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There have been a couple great discussions this week at Get Rich Slowly. The article on tips for first-time homebuyers yielded many anecdotes and suggestions. My piece on the difference between a career and a job also sparked conversation. In fact, I wanted to share a counterpoint from Funny about Money, who wrote the following.
In a job where you’re not paid equitably, how much effort really should you put in?
In a job where employees are occasionally seen to get the shaft for organizational reasons having nothing to do with their performance, how much loyalty do you owe the employer?
Why are we working, anyway?
I spent many years of my academic career running myself ragged and indeed being congratulated in every annual review for the excellent work I did. Didn’t make my pay any better; didn’t make my workload any saner. Didn’t make me any safer from the arbitrary firing that happened to one of my colleagues in the same job class.
Then I escaped teaching by moving to a low-level administrative position, where I again ran myself ragged to do excellent work. Though the 12-month administrative job was better paid than teaching (what isn’t?), all the hard work did nothing to make my pay any better; didn’t change the risk level of my exempt position; didn’t make my employer any fairer to me or anyone else.
Over time I got very tired and very stressed. And I got very mad when the local paper published everyone’s salaries and I discovered a guy who does half the work I do running a related program earns $30,000 more than I do — on a nine-month contract. Then I looked around me and realized that mediocrity is the standard of the business world: I was the only one who was working her buns off around there, and I was receiving no real reward for doing so. No one even noticed!
When I decided to cut the stress level, I realized that we conflate our “careers” with our selves. A career is a job. A job exists to put food on the table and a roof over your head. It is not our self.
When you delete the distinction between “career” and “job” and you build a distinction between what you do and who you are, you gain a whole new perspective on the world of work.
I now do the best I can on my job — within limits. I do only what is expected and no more. I do not put in 14- to 18-hour days, I do not work on weekends, and when I go on vacation I do not answer my e-mail or the phone. Amazingly, the work gets done on time and it gets done pretty well. My unit continues to earn rave reviews from our clients. And my last annual review — after 18 months of putting in as little work as humanly possible — was the best I’ve had in all the 15 years I’ve worked at that place!
It’s true that if something is worth doing it’s worth doing well. But apparently it’s acceptable to do a job “well enough” and then stop.
These are topics I’ve thought a lot about in the past. Sometimes “good enough” is okay — sometimes it isn’t. How does one know where to draw the line? And just how much should we allow our “self” to become entangled with what we do? I face this question every day: my work as a blogger has become my life. It’s a good thing I enjoy it!
This article is about Career Friday, 11th July 2008 (by J.D. Roth)
July 11th, 2008 at 8:41 am
For me, it’s a balancing act because I work in public safety. I feel that being kind and working hard makes me better equipped to help people. Although I don’t get raises, more days off, or other benefits, I get the personal satisfaction of helping people.
Each person has to determine how much of our “self” we put into our job, career or whatever you would like to call it.
Most days, I burn out from going above and beyond the call of duty. Those are days when I have not been good at balancing. It is my personal belief that you have to put in the effort that makes you feel comfortable and does not damage yourself (physically, spiritually, mentally). For me, I feel uncomfortable not putting in at least 100% effort into my work; however, when I go above and beyond I have to make sure that I balance thinking of my personal needs with that of my job.
July 11th, 2008 at 8:42 am
Nice article.
July 11th, 2008 at 8:45 am
I have recently gone through a similar realization. I spent the last five and a half years working as a computer programmer and being stressed beyond all belief while earning a large salary. I realized that because I live my life quite frugally and didn’t spend all that lovely sky-high I.T. salary that I was getting, I was actually living a fulfilled life where I wanted for nothing on an amount of money that was less than I would earn on minimum wage (in the UK).
Now I work in a sandwich shop and earn the bare minimum and I can still save money every month. This current situation is only for the next few months until I figure out where I want to be, but because of this i’ve become a lot saner, healthier, and most importantly happier.
Work is work is work. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Janitor or a Doctor, all that work does is take you away from your family and friends and it’s only purpose is to provide you with food and shelter. As long as you can pay your bills and save a little so that you can “get rich slowly”, then you’re doing just fine.
On another note, now that I don’t have a career to speak of, I feel a lot freer to be able to pick up any opportunities that may come my way, rather than always having to look for that same job which only uses that same skill set. My eggs aren’t in the proverbial basket any longer. I can be a bicycle courier, a postman, a librarian, work in a bookshop, etc.
Happy Days
July 11th, 2008 at 8:53 am
I love Funny, but i disagree to a point.
No one is forcing you to take any job, circumstances may, but that is a bit different.
An employer hires you to do a job, and you accept it or not. If you accept the job abd pay at the beginning and you are not happy with the pay or duties, you have two choices; 1. Discuss it and try to get a better deal for yourself, 2. Start looking for something else
At my first real job, I stayed for nearly 111 year, and complained for 8 of them
Then I decided just find someplace where you are appreciated/paid what you believe you/ the job is worth. Don’t let someone victumize you. Its your life.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:03 am
I tend to agree with this.
A ‘job’ is someone paying you to provide a service. It is irrelevant how much effort it takes you to provide that service. There is no reason to devote your life to a corporation that will just as easily fire you to save a few cents on the bottom line as it will thank you for a job well done.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:07 am
I recently wrote about the “meaning of work” and related to this article job satisfaction abd making a difference at work (which defines you) is highly over rated.
In fact, whoever coined the phrase “making a difference” has made a difference, though not a positive one. The phrase gestures towards grandiose achievement that is out of reach for almost everybody. Most of us make very little difference at all – which stands to reason if you think there are 150 million workers in the US alone, making it almost impossible that any of us will make a difference, except to the people we work directly with.
But what is the matter with that? Why isn’t that enough? Indeed, according to a survey published last week by YouGov, having nice colleagues is as important as money in persuading employees to stay in their jobs. This means that simply by being liked by your colleagues you are making a difference, even if only a modest one.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:08 am
Where I work, everyone LOVES their jobs. we are fine with putting in long hours because the results follow. I am probably in a unique spot though. Plus, you gotta put in hours to make dollars to do what you want, you just have to learn how to balance fun wiht work, or how to make work fun
July 11th, 2008 at 9:16 am
In response to the “Best annual review after 18 months of only putting in what’s necessary” — The fallacy that the harder you work equals better work (quantity over quality) is something that I think is uniquely American. Most other economies that have gotten to the information-worker stage have realized that if you work 24/7, you get burnt out and produce only a great quantity of crummy work. A huge quantity of crummy work does NOT get you rave reviews … and if you love your job enough to work it 24/7, chances are you’re unhappy with life because you know you’re not doing your best work, and that means you’ll be grouchy towards people … something else that knocks off points on performance reviews.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:16 am
Excellent read from Funny.
(I’m rehashing what Karl Katzke said above, but I already typed my reply before I read his comment. I completely agree with you Karl!)
I had a similar realization about how many hours I put into my job. Right out of college, I worked crazy hours for the first 6 months or so because I thought I had to “keep up” with everyone else. I was stressed out all the time, frustrated, and unhappy until I realized, like Funny, that I didn’t really need too work so hard. I decided to cut back, stopped working weekends, and keep my hours around 40-45 per week. What I noticed is that my quality of work actually increased, and I was much happier at work and home.
I don’t think doing “well enough” to get by is all that’s required in the working world; on the contrary, you are actually getting more done in less time by not burning out. By not giving up all your time to the job, you’re more focus, refreshed, and clear minded in those working hours. You are actually doing a better job, but it doesn’t seem that way because you aren’t working as hard.
Just my 2 cents.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:21 am
Nice post and comments.
I understand Melanie’s burnout.
My usual rule is: go above and beyond for patients but for others, not so much. It isn’t appreciated and it is just an exercise in being used (where I work).
And frankly, not that many people around me in my industry have the get up and go people sometimes need which is frustrating. Many things I do is because no one else will in any dept, so I do the work of three. Sometimes I wonder how joyful it would be to be surrounded with hardworking honest ppl like the professional staff that work around me, but not with me.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:26 am
I couldn’t agree more. In fact having just read the ‘4 hr owrk week’, I realised that there is no point in putting in the huge extra effort to strive for perfection.
90% quality is a good standard to aim for - anything more than that takes too many resources (mostly time) and will never be picked up by anyone, so is pretty much a waste of time.
Most employers hold the number of achievements / tasks completed in higher regard than the quality of those tasks (obviously there is an acceptable minimum quality).
July 11th, 2008 at 9:28 am
“Sometimes “good enough” is okay — sometimes it isn’t.”
How can there possibly be times when “good enough” isn’t, well, good enough? If “good enough” isn’t ok then it must not have been good _enough_ and you’re perverting language by describing it as such.
As far as I’m concerned there’s not enough money in the world to justify spending more than 40 hours a week at a job, and that’s probably too much but it’s what society demands. I don’t care how much I love a job, it’s far more rewarding to spend time with _people_ I love.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:35 am
I tend to agree with Funny - in my office the tenency is to reward people who are better at politics, regardless of the amount or quality of work the put out.
I could kill myself working 12-hour days every day, but there really is very little payoff for doing so. There are times that I’ll put in an extra-long day or extra-hard effort, but not every task requires that level of sweat equity.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:01 am
One fault with this plan….
Last year after I came back from having a baby (just regular maternity leave), I pretty much decided to do the same thing. Do my work, do a good job at it, and then go home to see my family. Work was a way to get money - and not much more than that.
BUT….
I just had my annual review (my baby is 15 months now) and somehow me doing my job turned into “you’ve turned into a slacker”.
Unfortunately, even when bosses dont reward/pay/even thank you for going above and beyond in your work - if you suddenly stop, well then, you are no longer living up to their expectations of YOU.
My lack of “drive” for the same position that I have made the scale raise for all the last few years when I was working my butt off, has now dropped BELOW SCALE because all of a sudden my boss thinks that somehow all that extra work I was doing somehow snuck into my job description (it didn’t).
If you do this - try to at least let your boss know in a casual conversation that you are trying to get home on time from now on to see your kids on time, etc. or I’m sad to say they will probably be more likely to get mad about you NOT doing all that extra work you used to do for free! (Although this may not work either because I told my boss, and he just had his first baby a month ago, is away from the office for family things constantly now, and STILL managed to fault me for the same thing.)
Groan….
July 11th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Rachel… it’s time to get another job… or at least have an open and honest conversation with you boss about their true expectations where you outline what you can commit to (be sure of the job description when you discuss this) and what you can no longer commit to. If they value your contribution stay, if not, leave.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Although I agree with this advice in general, some of the specifics make me think that the author defines “hard work” differently than I do.
All of the examples in the article equate “hard work” with overtime. In that sense, I agree with everything the article says. I almost never find it worthwhile to work overtime.
But I do work hard. I take pride in my work, so when I’m at my job (career?), I do my best and go above and beyond quite a bit. Just because I’m “only” at work for 8 hours doesn’t mean that I’m not working hard.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Rachel: That is why I think managing expectations is one of the most important parts of a job. I could do more than I currently do, but I don’t want a high stress level of work to become the accepted norm to the point where I would be punished for putting in less.
Anyway, I try to do a good job at my workplace, but I am not a “company man”. I do not stay late, and I do not check e-mail or otherwise communicate with the office unless I am on-call, and if I am on-call and the work takes more than about 10 minutes, I file overtime for it.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Refreshing counterpoint to your original log. Life is definitely a balancing act and there are always two sides to every coin. I think a lot of how much effort we put into our job/career comes from our upbringing. My father worked 12-16 hour days to put food on the table and clothes on our backs, and that left an impression on me that you work as long as you have to to support your family. So today, even though I’m in a white collar profession, I don’t have any problem with logging a lot of hours or spending time outside of the office tending to time-sensitive projects. Good or bad, I’ll always associate long days with the love I have for my dad for doing what it took to provide for his family.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:05 am
I agree with most of the people on here telling me to get a new job.
But I’ll have to hang on for a little while! Thanks to JD, my husband and I are working the debt snowball and we figure we can get our debt squashed in about 2 years.
When that happens it will be time for a little sister/brother for our daughter, and I’ll stay home (mostly to save on the $1200 a month daycare for two kids would run!) and then once they are both going to school most of the day (probably 3 years) then I will go back to work part time.
Normally I would just go look for a job now, but I make a decent salary (even though my raises suck) and I have a highly specialized job that I have been doing for the last 8 years that makes it really hard to find another position. Back when I lived in South Dakota, there were about 12 people who had the same job as me in the state. In Florida there are more - but it’s one of those jobs that people usually never leave.
Actually after working in a high demand line of work for the last 8 years, I’m looking forward to some time off with my kids and then maybe doing something like working part time at a bookstore!
July 11th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Just want to say “ditto” to most of what has been said. I agree with some of the points from your original post JD: that we should take pride and do our best in whatever job we have, whether it’s what we want to do forever or not. The people we meet and the references we get are very valuable, even if we’re just mopping floors. However, I also agree that, when we go above and beyond, people often satrt to take us for granted (as in Rachel’s story).
When I first started at my current job, I volunteered for all kinds of extra projects, etc. to be considered a “team player”. I quickly burned out, because I was usually the only one doing the volunteering. While my efforts were appreciated by management, it made me resent my co-workers, and it certainly didn’t have an impact on my pay cheque.
These days, I volunteer when I think it’s my turn. That way I feel proud that I’ve done my share, but I refuse to carry more than my own weight.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Thank you so much, JD, for featuring my remarks here! The reader responses so far are awesome.
I have to agree with Racer X about knowing when it’s time to find another job, and with other commenters that Rachel may have arrived at that point. It’s not so easy to find comparable work, though, or at least a job that pays what you need to support your lifestyle. It took me four years to get out of teaching, by which time I had come to loathe, hate, and despise the very thought of college-level composition courses. And the job I have came to me by serendipity rather than through the ongoing, active search I had under way at the time–a friend clued me that it was about to come open.
Despite the grutching about the pay inequity and the (for me) startling realization that you don’t have to work until you drop to perform an honorable job at the office, I actually do like the job I have now. Highly recommended for anyone who’s unhappy at work: don’t wait! Start looking for a new job now!
July 11th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
I had a very similar experience to this myself. I was chronic over-achiever under-earner for years. My last job I worked my butt off, till 3am fairly frequently to meet proposal deadlines. I came to recognize that no one there cared as much as I did, also that the size and nature of the firm was limiting my salary. Also, frankly, the way you’re introduced (position, salary level) can haunt you.
My solution was to apply to another firm in the industry that seemed to me to be “the best”. I didn’t get hired when I applied but they actually tracked me down a year later and pursued me aggressively. I demanded much more money and had clearer boundaries about my personal life. When you value your own time that way, I think it sets a precedence. I still work hard but I put forth realistic time expectations and don’t do OT (too often). I learned to say no to unreasonable demands in an impartial way and have found that it actually helps me perform my job. I let go of the little things and truly focus on priorities now. I’m well respected and compensated for it. To summarize:
*Find an employer/firm that matches your values
*Find an employer/firm with the ability (revenue) to pay fairly for your work
*Expect and give respect. You must do both.
*Earn your keep by doing your job - don’t be a “yes man”. Sometimes NO is the right answer.
July 11th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Good article. Nice wake up call. I think everyone should read this article and reflect on there own careers.
July 11th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Such a timely article because I am struggling with this at this very moment. My personality is such that I eat, sleep, breathe work. That’s how I like it. We’ve had some managerial shifts lately and now work is ‘less than’. I’m not learning anything new and I’m facing roadblocks in my advancement despite repeated conversations about my frustrations and desires to learn more and grow internally.
So what’s a girl to do?
Given the current economic environment, and my expenses, I have to be practical for once in my life. I’m just going to suck it up…
I LOVE my industry and read about it constantly. In that way I am lucky. This is just a temporary blip - one I hope passes very soon. In the interim, my plan is to do enough to fulfill my responsibilities and nothing more and engage in extracurriculars that balance out the negativity at work.
July 11th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
I think the realization that your job is not your life is one of those that most people have to come to the hard way, unfortunately.
It was certainly that way for me as I burned out of a health care profession just a few years into it. Luckily I was able to change tracks quickly and move into a different field that much better suits my LIFE, but all too often I see other friends and co-workers headed down the same path.
Has anyone had much luck getting the job vs life sentiment across to someone they see headed down the wrong road?
July 11th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
I’m a ‘sprinter’ by nature, whether it’s a project of my own or dictated by my employer. When I’m hyper-focused on something, I can turn out top-quality work in an incredibly short time. But I can’t keep that up indefinitely.
I’ve found that corporate environments are generally expecting marathon workers, not sprinters. They don’t know what to do with sharp ups and downs in productivity. What usually happens is that the peak production becomes the baseline, after which anything less looks like ‘slacking.’
Over the years I’ve gotten a little better at steady production, but mostly? I’ve just learned to camouflage my sprints. I have a job now where my boss doesn’t micromanage, and no one really knows that I may work like a mad girl one day and do what it would take anyone else three days to accomplish, and then coast through the next day to regroup. I have actually finished things and not passed them off immediately so as not to appear superhuman.
But like Brandon says above, once expectations are set (however unreasonable they may be) it’s nearly impossible to change them — which means you have to moderate your performance from day one to something that’s sustainable over the long run. This is hard, because excitement and enthusiasm for a new job often leads us to overwork ourselves right out of the gate.
This is the first corporate job I’ve ever had where I did a good job of moderating expectations up front. It’s also the job I’ve held the longest. Not a coincidence!
July 11th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
I totally agree with the idea that your job is not and should not be the main defining characteristic of your life. Too many people I know get wrapped up in what they do that they can’t get any perspective on the rest of their lives. It creates workplace drama as well as harms their personal relationships outside work.
I just recently quit a job where I was doing what I considered to be the minimum (showing up a little early, taking the OT when it was necessary- they usually just scheduled me for the hours without asking anyway, doing everything I was supposed to be doing) but in reality compared to everyone I worked with, I was doing far more than that. Most people showed up anywhere from 5-30 minutes late (if they came in at all), did less than the minimum, and generally seemed to turn off their phones when it came time for OT. After finding out that I was working harder and getting paid less than people with less seniority and less experience who worked fewer hours and did less actual work than I did, well, I couldn’t stay.
I don’t think all work places are like that, however. I’ve worked places where I was rewarded for being on time and taking on little projects to help things run more smoothly. A job is a contract between people. You agree to do something and in exchange they pay you for your time/effort/work. If one side or the other breaks that contract, well, I see no reason to stay loyal either way. There are always more jobs. It’s one of the reasons I’m happy to live well below our means. It allows some freedom to choose what I do and who I work for so that my job doesn’t become my life. I think that is the first real step to being financially independent.
July 11th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Oh MY! Have I lived what everyone here has written! Karawynn, I’m a sprinter by nature, too. But I kept sprinting for 15 years nonstop! Not only that, but I got the reputation for being able to solve all the problems that no one else could solve. So towards the end of that 15 years of sprinting, all of my assignments were virtually impossible. Just before I cracked, I told several people who brought me impossible jobs that I had no magic left. Still, they’d get so upset with me when I either couldn’t solve their problem or referred them to someone else who I thought could solve their problem.
Anyway, my ratings got lower and lower beginning around year 11 when we got a micromanaging supervisor who apparently was afraid of me for my supposed knowledge of the job. So around year 16 I stopped working miracles, I stopped working unpaid overtime and extra hours and extra hard. Now I’m at the lowest rungs, and at year 19 I’m still being assigned impossible jobs, some of which I can’t accomplish…but you know what? Now I have a life, I’m still decently paid (even if not compared to coworkers who still work less than me), and the world has not come to an end. I no longer work miracles. My ratings are no worse than when I did work miracles. Good enough *is* good enough. I still sprint from time to time, I just don’t tell anyone
BTW, my job is a gov’t job, we’re paid on a scale, we get no bonuses, and any awards are subject to approval from our immediate supervisor (who denies all awards anyone recommends me for). Yes, it’s secure. But minimum is good enough. Maybe even less than minimum, as I know people who do that, but I’m not quite there yet.
I need a new job too, but as others have said too, I’m highly specialized and it’s not as easy as it should be, with a ridiculous mortgage and responsibilities and all. And though others will probably protest, I do think there is a taboo on being a working mother like Rachel or a woman over 40 that makes it that much harder to move on.
July 11th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
I work for the government. I have reached the highest step in my level. That means if I work very hard for 12 months, I get nothing. It also means I get the same amount if I do as little as possible for 12 months. There is no threat of being laid off (1-year probation to get past).
This is a job for me because there is no challenge. I worked my butt off for 6 months straight and received a hearty ‘well done’, and that was it.
If you want a steady stream of income and no real challenge to work, work for the government. I will be an accomplished magician due to the time spent practicing magic at work. Yep, most of my time is doing something else. I still get the job done, and that is all they care about.
July 11th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
I have a different perspective from Victor. I worked for a government agency that was facing a number of challenges in terms of resources and staffing, and rather than being able to “coast,” employees were asked to carry a workload that would normally be handled by several people, which meant working lots of evenings and weekends.
July 11th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
I hear my Blackberry going off right now and since it’s after 4:00 there is no way I’ll even look at it. After working 28 years in the aerospace industry, and having been both a supervisor and individual contributor, I’ve learned that we are one short exit interview from being shown the door. I’ve seen some dedicated, hard-working, “real company people” bounced out with no notice at all. I work over 40 hours per week maybe twice a year but let me tell you, when I am at work I do what the company expects of me: get results. I used to tell my new employees to work the big stuff and don’t sweat the details. Too much time is wasted with protocol and “everybody else does it.” One of my favorite lines is “Quit snorkeling in the weeds.” I know many managers who expect their people to be top producers but give them crummy tools and processes to work with. The other thing I’ve learned is to have clear requirements from your customers and don’t be late. That includes everything from being on time to meetings to not procrastinating in completing your tasks. The bar is not very high: show up every day and do a decent job. The other thing is not to be afraid to change jobs or companies. If we work for others we are mercenaries getting paid to do a job.
July 11th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
i’ve learned to work smarter, not harder. i still do months where i put in nearly 300 hours, but it’s to my benefit. i am a graduate student, i’m not employed, and as long as i am a graduate student i will make the same piteous dollar amount each month.
with my method of working, at the end of 8 hours, i have accomplished a lot more than most people around me do in 10.
i am going to school now so i can be comfortable later. i’m doing the stress now so i know what it’s like and know to avoid it in the future.
my husband was the workaholic. he worked jobs that violated labor laws, did not pay overtime, required 30+ hours of work without a break, and stuck around until they tossed him out on the street. 15 hour days, 6 days a week were very common at his last job. they fired him a few days after he came back from his medical leave, because he was apparently completely useless to them if he needed to take time off. he was such an overachiever, his former colleagues would call him from work asking him how to do things, AFTER he was cut from the payroll. he told them to ask the boss, maybe he knows. i hope when he gets back into the workforce, he doesn’t get back into a similar situation. it’s not worth it to be treated that way.
July 12th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
One thing to think about — if you really “live your career” you’ll be one of those people who can’t retire successfully — no matter how well you prepare economically — because your work has become your life. There was a study a few years agot that indicated that for many people working extra hours was not so much because the work was really there, but because the work place had become the real locus of their lives — their “work husband/wife” was more important then the spouse at home, and the work social experience was more intense than any othe social ties. That seems wrong to me, but also understandable, if you’re spending the majority of your waking hours somewhere, that’s where your life is going to be…
July 13th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Rachel - the fact that you are a mom now may also have something to do with your boss’s attitude. I’ve had more than one job where I had to work twice as hard as my co-workers without kids for fear of being tagged as “putting family above work”.
I’m in a similar situation as well and trying to get out - doing extra work simply means you’ve raised the expectations of how much work you will have to do.
July 14th, 2008 at 4:18 am
Funny About Money is “on the money”, so to speak! Being in the very same situation as she, and I agree that “well enough” is fine. I work my 8 hour days, always take a lunch and never stress out, yet get five times the work done as my colleagues, who log 12 hour days and come in on weekends. I manage to put in what I feel is enough effort to equal my compensation (or lack of), yet my quality of work is excellent. Knowing how to address the “big stuff” and not sweat the “Small stuff” is key. It is also worth mentioning that in todays work force, you don’t have to “raise the bar” much to be head and shoulders above your co-workers. That is very sad.
That said, there is a difference when something, like a job, becomes part of who you are. Like J.D. and his blogging, I too run a small business from home. It is an extension of the creative “me” and being so, it compels me to go above and beyond at all times. It is a direct reflection of my heart and soul, and that image that I portray is worth more than any amount of money or “pats on the back”.
July 14th, 2008 at 8:20 am
“When I decided to cut the stress level, I realized that we conflate our “careers” with our selves. A career is a job. A job exists to put food on the table and a roof over your head. It is not our self.”
I disagree. While my career definitely isn’t the only thing that defines me, it is a very strong part of me. I suppose this line of thought depends on your profession.
I am a professional engineer, and I feel that this ties in closely with who I am. I’ve worked very hard to be in the position I am now, and so it doesn’t make sense to me to simply shrug off something that required so much effort and time on my part as having no definition on who I am.
Soemone working as a convenience store clerk would probably be less eager to make the corallary between their self and their career. And that’s why the movie Clerks exists.
July 15th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Karawynn, I agree with you completely! I’m a sprinter, too, and I’ve found that having a lot of autonomy in my work is essential for my sanity and for good reviews. I make sure my boss knows the total amount of work I get done, but he doesn’t know (and doesn’t need to know) that sometimes I may get a week’s worth of work done in a couple of days.
For some of my coworkers, their projects seem to be like gas — the projects expand to fill the time available. So they always look busy, and probably truly feel busy, even if they only have one little project to do. Those people are far, far less productive than me and the other “sprinter” in our department, but they still get paid more than we do (mostly, I think and hope, because of their seniority).
When I took my current job several years ago, I decided at the outset to manage expectations, and hide my “sprinting” capabiltiies. I still do far more than the other people, and have gotten several raises based on that; but I don’t push myself because it’s not rewarded and it only makes me bitter that other peopel are paid more for doing less while looking “busy.”
As others said, a job is a contract. I fulfill my side of the deal completely, but by tempering what I accomplish on the job, I keep a better attitude (also essential to doing one’s job well). And, I’m not all used up when I leave work; I still have something left to give family and community.
July 15th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Yes — I’m a sprinter, too. I need a sense of urgency and momentum to get a lot of my work done. I’m horrible when it comes to slogging over vast periods of time.
Very glad I work from home to manage my own time.