Fobes reported last week that Basecamp, a Chicago based software company sent a corporate blog post stating there will be “no more societal and political discussions” on the company Basecamp account.
CEO and Founder Jason Fried:
Today's social and political waters are especially choppy. Sensitivities are at 11, and every discussion remotely related to politics, advocacy or society at large quickly spins away from pleasant.” He added about the impact it has on the company, stating, “It's a major distraction. It saps our energy, and redirects our dialog toward dark places. It's not healthy, it hasn't served us well. And we're done with it on our company Basecamp account where the work happens.
We don't have to solve deep social problems, chime in publicly whenever the world requests our opinion on the major issues of the day or get behind one movement or another with time or treasure. These are all important topics, but they're not our topics at work—they're not what we collectively do.
Fried told workers the company would give severance packages to employees who weren't on board with the new policy changes. He 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.”