Twitter has changed hands and its more than 7,000 employees around the world are worried. Many fear that the tycoon will substantially change the moderation policies and the way of acting with the users of the social network, measures in which the majority have been working for years and that they feel as an important part of their professional career, according to the New YorkTimes.
No news from Musk. During all the time that the sales negotiations have lasted, the Twitter workers assure that they have not received the slightest information about it. Something that, to a certain extent, is normal due to the characteristics of the operation, but that has been creating discomfort among them because they wanted to know, at least, what implications the possible transaction could have for the employees.
And only yesterday afternoon, hours after the operation was completed, the current CEO of the social network, Parag Agrawal, met with them to inform them that no layoffs are planned and that their contractual conditions are going to be practically maintained. the same, but nothing more. When asked by the workers about what was going to happen with Twitter’s policies and the company’s culture, the CEO assured that he had no idea and that, once the deal was closed, he did not know what direction it was going to take. the company.
Workers’ concerns. Employees are particularly concerned that Musk will undo all the work of recent years on moderation policies, flip the social network private, or that his unpredictable management style and public communication will disrupt the business culture of Twitter, according to the New York newspaper.
Those fears are not unfounded. The public comments that the technology tycoon has been making about his intentions with Twitter since it became known that he wants to acquire the social network go precisely in that direction: discarding almost all of his moderation policies (which prohibit threats, try to prevent harassment and spam), provide more information about the algorithm it uses to push users’ tweets and make it private.
Labor conditions. Other workers would be concerned about the news that has been appearing in recent years about the working conditions that exist in the companies directed by Musk.
And it is that the companies of the South African billionaire are known for being demanding work environments in which employees are urged to sacrifice their personal lives for the good progress of the organization following the example of Musk, according to Fortune, while Twitter has made an effort in recent years to offer greater options for conciliation and work flexibility, such as offering additional days off or telecommuting forever.
Without telecommuting and Texas? In addition to the question of whether Musk will maintain the forever telecommuting policy that the social network implemented for its workers in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, workers are also concerned that Musk will decide to move its headquarters to Texas, as it has already done with Tesla.
Image | joey swafford
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism