Hacker News Reader

Comment by gamache | Hacker News Reader

Get out.

Seriously. This is merely a precursor to what you'll experience in coming months if you stick around. Their policy against outside development is a symptom of diseased thinking, and if you have diseased thought dictating policy, things never work out for the better.

Your current employer should be considered an enemy to your well-being and you need to find new employment post-haste.

Definitely agree, the way of thinking expressed there will surely lead to other similar nonsense when other problems arise.

A counter-point: instead of storming into work one day and quitting, ask your boss for a meeting and point out in the most direct-but-professional manner you have that this isn't what you signed up for: that this is hurting you as a developer, and that if they intend to enforce those rules, you can't stay at the company.

No company will have regulations which are all-and-always perfect for every employee, and some managers will be stupider in applying rules than others - this is a good exercise in learning to stand up for yourself and getting what you want without quitting. If you're a good developer, they'll be willing to "bend a few rules" to keep you.

From personal experience, I doubt it.

You make a good point, but in my experience a company deluded enough to prevent their devs from programming outside of work is just systematically broken in ways that a mere cog cannot hope to rectify.

I concur with the top comment: run, don't walk, to the nearest exit.

systematically broken in ways that a mere cog cannot hope to rectify

So true. Cogs cannot rectify. Therefore, either give up hope or switch to a context where you are not a cog.

It's surprising how far people can string themselves along refusing to admit this (cf the fantasy literature about "organizational change"). I did it myself for a few years before snapping out of it.

This assumes that it's actually "the company" laying down this directive, which isn't clear from the post -- it could just as easily be something his manager came up with on his own.

Having said that, I wouldn't expend too much energy on trying to get them to change their minds...

>A counter-point: instead of storming into work one day and quitting, ask your boss for a meeting and point out in the most direct-but-professional manner you have that this isn't what you signed up for: that this is hurting you as a developer, and that if they intend to enforce those rules, you can't stay at the company.

Excellent point. I believe that no matter the outcome, going on the record in a "direct-but-professional" manner is good karma. Worse case: it removes any ambiguity about the reasons for your departure. Best case: it gives you the opportunity to talk some sense into one manager, potentially improving the lives of a whole team of developers.

It's also good negotiation practice.

Many employers have this attitude. It's something you always bring up in the interview if you have a side project.

He did bring it up in the interview.

OP mentions it briefly, it's not clear how much detail was brought out about this. Most people are concentrating on making a "good impression" and won't say something like... I am working on X which I expend to spend 20 hours a week on, what do you think about that?

If it's as implied and they flat lied in the interview then change policy? Step 1 is ignore them, you're not doing anything illegal. Step 2 is find a new job immediately.

I concur. Keep working on your app while you find a new job. Then, go.

Pretty horrible. Generally employers don't want you writing code for the following reasons:

They are paranoid you will steal from them the ideas you code on and compete.

They want to own your ass.

In either case, I don't like paranoid management, and I don't like people "owning my ass".

Now on the flip side I don't see why someone you TRUST can't own the company. You might program for it unofficially while working at your current company.

+1 for the suggestion. Just set up your wife/dad/mum as the owner of this startup and run it in that person's name.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com