Copyright: cammep / 123RF Stock Photo
A few weeks ago, I was reading an article about how a series of planned protests at Google offices in West Los Angeles, designed to support an engineer's right to free speech, were cancelled. That's not really news worthy right? Not really, when you consider what's happening all over the world. So why am I writing about it? I'm writing because how did so many people have the misconception that free speech or first amendment rights apply to the workplace. I'm writing about it because over the past 30 years, despite being raised that we can become anything and that our opinions really matter, all workers are slowly losing their voices and the benefits which were previously taken for granted.
Why are so many workers, specifically tech workers, under the impression that their opinions actually matter. After reading the article, I began to understand that many people are completely and utterly clueless regarding freedom of speech. First amendment rights don't apply in the work place because THE COMPANY OWNS YOUR ENVIRONMENT. It's a private space, not a public one.
Does anyone seriously think this particular Google engineer is the first person to have been fired for giving his opinion? He may be a brilliant engineer, but he was incredibly naive. He didn't get fired for having an opinion, he got fired for voicing his opinion to everyone in the company. Wake the heck up everybody! Like this hasn't happened before? It has probably happened millions of times, maybe even billions of times, if you take into account the history of corporations. People have been getting fired for voicing their opinion for years, just ask Jerry MacGuire. Well you really can't do that since Jerry is a fictional character, but you get the idea.
I actually started laughing while reading the article, because the entire situation was absolutely absurd and that engineer, if he was really smart, should have kept his opinions to himself. I was also laughing because I remember being young and stupid. I recalled the countless times I got myself in trouble for merely voicing a strong business opinion in a meeting, let alone typing a 10 page memo and then sending it out to the rest of the company. The only time I would have done something that brash/dumb is if I knew I was going to quit and go work somewhere else. What was he thinking? Did he think Google's CEO would read his memo and say,
"You know what? He's absolutely right. Get HR on the phone we need to rethink this whole diversity thing. Let's revamp our entire policy based upon this memo! "
"Haha! Lol! LMFAO! _____plug in your own emoticon."
That's not the way the corporate world works. You can't talk politics, sex, or race, Why? Not because it's offensive, which it is. Not because it's volatile which it is. Not because it can be racist, which it absolutely can. The reason you can't discuss these things in a corporate environment is because they divide people and takes their minds of the real goal. To make a profit!!!! If you have people writing memos anytime they feel slighted, passed over, or that the company values don't align with their own, the company servers would crash. The focus for all the employees working in a corporate environment, needs to be on making money, not on some other employee's feeling.
Hello? Is this sinking in? The business world is a cruel and unforgiving place, where your opinions unfortunately don't matter, unless they improve the company's revenues and profits. Is it fair? Nope. Is it right? Nope. Is it insensitive? Absolutely. However, the sooner you realize you're a cog in the corporate machinery, the better off you'll be in your career advancement. If you want to voice your opinion get in your car and scream your damn head off. Buy a stress ball. Heck buy a bunch of stress balls. Take out your frustrations on your steering wheel, or pound the dashboard, but absolutely do not send a memo to everyone telling them your opinion. If you're that unhappy or disillusioned, just go work somewhere else. It's not worth the frustration.
If you need a refresher course on the corporate world and the harsh reality of corporate life, just read a few of my other posts.
Otherwise, just keep your head down, work hard, and keep your personal opinions to yourself.
SFTD
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