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This isn't and shouldn't be the typical response to such things.

The boss had also become vulnerable asking you to be 10% more vulnerable.

I think I would respect it more than harsh cold calculating boss.

And also the chinese gospel's taking its effect here , the post above this paraphrased it differently and this has taken it to completely different level.

Nobody is forcing you with a gun to tell things or else you are fired

the boss just said , " Hey if you are comfortable , lets try to be a little vulnerable " and if you didn't like it you could've said " hey boss , I appreciate your gesture but I really really wouldn't like to share it as it would be a violation of my privacy , hope you understand "

This would probably be my approach if I was one of those people who hated boss asking him such thing but I don't. I think I like it.




> The boss had also become vulnerable asking you to be 10% more vulnerable.

That's really irrelevant. It's like taking your pants down, showing your privates and assuming your coworkers will do the same.

Absolutely unacceptable especially when it comes from position of power, where workers may think that if they don't engage they'll get fired or won't get promotion. It's coercion.

> the boss just said , " Hey if you are comfortable , lets try to be a little vulnerable " and if you didn't like it you could've said " hey boss , I appreciate your gesture but I really really wouldn't like to share it as it would be a violation of my privacy , hope you understand "

This is never innocent. If someone's life depends on the job, they'll comply as they don't want to second guess if their refusal will lead to them end up being homeless. They'll share details they don't want to and get injured.


Trust is earned. A person you don’t know immediately asking you to be vulnerable is predatory. Commonly seen in cults, frats, etc but at least you opt in to those (and can opt out).

Agreeing to work with a new manager is putting you in a vulnerable enough state. Build that trust over time - you likely don’t even need to hear about coworkers failed marriages.


My boss shared first and was very much clear about it being optional.

People bring a lot of context into these conversations and make a lot of assumptions. There is a lot of nuance here and that's tough to sit with.


Even if it was indeed fully optional and nobody felt the obligation to share even though they didn't want to (which I find hard to believe), you have to consider that you're also imposing on the people who are listening. They didn't sign up for group therapy either and sitting through accounts of potentially tragic events might be an unnecessary emotional stressor for them (e.g. maybe they were also recently divorced or lost someone to an illness), especially if they're expected to go back to work and be productive afterwards.


What does the Chinese gospel mean? When I search the web for that phrase, I find a song "God's Glory Shines From the East".




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