About one-third of the employees of software developer Basecamp have quit their jobs after the company’s founders asked them to focus on developing software, rather than get involved in politics at work.
Basecamp co-founder and CEO Jason Fried told employees that “every discussion remotely related to politics, advocacy, or society at large quickly spins away from pleasant.”
“We make project management, team communication, and email software. We are not a social impact company,” Fried added, encouraging employees to focus on their jobs rather than politics while in the workplace.
Days later, “about one-third of Basecamp employees accepted buyouts,” following “a contentious all-hands meeting,” according tech reporter Casey Newton.
About one-third of Basecamp employees accepted buyouts today after a contentious all-hands meeting. I’m told more are coming.
— Casey Newton (@CaseyNewton) April 30, 2021
Newton reported at Platformer that one employee told him, “we’re hired opinionated people, we’ve created opinionated software, and now basically the company has said, ‘well, your opinions don’t really matter — unless it’s directly related to business.’”
“A lot of people are gonna have a tough time living with that,” the employee added.
The situation escalated in December, after a new Basecamp hire reportedly volunteered to help the company work on “diversity issues.” The employee posted on a thread in the Basecamp software, seeking to find volunteers to start working on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues. – READ MORE
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