I disagree. Firing assholes is never bad for culture. On the contrary, it increases morale and makes the workplace better.

Keep in mind that I don't categorize laughing at someone's work as a "simple mistake." Bugs can be simple mistakes. Offensive jokes can be simple mistakes. Laughing at someone's work however is deeply troubling behavior that actively undermines trust and discourages cooperation in the workplace. That's why you have to kill it with fire.

> Firing assholes is never bad for culture.

Firing somebody based on your own subjective opinions is toxic for culture.

I've worked on amazing teams with plenty of good natured ribbing and I've worked on great high performing teams where you could say "this code is rubbish, you can do better". I've also worked on teams where saying that would really hurt people's feelings and impact moral.

Put aside your own pre-conceptions and look at how your team responds to an event/situation. That's the only way to build a high performing team.

Sometimes that will mean laughing at someone's code is toxic and needs to be addressed, other times it will be a non-issue and addressing it creates an issue, and other times it can even be a good bonding exercise.

I already specified that this isn't just about laughing, but about laughing at someone's work in a derogatory manner. You seem to be saying "but a laugh can mean other things!" and it's kind of besides the point.

No. I'm not. I'm saying people, cultures, and teams operate differently and assuming that laughing at someone's work is toxic rather than looking at the actual impact to the team is unprofessional and a sign of poor leadership.

I worked in a team where if you broke the build you had to put on a clown nose for the rest of the day. It worked well and was a bit of fun. We still catch up a couple of times a year even though I left that team more than 5 years ago.

I've worked in other teams where pressuring a team member to wear a clown nose would be harassment and deeply unsettling.

Everyone seems to be taking this too far--parent just mentioned a laugh. It could be anything from a well meaning jab to a mean put-down, and I'm reading it as just something funny for the junior to learn.