But do I belong to the company I work for? No! Never!
If that means I'm doomed to walk the Earth for eternity writing code and building beautiful ideas, then that's ok.
No matter how much my job makes me happy, my family and my life outside work are just as important and more. Obsessing about anything is not good. Moderation is good. Do everything well but know when to stop. Do your job well but remember to go and hang out with your friends. Put down the mouse and call someone to go out. Liking your life outside work does not mean you suck at work. It means you are good at living.
-Damana Madden,
You don't own me, I'm not that kind of girl anymore
As often as I talk about
working hard to "save your job", I thought it would be worth a moment of our time to consider
who you really work for, as opposed to the idea of
working for the one who pays you.
You are not a slave, nor are you a convict, imprisoned and forced to work at the behest of those who've put you in chains.
You work for yourself. Your family. Perhaps out of some sense of duty to a friend. But it always comes down to
your decision.
I think of my employer(s) as customers of mine. The difference between us is that I not only represent myself to my direct customer, I represent my employers to
their customers as well. And don't get me wrong - I still feel like a very big part of the team.
I want my customers to be successful, because when they are successful, I am too. But I don't let myself feel trapped: It's the hard work I've put in that allows me to know I can leave whenever I need to. It allows me to know I'm not chained to my current position.
If I don't need a customer, I can always politely tell them I cannot continue to serve them. On the other hand, if I feel beholden to the man who pays me, I cannot easily find another job. It's a matter of outlook.
Your attitude determines your quality of life, so change it if it's not working for you.
Be professional, but don't be a slave.
Don't let your managers or your peers pressure you into working 80 hour weeks
all the time. Don't let them refuse to
ever approve your vacations. It's not some geek badge of honor to work like the robots we'd like to build. Instead, it's ridiculous to try to keep up that pace. Remember Damana's words: "
Liking your life outside work does not mean you suck at work. It means you are good at living."
Note: The source of this image asserts that the routing and account numbers on this check were randomly generated.
It's good to be good at work. I think I'm there. But now I want to start getting better at living.
As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome and appreciated.
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Leave a comment
@sammy, here i go again..
i would say a lot of this goes back to relationships as i commented on higher bandwidth post. i am devoted to my users. as i've commented before, i worked in the trenches, and i enjoy every opportunity to make the lives of those i interact with that much better through automation.
i'm not sure if i will ever leave my corp life, not because of the things you would expect me to say. i just haven't finished with what i think i can do yet. no one else is solving the problems of my user base. i find it hard to leave them with an incomplete product. as long as someone thinks of something new to do, it is incomplete (resistance is futile).
i've set out to do something. i am committed to doing it. if i forecast something for 2 months, and it's really 3 months. that's my fault. i'm going to go the extra mile to get it done. if that means 80 hrs, then i'm going to do it. i will balance a reasonable lateness against working insaine hours, but i stay true to my word. my users know that and expect it. as i said before if i go over, my users can and will deal with it. those relationships allow for that type of fluctuation. they know me, and that i am going to get it done.. besides.. i've already told them i was wrong, but i am going to make up for it by shortening the gap. that is well respected by all.
i should point out that i am in a corp environement. my customers won't walk out the door to another company for the same product. depending on the interaction allowed, i tend to think the relationships would overcome some of the shortfalls.
Posted by shag
on May 20, 2008 at 12:29 PM UTC - 6 hrs
I don't think it is unreasonable to hold yourself to doing the work you committed to doing - I certainly do it, working extra time as needed. Like you, my word is important to me, and if at all possible, I try to keep it.
However, because of that (this is a bit off topic), I also try to get good at forecasting - especially with larger projects, using burndown charts to make up for my sometimes unreliable estimates (especially working in new platforms).
Thanks again for the thoughtful comments.
Posted by
Sammy Larbi
on May 21, 2008 at 08:15 AM UTC - 6 hrs
