Curious if they’ll update us on the business impact of turning LinkedIn the color of abuse
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Q&A consisted of a lot of DEI concerns, new branding disappointment regarding signature guidelines and no pronouns included, how we can protect our trans colleagues in US and UK, what’s Pearson doing to protect our trans and Hispanic colleagues, would Pearson support work visas for American employees who feel unsafe under this administration. How is AI going to affect our jobs? Layoffs? I’m sure I’m missing stuff but you get the idea.
Can someone please spill the tea on the town hall Q&A questions? Reading the comments on here, it sounds like they silently scrubbed all mention of DEI from the website and Pearson products. Any official messaging from leadership about this?
Wow! I didn’t get that vibe at all. I hope a recording is posted soon so I can see if I was completely obtuse while sitting through it the first time.
I'm sorry to disagree. I was getting a strong: get smarter, work harder vibe. Not as strong as Tom's "get your sh-t together" (don't miss those days) but in a polite business way.
I don’t think Omar was saying we’d be 996, I think he was saying that in response to how AI would take our jobs. To show China is a leader in technology and AI and they’re still working 996.
For Omar to even bring up 996 is horrid. Even China is pushing back against 996 now. Advocating for 996 so that teams can be rewarded for the impossible goals PEM set takes a new low.
Here’s how 996 is going in now. Yes, the 996 work culture—which refers to working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week—sparked significant blowback in China and globally, particularly around 2019.
Key Points of the Blowback:
- Employee Backlash:
• Tech workers in China began publicly criticizing the culture, especially on platforms like GitHub, where the “996.ICU” repository became a rallying point (implying 996 workers risk ending up in the ICU).
• Many shared anonymous stories of burnout, stress, and collapsing work-life balance.
- Legal and Regulatory Scrutiny:
• Chinese labor law technically prohibits the 996 schedule without proper compensation, and officials warned companies not to violate these regulations.
• In 2021, China’s Supreme People’s Court ruled against several companies for enforcing such excessive work hours, reinforcing that 996 was illegal.
- Public Sentiment and Media:
• There was growing public outrage, especially among younger generations increasingly resisting “grind culture.”
• The movement spurred discussion about “lying flat” (躺平)—a form of passive resistance where people reject hustle culture altogether.
- Corporate Responses:
• Some companies doubled down, claiming 996 was necessary for success.
• Others, like JD.com, ByteDance, and Kuaishou, later scaled back excessive hours due to pressure.
In short, while 996 became a badge of honor for some companies early on, the blowback has shifted the narrative, and more companies are being pushed to rethink extreme work cultures in favor of more sustainable practices.
Wondering about our trans colleagues too. What is happening to them at work? How can we help?
Clearly there was nothing to say if we literally talked about brand for 30 minutes. The Q&A was a shambles. Omar's casual drop of 996 in a "look at how productive the Chinese are" was mortifying. The PEM looked like hostages caught in a sn---r scope.
HR could use the Q&A to identify the next round of cuts
Asking this because I truly care and afraid I’m living in a privilege bubble. Genuinely curious if anyone has examples of how our trans colleagues/mexican colleagues are being abused at work and what you’d like to see Pearson do about it?
Post ID: @fk+1jsejy05e
True - he didn’t shy away from the subject, but also he said absolutely nothing of substance in response. The comments got worse the more he spoke.
Never care much for OA, more so because he's so absent and forgettable. Today he demonstrated that he is all business. He answered questions with grace and reason while showing he cares about his employees' feelings but explaining why these are the best business decision. I give him a lot of credit for responding at all and not sticking to his agenda and what he wanted to discuss today.
The Q&A was ridiculous - as usual. But for many, those people speaking up aren’t snowflakes. Regardless of where you stand on DE&I, they’re calling out the blatant hypocrisy and shadiness at the top. And honestly, I respect them for it, even if asking those questions in that forum takes a special kind of stupidity.
The color of abuse? In the LGBTQ+ community, purple is a part of the bis-xual flag and the non-binary gender flag. This is how we’re protecting our trans employees people!!! More impactful than a signature pronoun.
Never knew how many snowflakes were employed here. I couldn’t even follow the townhall because I was so distracted reading the comments and absolutely absurd questions in the Q&A.