Yeah surveillance never works, at least not in the long term. Either people like what they work on or they don't, and adding a layer of corporate hypocrisy, where you need to pretend to be excited about every single tiny change, does not help.
Some products are just boring and I can't fathom how some people get excited about it. The cynic in me tells me everyone is faking it, and that is soul crushing to think about. The alternative is that some people are that boring and have nothing else in their lives going on so they look forward to adding yet another button or boring feature for the Nth time.
But if it pays the bills such that your kids can eat for another day and that your family have a roof over their heads, wouldn't it be worth it?
I don't see any other FAANG level jobs that do not do surveillance in some way or are 100% ethical, as the author wants.
He said it himself, it is a "shitty job market" so surely not everyone in the job market will be paying over 6 figures and be 100% ethical with no surveillance.
Sure, you can build your own startup without surveillance and that is fine, but the compromise is a pay cut and if you have family, rent and children, it would be hard to explain to them why you left your 6 figure job, because "privacy" and "the woes of surveillance capitalism".
I'm just saying it's sad how it creates an atmosphere of "fakeness" for lack of a better word. Nobody can really voice their real opinion, and so nobody is presenting their real selves.
I'm also commenting beyond the privacy matter. It's the combination of everyone being afraid to just be themselves because they need the job, and HR/leadership constant b.s. claiming it's an open and safe space. I should also say I'm mostly talking about large companies.
Some products are just boring and I can't fathom how some people get excited about it. The cynic in me tells me everyone is faking it, and that is soul crushing to think about. The alternative is that some people are that boring and have nothing else in their lives going on so they look forward to adding yet another button or boring feature for the Nth time.