Autoflight...
Not an A320 pilot, but allow me to observe that different organisations have different informal standards of behaviour. And that, from time to time, senior people can be observed doing something that a more conservative person wouldn't. Gradually, the less conservative behaviour becomes the norm.
Earlier in life I was a contract pilot for a few years and got a chance to observe that there were no universally accepted behaviours for things like thunderstorm avoidance, acceptable defect reporting standards, punctuality pressures etc.
We are typically guided by the DDG, but in cases of repeated defects which ground test serviceable the evidence of prior success cannot help but inform your risk picture. Its hard to argue with certain things unless, like me, you are an assh*le.