JPMorgan Chase disables employee comments after return-to-office backlash
wsj.com38 points by blackeyeblitzar 3 months ago
38 points by blackeyeblitzar 3 months ago
I know that this strictly isn't "freedom of speech" because these are comments on an internal website, but it really does seem problematic.
In a remote-first environment, where there is no longer any means of communication that isn't through some other corporation's equipment, we are seeing levels of suppressing dissent that were never technologically possible before.
I don't know if there's a technical solution, legal solution, or no solution. But it sure seems like the ability to collectively organize has been hampered. Complaining about RTO may not be the most evocative example, but certainly the future will hold more significant ones.
I guess the technical solution is something like Blind, but I’m not sure about the adoption rate for normal companies. Also I prefer to stay away from that site personally.
The real frustrating part is that workers who were hired remotely are not being granted funds to relocate. The company has basically responded, "well you can choose to leave." On a positive note, they did (thankfully) give some lead time before enforcement started, which has made job searching a bit easier.
One of my friends is affected by this and because of her skill set a large bank is the only feasible place she can work. She's just like "yep I just have to put up with it." The mobility in tech that makes it generally harder for employers to get away with this nonsense is underrated.
As someone that used to work in tech for a large bank, but have since left, I’m curious what her skill set is that would prevent her from jumping ship to somewhere that is not a large bank?
If I had to make a random guess, is it something related to Athena?
On first reading, my immediate though was - the money
Not true lol. I used to work at JPMC and got a 20% bump switching to a much much less sexy industry writing software.
But investment banks, including JPM, don’t exactly pay the biggest bucks for SWE aside from a few specialized roles.
The only SWE jobs in finance that really match or exceed FAANG and other top (or even mid tier) tech companies are a very select few elite hedge funds and trading shops.
So much for creating a "collaborative" environment. It's only collaborative when managers/execs get to shape the conversation?
Isn’t disabling employee comments about working conditions (including at least one mention of a union) in violation of labor laws? I wonder if JPMC thinks they can get away with it because the new administration will not pursue a labor complaint against them.
> Isn’t disabling employee comments about working conditions (including at least one mention of a union) in violation of labor laws?
Genuine question: is it? (“Shut[ting] down comments on an internal webpage” versus deleting specific comments.)
Seems like it to me.
It's akin to having a no t-shirt policy and not enforcing it until somebody wears a union shirt.
I think the practical answer is the interpretation of the law is up to each admin’s NLRB. I do recall cases under the Biden administration where similar employee communications were protected.
Even under the old admin, this is not the kind of thing that's easy to punish a company for without an aggrieved union to press the case.
haha cant play games if people are in their safe space lol people talk about the oil lobby group but damn real estate is a beast