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by TheOtherHobbes 4324 days ago
Does that mean everyone gets stock?

Ah. Thought not.

I have no issue with meditation or mindfulness.

I have huge issues with trying to combine them with for-profit strive-and-drive hit-the-goals success culture. To me, that's a contradictory and frankly crazy-making combination.

The last time I saw something similar was when Lululemon tried to make yoga-culture and positivity obligatory. That was not so successful at making employees treat each other well:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stewart-j-lawrence/when-yogis-...

I don't doubt Asana is a cool place to work. But I don't think it's necessary to use jargon from other cultures and spiritual traditions to make people happy and get stuff done.

I find the approach culty and creepy, and unless rewards are being distributed with the workload, I also question whether it's fully informed at best - or entirely sincere, at worst.
2 comments
rphouser 4323 days ago
Not sure how mindfulness and “strive-and-drive” are incompatible/contradictory. Isn't one of the goals of mindfulness to take time to ensure everything is working as efficiently as possible? And I feel rewarded when I impact work processes, when I’m able to share my ideas and see them discussed and implemented. Monetary reward is not the only motivator or measure of fulfillment for people. (And I don't even work at Asana)

Also the lululemon piece seemed to be about the company creating a marketing campaign with whatever made-up version of yoga most improved sales, which seems far from the internal practices that are discussed in this article.

link
Dewie 4324 days ago
Right. I'm automatically sceptical of these practices when it comes from an employer/company. Maybe that's just due to the fundamental power dynamic (which I suspect the concept of co-creators won't mitigate, but I guess anything is possible).

On the other hand, maybe workplaces can't help but promote certain culturally motivated practices, whether they can help it or not? A company that endorses crunch time and regular over time, has already tacitly endorsed a certain philosophy and culture when it comes to how people should be managed and how productivity is leveraged.

link