I just learned the phrase "circus factor" ("If you or someone on your team ran away to join the circus, how stressful would it be for the rest of the team?") and I like it much better than the widely-used phrase "bus factor". https://mercedesbernard.com/speaking/minimize-circus-factor/
@jamey A couple jobs ago we started using "lottery factor" for the same reason, but I like "circus factor" even better because lotteries are icky and so is making assumptions about what people would do with money
@jamey I like it, much less macabre
) @algernon@trunk.mad-scientist.club@jamey At a job not so long ago, we used "sheep factor", because half of us were living in small villages where shepherds are still plentiful, and we had one person run away to start herding sheep. (He's still herding sheep, and is happier than ever.)
@algernon That's delightful! 
@josh I do think it's important to specifically organize teams so that it's okay for team members to go on vacation. For example, one of my explicit reasons for setting up PR auto-assignment for Wasmtime was so that I could go on vacation. But the difference is that normally one is expected to come back from a vacation 
@josh I agree, that would certainly be a nice change compared to common practice!
@josh I hadn't read all the slides in the talk I linked yet and it turns out PTO is a major point there too:
When folks take PTO, actually let’s back up. Do people take PTO? Do they feel comfortable taking PTO? When they take PTO how much planning and prep needs to take place beforehand? How many meetings get scheduled on the calendar to take advantage of their time and knowledge sharing before they leave?
@d2718@hachyderm.io@jamey I like this too, but "circus factor" sounds more like a measure of how much of a clown show the project is.
As the person who keeps the computers running for a troupe of actual clowns, I feel both in agreement and somewhat conflicted. :)
@RussSharek @jamey the circus factor is asymptotic for certain (clown) inputs
@jamey too confusing, since the company is a circus
BLM @douglane@mastodon.online@jamey I use lottery factor, since I would expect someone to take early retirement if they hit it big.
@jamey I'd use "Isekai factor", but then I'd have to explain obscure anime concepts
(It also implies that the person got hit by a truck 
)
@yuki2501 Hah, yeah, truck-san needs too much explaining, but I like that suggestion anyway
@jamey
on the one hand, this is definitely an improvement over "bus factor", but on the other hand, why can't it be called the "new job factor" or the "unexpected layoff factor"? Team member getting a new job and team member getting unexpectedly laid off are by far the two most common reasons for someone leaving a team.