Big employers like Google love to call their employees "stakeholders" and tell them how they are a valued part of the company. Doing that, and then acting like it is surprising or unjustified when employees demand a say in what the company does and how it impacts the real world is grand hypocrisy. If employees really are stakeholders (and not just mercenary hires of convenience) then Google as an entity should damned well take their personal view and morals into account.
Likewise, corporations love to make heady declarations in their charters and tell everyone about their commitments to making the world a better place. For example, Google said this in response to the attacks:
Our Jewish Googlers around the world are reeling from these attacks — which bring painful reminders of the worst moments in history — and are experiencing a rise in antisemitic incidents that call for increased security at synagogues and schools.
Our Palestinian, Arab and Muslim Googlers are deeply affected by a concerning rise in Islamophobia, and are watching with dread as Palestinian civilians in Gaza have suffered significant loss and fear for their lives amid the escalating war and humanitarian crisis.
No words can erase this pain.
Yet, we can create a culture of empathy to support our fellow Googlers through the coming weeks and months. I've always been proud of how Googlers come together in moments of crisis. I want to say a special thanks to our ERG communities — especially our Arab, Jewish and Muslim Googlers — for offering guidance and support over the past week.
Finally, we will continue to do everything we can to stand by our Googlers. Even when world events cause the deepest divisions and pain, we can draw strength from our internal community and the mission and values we hold in common. Be kind to yourselves and each other.
If Google meant any of the above, the employees were doing the right thing in trying to hold their company to account.
Of course, the reality is that Google (like all corporations) in an amoral beast devoted to profit and shareholder value that treats its employees as fungible cogs. And should be treated as such. Yeah, Google should stop doing that (calling employees "stakeholders"). The "company" doesn't give a sh**t about you (the generic you) and you shouldn't give a sh**t about them. Show up to work on time, do your job, go home, collect as much money as they'll give you. They all try and say they care, and maybe some individuals in "the company" might give a sh**t about you, but "the company" doesn't. They're trying to get as much out of you for as little as possible. Your job is the exact opposite, to get as much out of them by doing the least.
<obviously there are exceptions where going above and beyond in the hopes of future earnings makes sense, and small business owners might care in ways "the company" doesn't. I'm sure we can all come up with other exceptions to my above "rule" that I wouldn't disagree with, but I don't think it detracts from my broader point though, which is you don't owe anybody anything and nobody owes you anything. If you can get a job, get one and do it just good enough to not get fired.>
oh, and if you (still the generic you) think the company you work for does horrible things, STOP WORKING FOR THEM! If you don't, you are complicit, even if they act like they give a sh**t. By all means tell your story, hold your rallies, make your phone calls, try and be the change you believe in (or however that goes), hopefully you won't have too many bigots like the above lady muddying your message with her racism.
