The Truth Is Coming Out ....

Some more really ugly stuff came out in the local media, and that's what this post was going to be about - but then I came across this epic Laid Off video that encapsulates so perfectly everything wrong with the world of work in 2023.

(See the full transcript of her video by Roshan Abbas here)

Not a Political Post!

So the situation here in Israel keeps escalating and it was really fascinating to read an article (in Hebrew) where a journalist interviewed high-tech employees who are "the minority" inside these companies. They actually belong to the party that won the election but are afraid to talk about any of that at work. So they created their own little WhatsApp group if you can believe it. They celebrated winning the election there, and at work acted like everyone else that day. Now imagine this is not about something as divisive as politics. Imagine if it's a group of people who really enjoy doing a certain activity, and everyone else thinks that activity is really silly. They make them feel bad for liking that activity. So they keep it to themselves, and meet in secret. All the while pretending to enjoy listening to everyone else's hobbies. But what's really going on beneath the surface? A lot of bad vibes and resentment is brewing for years between all these people! All these people that need to work together on a daily basis in your company!

Here in Israel - and especially when it comes to the high-tech sector - we like to think we're so open-minded and sophisticated, so advanced in our way of thinking. But sadly, instead of strengthening our unique culture that is all about human bonding, we picked up all kinds of mannerisms from other places and applied them to our most valuable assets. So on the surface everyone is so polite and caring, but what's going on beneath those happy smiles is a whole different story. Now try to visualize how our most talented people are immersed in that environment (whether virtual or in the office); they're literally immersed in those toxic vibes on a daily basis.

The Truth About Work in 2023

Getting back to everything that's wrong with the world of work in 2023 - the newsflash is that we're no longer fooling anyone with all this DEI and employee engagement stuff >> as Shraddha Jain (aiyyoShraddha) says in the clip, "those poor HR folks had to go from diversity and inclusion to adversity and expulsion - from WFH, to work from office. to work for somebody else." It's really funny but also quite sad because it's so true, and now the truth is coming out.

What a Revelation

So despite all the "fun" employee engagement programs and activities people have had to sit through for hours over the last few years, now we're finally seeing how meaningless it all was. We're discovering the truth about ourselves - that we really can't stand each other, that we're not as sophisticated as we'd like to think, that the more the gaps between us grow the worse the economy we're supposed to be responsible for is getting. And when I say 'we' I'm talking about the tech sector that's the most lucrative part of our global economy - so many people are dependent on its ongoing success.

So now that we've discovered a bit about our true nature and how we treat each other - like she says in the clip, "we don't really care". Turns out all that nice stuff employees were told was fake - none of it was real.

So the question I have now for all the brilliant entrepreneurs and other stakeholders leading the most vital part of our economy is - now that you've discovered this side of things ... now that you've discovered that things are not at all how you imagined .... what are you going to do about it?