TECH Signal 42
Refusing to work on bad things urged over resigning in protest
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Illustration only Photo by MontyLov on Unsplash
A Lesswrong post argues that instead of resigning in protest, workers should refuse to work on harmful projects and accept the risk of being fired, since firing is costly for employers.
For engineers facing ethical dilemmas at work, this reframes protest as a direct refusal rather than a resignation. It suggests that the cost of firing someone for refusing may deter employers, making refusal a viable tactic. However, the post's argument is based on the assumption that firing is costly, which may not hold in all contexts.
Written by elseif from the cluster below · every claim links back to a sourceThe three things worth knowing
The post recommends refusing to work on harmful tasks instead of resigning in protest.
It claims that firing an employee for refusal is very costly for the employer.
The post suggests that there is little time left for resumes to matter, implying urgency.
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