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Comment by lopmotr | Hacker News Reader

If you had the power, would you fire them and be the one to give them their notice in person? If they asked why, what would you tell them? "For your own good"?

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Or perhaps he would put some serious effort into seeing how their work life could be improved and would work on improving the cruise’s environmental footprint

Instead of asking would you fire them for their own good, rather ask, do you employ them for their own good?

If they voluntarily show up, I think they are judging that I am offering them something better (or at least as good) as their next best option. That’s one formulation of “their own good”.

Yes because terminating someone's employment is the exact moral equivalent of treating someone with dignity in the workplace. Their vast numbers and lengthy shifts clearly imply that their contribution to the operation of the ship is negligible.

Nice straw-man you present here. Or did I anywhere imply what words you try to put in my mouth?

Someone could for example give them the same working protections offered by a German contract. The same work hours. Same wages?

Someone would not have to let them go.

So you're happier that they were employed by the cruise line at all, but preferred they they be given more? I see. Giving them more than their market value is like charity. So perhaps my question should be "Would you give part of your salary to them?" Did you? It's easy to ask someone else to give charity but surely if you really mean it, you'd do it yourself first.

Though you did say "I was so abusing the lower deck people" which, given you didn't want to fire them, implies their normal life would have been even more abusive. So wasn't your company actually helping them already? Isn't that something to feel good about? You were making their lives better. Not as good as your own, but why is that the standard?

Or could you use that power to pay them more even though you didn't have to?

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