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I totally agree with your point about looking busy. But that just means there's a management failure somewhere, right? Shouldn't management recognize such an a

I totally agree with your point about looking busy. But that just means there's a management failure somewhere, right? Shouldn't management recognize such an abnormally productive employee and a) let them go home after their work is done, no matter when that is, or b) give them more work to do (and a corresponding salary increase)?

mrob 10y ago
Letting them go home means risking having less people in the office when the manager's boss shows up, which will lower the manager's prestige, and risks harming morale of the other employees. Giving them more work risks having their department fail if the employee leaves for any reason. Subtly encouraging them to waste time is the safest choice.
- ArkyBeagle 10y ago
  This.
Noseshine 10y ago
such an abnormally productive employee It's not ab-normal. Source: Dilbert.com (seriously, the cartoons are based on real work life and not fiction), countless surveys (just two examples: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/fashion/25busy.html http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/fashion/25busy.html and http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2014/06/20/most-americans-are-unhappy-at-work/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2014/06/20/most-ameri...), and each time the topic comes up (on reddit for example) the thread explodes and it's almost all negative and "Me too!" when somebody says their job is just like that. I've seen it all over my own career too which let me spend most of my time in other companies and not in one and the same office (I'm an IT freelancer, but it was true even when I was employed). b) give them more work to do There were several Dilbert cartoons about exactly this sometime during the last few months. Examples for fun: 1) http://dilbert.com/strip/2011-12-21 http://dilbert.com/strip/2011-12-21 -- 2) http://dilbert.com/strip/2016-05-17 http://dilbert.com/strip/2016-05-17 -- 3) http://dilbert.com/strip/2017-01-01 http://dilbert.com/strip/2017-01-01 -- 4) http://dilbert.com/strip/2016-08-14 http://dilbert.com/strip/2016-08-14
deleted 10y ago
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kogepathic 10y ago
> Shouldn't management recognize such an abnormally productive employee Using what metric? This is really hard to implement in reality, especially when the average corporate management has no idea what engineers spend their day doing. > b) give them more work to do This already happens. See companies looking to hire "heros" > and a corresponding salary increase Hah! Yeah, maybe at your company. Mine would work you 80 hours per week for peanuts if they could.
- ArkyBeagle 10y ago
  So they at least wish to communicate that they have no idea of the value you provide? Not unusual, but quite disturbing.
- ArkyBeagle 10y ago
  Oh, and in an exit interview for a layoff once: - He: I never see your car in the parking lot after hours. - Me: Yeah, I've been done with everything I was given for months now. Please note - it was a layoff exit interview.
- passivepinetree 10y ago
  Alright, you're right. Maybe I was being a little idealistic. I don't think in reality things would happen that way. But we can dream, right?
dageshi 10y ago
Isn't that basically called "being freelance"? If the work's done by the required deadline then you're free to do what you want?
- Noseshine 10y ago
  As a freelancer I have some jobs that are like that, fixed cost and my problem how long it takes me, but most clients prefer if I'm onsite and that means I get paid to spend 8 hours a days in their office. I have the exact same problem, I spend half the time looking busy. Or I could go home and only get half the money.

mrob 10y ago

Letting them go home means risking having less people in the office when the manager's boss shows up, which will lower the manager's prestige, and risks harming morale of the other employees. Giving them more work risks having their department fail if the employee leaves for any reason. Subtly encouraging them to waste time is the safest choice.

ArkyBeagle 10y ago
This.

Noseshine 10y ago

such an abnormally productive employee It's not ab-normal. Source: Dilbert.com (seriously, the cartoons are based on real work life and not fiction), countless surveys (just two examples: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/fashion/25busy.html http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/fashion/25busy.html and http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2014/06/20/most-americans-are-unhappy-at-work/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2014/06/20/most-ameri...), and each time the topic comes up (on reddit for example) the thread explodes and it's almost all negative and "Me too!" when somebody says their job is just like that. I've seen it all over my own career too which let me spend most of my time in other companies and not in one and the same office (I'm an IT freelancer, but it was true even when I was employed). b) give them more work to do There were several Dilbert cartoons about exactly this sometime during the last few months. Examples for fun: 1) http://dilbert.com/strip/2011-12-21 http://dilbert.com/strip/2011-12-21 -- 2) http://dilbert.com/strip/2016-05-17 http://dilbert.com/strip/2016-05-17 -- 3) http://dilbert.com/strip/2017-01-01 http://dilbert.com/strip/2017-01-01 -- 4) http://dilbert.com/strip/2016-08-14 http://dilbert.com/strip/2016-08-14

deleted 10y ago

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kogepathic 10y ago

> Shouldn't management recognize such an abnormally productive employee Using what metric? This is really hard to implement in reality, especially when the average corporate management has no idea what engineers spend their day doing. > b) give them more work to do This already happens. See companies looking to hire "heros" > and a corresponding salary increase Hah! Yeah, maybe at your company. Mine would work you 80 hours per week for peanuts if they could.

ArkyBeagle 10y ago
So they at least wish to communicate that they have no idea of the value you provide? Not unusual, but quite disturbing.
ArkyBeagle 10y ago
Oh, and in an exit interview for a layoff once: - He: I never see your car in the parking lot after hours. - Me: Yeah, I've been done with everything I was given for months now. Please note - it was a layoff exit interview.
passivepinetree 10y ago
Alright, you're right. Maybe I was being a little idealistic. I don't think in reality things would happen that way. But we can dream, right?

dageshi 10y ago

Isn't that basically called "being freelance"? If the work's done by the required deadline then you're free to do what you want?

Noseshine 10y ago
As a freelancer I have some jobs that are like that, fixed cost and my problem how long it takes me, but most clients prefer if I'm onsite and that means I get paid to spend 8 hours a days in their office. I have the exact same problem, I spend half the time looking busy. Or I could go home and only get half the money.