Comment Re:0xB16B00B5 (Score 1) 897
*I* don't actually personally feel uncomfortable with that particular constant in any way shape or form. But I've quit programming jobs before because of other comments that *did* make me feel uncomfortable, and the people who made those comments sounded an awful lot like this when they told me over and over again that I was overreacting.
The main job I'm thinking of where this happened was one in which I was the lead programmer. I was being paid 1099 and my employer never bothered to have me sign a contract, and this employer had a way of getting very, very offensive when he was feeling stressed out. So suddenly I found myself being hounded with uncomfortable texts, Emails and Skype calls and being told that because I'm "just a service provider" I had no right to complain. I ended up leaving him high and dry a few weeks before a hard deadline with a major client, losing him several thousand dollars in the process... Money that he could easily have saved if he'd demonstrated the *slightest* willingness to even *try* to be a little bit more professional with me.
But this isn't about my personal comfort level and how much stress I can tolerate. It's about the idea that encouraging a diverse workplace involves acknowledging that on a personal level, your co-workers may think and feel very differently about things than you do, and demonstrating a willingness to be sensitive to that. Yeah, you're probably right, someone who'll quit her job over one very geeky and mildly dirty joke probably has a few issues. But the question to really ask is how commonplace this type of thing is at any particular company.
The main job I'm thinking of where this happened was one in which I was the lead programmer. I was being paid 1099 and my employer never bothered to have me sign a contract, and this employer had a way of getting very, very offensive when he was feeling stressed out. So suddenly I found myself being hounded with uncomfortable texts, Emails and Skype calls and being told that because I'm "just a service provider" I had no right to complain. I ended up leaving him high and dry a few weeks before a hard deadline with a major client, losing him several thousand dollars in the process... Money that he could easily have saved if he'd demonstrated the *slightest* willingness to even *try* to be a little bit more professional with me.
But this isn't about my personal comfort level and how much stress I can tolerate. It's about the idea that encouraging a diverse workplace involves acknowledging that on a personal level, your co-workers may think and feel very differently about things than you do, and demonstrating a willingness to be sensitive to that. Yeah, you're probably right, someone who'll quit her job over one very geeky and mildly dirty joke probably has a few issues. But the question to really ask is how commonplace this type of thing is at any particular company.
