanced training should be discontinued, Fried announced. According to a survey, around 20 of the 57 Basecamp employees announced their resignation on Twitter. Among them were the head of design, the head of marketing and the head of customer service. Many justified their decision with the new regulations of the group and emphasized that they would always have liked to work for Basecamp.
Company boss Fried had justified the policy ban with the fact that political discussions had recently developed into a “great distraction” from work: “We don’t have to solve any profound social problems, we make software.” In the USA, heated debates have been going on for months on issues such as racism, the presidential election last November and transgender rights.
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