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The comments. The idea of someone doing things really well triggers tons of insecurities. "Until that guy burns out and crashes." "Are they abusing drugs?"

The comments. The idea of someone doing things really well triggers tons of insecurities. "Until that guy burns out and crashes." "Are they abusing drugs?" "Bob is doing things without really understanding what he’s doing" "Bob is working far beyond what he’s billing" "To me, this sounds like the “smart guy” who if left unchecked will leave a trail of destruction."

rawgabbit 4y ago
I agree. Bob is smart but in a mediocre/bad job situation. Eventually, Bob realizes it is time to leave.
buescher 4y ago
Everybody hates a tourist.
- permalac 4y ago
  Care to explain?
  - buescher 4y ago
    Listen to the song “Common People” and get back.
rgoulter 4y ago
My impression reading the question is it's a low-tier outsourcing company. (Work is billed by the hour, only for approved tasks, code has to be auditing/approved by an external party). But e.g. considering "setup a packaging solution in days, when it wasn't done in a month" or "stuck for three weeks reviewing code which took two weeks to write" suggests either the star performer MUCH better than the others, or that he's more careless. "working without really understanding what you're doing" is a good technique in many cases, though, rather than a criticism as-such.
spaghettiToy 4y ago
I think the drugs thing is more common than anyone wants to admit. Of course caffeine is huge, but we had a 10x type programmer who suddenly went full 180 degrees. Turns out he stopped taking his Adderall. My company tried to hide it by saying "mental illness". That's still the official message, despite everyone next to him knowing full well what happened. >Until that guy burns out and crashes I see this most with new grads. The company knows their enthusiasm and ignorance to red tape and how disposable they are. They use these new grads on the worst jobs, long hours, terrible work experience, or thankless. The new grads do a decent job, but become disenchanted because their hard work wasn't rewarded either professionally with a promotion, or never made an impact on the company. --- I genuinely don't know what to do with over productive people. They are going to be disappointed. Although I'll take one at my current company, we have a backlog!
- fire 4y ago
  do you happen to know if they were ADHD and it was prescribed meds? The effects of my ADHD were pretty severe before I got a diagnosis and was able to start stimulant meds, and when I run out it comes back in force. With how difficult it can be to do anything with an executive dysfunction disorder ( what ADHD is ), I can totally see someone being fine on their meds, running out, and then being super unproductive as they also navigate scheduling mandated check-ins with a medical professional so they can get a refill ( it can be a huge pain in the ass )
  - jknutson 4y ago
    I feel what you mean. I have ADHD as well, and similar to as the poster above mentioned, I really do feel like I am batting quite far out of my league in terms of quality of work to years of experience… but only when I am taking my medication before I start my working days. When I am without it, I honestly believe I am the least productive member of my team. Anecdotally, I kind of relate (diagnosed & managed) ADHD as being somewhat similar to Bipolar Disorder, but applied to the attention span instead of to the mood. When I am capable of working (either once in a blue moon off my meds, or anytime I’m on my meds), I can clearly see that I outperform for my experience level. Without the meds, it’s the opposite. When I’m “on”, I’m more “on” than my colleagues, but vice versa for when I’m “off”. The peaks and valleys to my attention span and productivity are far more intense than my peers.

rawgabbit 4y ago

I agree. Bob is smart but in a mediocre/bad job situation. Eventually, Bob realizes it is time to leave.

buescher 4y ago

Everybody hates a tourist.

permalac 4y ago
Care to explain?
- buescher 4y ago
  Listen to the song “Common People” and get back.

rgoulter 4y ago

My impression reading the question is it's a low-tier outsourcing company. (Work is billed by the hour, only for approved tasks, code has to be auditing/approved by an external party). But e.g. considering "setup a packaging solution in days, when it wasn't done in a month" or "stuck for three weeks reviewing code which took two weeks to write" suggests either the star performer MUCH better than the others, or that he's more careless. "working without really understanding what you're doing" is a good technique in many cases, though, rather than a criticism as-such.

spaghettiToy 4y ago

I think the drugs thing is more common than anyone wants to admit. Of course caffeine is huge, but we had a 10x type programmer who suddenly went full 180 degrees. Turns out he stopped taking his Adderall. My company tried to hide it by saying "mental illness". That's still the official message, despite everyone next to him knowing full well what happened. >Until that guy burns out and crashes I see this most with new grads. The company knows their enthusiasm and ignorance to red tape and how disposable they are. They use these new grads on the worst jobs, long hours, terrible work experience, or thankless. The new grads do a decent job, but become disenchanted because their hard work wasn't rewarded either professionally with a promotion, or never made an impact on the company. --- I genuinely don't know what to do with over productive people. They are going to be disappointed. Although I'll take one at my current company, we have a backlog!

fire 4y ago
do you happen to know if they were ADHD and it was prescribed meds? The effects of my ADHD were pretty severe before I got a diagnosis and was able to start stimulant meds, and when I run out it comes back in force. With how difficult it can be to do anything with an executive dysfunction disorder ( what ADHD is ), I can totally see someone being fine on their meds, running out, and then being super unproductive as they also navigate scheduling mandated check-ins with a medical professional so they can get a refill ( it can be a huge pain in the ass )
- jknutson 4y ago
  I feel what you mean. I have ADHD as well, and similar to as the poster above mentioned, I really do feel like I am batting quite far out of my league in terms of quality of work to years of experience… but only when I am taking my medication before I start my working days. When I am without it, I honestly believe I am the least productive member of my team. Anecdotally, I kind of relate (diagnosed & managed) ADHD as being somewhat similar to Bipolar Disorder, but applied to the attention span instead of to the mood. When I am capable of working (either once in a blue moon off my meds, or anytime I’m on my meds), I can clearly see that I outperform for my experience level. Without the meds, it’s the opposite. When I’m “on”, I’m more “on” than my colleagues, but vice versa for when I’m “off”. The peaks and valleys to my attention span and productivity are far more intense than my peers.