Do you work hard?

Somebody Else's Problem wrote:I do my job to the best of my ability, because that's what I'm there for, and I'd be bored for 8 hours otherwise. Plus if I didn't everyone else would have to work harder to compensate, and that's unfair on them. Also, I'm not a lazy, entitled piece of gooseberry fool who claims to hate my job, but won't do a damn thing about it.

At least you’re not self righteous eh?

Yeah, I think the main reason for not slacking off should be for the sake of your fellow employees. Definitely don't work hard for the sake of your employer as there is zero reward for loyalty these days. The statistics are clear that the best way to increase your earnings is to switch employer every few years or so.

Meep wrote:I work full-time and study part-time so I put in quite a lot of work each week. In regards to my actual job though, I have learned long ago that no one is going to shower you with rewards if you for going above and beyond. We do not live in a society that really values hard work, however much people would like to claim otherwise. Most people in high positions got there through relentless self-promotion and social connections rather than any kind of astounding work ethic.

That last part is true anywhere I've worked. Those people are usually lazy strawberry floaters as well

im a newly qualified teacher, i work ~7.30-6 every week day, and i do about 2-4 hours on the weekends. i think i work quite hard.

thank god for the holidays!

My parents are teachers, and people think they get it easy with holidays but they’re basically making up for how hard they have to work in term time.

Somebody Else's Problem wrote:I do my job to the best of my ability, because that's what I'm there for, and I'd be bored for 8 hours otherwise. Plus if I didn't everyone else would have to work harder to compensate, and that's unfair on them. Also, I'm not a lazy, entitled piece of gooseberry fool who claims to hate my job, but won't do a damn thing about it.

Throwing some serious shade there

Peter Crisp wrote:I can poop in a park all day but nobody's going to claim that makes me a hard worker .

Depends how much you eat

I worked for a bank for a long time. As with any job there were ups and downs but the workload became particularly heavy during my final five or six years there and, looking back, I can see that it impacted my mental health.

Two key lessons that I learnt from the experience were, firstly, in a business environment, don't think that loyalty exists; move on whenever you get the opportunity. The company does not give a gooseberry fool about you personally. Secondly, over-working - i.e. long hours and stressful pressure - for a lengthy period of time will catch up with you in the end. You may think that you're handling it, but the effects will be felt eventually. These ideas could be seen as negative thinking but it's just how things are.

It's good that many younger folk are now realising this earlier than I did .

Regarding the "move every 2/3 years to keep progressing" perspective - I do a lot of helping with recruitment at our place and this is something that we are always very wary of. Anyone who comes in with a CV that contains a lot of shorter stints at places is going to come under a lot of scrutiny. We run projects that can often last a long time and have long standing contracts and client relationships that we want to maintain and staff with reliable people - those who are just around to make a fast buck and then move on are rarely the kind we employ.

Similarly I have a friend who is now in his mid-40's and has spent most of his career doing this kind of thing - regularly moving around jobs to keep trying to push on. He's now been out of work for the last 6 months and is struggling to get a job - a big part of the feedback is that he has moved around too much, has not shown commitment, is now older and more expensive and there are younger, more eager, and frankly cheaper options that companies would take ahead of him. I think there is certainly some logic in this approach at the start of your working life but the risks associated with jumping ship regularly are only going to increase as your career progresses.

Also I don't know whether I am just very fortunate or whether others on here have just been unlucky, but loyalty and commitment are absolutely something that is rewarded at my place of work. I'm generally well paid for what I do (in the middle/top end of what I would expect for the sector/role), times when I have put in additional effort have been recognised and rewarded in a variety of ways (small bonuses, extra days leave, free stuff etc.), we have a good benefits package (health/dental insurance, high street discount schemes etc.), and my place of work are very flexible and accomodating to the needs of their employees (flexible working times when needed and things like that).

Obviously not everywhere I have worked has been that awesome but decent employers definitely do exist! If I am being treated well then I will stick around and show a reciprocal level of loyalty and effort, if not then I will be on my way!

I'd say you should be looking to see what your CV says about you in 2 years. If part of that is moving company then go for it.

I worked for the same company for 6 years in different roles before moving on ( 3 years retail / 2 ½ years Technical - then Senior Technical Architect / 5 months Product Management)

Each move has built on form the last and has given me unique insight or more desirable skills.

Currently I work for a different company in a different role, for one I wanted to see what it was like working for a different business, as it would revamp my CV and had the opportunity to travel extensively within the role, again the view for me was "that is cool as balls!" and "that would look damn good on a CV"

But the main question: Do I work hard? Right now I'd say no, my job is (for me) piss easy. My main role is to teach partners how our products work and how they can leverage the technology to either make their business more efficient or sell those benefits onto end customers.

Talking to people seems to be my natural skill and I am lucky I have had jobs where that has been a large percentage of what I do. That being said, is it fair that I get to do it? Probably not. I think anyone could do this if they are comfortable talking to people, they might just need a helping had with the technical aspects.


Does talking shite mean I should get paid well?

Again no, although I have managed to accelerate my career from essentially nothing. I moved from retail one day to designing customer voice and data networks the next with absolutely zero knowledge of routing and switching. I was given a chance, but I was also expected to make something of it ( gain accreditations etc...). For that, I'd like to think my wage reflects the determination to shape my career into something in such a compressed time, it's like a chip on my shoulder actually - I keep feeling as if I should be doing better ( that probably makes me look very arrogant and unappreciative of what I've got/ accomplished)

The rest I like to think comes with the territory. (London Based with 50% travel away from home in different timezones - Just damn lucky I don't mind being on aeroplanes or in airports )


but hey, thats probably all bollocks