7 ms·

These posts bring me to the realization that you should never go above and beyond for a company that you don’t own. Just show up, do the bare minimum to meet ex

• lukevdp 7y ago
  At the end of the week, you get paid, and you and the company are even.
  • deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
• sneak 7y ago
  It’s just business. You’re selling time and effort for money. No need to make employment more than the simple transaction it is. Approaching it this way also makes it relatively straightforward to set and enforce work/life boundaries as an employee. Enjoy your time with your family. :)
• seanmcdirmid 7y ago
  If you are only doing a job for the financial payoff, then I guess. If you are interested in the work and want to develop yourself, the Wally mindset is a horrible way to spend your time.
  • notyourday 7y ago
    > If you are only doing a job for the financial payoff, then I guess. That's why it is a job, not a hobby.
    • seanmcdirmid 7y ago
      You spend way too much time at your job not to enjoy it.
      • notyourday 7y ago
        You would find that the more money you make, the more you are going to enjoy your job.
        • seanmcdirmid 7y ago
          Not everyone is like that, but to each their own.
• cwyers 7y ago
  That's true if you don't need recommendations from the people you're working with to get your next job, if you don't want to get promotions (which help you get better jobs down the road!), and if you are content to spend 40 hours a week from now until you retire just coasting through life. I think a better way to look at it is -- don't be loyal to something that can't be loyal to you. But you can and should let yourself care about the work you're doing and the individuals you're working with. That way, if you do end up leaving when you don't want to, you have accomplishments and a network of people who know what you're capable of. And up until then, you can take pride in what you're doing and feel good about how you're treating the people you're doing it with.
  • officialchicken 7y ago
    That's true if you live in work-obsessed culture that believes desk time is a more important metric than productivity.
  • kid_atticus 7y ago
    > for a company that you don’t own I think you're missing the key part here. Most tech workers do have some ownership in the companies which muddies the calculus a little bit. But if you don't have a stake in the company you are literally trading time for money. Work more time for the same money and you're just under-pricing your labor by an equivalent amount. Also, if you need to work overtime to get good recommendations and promotions that is not a company you want to spend your time at. Also also, if you need to work overtime to care about the work you're doing then you should re-examine your value system.
    • distances 7y ago
      > Most tech workers do have some ownership in the companies which muddies the calculus a little bit. Maybe nitpicking, but I don't think this is true at all. Lots of tech workers do, sure, but I doubt it's anywhere even close to half of them.
      • Nuzzerino 7y ago
• draw_down 7y ago
  That’s right.
• lnsru 7y ago
  I was intern in 2008 and working very hard. Doing not only mandatory things, but also taking care of lab equipment and helping neighbor labs. Very loyal, no distractions, sitting in the lab until late and working probably 1,5x or even 2x more hours I was paid for. And then boom! My manager came and told, they must throw away all the interns to save the costs. Throw away me and the other intern who worked in kitchen with coffee mug and was never in the lab. I felt really stupid. Since then I do my 40 hours what I get paid for. No more, no loyalty, no team spirit for the rest of my life. I was doing 200% in last 12 years only for startups as a co-founder, not that ability work hard disappeared completely.
  • TsomArp 7y ago
    I can understand you working 100% and no more. And I can live with it if I was your manage.r But no loyalty, no team spirit? No way. For me it is a two way road. I give you flexibility to work remote some days, to arrive at 10 some days, to leave earlier others, but in exchange I expect that you some days will work more hours, arrive earlier or leave latter, and maybe work some weekends. It should be a balance.
    • blub 7y ago
      Then good luck identifying that in your interview. :) OP probably won't brag about it and instead try to come off as a normal employee.
    • lnsru 7y ago
      No remote before pandemic offered, 8:30-15:00 must sit in the office. Constant micromanagement. How to save €200k with cheaper hardware proposition rejected, integration test design forbidden, IDE migration middle in the project despite my protest started. My current place does not offer any balance. Edit: if I can solve my own errors on weekend I’ll do it for sure! But I am not liable for management fails.
      • 101404 7y ago
        Why would you fix errors on weekends? (except for critical stuff, and then take off a weekday instead, of course). Errors are a normal thing for human work, especially software developer. Nothing you are "guilty of" and have to make right with your own money/time (same thing).
• mrtksn 7y ago
  That sounds logical until you actually tried it. Jobs that you don't care about are getting an order of magnitude more consuming that all these extra hours or attention you put in in jobs you care. My approach is to demand being properly compensated and appreciated for all the extra attention I put on. Unfortunately, that's also not easy.
• underdeserver 7y ago
  Over time I've come to disagree with this sentiment. If you're a software engineer you should consider yourself a craftsman. Treating your job as a "shift" means you don't care about your craft. The reason I'm not a founder today is that I've observed that founders don't have well rounded lives. I want 5 workdays a week to consist of 8-9 hours of work I'm invested in and care about, 8-9 hours of personal life (relationships, socializing, working out, reading, personal projects, hobbies, TV and games, etc.) and the rest in sleep. I want two days a week off. So what, I have to give up doing work I care about because of it? I don't think so. I choose work I think is important, technically deep and challenging, and if droppings hit the fan and I get laid off - I can be proud of what I did and understand that the pain is real and that it will pass. Better to have loved and lost.
  • techybuddha 7y ago
    You’ve never lost and loved something too much yet. This can be very bad advice for many people.
    • underdeserver 7y ago
      Why would you assume that?
  • bluntfang 7y ago
    better to have loved something that's not making someone else more money than what they think your work is worth.
  • theMajorMinor 7y ago
    What is the risk here? A person who pursues their here and now with the most intention and passion will learn more on the job than the same individual who is just "putting their time in." Why can't you help build someone elses dream and your own? Is it possible the details of someone elses dream provide focus for yours? I think the former individual will better weather a layoff than the latter. Furthermore, the person who is "just putting their time in" is a less attractive hire.
  • 7y ago
• koheripbal 7y ago
  This becomes a self-fullfilling prophesy. A manager can easy see which employees don't really care about the quality of their work. It should be no surprise that they are the first to be laid off when times get tough.
• rizz0 7y ago
  You can lose everything as an owner too. It'll be on you though and not your boss — up to to you to decide what's better.
• DodgyEggplant 7y ago
  Absolutely, in times like this, you could expect some solidarity to the people, sector, and society this VC is working with. A rich successful VC would better allocate a fund to support employees for a few months until easier landing is possible. This is much more helpful and fair - instead of blogging how they feel empathy but pushing for layoffs nevertheless
• nogabebop23 7y ago
  Except developers who are intelligent, creative, optimistic and want to get better will not accept those who just do the "bare minimum" with the mentality of "just do you shift then go home". They will build a culture that demands more and effectively pushes these voluntary baseline performers out, or more likely leave the organization and go somewhere better. I don't want to be part of things that are average and marginally accepable, and I have a profound dislike of the status quo. It doesn't matter if it's work or shooting hoops with my kids or seeing how long I can stand on one foot - a desire to do a job well and have fun doing it are not mutually exclusive. I'm confident my attitude and approach are not unique to only me.
  • gwbas1c 7y ago
    You can do both: Do you job well, take pride in your work, and go home at the end of the day. So much of your employment relies on things that are outside of your control. Even when you have a great job that you love, it won't last forever. Your job isn't a marriage, or a parent-child relationship. At the end of the day, it's just a job.
• wins32767 7y ago
  Financial capital isn't the only thing you can accumulate at a job. Building your social capital by being the person everyone wants to work with again and building intellectual capital by developing expertise are both things you can and should also invest in.
• credit_guy 7y ago
  This is the wrong conclusion. I for one love working for my employer. I made peace with the idea that I may be subject to a layoff at some point in my career. The flip side of the coin is that I feel free to look for opportunities any time I want. My employer treats me well, I return the favor. When it's uneconomical for them to keep paying me, they'll do that, when I find a better option, I'll go too, and there's no hard feelings. For as long as the employment continues, I feel proud to do my best, and not just do the absolute minimum.