My corporate observation for the week
I know this is not a groundbreaking observation, but I have finally realized that in a corporate environment it is not about how much work you do, but more about the appearance of doing work. I saw this at my old job, and it seemed weird. There were some days that I would not be doing a damn thing, and I would go and ask my boss what I should be working on, and wouldn't really get an answer. So this led me to believe that they knew I had nothing to do. Yet I was still expected to stay in the office.
I also know how much I slack at different times during work hours. However, and I'm not just tooting my own horn here, people I've worked with always have considered me a great worker. I am reliable, and I get my stuff done, while at the same time managing to slack off quite a bit. But importantly, I keep up the appearance of doing work, and show concern with the quality of said work.
I finally put it all together when I read The 4 Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich. The author describes these scenarios and how you can work them in your favor by removing yourself from the office environment. Which is when it finally dawned on my conclusively that it's not about the work you do, but the work which it appears you're doing.
An example is a project that you are given one week to do. You fit it into 40 hours, and finish by Friday afternoon and appear to have worked diligently. However, if the boss said, I want this done, and if it is done before Friday, you can take the rest of the week off, you can damn well bet that it would be done in 16 hours. It is a weird phenomenon, and one that since it rarely exists in offices, encourages slacking. Where is the incentive for me to get something done quicker if there is something else to follow it up, with no reward? This, combined with the fact that I am considered a great worker despite my own knowledge of how much I slack off, combined with my ability to keep up the appearance that I work diligently, lead to my conclusion that it matters not what you get done, but what it looks like you are doing.
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I also know how much I slack at different times during work hours. However, and I'm not just tooting my own horn here, people I've worked with always have considered me a great worker. I am reliable, and I get my stuff done, while at the same time managing to slack off quite a bit. But importantly, I keep up the appearance of doing work, and show concern with the quality of said work.
I finally put it all together when I read The 4 Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich. The author describes these scenarios and how you can work them in your favor by removing yourself from the office environment. Which is when it finally dawned on my conclusively that it's not about the work you do, but the work which it appears you're doing.
An example is a project that you are given one week to do. You fit it into 40 hours, and finish by Friday afternoon and appear to have worked diligently. However, if the boss said, I want this done, and if it is done before Friday, you can take the rest of the week off, you can damn well bet that it would be done in 16 hours. It is a weird phenomenon, and one that since it rarely exists in offices, encourages slacking. Where is the incentive for me to get something done quicker if there is something else to follow it up, with no reward? This, combined with the fact that I am considered a great worker despite my own knowledge of how much I slack off, combined with my ability to keep up the appearance that I work diligently, lead to my conclusion that it matters not what you get done, but what it looks like you are doing.
Labels: corporate america, slacking, work
posted by Russ @ 9:55 AM
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