Carol LeeI once very kindly, but firmly, told a therapy client “it doesn’t matter how many kale smoothies you drink, it will not decrease your panic symptoms.” I would now like to very kindly, but firmly, tell all eng leaders “it doesn’t matter how much swag you give, it will not increase your team’s belonging.” There’s no quick fix or magic cure, folks. You just gotta put the work in. #softwareengineering #developer #belonging
Grant@CSLee Ditto for compulsory meetings with no significant participation because it's "agile"
Steven Woolgar
CavyherdOH GOD CAN WE PLEASE STAPLE THIS TO MY DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR'S FOREHEAD??? 🤦
...which of course begs the question: how DOES one improve belonging?
Asking for a department....
@cavyherd 😂😭 omg too good. For starters, giving people agency and a voice in team processes. We experience belonging when there is a shared experience that we can honestly and non judgmentally process, discuss, give input on, and shape together. I’m always surprised when managers approach me and are like “I did xyz but I don’t know if they like/ want it.” And when I ask “well… did you ask them if they did?” They’re like “huh! No?” 🤦🏻♀️
@cavyherd oh and actually take that input seriously. Not just engage in performative listening. 🤮
So...not like "recreational" "games" during required staff meetings, that everyone gets to participate in—whether they want to or not...? ::innocent blink::
Shambolic Matter
Jono yeong@CSLee Remote work has really highlighted how ping pong tables, kegs, and a snack wall are terrible ways to create belonging.
@jonathanyeong @maxleibman In psychology, we talk about how if you want to create belonging, you have to create space for it - space here meaning a social, emotional, cognitive, and psychological "space." I think sometimes, well-intentioned people see that and automatically jump to creating a physical space - maybe because it's easier, maybe because it's just a flawed understanding of psychology idk.
@jonathanyeong @maxleibman I think it's hard for people to understand that "space" isn't physical because we are so used to thinking about the world in terms of tangibles. I'll admit, I had the same bias when working in a community clinic where sometimes the only available space to give therapy was a broom closet. Seems super weird, but actually, at the end of the day, it really didn't therapeutically matter in creating a "safe space"
skyisland@CSLee reading this gave me flashbacks ugh. I always answered the last tech call on a friday night and all I got to show for it was a “Hawaiian” print button down with the company logo on it.
@skyisland ...no words. It's so fascinating to me that people don't automatically think to meaningfully recognize, reward, and support folks for work. I have literally heard people say things like "oh well not everybody likes recognition or kudos" and yet... according to a research study my lab conducted, that is super key.
DevSuccessLab.com for the report, if you're curious
@CSLee I’m always interested in science on how badly we’re destroying ppl (bad work environment, daylight savings, inclusivity statements, etc) esp where intersections with race class gender/class/gender are addressed. it’s useful data.
@CSLee I had to move after the company put me on notice for arriving 30 minutes late after my kids’ dad abandoned them and my youngest developed separation anxiety. it mattered not a whit that I always stayed late bc we had a partner who always called 5 minutes before we closed. my metrics were bad bc I didn’t hang up until the issue was resolved or escalated so never got any praise from above. I did get lateral appreciation tho.
Max Leibman has moved!@CSLee I am reminded of the managers and executives who rail against remote work as a barrier to creating or maintaining company culture. I suspect many of them are also among the ones who look at swag as a key building block of culture (which is to say, they don’t know how to build it in the first place).
Doug Warren@CSLee
I can see how the act of making a kale smoothie could be a form of meditation. You know, washing the kale, mixing ingredients, loading them in the blender, watching them liquefy in a thought-destroying wash of white noise, pouring it into a glass, garnishing it just so, admiring it as an art object--and then dumping it down the sink, because it's an effing kale smoothie.
I can see how the act of making a kale smoothie could be a form of meditation. You know, washing the kale, mixing ingredients, loading them in the blender, watching them liquefy in a thought-destroying wash of white noise, pouring it into a glass, garnishing it just so, admiring it as an art object--and then dumping it down the sink, because it's an effing kale smoothie.