On job applicants who want work-life balance

It was along the dusty halls of the once-hot Social Media platform Facebook where I came across the gem I'm about to examine today. It was in a group titled, very ironically, "NO ONE WANTS TO WORK", and the share was that of a LinkedIn post by a dude named Scott Kuru, CEO of Freedom Property Investors.

Screenshot

As to be expected in such a group, the responses were both savage and scathing. And while I identify more with the common working man in the street than the stereotypical champagne-sipping CEO, here's the shocker: I actually agree with Scott Kuru that people who talk about "work-life balance" during a job interview aren't "being super committed to the companies [sic] goals". (The real question though, is why should they be?)

I also agree that the employee's work-life balance is not, and should not be the company's problem.

Work-life Balance is your own problem

Saying "I'm looking for work-life balance" puts the onus (intentionally or otherwise) on the employer to facilitate that. It's not their problem.

Know what else isn't my employer's problem? My lifestyle choices. My career. I am of the firm opinion that none of this should ever fall under the purview of any employer.

Proceed no
further, buddy.

Not only do I not make my work-life balance my employer's problem, I'm exceptionally aggressive about establishing those boundaries.

The life of the typical software developer has rarely been a traditional nine-to-five gig. A large part of software development is the creative process, and problem-solving ideas don't always obligingly arrive during that time period. Thus, software developers can expect to find themselves working at some pretty odd hours when inspiration strikes. Also, sometimes, due to deadlines looming, crunch time is necessary. Things like that happen. However, whether I choose to coast for the rest of the workday or spend an entire weekend hammering out a software feature, that decision has always been mine and mine alone. If I work on a weekend or public holiday, it's because I have deemed it necessary. I will put in the extra work when I damn well please, and not because my employer expects me to. No employer has ever had to tell me to put in extra work. In fact, the moment any employer even implies that they are entitled to my contractually-stipulated personal time, is the moment I lose respect for them as professionals.

Employers, my work-life balance is none of your beeswax. Your job is to set my KPIs and pay me on time. The only things you need to concern yourself with is whether or not I am meeting those KPIs, and deciding if I offer enough value for the money you are paying me. If you wish to address my work-life balance (indeed, anything at all regarding my personal life) you are going to have to earn that privilege.

We have a professional relationship, not a personal one, so stay in your goddamn lane.

Not employing those who want work-life balance

This isn't exactly new, you know. None of this is new. Employers have been quietly putting such candidates in the no-hire list since, well, forever. Employees wanting work-life balance isn't new, either. They've been quietly setting those boundaries for as long as I remember.

Key word: quietly.

Not declaring it openly at an interview, like some kind of noob. Not making a whole public LinkedIn post about it, like you're some child who just discovered that the earth is round and expects a cookie for it.

Quietly, please.

Why don't companies want to hire people who make work-life balance a priority? It's more that they don't want the kind of people who would blurt that out during an interview. The same way we know that everyone defecates, but the dinner table is not the time and place to discuss it.

There are some companies that really do not want such workers, though. And the reasoning is simple. Every employer knows that it's always better to hire clever but lazy people over hardworking people with mediocre intellect. However, it's always easier to hire hardworking people because any idiot can work hard, but not everyone can be clever. There are plenty of people who think they're clever, but that's not quite the same thing.

Whatever else one might want to say about Scott Kuru, he's certainly not afraid to make an unpopular opinion known. Now that takes cojones. Either that, or an ego the size of Melbourne.

So, yeah. Companies, don't hire applicants who don't have the sense to be discreet about work-life balance. And applicants, don't apply for companies where the CEO talks this much shit on Social Media (I'm looking at you, Elon Musk). Let evolution take care of the rest.

Take charge of your life!

Work-life balance looks different to everyone. Never let anyone dictate to you what your balance should be, or worse, allow your employer to be in charge of it.

It's interesting that this happened in Australia of all countries. From the time I spent there (admittedly that was back in 2001), it felt like this really laid-back place. The way the Australian dollar has weakened in recent years has only served to strengthen that impression.

Go balance yourselves!
T___T

Facebook's Fatal Flex at Australia

What's up with Facebook? From that on-off war with Apple to the WhatsApp exodus, Facebook are making news for a variety of very poor reasons these days. And then there was this thing with Australia - yes, the country - just two weeks back.

It seems that this started when the Australian Government introduced a new bit of legislation that would compel Facebook (or other companies, such as Google) to pay news media outlets every time someone used their platform to share a link to a news article. Granted, this doesn't exactly sound fair to Facebook, but this isn't what I'm here for today. What I want to talk about is how Facebook reacted.

Google attempted a bit of bluster about removing themselves from Australia, but after Microsoft - rather opportunistically, I might add - backed Australia up, with the threat of being replaced by Microsoft's own search engine, Google decided to play ball.

No more Facebook for Australia?

Facebook, on the other hand, decided that they would no longer show any more news sources from Australia if that meant they would have to pay. From a business point of view, this is entirely legitimate, but quite understandably, some quarters saw this as an attempt at intimidation.

And then Facebook flexed their muscles. They blocked all news with Australian IP addresses from showing on their platform. Unfortunately, in the process, they also accidentally blocked emergency services and public information, and the backlash was immediate.

Where Facebook went wrong

As far as I can see, Mark Zuckerberg has always been about profits rather than power. Facebook is not really interested in promoting any sort of political idealogy or influencing people; rather, they're far more interested in making money and dominating the market. However, due to the nature and ubiquity of Social Media, they are in a power of position and they bear watching.

And many eyes have been watching them for a while. Nations wary that the platform might enable insurrectionists. Help spread misinformation, or even just inconvenient information. Ultimately, wary of the sheer influence and power of such a tech platform.

Pulling Australian media content was one thing. But it was very clumsily implemented, resulting in unintended consequences. Now those wary of Facebook's power are not only concerned with Facebook's power and willingness to use it, but also with Facebook's incompetence. Power is far more dangerous in the hands of those ill-equipped to handle it. It's like having a sleek powerful racecar... driven by an intoxicated child.

Is the FB racecar
driven by a child?

With that heavy-handed move, regardless of the eventual outcome with Australia, Facebook essentially made the target on their back a lot bigger and more prominent. Good going, Zuckerberg. Subtlety definitely isn't your strong suit.

In a nutshell

The term "speak softly and carry a big stick" comes to mind. Of course, one may argue, with the size of Facebook's stick, why should they have to speak softly? Because they can't take on the combined might of all the nations opposed to being held ransom by Facebook's power. It will be a long and costly battle, with little reward for victory. Unless you're some kind of V-For-Vendetta anti-Government nutjob where sticking it to the authorities is the reward, dying on this particular hill accomplishes pretty much nothing of actual value. Facebook is a business entity, and its primary and overriding directive is to remain profitable.

As a business, consumer trust can be a huge issue. Already Facebook faces challenges in the form of data breaches, privacy concerns and more. Add this latest mishap to the mix and you can see why that stunt really didn't help their case at all.

This looks inauspicious for Facebook!
T___T

Pokémon Go Fever

A new cringe-worthy craze has taken Singapore by the scruff of her neck for the past month, and consumed the hearts and minds of Singaporeans of all ages, from all walks of life. My Facebook feed and WhatsApp chats are filled with screenshots.

No, it ain't the Rio Olympics. It's a mobile app, and goes by the name of Pokémon Go.

And no, this is not an app review. That would involve me installing and playing it. Hell will freeze over before I install this sucker of memory and battery life on my mobile.

This hellishly addictive app.

Pokémon Go is an augmented reality game created by Niantic, who created the excellent Ingress  years earlier. While Ingress is also an augmented reality game and enjoyed a certain amount of success, its reach wasn't as mainstream as Pokémon Go. The cuteness of the monsters and the success of the original Pokémon franchise might have something to do with it, because for the life of me, I can't see what objective there is other than hunt, capture, and hunt some more.

As far as augmented reality games go, Pokémon Go certainly isn't the first. As mentioned earlier, it was preceded by Ingress. One of the earliest forerunners of the genre was SpecTrek which I've tried, but won't be reviewing either. Worthy mentions include Zombies, Run! (which I have installed) and Night Terrors which is next on my install list. Now, those might be worth reviewing. Watch this space!

From the day it was announced that Pokémon Go would be in Singapore, all hell has broken loose. Stories of near-accidents in traffic, vandalism and gangsterism are running riot through cyberspace. And it isn't just confined to Singapore, either. In fact, globally, it gets worse. Robberies have been reported, with the robbers making use of the app to lure unsuspecting victims. Actual accidents have happened.

In the startup I'm currently working for, the tech lead takes us out on Pokémon hunts during lunch break. Oh, the Pokémonity. Other companies aren't as generous, though, with some of my friends reporting that HR has sent out memos explicitly forbidding staff to play the game during their shift.

I recently went out for supper with the guys, and was absolutely flabbergasted when they started showing me their collection. You know things have gotten really sad when a bunch of 40 year olds whom you're supposed to be lepaking with over coffee, now take you on slow drives around the island to find gyms and hunt down these cute little bastards.

I remember the days where my buddies would irritate the living heck out of me by constantly sending me pictures of naked women, or videos of them performing assorted sex acts, through WhatsApp. Not because I have anything against porn - it's a lovely industry and creates jobs! - but because this crap occupies my storage until I take the trouble to painstakingly delete them. Those days are gone and I mourn them - because these same clowns have started sending me Pokémon pics instead. Some are even sending me Pokémon porn pics!

NSFW

Seriously dudes, what the fuck?!

The Silver Lining

It looks like Pokémon Go has at least gotten people to get off their arses and go for brisk walks under the blazing sun to hatch those Pokémon eggs (call me back when this stops sounding weird), though their posture and situational awareness still leaves a lot to be desired.

Some enterprising folks have actually started up businesses riding on the popularity of the game. From luring players to retailers and food stops, and even hiring out transport to visit Pokéstops.

And that's not even mentioning the sales from Pokémon merchandise such as toys, trading cards and accessories! While I'm on that, check out the Pokeburgs by Hashtag Burgers from the Land Down Under!

The marketing behind the phenomenon is worth a study. We have senior citizens playing this shit, for Chrissake.

When will Pokémon Go... away?
T___T