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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by jungekatz@lib.lgbt to c/nostupidquestions@lemmy.world

I was wondering , if you will be ready to work fof an organisation that you oppose ideologically , for instance you are against big oil but you get a job interview in exxonmobil with good pay , would you consider it ?

*Edit : Recently a friend of mine got a marketing job for a company that had shady business practices , selling their product to gullible parents. Since it was a marketing job , the pay was good but my friend left it within a week , saying it does not suit his ideology.

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[-] GCanuck@lemmy.world 103 points 1 year ago

I consider most “for profit” corporations as corrupt and amoral.

So, yes. Those are the only ones who pay close to a living wage.

[-] ABCDE@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Many NGOs and not for profits pay well.

[-] Hallainzil@startrek.website 14 points 1 year ago

That must be location-dependant. I worked for a non-profit for nearly 5 years, a good sized one. The pay was significantly below the for-profit sector, and the organisation was pretty toxic to boot. I have many friends who did similar, and my assessment is that mine was probably the best experience. Burnout is the norm. Toxic culture is the norm. Underpay is the norm. It's not an experience I'd be excited to repeat.

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[-] Stegget@lemmy.world 67 points 1 year ago

I've done this. I was working for scraps out of college as a community reporter when an ostensibly conservative online news organization offered me an 80% pay raise and the opportunity to do most of my work from home. I was young, recently married and wanted to start a family, and we needed the money. The bigger salary was nice, but over the course of two years I spiraled into a deep depression and began to loath myself and what I did. It was so bad I began looking for a way out after the first six months. Eventually I got out (took a pay cut to do so) but am now in a much better place personally and professionally. I would never do anything like that ever again.

[-] jungekatz@lib.lgbt 13 points 1 year ago

Glad to know things are better now !

[-] solrize@lemmy.world 24 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

There is 1) work you can do to improve this messed up world, 2) work that leaves it as messed up as it already is but doesn't make it particularly worse, and 3) work that actively seeks to make it worse.

I'll do #1 for free or at discounted rates, #2 if the pay is good (this is what I generally expect to do these days), and avoid #3 to the extent that I can. Though if the pay is ridiculously good, maybe that transfer of assets from the bad guys to me could be considered an improvement in the world in its own right ;).

[-] TheOtterITGuy@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

This is my kind of logic, surely taking money from those with less morals is better than not since I decreases their influence (in theory)

[-] daq@lemmy.sdf.org 17 points 1 year ago

Definitely. I'm a whore.

As long as it isn't something obviously evil like religion.

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[-] iByteABit@lemm.ee 17 points 1 year ago

This is quite a relevant question for me. In Greece there isn't a lot of innovation and the government doesn't really give a shit to fix the root problems, all young people that can change the scene leave for better countries.

That leaves us with very few companies that do something respectable and are worth working for, and a ton of gambling companies that feed off of the uneducated people. Those gambling companies are making huge profits and doing very well in general, so working for them is usually a nice experience from what I've heard of.

It's often tempting, but I can't justify participating in this disgusting industry to get more money, benefits and time. It would never sit well with me, but it always feels unfair how many jobs there are for that industry compared to anything else.

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[-] transientpunk@sh.itjust.works 17 points 1 year ago

No matter how good the pay, the resulting cognitive dissonance would overwhelm me eventually and either lead to a mental breakdown, or me quitting. It wouldn't be worth it.

[-] djsoren19@yiffit.net 14 points 1 year ago

Not only is the answer no, but I'm currently taking a pretty big pay cut to work for a non-profit that I believe in. When you work for scum you start to lose your soul, and it's hard to have any pride in your work knowing your only contribution is enriching your boss. Now my work goes towards a good cause, and I'm far more motivated to do well at my job.

[-] surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago

Unless you're supportive of the concept that you're a non-capitalist drone working to make a capitalist rich... You already do

[-] CoderKat@lemm.ee 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I think it's more a question of where the line is. You virtually always have to compromise in at least some small ways.

Would you work for a company where the CEO is an outspoken bigot? What about a company that constructs weapons for the military that you know will be used to kill thousands? Or one of those scam call centers, where your entire job would be scamming the elderly? Or taking to even more extremes, what about a criminal gang where you may have to directly kill people? For that matter, what about indirectly killing people, like if your employer is a massive polluter?

Some of these I'm not even certain of my answer for. In my current situation, I'm well off and don't need to worry much about pay and finding work is easy. But what if I was in a desperate situation, where I was struggling to find work that paid enough to sanely live on? I know I'd definitely have a lower threshold then, but where exactly it lies is hard to say when I'm not in such a situation.

[-] surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

It's the same with boycotts. If you're in poverty and the only close store is a Walmart, good luck boycotting them. You do the best you can within the means you have.

[-] BloodyFable@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago

I currently do and I need to get out ASAP. I should've stayed in school, the pay is great but the self loathing isn't worth it

[-] dandroid@dandroid.app 13 points 1 year ago

I currently do! I work for one of the huge mega tech corporations.

They pay me very well, I have great benefits, and a I get a ton of paid time off. They don't work me too many hours. They were very flexible with me when my wife was in and out of the hospital. They give decent annual raises and bonuses, and great stock bonuses.

Unless something changes, I don't see myself leaving, even though I know I could get money by bouncing around, because my job is very easy and the pay is very good for how easy my job is.

[-] DeltaTangoLima@reddrefuge.com 6 points 1 year ago

Lol - sounds just like me.

I also work for a mega tech, and I genuinely have concerns over some of the bad press we get.

But I find it hard to resist the benefits for me and my family. I'm now in the last 15 years or so of my career. I need to finish big, for my family.

[-] squirrel@discuss.tchncs.de 13 points 1 year ago
[-] gmtom@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago

Depends on how bad the company is and ig I'm in dire need of a job/ pay rise.

I've turned down jobs at Nestle and De Beers due to them being widely unethical and because I had a decent job at the time.

[-] ox0r@jlai.lu 13 points 1 year ago

To a certain degree, there ain't really that many companies that are ideologically aligned with me lol

[-] shartworx@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 year ago

I do. I'm riding out the clock. I've already put the time in and am grandfathered into better retirement/severance benefits than I could get anywhere else. I hate it, but I have a family to feed.

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[-] palitu@lemmy.perthchat.org 11 points 1 year ago

No, but i am lucky to have the choice not too.

[-] Stinkywinks@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

Nope. There's never enough money, and I'm not going to sell out for a fancier box and wheels.

[-] hactar42@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

I work as a consultant so I'm always dealing with different customers. We had one client who operates payday loans. I refused to do any work for them and thankfully my company didn't argue when I said I couldn't morally work with them.

That said, I have a child with autism and I'm spending tens of thousands of dollars a year on getting him the help he needs. My companies insurance sucks and I saw a job posting at Raytheon I was a perfect fit for. I'm still conflicted on if I should apply just to get better insurance and help my family.

[-] phillaholic@lemm.ee 7 points 1 year ago

Imo do it. RTX does fine work. They don’t exist to scam people. The primary problem with them is how governments use their tech. Even so, without them we would in fact be worse off. In this case your family comes first.

[-] hactar42@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

In this case your family comes first

This is a great point. I've already decided to get out of Texas because of my family. For the longest time I refused to move because I felt like that was giving up. Especially since my district was pretty well split 50/50. However, the things that have happened over the last year have made me loss all hope. And there is no way in hell am I raising my daughter in a state that would put a bounty on her reproductive rights. What type of parent would I be if I didn't do what was best for them?

Sincerely, thanks. I think I just needed to hear someone else say what you said.

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[-] CafecitoHippo@lemm.ee 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I have worked for the last 6.5 years at a faith based credit union ($400MM in size) despite being an atheist. All of our meetings start with a prayer. They have been good up until recently where we've done more and more investment real estate lending and that doesn't sit well with me with our housing crisis in the US. Have a 3rd interview with a regional bank ($14Bn in size) to move to more C&I and CRE loans instead of single family homes. I know they are still involved in it but I'm not going to be the one writing loans on investment properties. They also do a lot of affordable housing lending and community reinvestment in distressed areas.

[-] Zarxrax@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

Everyone has their own code of ethics, but I think almost every company has some things that might be controversial or that people don't like. Even some of my favorite companies have done things that I am really opposed to.

I would not work in a job where I had to directly do things that I was morally opposed to. But we live in a society where huge companies touch our lives in a lot of different ways. If you are too strict about it, you might find that there aren't many jobs available for you.

[-] 6daemonbag@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 1 year ago

Absolutely. And I did so to afford my family's medical needs, food, shelter, etc. The pay was almost 3x what I made previously, which wasn't a lot. Benefits, flexibility, all that shit. And then they laid off my entire team hahahahahaha

and I'd do it again

[-] Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 8 points 1 year ago

Oh 100% I'll take a job with any company for the right pay and benefits. It helps that I'm an IT guy so any nastiness the company is involved in isn't directly my job.

I currently work for a national company that does contract work for food processing plants, so plenty of nasty stuff involved, but my hands stay clean as I primarily manage their ERP software and build reports and workflows to hopefully help keep what happens at the plants as above the board and by the book as possible

[-] mortrek@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 year ago

No. Worked for a facility that did lethality testing on various animals for potential drugs. I recognize the need for such things, but it wore on me until I had to quit.

[-] IamtheMorgz@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Only very briefly if I really needed the money. I used to work a corporate job and for a while I was a contractor doing data analysis. Those jobs left me feeling like I wasn't doing anything of value and that was enough to shift me into the public sector, which I enjoy immensely. I'd rather not go back but I could see myself needing more money than is generally on offer in public service.

If I opposed the organization ideologically I'd probably sell plasma before I took a job there. But I don't have a family relying on me so that makes it easier.

[-] lazylion_ca@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 year ago

I don't know about ideology, but I definitely don't believe in the industry I work in. I work for a WISP; wireless ISP. We provide internet and L2 connections to remote places: homes and oilfield sites. It's the 2nd such job I've had in 20 years.

The first was back in the late 2000s. The equipment was either cheap, or way too expensive, and needed to be replaced every five years to keep up with customer expectations. I remember my old boss once texting me around 2005ish all proud that he was sustaining 5mbps through the gateway. Today thats a single Netflix stream. The 2 and 5 ghz bands were overcrowded and noisy. The government licenses and equipment manufacturers were not at all in tune with the reality of last mile delivery Ubiquiti and Mikrotik were the only affordable options. Everything else was too expensive.

The cellular companies should have destroyed WISPs entirely by 2015. They had the tech, the financial resources, the frequencies, the government cronnies, and an existing customer base that grows every year. Cell cards are easily added to laptops and tablets. They have access to frequency licenses that us small wisps will never be able to afford. They have relationships with manufacturers who won't even look at us. But they keep targeting cities and population centers. I don't understand why they fall short on rural distribution. Especially since governments keep giving them money to do exactly that (instead of giving it to the companies who are actually trying to do it).

Then along comes Starlink. Say what you want about Musky, but Starlink for the most part works, and they are slowly eating our lunch. They have a reach and flexibilty we will never be able to match due to geography and money. Even if we had unlimited money, no-one is going to run fiber through the Rocky Mountains let alone build towers all the way from Calgary to Kelowna.

Between cell and Starlink I honestly expect to lose the entirety of our residential customer base by 2030. Maybe we'll keep a few old timers who don't want to change and a few small businesses who want to be able to call in for support. Our saving grace will be the bigger businesses who want or need higher upload speeds, L2 circuits, and support. Even those will thin out because it will cost us more to service them than they are willing to pay.

The governments are clawing back frequencies to auction off to bigger players and forcing CBRS and licensed channels down our throats. Manufacturers are more and more moving to the cripple-ware pay-to-play model, and they want subscriptions for management software.

That said, my pay cheque has never been late, I'm learning a lot of cool stuff about networking, and the boss is willing to invest in growth. The company itself has it's fingers in other pies and the owner is fairly business savvy. It's the wisp side of things that I don't have a lot of hope for.

[-] Noughmad@programming.dev 7 points 1 year ago

It's a trade-off, so it depends on both how good the pay is and how opposed the company is.

I'm currently working for a crypto company, and have worked for other similar ones in the past, and these all tend to be libertarian types which I don't agree with, but they pay well.

On the other hand, a previous employer tried to get Saudi Aramco as a client, and I made it clear that I would not support this. Fortunately those talks didn't come anywhere.

So yes, there's certainly a line.

[-] Ataraxia@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

Nope. Any job I had where they required me to do something I thought was unethical like selling credit cards or upsetting I just refused to do it until they let me go. I would rather enjoy being unemployed than stoop to that bullshit.

[-] DefiantBidet@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

i think Nestle is one of the most evil corporations currently on the planet - not quite large euro bank evil but close. Being out of work for more than 6 months - still applied to multiple positions bc one can afford to stand on a soapbox only when one has the money to afford the soapbox.

[-] Encryption@feddit.ch 7 points 1 year ago

Definitely not.

I think money can and will never play down the feeling of working for something/someone that is against your principles and ideology. Every day you get up to work, while drinking your morning coffee you will have thoughts and hate about the place you will start working after commuting.

And do not forget, you will mostly have friends with similar ideology, they will disapprove of this too. Good friends will stay nonetheless but discussions will arise portably more often than you’d like about your choosing a workplace that is against all you believe in.

When you just go and work wherever because the pay is good, then your ideology is not more than a façade you hold up for yourself.

[-] UncleBadTouch@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 year ago

depends if the offer lets me do some good in the company. if im just a worker who has no say in anything, then no

[-] Magister@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

It depends, big oil yeah I guess, but for instance a company that make face recognition camera used in China to basically arrest people, no. As for instance I'd never work for a far-right pro-life company.

[-] ParsnipWitch@feddit.de 6 points 1 year ago

No. I actually did quit a job in the past when I realised they are buying email lists to send around "newsletters".

[-] PlanetOfOrd@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

I feel it out. To some degree EVERY job has SOMETHING that opposes my ideology. So I play it by ear.

Like there was one company I worked for that used invasive telemetry on a product. But still I served as best I could.

Then a couple months ago I was approached by a couple that was dealing with a website issue. After an hour of talking about the issue the owner said, "oh, btw, this is a p*rn site site."

My conscious bothered me. I had to walk away, despite the fact that I really needed the money.

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[-] Kinglink@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Depends but pretty much sure.

I'd rather take a lot of money from someone I hate so I can donate it to stuff I like than a little money from people already doing what I want.

Obviously good pay is subjective but at the end of they day you need to eat and pay for housing. Not everyone is going to ideologically match with their company.

Also how else can these companies change if everyone buys the corporate line who works for them.

[-] rufus@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 1 year ago

Depends. Is more a smooth transition for me. Would work for Elon Musk, Zuckerberg, Microsoft if the pay was alright. Wouldn't like to work for defense industry. Or big pharma.

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I worked in accounting. I've done it. There's not a hell of a lot of choice at the beginning of your career in public.

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this post was submitted on 09 Aug 2023
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