Base Study
Lars Schmidt
Change Agent ? Talent Leader ? Author of the Bestselling Book, Redefining HR ? Fast Company Contributor ? Optimist
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1 big thing: Base Study
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TL;DR: Workplaces mirror society. As the momentum for social justice and equity continues to build, the intersection with workplace discourse and discussions is bound to follow. Can companies really be “apolitical” in this atmosphere?
Big picture: Basecamp has been in the news this week after public announcements from their co-founders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson about changes to the company including:
- No more societal and political discussions on our company Basecamp account.
- No more paternalistic benefits
- No more committees
- No more lingering or dwelling on past decisions
- No more 360 reviews
- No forgetting what we do here
Why it matters: Basecamp has been seen as the antidote to typical silicon valley company archetypes so the announcement caught many by surprise. Their founders wrote books on progressive culture topics spanning remote work, building “calm” companies, and more.
Yes, but: Basecamp isn’t the first company to push back on internal conversations they deemed political. Coinbase made headlines last Fall with CEO Brian Armstrong’s “Coinbase is a mission-focused company” post. Lauded by some in the VC community as corporate push back on “woke” culture, and seen by others as an abdication of leadership at a time when society was having substantive discussions on racial equity.
Go deeper: Casey Newton interviewed current employees (most requested anonymity) to paint a picture of what led to these changes in this story. The origins go back to an internal list of customer names titled “Best Names Ever”. The list created was viewed as inappropriate by some employees and led to internal discussions that got heated and led to HR complaints against one of the founders (addressed by David Heinemeier Hannson here).
What they're saying: “Over my 11+ years at Basecamp, my coworkers have made me a better person through thoughtful and respectful societal and political dialog. Today’s policy changes are disheartening and fill me with sadness. I'm angry for my friends that have lost their voices.” - John Williams via tweet
Big picture for HR: Everything is political. Asking employees to separate from their emotions and feelings when they come to work seems in direct conflict with building a culture of inclusion. When you publicly announce you’re “turning DEI responsibility to your Head of People”, you publicly announce that it's not a priority.
The convergence of societal change and employee discourse in the workplace and the "anti-woke" pushback will continue to impact HR teams over the coming year. Can a company silence political discourse and still create a sense of inclusion and belonging for employees? I don't see how myself, but that's from my personal perspective and I'd like to hear yours. Add your thoughts in the comments and let me know what you think
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3 年I also was incredibly disappointed when I read the original post. The feeling/thought it most left me with was...what a privilege it must be to NOT get political at work. To pretend to park your feelings on a movement or other completely life altering situation going on in the world while you're at work. We spend 80%+ of our week "at work". I just cant overlook that, even if getting rid of 360s sounds intriguing.
"The convergence of societal change and employee discourse in the workplace and the "anti-woke" pushback will continue to impact HR teams over the coming year. Can a company silence political discourse and still create a sense of inclusion and belonging for employees?" Wow, that's a lot to unpack! But isn't the silencing of political discourse the establishment of the atmosphere of inclusion and belonging that you are looking for? It's the political discourse itself that has surreptitiously fed the fire over the years. And as we know, in most cases this discourse is characterized by misinformation, dramatization and an agenda. The idea of a 'calm' company culture, for me, establishes a fundamental framework for making assessments at their face value about the world: from a business perspective and beyond. It mandates that we bring our intellect and our humanity to any discourse and to walk patiently through it together. Many years ago, when it was still a thing, Rotary International established a similar focus with their four way test. Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? Probably not a bad idea to dust that off and bring it back into our lives.
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3 年Frank Markovic
Change Agent ? Talent Leader ? Author of the Bestselling Book, Redefining HR ? Fast Company Contributor ? Optimist
3 年Looks like 1/3 of their employees decided apolitical doesn’t work for them and resigned today. https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/30/22412714/basecamp-employees-memo-policy-hansson-fried-controversy
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3 年This is a great article Lars. Very thoughtfully written. I can certainly see why their position and perspective would be concerning to some. Although, I honestly don’t have an issue with their announcement or stance, if that is the way they choose to run their company. Perhaps, they don’t aspire to have a diverse and inclusive organization? I’d rather know that, than for them to be performative, and act as if they care. Might they regret their decision and backtrack? Maybe? Until then, I would encourage any employee who has an issue with the way they are choosing to run their organization to dust off their resume and begin seeking employment at an organization with values and ideals that align with their own.