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Maybe I'm exceptionally lucky, but I work from home most of the time and get to prioritize my work myself. If I want to spend a day improving test coverage or b

Maybe I'm exceptionally lucky, but I work from home most of the time and get to prioritize my work myself. If I want to spend a day improving test coverage or build tooling, I am free to do so. The price I pay for this is earning about 10k€ less a year, but I still think it's worth it.

onion2k 11y ago
I think that's a very important point that the article misses - some people will use spare work time to improve things they see could be done better rather than volunteering to do what their manager thinks needs to be done. If you're a creative developer, or you have a passion for a specific area, then it's easy to ignore "unassigned work" in favour of doing things that you want to do instead. There can be a great deal of value in that that any manager needs to recognise. Someone who isn't voluntarily picking up unassigned work isn't (necessarily) failing to show leadership - they might be leading in an area where work isn't being created, whether it's assigned or not.
djb_hackernews 11y ago
Just for fun I wondered what a missed $10k/yr was over time. http://www.moneychimp.com/calculator/compound_interest_calculator.htm http://www.moneychimp.com/calculator/compound_interest_calcu... values of 0; 10,000; 20; 4; results in nearly 310k of missed gains. Increasing that 4% to 8% increases it to nearly a half a million! At my estimated retirement income requirements, that basically means I could quit working 10 years earlier if I don't settle for being underpaid.
- markeroon 11y ago
  Eh, you'll save thousands by not having to commute.
  - djb_hackernews 11y ago
    Or the other option, work remotely and not get underpaid...
- oniichanisbaka 11y ago
  $120k in SF or 40k€ where I currently live get me both the same standard of living. I don't think comparing absolute wages/salaries has ever been meaningful.
- justinhj 11y ago
  By the same logic you could say if only I'd done X I'd earn an extra $15k, $20k or even $50k a year but would you have followed a path in life that was balanced and happy? Not every decision can be reduced to a number

onion2k 11y ago

I think that's a very important point that the article misses - some people will use spare work time to improve things they see could be done better rather than volunteering to do what their manager thinks needs to be done. If you're a creative developer, or you have a passion for a specific area, then it's easy to ignore "unassigned work" in favour of doing things that you want to do instead. There can be a great deal of value in that that any manager needs to recognise. Someone who isn't voluntarily picking up unassigned work isn't (necessarily) failing to show leadership - they might be leading in an area where work isn't being created, whether it's assigned or not.

djb_hackernews 11y ago

Just for fun I wondered what a missed $10k/yr was over time. http://www.moneychimp.com/calculator/compound_interest_calculator.htm http://www.moneychimp.com/calculator/compound_interest_calcu... values of 0; 10,000; 20; 4; results in nearly 310k of missed gains. Increasing that 4% to 8% increases it to nearly a half a million! At my estimated retirement income requirements, that basically means I could quit working 10 years earlier if I don't settle for being underpaid.

markeroon 11y ago
Eh, you'll save thousands by not having to commute.
- djb_hackernews 11y ago
  Or the other option, work remotely and not get underpaid...
oniichanisbaka 11y ago
$120k in SF or 40k€ where I currently live get me both the same standard of living. I don't think comparing absolute wages/salaries has ever been meaningful.
justinhj 11y ago
By the same logic you could say if only I'd done X I'd earn an extra $15k, $20k or even $50k a year but would you have followed a path in life that was balanced and happy? Not every decision can be reduced to a number