Blind, a popular professional social network in Silicon Valley, is booming. While layoffs are increasing in the sector, the “tech bros” who populate it share the rumors of corridors, their anxiety attacks… and their sometimes intolerant opinions.
” We have done our time. (…) Now, with the influx of talent into the market due to massive layoffs, Gen Zs entering the job market who have wanted to be coders since they were 5 years old and the complicated economic times ahead; the party is over. (…) If we have a job, it will already be quite a lot. We must either adapt or be poor. »
As brutal layoffs multiply in the tech industry, these kinds of messages have also multiplied in recent months on an application that few of us still know. On the other hand, in Silicon Valley, it is the essential online meeting place for their employees: Blind, an anonymous forum accessible to employees of large companies, subject to verification of their professional email address. Imagine the merger between Reddit and LinkedIn: hundreds of thousands of publications per day on all subjects, debates, trolls… but, corporate version. This, in a public way, or via private groups, reserved for employees of the same company. Created in 2013, in Korea, the app has established itself in the United States, especially in the closed circle of “tech bros”. Every day, 1 million people log on to the app to share hallway rumours, work dilemmas and (often exorbitant) pay.
During this period of crisis, the forum turns into a little office of tears. It must be said that the figures are not very good: according to the count made by the platform layoffs.fyi, at least 26,000 tech workers lost their jobs in the San Francisco area in January 2023 alone, out of more than 75,000 globally. Among the latest cuts, we find Google, which has just announced that it is parting with 6% of its overall workforce. On Blind, the affected ex-employees express themselves without filter and in real time on the situation: ” I was fired today from Google. I started my PC and I no longer had access to my emails, my calendar, etc! (…) I received (later) an email on my personal box announcing my dismissal. (…) We were asked not to come to the office and [dit] that, if we had personal belongings on site, we had to make a request to have them sent to us! it seems unreal and, honestly, inhuman! » testifies one of them.
” Since Blind is anonymous, people can be more honest, explains Rick Chen, the spokesperson for the Korean company, interviewed by Numerama. On other social networks, people may refrain from telling the truth, to keep up appearances. In fact, after a layoff, many professionals write online to say how happy they are. They don’t want to appear negative or damage their relationship with their former boss or ex-coworkers. On Blind, they can talk about how the layoffs really happened and say what they really think »,
Behavioral therapy and stock options
This honesty and this transparency, often rare in this environment where the “NDA” [accords de non-divulgation] are commonplace, gives us a glimpse of the reality of this industry and those who populate it. ” On this site, they are clearly tech bros who just want to make a lot of money sums up Paul*, a Blind user based on the American West Coast, who agreed to speak to Numerama. He himself is recently employed in one of the big tech companies in the United States and discovered this industry through Blind. ” I think a lot of people on Blind are out of touch with the economic realities of the majority of American and global workers. “, he adds.
In fact, money is a major topic on the site. Users almost systematically display their “total compensation” (“Total compensation” or “TC”) at the bottom of the message, which includes the base salary, any bonuses, stock options and other financial benefits over a year. This, whatever the nature of the publication: I have panic attacks again. As I write this message, I can’t sleep at night. I’m sweating and my throat tightens. (…) I am afraid of losing my job soon. Does anyone else feel this? Total compensation: 180K. That’s $15,000 a month.
In comments, Blind users are sympathetic, listening: “I know how you feel,” one of them replies. For me, my toxic work environment was the source of my problems. (…) I advise you to go see a shrink (…) it is better to take care of it now than to let the situation get worse “, concludes this anonymous adviser. In times of mass layoffs, posts from highly anxious workers continue to pour into the platform. It is not uncommon to see users, all in the same boat, offering “referrals” to those who have just been thanked by their company. ” I feel like there’s more empathy on the platform lately, notes Paul. People are, of course, quite greedy… But at the same time, they support everyone who tries to achieve the same goal. Which is quite strange. »
Thinly veiled racism against foreign workers
During this period that the tech sector in the US is currently going through, the first to pay the price are foreign workers. Also called “H-1B workers”, they are hired in large numbers by tech companies in the United States: in 2019, there were nearly 600,000 on American soil. This visa program, designed in the 1990s, allows companies to hire professionals from abroad to meet highly qualified labor needs.
In science and tech, foreign workers are overrepresented: a third of this workforce in the United States is made up of immigrants. Many of them shared on Blind their fears over the massive layoffs. Especially since their presence on American soil is particularly precarious: their visa being attached to a specific job, they have 60 days to bounce back and find a new position. For lack of employment, they must leave the country: ” I bought a house last year and a Tesla (…) now I’m drowning in my debts and I risk losing my job! And I will only have 2 months to find a new one! In addition, my wife does not work and I have 2 children (…) how do you keep up, my dear H-1B workers? »
But, Blind nevertheless remains an anonymous forum where its users express themselves without filter. Because if companies in the sector need this ultra-qualified workforce, which is lacking on American soil, it is not to everyone’s taste: it is not uncommon to see comments to barely veiled racism , under publications evoking issues specific to immigrant workers. Evidenced by a message shared by a user. He tells the story of two of his acquaintances, forced to return to India after their dismissals. The section then turned into a debate for or against the presence of foreigners in the country. ” You are not entitled to anything at all. Why don’t people understand it?gets carried away a user who obviously works for a health application, intended for the treatment of chronic pain. You should be glad this country let you in and its corrupt politicians let American jobs be stolen. “And another to answer” y’all are fucking toxic. »
Blind, the gossip girl of tech?
The toxicity of the network is also regularly the subject of debate on the site. Some are surprised, even indignant, at the content circulating on it: ” I am amazed that some extremely bigoted comments still exist and are circulating unreported, reacts a user. We see posts that range from blatant xenophobia (…) to the dumbest comments that only a 13 year old could post.. ” To which a user replies: ” what are you talking about man? Are you transgender or what? »
Asked about this, Rick Chen recalls that Blind is mainly self-moderated by the community and also uses moderators who remove inappropriate content. ” Professionals use Blind to advance their careers or to feel closer to their company, and that’s why we believe misconduct is rare for a community our size.. »
Although the discussions on the application suggest a football locker room atmosphere in the tech sector, that does not prevent a certain foresight when it comes to layoffs to come. ” The Blind Rumors Are Correct…Once Againposts an anonymous commentator in mid-January. Dismissals at Twitter: 1 day before. Dismissals at Meta: 1 day before. Layoffs at Microsoft: 1 week before. As one user retorts, “ even a broken clock gives the correct time twice a day. Still, in early November, a user was already reporting rumors of layoffs at Google. ” Not true retorts another “blinder”, working for the search engine. 1 more point for Blind.
*Name has been changed.
