50% of Wayfair employees believe their company should cease contract with government detention centers.
- 50% of Wayfair employees believe their company should cease contract with government detention centers, while the other 50% believe otherwise.
- Their belief on company’s moral responsibility for how their product is used is the reason for the divide.
- This trend is consistent with the responses from employees at other tech firms.
Q1 hedge fund letters, conference, scoops etc
With Wayfair Walkout happening today, this issue is being discussed on Blind by verified Wayfair employees and others in the tech industry.
We decided to ask verified users of Wayfair and other tech companies their thoughts on this issue.
Survey question:
Q1. Should companies be morally responsible for how their products are used? Yes/No
Q2. Should Wayfair cease its contract with government detention centers in Texas? Yes/No
Results:
- Wayfair employees were 50-50 on ceasing contract with government detention centers
- If employees answered‘Yes’ to Q1, 86% answered ‘Yes’ to the question Wayfair should cease contract with the government.
- If employees answered ‘No’ to Q1, only 11% answered ‘Yes’ to Wayfair should cease contract with the government.
- This shows a stark contrast between those who believe companies should take responsibility in their products being used ethically VS. those who believe it is not the company’s responsibility.
- Link to the data and charts on Google Sheets
Here are some quotes from Wayfair employees on Blind
User post on 6/25/2019 - Wayfair Walkout
- “Tbh not about to risk my job over this. Though I think this may be partially resolved internally by the end of the day. Externally, not so sure.” - Wayfair employee
- “I think we all have an obligation to call out our employers for unethical behavior. I admire any of my fellow employees who are taking a stand although I'm not sure how effective this will be. Those complaining about the stock price have no morals” - Wayfair employee
- “I wish Wayfarians cared as much about how Wayfair tolerates sexual abuse, sexism, anti semitism, and a CFO that’s about as moral as our president as they do furniture being sold to help illegals sleep better at night.”- Wayfair employee
User post on 6/25/2019 - More than 500 Wayfair employees send letter to execs slamming the company for allegedly furnishing border camps
- “FWIW this letter went out less than 6 hours before it was sent to leadership. And was mostly promoted in the Boston office, which is significantly less than 12,000. Less than 10% signed on short notice.” - Wayfair employee
Quotes from others in the tech industry:
User post on 6/26/2019 - Wayfair Walkout
- “With all these millennials working now, who uses the product matters. Especially for big corps.” - Microsoft employee
- “Wayfair workers couldn’t stomach they were making beds to cage children. They asked the company to stop. CEO said no. Tomorrow, they‘re walking out. This is what solidarity looks like – a reminder that everyday people have real power, as long as we’re brave enough to use it” - Amazon employee
We also asked employees at large tech companies on the issue of moral responsibilities of companies:
- 57.2% of tech employees said ‘Yes’ and 45.8% answered ‘No’
Q1. Should companies be morally responsible for how their products are used? Yes/No
