This Company Bans Political Talk, Causing 20 Employees to Quit

About 1 out of 3 employees at US productivity software company Basecamp have resigned after banning political conversations in the office. 

The mass walkout happened after co-founder and chief executive Jason Fried published a blog post explaining the company's new rules, which includes a band on "societal and political discussions on our company Basecamp account".

He also declared the end of "paternalistic" employee benefits, such as fitness and continuing education allowances, saying there would be "no more lingering or dwelling on past decisions".

Fried justified the ban on political talks by saying that they had become "a major distraction" in today's climate.

"Sensitivities are at 11, and every discussion remotely related to politics, advocacy, or society at large quickly spins away from pleasant," he wrote.

"You shouldn't have to wonder if staying out of it means you're complicit or wading into it means you're a target."

Polarised debates have rocked the US for months, from the Black Lives Matter movement to the presidential election in November last year. 

Fried added that the company creates project management, team communication, and email software. He said that it is not a social impact company, therefore, there is no need to solve serious social issues. 

He said Basecamp would pay employees the cash value of the cancelled benefits so they "can spend on whatever they'd like".

In another blog post, co-founder and chief technology officer David Hansson wrote, "We've committed to a deeply controversial stance, some employees are relieved, others are infuriated, and that pretty well describes much of the public debate around this too."

Basecamp's head of marketing and head of customer support also announced their resignation. 

Kristin Aardsma announced her resignation as Head of Customer Support at Basecamp via Twitter. "I'm four months pregnant, so I'm going to take some time off to build this baby and hang out with my brilliant spouse and child."

"I don't know what's next for me professionally, but the support team at Basecamp was the most amazing group of people I've ever worked with. I'll miss them every day."

A former employee for almost ten years, Jonas Downey, said that he decided to leave his job as Head of Design due to the recent changes at the IT firm. According to a tally by developer John Breen, about 20 out of Basecamp's 57 employees have announced their resignations via Twitter. 

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase also declared a similar ban in 2020, with chief executive Brian Armstrong stating in October about 60 of the company's 1,200 employees had resigned over the move.

Source: FMT

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