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Comment by deciplex | Hacker News Reader

Completely agree with this, but at the same time there is something deeply dysfunctional about our mercenary attitude toward our work relationships. For any given individual I think they have no choice to approach it this way, but I do hope we eventually land somewhere a little healthier, as a culture.

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In reality: I am not that mercenary. Nor is the man in the song.

They both know the rules... and they both are enjoying the profits.

If a company wants to make a major commitment to me, I commit back. But note: commitments come in the form of money and actions. Not talk.

If the company wants to have a fling... I consult by the hour too. :)

> but at the same time there is something deeply dysfunctional about our mercenary attitude toward our work relationships.

Mercenary attitude is the healthiest attitude there is. It’s not hypocritical, it’s not elusive it’s what it is.

In the context of our current work culture, yes I think I agree with that. But I think that's a symptom of how dysfunctional our current work culture is.

edit:

> Can you tell us more?

I literally can't actually, at least not as a reply to you, because dang has once again limited my ability to post on HN. Too many left-leaning folks here already, I guess. Here is what my reply would have been:

> If you're happy with the wholly adversarial relationship between employee and employer along with management practices that pit people against each other etc then more power to you. If you think this results in the best outcomes both in terms of working conditions and also productivity, then go off king. I don't think anything I could say here would convince you otherwise, anyway.

...and now I'll be exiting this conversation as I've been given no other choice - see ya!

Even in context of an ideal world where people work for ideas, not money, it should be acceptable to have mercenary attitude. We’re all different, after all, but we should respect each other’s motivations.

> dysfunctional our current work culture is

Can you tell us more?

Nobody is happy with the relationship between employee and employer being adversarial.

It's just a consequence of what each person wants out of the relationship. The employer wants to extract as much labor as possible for the minimum price. The employee wants to extract the maximum price for minimum labor.

Many employers have an unrealistic expectation that their employees will have the same passion as they do about the product/company. What makes it especially heinous is that the employer will become wealthy off the labor of the employees, and then be upset when the employees want a piece of the pie.

Work is just a transactional relationship. I need money, they need workers, that's all there is to it. It ends if I find better money elsewhere, or they no longer need workers.

It is a bit more nuanced than that, on both sides, you should always look at the full situation.

There's many things, like stability, and how the firm treats you that SHOULD be considered. But they should be considered, as benefits, and given a value.

I faced this on my last job search. I ended up declining a FAANG to goto a small firm. No regrets when the FAANG laid off a few months later like I predicted they would.

... Always watch out for yourself. Money isn't the only thing that matters. Relationships matter etc.

But as always: Business, is business, nothing personal.

Fair. Having coworkers I like is really important to me. And benefits like insurance have an actual dollar value.

I have personal relationships with my coworkers, even with my boss; just not with the company itself.

What's dysfunctional about it? An employee-employer relationship is a business one, after all.

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