Sixty Coinbase employees take buyout offer after no politics at work rule

[DaveF]

So a few weeks ago Brian Armstrong, CEO of CoinBase put out a "no politics at work memo"
If you did not like it you could take a 4 to 6 month buyout and leave. As of now it looks like 60+ people or 5% +/- a bit of their workforce took it.

I think it's good. Work is for work, politics is for the bar after work so to speak.

But, it's a slippery slope. After no politics do you ban the Star Wars vs. Star Trek discussions. Ford vs Dodge? IPA vs Dark Beer?

Some articles:
https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-dan-yoo
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2020/10/sixty-coinbase-employees-take-buyout-offer-over-no-politics-rule/

-Dave

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[Darker45]

Most often, what starts as casual political discussions end up as heated debates and arguments. Politics to me is so divisive. So I don't think it will do more good than harm in the workplace. The workplace is not a place for all these political talks. Moreover, it may decrease productivity. A company and its officers and staff are always better off sharing the same path and mission.

But it is a fair play for Coinbase to offer severance package alongside the memo on its apolitical mission. That's a lot better than just releasing a new directive for everyone to follow.

[swap2cashcom]

I was wondering if that would happen. It does seem to be you can leave politics at home and not bring it to work but what do I know!

[Yogee]

It's a good move. There are people who cannot contain their emotion when they start debating and takes matters personally. There are many cases where friends stopped being friends when they supported opposite political camps. Imagine if that's going to happen with workmates?

....But, it's a slippery slope. After no politics do you ban the Star Wars vs. Star Trek discussions. Ford vs Dodge? IPA vs Dark Beer?

I'm more interested what would happen if there are employees who decided to stay but still talks politics in their workplace secretly.

[Lorence.xD]

I do not think that Fanbase vs. Fanbase is not the same as politics. In my opinion, it is not a slippery slope because banning political discussion will not result to other bans. OP said it best, Politics is for the bar and I do believe because slapping someone in the face with your political beliefs when sober is not the best course of action.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

Yes, I have created this thread about a week ago, Coinbase offers exit package for employees not comfortable with its mission.

So it seems that some Coinbase employees decided to take the exit package after Brian Armstrong announcement earlier. I wonder though what positions are voided, because those who employees who mostly voices their opinion hold a management position. So it's time for Brian to quickly find replacements. And for those employees who decided to move out, probably find another position in crypto exchange. The world they're moving is just small, so I wouldn't be surprised for those ex-Coinbase to find work on some competitor.

[claire_lovely]

I think that people should be able to talk about what they want to at work, but I also understand the reasoning for making the decision. A 6 month payout is also a pretty good offer and gives a lot of time to find additional employment.

[Distinctin]

It was expected that not all of their support team will give them a favor. I believe it was the best decision to take and to avoid conflicts.
Politics is not their job, they can work it outside and talk to it but not make the company get involved.

What CEO did is a fair play for everybody. Let their people choose what is best for them and what could be beneficial. Coinbase can easily make a replacement for these people, and they don't have to worry about these numbers.

[dothebeats]

The 6 months payout for separation in relation to the "no politics at work" memo is very generous. Some other companies would impose the memo harshly, and would not even think of issuing such a neat package for their employees if they are caught disobeying it. Also, a 6-month payout would be sufficient for an employee to adjust and look for work, without having to think of what to eat for the coming weeks. It's a good imposition of rules honestly, and whichever path employees take they know they are well-compensated and are in good hands.

But the rule "no politics" is quite vague and there's no clear limit what could be categorized as politics. Does discussing politics group from fiction works (e.g. movie or book) also covered by the rule?

Could be, though I guess this is mainly for contemporary politics and the events of the US presidential elections, as the left and the right seem to be going pretty hard at each other no matter the societal setting.

[ChrisPop]

If those employees resigned because of the new rule, they weren't right for the company in the first place. I don't think the firm will miss them at all. I'm surprised though that so many of them took action.
Personally I wouldn't talk politics especially at work anyway. It's just not the right place for imposing your views.

[Maslate]

If those employees resigned because of the new rule, they weren't right for the company in the first place. I don't think the firm will miss them at all. I'm surprised though that so many of them took action.

At least the company is honest, what the company wants is just unity, no politics could promote a harmonious working environment as everyone agrees with each other's opinion and the only rule to follow is the rules and guidelines of the company.

Personally I wouldn't talk politics especially at work anyway. It's just not the right place for imposing your views.

That's not prohibited in our work, we talk a lot about that, it's not really a bid deal but probably in USA where this site is located could be a big deal and could potentially hard employees relationship.

[Lucius]

An interesting way for a company to get rid of those who don't want to play as a team - or in this case it might be better to say those who don't share the same political opinions. No matter how they want to position themselves as a company, the fact is that if they want to stay on top and thrive, then they have to choose this or that political option - can one even be neutral in a world where politics ultimately makes all the important moves?

I don't know what the monthly income is at Coinbase, but it doesn't make much sense to me that someone chooses to lose their job at a time when the unemployment rate is almost 8%, but it will probably be much higher during the winter months. For these people, politics is obviously very important as a daily topic in conversations, and they also think that they will find a new job very easily, preferably where they will be able to talk about politics without bothering the employer.

[Warszawa]

Coinbase staff under 3 years got 4 months notice, over 3 years they got 6 months pay. Coinbase also gave 6 months healthcare and allowed them to maintain the 7 years to exercise share options (nice as they are looking to list, probably on Nasdaq). I would imagine there are a few staff in the 60 who simply saw this as a nice time to take a paid sabbatical.

[coolcoinz]

If those employees resigned because of the new rule, they weren't right for the company in the first place. I don't think the firm will miss them at all. I'm surprised though that so many of them took action.
Personally I wouldn't talk politics especially at work anyway. It's just not the right place for imposing your views.

Maybe they were thinking of leaving and this gave them the opportunity to get paid for a few months forward and be able to look for a new job. It's not allways have to be about politics. If you knew there's some change coming in your life like you were planning to take a trip or move abroad, your CEO just gave you a green light plus some money for the road.

[o_e_l_e_o]

At least the company is honest, what the company wants is just unity, no politics could promote a harmonious working environment as everyone agrees with each other's opinion

I can think of no more boring environment than one in where everyone agrees with everyone else all the time. What's the point of discussing anything if everyone is always in complete agreement? Disagreement is the only reason that anything changes, develops, or moves forward.

And don't be fooled in to thinking this is Coinbase trying to promote a "harmonious work environment" or whatever other nonsense slogan they've paid the guys in PR to spin up. This is Coinbase wanting to remain neutral because if they take a political stance, then it may alienate all the people on the opposite side of that political stance, and then they will look for a different exchange to use. Coinbase care about one thing and one thing only - their profits.

An interesting way for a company to get rid of those who don't want to play as a team - or in this case it might be better to say those who don't share the same political opinions.

It goes the other way as well. Employees who are getting fed up of Coinbase's very dubious ethics and wanted to move on have just been handed a perfect reason to quit - 6 months full pay.

[masterrex]

That was a very good idea! I agree that memo politics should stay away from the workplace, especially in a country that was divided by politics But I think some Americans don't buy that idea because Americans are always exercising their freedom in all aspects, thats why I believe it's a big issue to them politics is already hot in the U.S and the division between the American voters are widening so I think thats the reason.

[pawanjain]

So a few weeks ago Brian Armstrong, CEO of CoinBase put out a "no politics at work memo"
If you did not like it you could take a 4 to 6 month buyout and leave. As of now it looks like 60+ people or 5% +/- a bit of their workforce took it.

I think it's good. Work is for work, politics is for the bar after work so to speak.

But, it's a slippery slope. After no politics do you ban the Star Wars vs. Star Trek discussions. Ford vs Dodge? IPA vs Dark Beer?

Some articles:
https://www.coindesk.com/coinbase-dan-yoo
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2020/10/sixty-coinbase-employees-take-buyout-offer-over-no-politics-rule/

-Dave

Wooh , so people are actually accepting that they would rather prefer talking about politics while at work.
This is new to me. I have seen people talking about politics while at work but if such a situation would occur then they would rather keep shut and work.
People come to work so that they could earn money and fulfill their expense to have a good living but these people seem to have a different perspective I guess.
It's a good thing that coinbase did and this shows that their company believes more towards productiveness.

[hatshepsut93]

Frankly, we don't know the exact situation at Coinbase and what caused this decision. It's one thing if there's a lot of political debates that distract employees from work and cause tension, but this could have also be done to silence any criticism and disagreement over the company's actions. If in the future Coinbase will get caught providing their services to some dictators, rogue nations, war criminals, etc. - this no-politics rule can be used to prevent employees from protesting.

[o_e_l_e_o]

If in the future Coinbase will get caught providing their services to some dictators, rogue nations, war criminals, etc. - this no-politics rule can be used to prevent employees from protesting.

Absolutely. I would imagine there are a fair few people who are interested for working for crypto companies for the same reason a fair few people here are interested in bitcoin in the first place - being sick of the failure of traditional monetary systems, and how they only work to enrich themselves at the expense of everybody else. Perhaps they saw a career in crypto as an opportunity to help address injustice and inequality. And then they see Coinbase partner with Hacker Team (who have already been selling their software to dictators and war criminals), and working with the US government, and leasing their products to the FBI/CIA/DEA/IRS, and so on. And they see Coinbase slowly turn in to the very thing they got a career in crypto to try to help combat.

Not surprised 5% of their workforce have taken the opportunity to leave. I imagine that if unemployment wasn't at its highest in 80 years, that 5% figure would be far higher.

[sheenshane]

Frankly, we don't know the exact situation at Coinbase and what caused this decision. It's one thing if there's a lot of political debates that distract employees from work and cause tension, but this could have also be done to silence any criticism and disagreement over the company's actions. If in the future Coinbase will get caught providing their services to some dictators, rogue nations, war criminals, etc. - this no-politics rule can be used to prevent employees from protesting.

I tend to agree!

No politics at work memo isn't a bad idea since people come to work for the job that they applied for, but is it really possible to stop the employees from any political discussion whereas small talks whether political or any topics could help the employees avoid boredom and it also build a friendly relationship with coworkers.

It's also possible that it could bring divisions and misunderstanding to each employee but in the end, they would still realize that misunderstanding because of political beliefs is somehow a childhood behavior so they will tend to forget it and become friends again after all if we always want camaraderie in the workplace and political discussion at work is too shallow to lose friends and coworkers for an adult.

Besides, this company's action will have a benefits for all coinbase staff to make their service better and good.