Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter will come with turnover. Some employees will leave, and there is nothing anyone can do about this. That’s normal in the case of new management. But, Musk’s purchase of Twitter has been anything but ordinary.
The NY Post describes Twitter employees as “apoplectic,” while the calmer Washington Post claims employees “feared widespread demoralization and layoffs” with Musk’s takeover. Fox News calls the employees “distraught” and “too in shock to speak.” In other words, the employees aren’t pleased, and Musk has a challenge ahead of him if he wants to keep Twitter’s employees. Here are five things he can do to help retain staff.
To keep reading, click here: 5 Things Elon Musk Should Do to Retain Twitter’s Employees
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6. Give Twitter back to its prior owners. Musk is notorious for NOT listening to his employees, NOT following through on his promises, NOT respecting his employee’s rights (say, to collective action, of the type that leads to unionization), and NOT fixing the problems in his other companies. Twitter employees tend to be young and socially-conscious. They are aware of the massive damage inflicted by social media and of Twitter’s efforts to improve its impact on society, which still have a long way to go. Responsible content moderation is a huge part of those efforts. Musk has been all over the place with regard to what he thinks should be done. Part of the reason some — who, probably, do reflect the concerns of the majority — employees are threatening to quit is the well-justified fear that Musk WILL follow through on his threats to reduce moderation. If people really want to see Isis beheadings and live-streamed mass shootings, they can go on the Dark Web or 8Chan. If they want harmful misinformation about COVID, elections, Qanon conspiracies, etc., there are plenty of sites they can access. There’s still way too much hate and treason-inspiring speech on Twitter, but at least they’re making a nominal effort to moderate their content.
I have no dog in this fight since I’ve never twitted in my life, don’t even read it and for an embarrassingly long time I honestly thought Elon Musk was a men’s fragrance. I have heard that Twitter’s algorithm is quick to squash certain political tweets – moderation or modern day book burning? Beats me. But if I had to guess, I’d say Musk is more motivated by profit-making over concerns about cleaning up social media. He’s a billionaire, after all, and I bet he’d step on his own mother to make a buck. Maybe not though. Maybe he’s got enough money and he’s buying Twitter because he really does believe in free speech principles and giving voice to all. I guess anything is possible.
So, Twitter employees, do what the rest of us are doing – keep your heads down, your mouths shut and do your jobs or find new ones. The workplace is rarely a democracy. Deleting beheading videos? Of course! Banning The Babylon Bee for calling an individual with XY chromosomes a man? Well, apparently that’s what started this whole kerfluffle. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. Oh, and I still think Elon Musk is a great name for a cologne.
“I honestly thought Elon Musk was a men’s fragrance.”
Hahaha this is hilarious!