So these contractors went all the way to Varadkar for minor inconveniences at their job, essentially internal disputes?
Upset about not getting the same perks as other employees?
Signing restrictive NDAs for a job with exposure to extremely sensitive company processes and customer data?
The more I read about these stories, the more I’m inclined to believe Haidt’s “Coddled Mind” and Turchin’s “Elite Overproduction” theories as the root of much of the problems we’re facing in the west today.
Is this a willful misreading? The "perk" mentioned is WFH during a pandemic. The mental health concerns in question are due to viewing extremely graphic content, not at all along the lines of the ridiculous "safe spaces" Haidt's book concerns itself with.
Due to current covid-19 restrictions in Ireland, as a result of briefly having the world's highest per capita cases in early january, the government's policy is:
> Only essential workers should travel to work. You should work from home unless you are providing an essential service and need to be physically present.
Facebook content moderation is unlikely to fall under "essential work" which is more concerned about healthcare, retail necessities (food/drink/medicine/cleaning supplies), and infrastructure. Given that they've pointed out moderators elsewhere can work from home, it's likely facebook cannot demonstrate that they need to be physically present to perform the work.
So yes, it is a matter for the government to get involved in if Facebook or its subcontractors are not complying.
As for Varadkar, getting involved is likely due to the fact this falls under his department's remit (as minister of enterprise), not his position as Tanaiste. But getting _personally_ involved is likely Leo looking for a good PR opportunity rather than the facebook employees insisting on the Tanaiste's personal attention. Or maybe he's just also their local TD, since his constituency is Dublin West where many people in Facebook offices in Dublin likely live.
Upset about not getting the same perks as other employees?
Signing restrictive NDAs for a job with exposure to extremely sensitive company processes and customer data?
The more I read about these stories, the more I’m inclined to believe Haidt’s “Coddled Mind” and Turchin’s “Elite Overproduction” theories as the root of much of the problems we’re facing in the west today.