How to find a company that doesn’t feel like I’m complicit in some sort of exploitative system

Aug 17, 2021 67 Comments

I feel so stuck in tech. Every company I’ve worked for has a dark underbelly that profits from either worker exploitation, screwing over poor people, or just plain making society worse.

How do you find a company that pays decently but doesn’t actively cause harm to the world? Has anyone found any success?

In design specifically, I always feel like I m pushing back against some horrible feature a PM wants to create.

#design #ethics #culture

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TOP 67 Comments
  • Apple
    jsjdrncjd

    Go to company page Apple

    jsjdrncjd
    You can’t expect to make good money and be completely detached from exploitation in any way. Welcome to capitalism.
    Aug 17, 2021 26
    • Google
      kTQr78

      Go to company page Google

      kTQr78
      😐
      Sep 8, 2021
    • Zillow is a force for good in the market working to empower renters, reduce entrenched systems of inequity & discrimination, and make things better.

      You can’t make things better by abstaining from participation in the market. If Zillow adopted your position of “landlords are parasites” you think Craigslist, Facebook, or Apartments.com would make things better?

      Criticize housing policy, stupid local zoning/regulations, and bad actors in the market. Stop shitting on a company trying to do good. It’s misguided and unproductive.
      Sep 12, 2021
  • Wow really racist tools such as credit reports, dude ur delusional and I’m a black dude. Tell u what u start a bank and don’t check people’s credit and give houses and mortgages to anyone who walks(wait is the ableist) to any human who wants one.
    Aug 20, 2021 4
    • They ended up having the opposite effect. Rather than removing bias, credit scores reflect pre-existing racial inequities in the US financial system.

      Other countries, including most of Western Europe and Japan, vet tenants using proof of income and in some cases bank statements.

      Other factors that try to predict whether a tenant will pay or continue to pay are inaccurate and tend emphasize existing historical inequalities and distract from the bottom line, which is “can this person afford pay the amount of the rent each month?”
      Aug 20, 2021
    • As someone who works in rentals, I can assure you that reducing / eliminating industry dependence on credit scores is a big priority of leadership. Alas it’s the norm until we can disrupt it.
      Aug 22, 2021
  • Facebook / Design
    6153

    Go to company page Facebook Design

    PRE
    Airbnb
    6153
    What does “harming the world” mean? You can join the FB or IG Well-being team, or Twitter Health, or work on a team at a tech company that focuses on mental health, anti-bullying, and wellness.
    Aug 17, 2021 8
    • Very few people on the world try to do explicit harm. Often, views and beliefs that are good and well intentioned end up having the opposite effect. Every problem is nuanced and specific, but often a result of chains and decades of people intending to do good or what is right for them.

      My concern is that very often companies learn that they are doing something that is not good and very often ignore it or suppress it internally because of that internal belief and knowledge of the problem. The public isn’t trying to paint black bad white issues, they’re simply dealing with the fallout of the issues.
      Aug 17, 2021
    • New
      LeadUX

      New

      PRE
      Cognizant
      LeadUX
      Fuck this guy! Do you really think is Facebook is making the world better place or worse, 6153? No, its not. Can’t believe people use their time/energy to defend Facebook. STFU with this shit.
      Sep 17, 2021
  • New / Design
    AgCj06

    New Design

    PRE
    PitchBook Data, Booking.com, Socrata, Optimal
    AgCj06
    I struggle with the same issues. Sadly, if you’re looking at top-paying companies (blue chip or FAANG), I don’t think you’re going to find what you’re looking for.

    One important distinction I’d recommend you think about—are you looking for a company that is actively contributing to the world in a positive way? Or would you be satisfied feeling that the company’s product/impact is morally neutral, that is, neither good nor bad?

    If the former, then your options are likely more limited although not nonexistent. Look into UX roles in government, startups in GovTech, EdTech, Health Tech, Alternative Energy/Renewables, etc. If you’re at Zillow, are you in Seattle? If so there are tons of options although they’ll all likely pay quite a bit less than Z.

    If the latter, then you have even more options. Good examples of this would be Salesforce, Tableau, HBO, Hulu, LinkedIn, etc. Actually, I’d put Zillow in this list although you clearly feel otherwise. I think though you’re perhaps being a bit too liberal with your criticism—there’s simply no way Zillow’s negative impact on the world comes anywhere near that of Amazon or FB.

    Anyway, just some things to think about.
    Aug 20, 2021 5
    • People please don’t believe this bullshit. There’s just so much here to unpack… but here’s a few points:

      1. The buy low sell high part is just false (baring abnormal rapid price appreciation), and ignores customer experience and liquidity benefits to all parties.

      2. The “racist tools” bit ignores that landlords already use credit scores. Zillow is using its influence to push other forms like income verification to reduce credit as a screening tool.

      3. WTF are you talking about “helping” to ask discriminatory questions? The opposite. We literally have models looking for and actively screening that shit out.

      4. We “want” prices high because we charge a flat fee to list? What are you smoking. What about all the work on affordable housing to bypass fees or social impact product work?

      Take it from someone who works in the business - this person is a political hack pretending to know Zillow. What aren’t just pure lies are distortions to align with their pre existing world view.
      Sep 10, 2021
    • Also anyone feel free to DM me. I’ll disprove every piece of slander from this troll.
      Sep 10, 2021
  • New
    Bubble2000

    New

    PRE
    Microsoft
    Bubble2000
    Yeah, the tradeoff for participating in Capitalist systems is living with the knowledge that you’re complicit in a lot of bad shit. Your alternative is to dedicate your work to a more noble anti-Capitalist venture that usually just makes you economically vulnerable and eventually just gets buried by Capitalist enterprise anyway. It’s a no-win, so IMO best to find a company that’s not actively malignant and see if you can help them get a little bit better over time (like keeping PMs from shipping evil things).
    Aug 17, 2021 1