3 ms·

In a capitalist society with "at will" employment now that the average tenure is around 2 to 3 years, I do not believe that there is much difference between an

by dudul 11y ago

In a capitalist society with "at will" employment now that the average tenure is around 2 to 3 years, I do not believe that there is much difference between an employee and a mercenary. I believe that we're now in an era where "employee" doesn't mean anything anymore - at least in tech or for highly skilled workers. When you are an "employee" you are actually a contractor with one client, they pay you for your expertise to solve their problem, once they don't need you they'll let you go. I also believe that you don't need to be excited about the industry you work in to be excited and stimulated by the technical challenges. A lawyer can be excited about using the law to win a difficult case without caring for his client. Just to be very clear, I don't blame people who believe in what they do. That's great, but I don't recognize that deeply caring is a requirement to be a good, productive employee.

mindcrime 11y ago
That's great, but I don't recognize that deeply caring is a requirement to be a good, productive employee. And I'm not saying that "deeply caring is a requirement to be a good, productive employee" either. However, I will contend that - all other things being equal - a person will be happier, more content, and derive more enjoyment from their occupation, if they "deeply care". How much so is, obviously hard to quantify and this probably matters more to some people than others. I'd also posit that, in general the employees who "deeply care" (or however you want to phrase it) are likely to do better work to at least some small degree, just due to the whole "intrinsic motivation" thing. I know for myself, I have professional pride in any circumstance, but there's no question I do better work when I actually care about the work, as opposed to when I'm just collecting a paycheck. OTOH, I recognize that I am not a representative sample. :-)

by dudul 11y ago

mindcrime 11y ago

That's great, but I don't recognize that deeply caring is a requirement to be a good, productive employee. And I'm not saying that "deeply caring is a requirement to be a good, productive employee" either. However, I will contend that - all other things being equal - a person will be happier, more content, and derive more enjoyment from their occupation, if they "deeply care". How much so is, obviously hard to quantify and this probably matters more to some people than others. I'd also posit that, in general the employees who "deeply care" (or however you want to phrase it) are likely to do better work to at least some small degree, just due to the whole "intrinsic motivation" thing. I know for myself, I have professional pride in any circumstance, but there's no question I do better work when I actually care about the work, as opposed to when I'm just collecting a paycheck. OTOH, I recognize that I am not a representative sample. :-)