Some people just work too hard and it genuinely confuses me. I cannot be the only one who feels this way...
You walk by these people and they are always working on something. Not reading a news article or checking their phones occasionally. No, they come in at 7:30am, sit down, open their spreadsheet and grind alllllll dayyyy. At face value this seems like a desirable quality in an employee but as a peer I question the purpose. Now admittedly, I’m not the most successful person in the world - but I’m also a long way from the least. I’ve been relatively successful in my early career and received promotions ahead of the typical schedule multiple times. And I make zero claims to be the type of person I’ve described above. In fact I don’t think I could have progressed at a rate any faster than I already have. Often, I find those that work SO hard actually have less success than I have. I’m not saying you can just fuck off all day, every day, but I’m not convinced you need to be actually working 90-100% of your day either.
Maybe there are some of you out there who can explain why you do this? What’s the point - are you convinced it will pay off in the long run? Are you doing this because you are self aware that your social skills will not pull you through? These aren’t bad things I just want to hear WHY.
P.S These are usually the same people who get mad if they hear you used a sick day when you weren’t actually sick. WHY does that matter to you? Who cares.
you'd get fired for only working 90% of the time in the factory
I really have no idea how to respond to that or what you’re getting at here lol
Have you worked in a factory?
No I haven’t worked in a factory, nor do I ever wish to work in a factory. But I’m intelligent enough to understand how a factory works and the differences between it and a corporate environment. I think 99% of people reading this will also realize based on my comment about opening up a spreadsheet that this has nothing to do with a factory and I also think that 99% of people reading this don’t give a shit how it it ever would apply to a factory environment.
I think this will be the " WSO sentence of the year" in off-topic 2019.
Some people are workaholics, others love what they do and some have a desire to be a titan in their field one day and believe that in order to achieve that goal they must show determination and have a relentless discipline that encourages a work hard mentality . Either way a good acronym to live by MYFB
Mind
Your
Fucking
Business
How are the last sentence and the acronym at all relevant? This is a forum where people ask things, say things, do lots of things. Not minding your own business is kinda the point right?
It is just not possible to clearly define "working too hard" with so many variables. You are comparing your standard to a coworker... that will never make any sense. MYFB is very relevant because your claim of not being a work hard 24/7 person has lead to being promoted ahead of schedule but how do you know that your work ethic isn't seen as an efficient robot sociopath from a co workers perspective. You don't understand that work ethic due to a preference but I don't really get how you view it as wrong or unorthodox.
I see where you are coming from but I think you’ve made an assumption that I was not - that my preference for not working hard 24/7 has led me to greater success. That might be true, it might not. What interests me more is why do more if you could do less and achieve the same or better results. I understand everything here is relative but I think there are plenty of folks who could work a fair amount less and see no impact to their career whatsoever. So I guess there are 2 sides of this. Comparison of yourself to a peer and comparison of yourself to yourself.
To answer your question it really boils down to:
Are you working for yourself or for others?
If yourself, are you actually contributing to the growth of what you're doing?
If others, are you in an environment that actively rewards the "dues paid/ hours put in" over getting your work done? Also, is your work of the nature that you can put in more hours to get more done?
Most people here (myself included) work for others. Like it or not, most people here will continue to work for others their entire lives. I might do that too. Who knows? But the statistics prove this to be more likely than not. So it depends where you work. Watch who gets promoted. Is it the person who becomes celibate because sex is time they're not devoting to the company? Or is it the guy with a life outside of work who executes well and is likable? Not that those two cannot coexist, I just haven't met someone with both traits.
Why do I take 2 hours to finish my math assignment while my roommates take 3 hours? Would they have had a higher mark with less time but more focus and concentration.. maybe yes but maybe no. I agree with the career aspect and your view that there are 2 sides but someone will always be better, quicker, richer than you so unless you are insecure or have a short man problem than it is best to not have any interest in a matter that is out of your control.
Completely agree with you, it reminds me of being back in college where you could put in 10 hours into some project and get a 94, or put in 30 hours to get a 98. The marginal tradeoff isn't worth it. I try to maximize reward to effort, so I focus on the high visibility projects that the higher ups see, and matter for career projection, and do my best to avoid getting stuck with the mindless low visibility work that doesn't really matter
They may not necessarily be working harder. Think of it like the tortoise and the hare. When you work you might grind and be super efficient then take a break. Others will slowly plug along in excel at a sustainable speed the entire day.
Some people work hard, work long, but not smart. They over complicate things and add tons of complexity that in the end doesn't add value.
We as an industry are extremely guilty of this. The most guilty, I think.
I appreciate the 100+ hours of work, but this 60,000 KB, 50-tab model is not helpful. I can't audit it. I can't easily use it. It looks freaking cool though.
Laughed at this
Yuppppp. Also, being a perfectionist is a HUGE waste of fcking time. I personally live by the value-add rule.
I grinded my job when I first arrived.If I take a long lunch or a 30 minute dump, I don't get questioned.
Some people are more interested in signaling that work is being done than actually doing work.
BTW never heard of an IB that has people coming in at 7:30.
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