> Those mandates were rarely the reason people joined.
But they are a reason people won't apply in the first place, or decide to opt out once they find out in the interview process. Pretty sure I'm not the only one that wouldn't join a Windows-only shop or one that mandates using a corporate laptop with always-on spyware.
This sounds great in theory, in practice the number of companies hiring is not infinite and it comes down to supply vs demand for your criteria. Being a vocal contrarian may be a good strategy if the contrarian take is shared by say 20% of companies but probably less so if it's 2%.
> The concept of the "vocal minority" seems to be at play these days, as for every dev I know and work with who is positive about AI, 2 others are negative about it.
Oh I am aware it's unpopular with a growing fraction of devs. The question is whether this sentiment can tip the balance for companies and hiring decisions too, similarly to how COVID tipped the balance for remote/hybrid work in a way it was inconceivable before.
You could if you were a Deist. Deists believe in a creator who set the universe in motion via natural laws but no longer interacts with it. A sentient, conscious Big Bang if you will.
By "believe", do you mean just hold the belief that it somehow exists, as in "I believe black holes exist / dinosaurs existed (but this belief has zero effect in my day to day life)", or something more consequential?
Same lack of desire to go out and I don't even have wife and kids, or even friends for that matter; just one friend I see once a week. Whatever the appeal/reward of socialization is for most people, I don't get it.
But they are a reason people won't apply in the first place, or decide to opt out once they find out in the interview process. Pretty sure I'm not the only one that wouldn't join a Windows-only shop or one that mandates using a corporate laptop with always-on spyware.