Is this adversial?
We love working at Automattic and are actually generally happy! As a8c looks to the “future of work”, we see a gap between the current reality, where the company holds all of the cards, and a possibility where employees are democratically involved in defining that future.
Where did this come from?
Much of this isn’t new, but the recent update to the four-year anniversary laptop was the catalyst. Changing (or clarifying, however you want to describe it) the policy regarding the four-year laptop isn’t the issue. Things have to change over time as the company grows.
Seeing, in action, that anything can change at any time with no notice based on the company’s desire brought questions back up to the surface. What happens if Matt has a change of heart and decides to retire to a tropical island? What if the new CEO doesn’t think the sabbatical is valuable? Or what if we get a new investor who is more active and wants a more aggressive return on investment?
What’s the answer?
We want to be the democratic voice of Automatticians to help the company continue to be a great place to work, remain that way long-term, and help Automattic be on the forefront of the future of work. There is no future of work without the workers!
Our hope is we can provide the structure to codify our existing experience, improve others, and generally be partners with our fellow a12s in high leadership to move the company forward together.
But we’re non-hierarchical? Isn’t this messing that up?
We’re non-hierarchical in the sense that I can DM Matt right now and that’s cool. It’s fine that I didn’t go to my lead or skipped my lead-of-leads or the division lead. Often, Matt isn’t the best person to chat about many things because so much is left to the other leads; however, it is great that the option exists and is encouraged.
But, there’s more to it than being able to DM anyone at any time or seeing/commenting on any p2 post anywhere.
Decisions about benefits aren’t hammered out on p2 or in a Slack channel (that we know about)—which is understandable to a point. But, how can we, as a12s, be involved in those discussions in an organized way without asking HR to wrangle very fluid discussions with 1800 other people?
Broad democratic worker involvement in decision making.