BackOver 30% employees of US software company Basecamp announce resignation: Report
Basecamp chief executive and co-founder Jason Fried released a blog post numbering new rules adopted by the company, including a ban on 'societal and political discussions on our company Basecamp account.'
PremiumA US productivity software firm called Basecamp is reportedly witnessing a mass walkout with multiple resignations from employees even in the high positions. The staff started leaving the company after a new set of rules were put in place for the workplace. Employees of the software company registered their disagreement with top management through resignations.
According to a report by The Verge, around a third of employees announced their resignation from the company after they were banned from having political conversations in the workplace.
Basecamp chief executive and co-founder Jason Fried released a blog post numbering new rules adopted by the company, including a ban on "societal and political discussions on our company Basecamp account."
Apart from a ban on political conversations, the company also did away with a few employee "paternalistic" benefits such as fitness and continuing education allowances, and said there would be "no more lingering or dwelling on past decisions." He said the company would pay employees the cash value of the axed benefits so they "can spend on whatever they'd like."
In direct response to the new changes made in Basecamp, employees started making their resignations public via Twitter. According to a developer from another firm John Breen, 20 out of the 57 employees of the company have announced their resignation.
"Given the recent changes at Basecamp, I've decided to leave my job as Head of Design," Jonas Downey, who had worked for the IT firm since 2011, said on Twitter Friday.
The Basecamp employees who announced their resignation also included the head of marketing and head of customer support.
In the official blog, Fried said that political conversations had become "a major distraction" in the current climate. He stated, "sensitivities are at 11, and every discussion remotely related to politics, advocacy, or society at large quickly spins away from pleasant."
"You shouldn't have to wonder if staying out of it means you're complicit, or wading into it means you're a target."
The co-founder also encouraged employees who don’t support the new vision of the company to leave by offering generous severance packages. In his blog Fried stated, “We offered everyone at Basecamp an option of a severance package worth up to six months salary for those who've been with the company over three years, and three months salary for those at the company less than that. No hard feelings, no questions asked. For those who cannot see a future at Basecamp under this new direction, we'll help them in every which way we can to land somewhere else."
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