Will Google Management Face a Pullman Moment?

April 2, 2018

We noted “Exclusive: Google Employees Organize to Fight Cyber Bullying at Work.” When I first scanned the headline, I wondered if Google was taking a stand to minimize social media users from beating up on people. Then I wondered if Google employees were trying to curb bullying at and within the Alphabet Google itself.

pullman strike

Could Google employees strike for better treatment of lower tier elite employees?

The write up explains that the employees want to offer “policies” to to improve the conduct of fellow employees. I learned:

Google should tighten rules of conduct for internal forums and hire staff to enforce them. They [the employees who want to curtail bullying] said they want to stop inflammatory conversations and personal attacks on the forums and see punishment for individuals who regularly derail discussions or leak conversations. The group also wants Google to list rights and responsibilities for accusers, defendants, managers and investigators in human resources cases. The group also desires greater protection for employees targeted by what it views as insincere complaints to human resources used as a bullying tactic and goading.

As Google tries to diversify and treat people equally, some behaviors may have to be modified. In my experience, outfits which perceive themselves to be elite create micro elites within the organization. The idea obviously is to be the most elite of the elite. This approach is part of what some have called the “bro culture” and what I describe as the high school science club approach. A group of “elite”—whom some might describe as arrogant and socially flawed individuals—stick together to preserve their eliteness. I noticed this behavior among the nuclear engineers at Halliburton Nuclear when I worked there in the 1970s. Some nuclear engineers were just more special; for example, the requisite training in math, chemistry, and physics and the cachet of graduating from the Naval Academy. A mere nuclear engineer from a traditional university was a second class person. You can imagine how this crowd reacted to a person like me who indexed Latin sermons and landed in this “elite” outfit.l

There is another issue looming at Google. This problem did not crop up when I moved from the Halliburton Nuclear outfit to Booz, Allen & Hamilton (another elite-type operation).

Google may be facing a unionization moment. That would make life exciting for the elite of the elite. I know that selling ads seems a bit down market, but from this modest grousing, the Alphabet Google elite may have to manage or face a Pullman moment.

Stephen E Arnold, April 2, 2018

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