Clojurians Log v2

is it just me, or does it seem random, these RTO policies? If they are meant to get people to quit (and I’m not disputing that), it just seems so random. Because you dont get control over who will quit. Unless that’s how corporate sees workers: as all identical “switchable replaceable” units.

Economy is not doing well. Never had so many cold emails from companies selling their stuff and developers offering their services in my life. Automotive industry is fucked and startups have serious problems raising money. I just discovered that Amperity (using Clojure, right?) is laying off people as well. Maybe it's my distorted perception, but I believe these are weird times. I have 2007 vibes.

> ...Or did we shake the tree to the max Yeah, I wouldn't consider the lack of a negative signal a positive signal... Things will rebound for our sector whenever we start hearing again of exuberant funding rounds all over the place - generally I'd consider it as simple as that (no money -> no hiring)

With more RTO policies, I think companies are making people quit so they don't have to layoff people. I know someone at a company that is requiring RTO next Monday and she just learned about this yesterday and has to figure out school pick up and after school stuff, in less than a week, because her commute is an hour and a half. Companies are going to lose a lot of good people.

..."RTO" ?

Return To Office.

Oh! Thank you 😅

https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/let-us-pause-to-appreciate-the-remarkable

@danielglauser where do you live? what makes you say that?

@seancorfield, many companies I know in Europe choose not to innovate, and if they do, they don't have skin in the game: they take government grants to fund the projects. So most of the projects die.

@asier.galdos I'm in the US based out of Colorado. My wife works on recruiting tech so I'm basing some of what I'm saying on her reports around open jobs. Mostly I'm basing that on all of the great folks I know who have been struggling to find work.

I can relate, I have friends in a similar situation. We are living in weird times indeed. As British used to say: keep calm and carry on!

@asier.galdos I think that issue with govt-funded work just cruising along is a worldwide phenom 🙂

What I've been seeing is worse that 2007, much closer to 2001, which was the worst hit I've seen to the tech market in over 25 years.

I think the general economy is good, but the tech sector is in a dip.

A lot of non-tech companies are still hiring software people -- but that tends to be mostly in mainstream tech. I was at Macromedia in 2001. The dot-com bubble had been insane: new employees getting hiring bonuses of $20-25k or a new BMW 3-series (I'm looking at you, Palm), everyone got a Hermann-Miller chair and free snacks and wireless headphones and a phone and a pager and all sorts of stuff -- and huge amounts of stock options. Then 2001 rolled around and the market corrected itself. One day they laid off 25% of IT at Macromedia. I still remember that day: managers coming around, tapping employees on the shoulder "for a meeting" and they just didn't come back (security packed up their personal belongings from their desks later, and they were able to collect that at reception). Whole aisles of developers suddenly empty. But that was a correction for over-hiring and "too much (VC) money" in the industry. As is the current round of layoffs. The tech industry just isn't very responsible about money: it over-hires like crazy when times are good and then it cuts back like a maniac when times get tight. It's a ridiculous industry to work in, to be honest. And Silicon Valley startups are the absolute worst about that - I live in the Bay Area and I hate VCs and I hate startup culture 😞

(those stock options were issued at $80, peaked at $120, then the company bought them back from us when they dropped to around $12, as I recall, and then we got them back at around $5... they climbed into the $40s after Adobe acquired us I think)

Overall, the US economy is doing better than pretty much anywhere else in the world, in terms of recovery from the pandemic -- but that doesn't mean everyone is flush with cash, all of a sudden. That's just not how the economy works (my partner is a lifelong economist by trade so I hear a lot about this 😐 ).