# HogMail #22: Why do companies over-hire?"

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# HogMail #22: Why do companies over-hire?"

-   [

    ![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dmukukwp6/image/upload/c_scale,w_50/andy_86a7232754)

    Andy Vandervell](/community/profiles/30208.md)

Feb 22, 2023

> Welcome to HogMail, our newsletter featuring the best of the PostHog blog, tutorials, product guides, and curated articles on building great products and companies. We send it every two weeks. [Signup here](https://newsletter.posthog.com/subscribe) so you don't miss it.

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## Why do companies over-hire?

Josephine Conneely [makes a strong case](https://waysofworkingcollection.substack.com/p/why-do-companies-over-hire) for the power of small teams. Some takeaways:

-   If hiring to drive growth ask yourself: "what would the leanest version of hiring look like? It may be possible to achieve most of your growth goals with a smaller team."
-   Low performance and/or blame cultures encourage over-hiring. It "reduces what any one individual can be accountable for" and "ensures there are enough scapegoats in place to deflect blame to".
-   "Too many generalists can lead companies to over-hiring as they lack the expertise to execute effectively. Too many specialists can lead to over-hiring as roles are broken down into niche subsets."

**Read:** [Why do companies over-hire?](https://waysofworkingcollection.substack.com/p/why-do-companies-over-hire) by Josephine Conneely

## How you work together > how you socialize

Here's a [great read on async working](https://async.twist.com/remote-team-culture/) by Chase Warrington, Head of Remote at chat app Twist. It can be summed up by this graphic:

The post includes three useful tips for fostering the social bonds in an async team:

1.  Make attendance truly optional
2.  Treat social activities as part of the workday, not extracurricular
3.  Remember what truly unites us: our work.

**Read:** [How to build human connections in an async workplace](https://async.twist.com/remote-team-culture/) by Chase Warrington

## Tips for challenging the status quo

Dissent fuels innovation, but a "challenge everything" culture can "quickly metastasize into a culture of assholes," [says Hebba Youseff](https://workweek.com/2022/11/28/challenging-the-status-quo-at-work/). How do you find the balance? When challenging ideas, consider:

-   "What is your internal dialogue telling you about how you are showing up in this discussion? Are there outside factors that could be impacting you?" (e.g. your emotional state / personal feelings)
-   "Do you have all the context? You should understand the situation fully before suggesting a different solution."
-   "Do not speak for others or assume their motivations. It can be easy to project on others but that can be insulting for anyone else in the room."

**Read:** [Challenging the status quo at work](https://workweek.com/2022/11/28/challenging-the-status-quo-at-work/) by Hebba Youseff

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