My Work Philosophy

[peter]

I am employed as a bakery assistant and counter service attendant at a seven eleven retail outlet. I've been doing this for over ten years now. The company is part of a larger, but still local, family run group of businesses. I take my job seriously; it might not rate highly in many people's thinking and that's fair enough, but in my small way I do some good each day and hopefully not too much harm. I maintain my pride in myself with the following thinking.

I regard myself as a seller of a commodity just the same as say my employers would regard themselves to be - in my case however my commodity is my labor. On this basis I sell what I'm paid for - neither more more less. I don't take days off sick unless they are completely unavoidable and while at work. I work hard and consistently and my time keeping is exemplary - I have never been late nor left work early. Often under very demanding circumstances each day I still get my job done and go home satisfied that I have given what I'm paid for. But this is where it ends.

Here's what I don't do. I don't give of my intellectual qualities, such as they are, over and above that which I am paid for. I could easily move into areas of the business where I could be of help and service to both my employers and colleagues, carrying out tasks that are necessary and significant to the running of the business - but I would be neither paid nor credited for doing so and so I stick to my remit, returning my minimum wage payment with output commensurate but fair, to this remuneration. I do not cover sickness leave of absence of other staff unless it absolutely suits me to do so. My employers make no allowance in terms of remuneration for what I call fire-brigade work, that is the covering of shifts at short notice due to absenteeism - and I place the value of my labor more highly when it is demanded at short notice than on preagreed scheduling and so I election not to sell it. Put simply, my time is worth more to me on Saturday night with an hour notice than on Monday with forward agreement. In this I am no different from any seller of a service in a different field. If my employer chooses not to respect this then so be it; what you don't pay for, you don't get, as in any other transaction.

By following the above rules I maintain my dignity and belief in my self worth. I am employed on a role book - but on my terms. When I pass my employers in the street they understand that I am their equal beyond the perimeter of the work place - and even within it beyond the time of my service. My labor is for there for sale when and at the rate I agree to; I however, am not.

[Skyweir]

Seems a sound work ethic Pete.

I wish Id had that level of restraint, I think I might have received more out of my work if I had.

Good for you

[peter]

Thanks Sky. It's not a philosophy that I guess would work for everyone, but it serves well for me. I'm not I guess, every employers idea of the ideal employee, but I will return like for like. If an employer shows a willingness to understand that I too have a life beyond the confines of the work place, then I'll shift heaven and earth to give my full support. Respect is a two way thing in the work place and employers will always reap the benefit of demonstrating that they understand this.

[Skyweir]

I completely agree with that .. its almost if I can be so bold as to suggest it could almost be framed as THE hard problem of productivity and management.

Which in truth isnt a hard problem at all .. yet seems to defy the consciousness of many.

Mutual respect.

Some struggle with finding and demonstrating it.

I like your work ethic because it is a reasonable operating position .. A reasonable platform from which to launch from.

I never quite mastered such balance.

In my line of work however, there was an expectation of commitment.. and arguably built into that expectation was dynamic IMbalance.

At least it was seemingly is how it has been interpreted.

But yes, an employer that shows respect, receives respect.

[peter]

The problem is that employees can be bastards; they can take the piss, be late, lazy, throw sickies - you name it. Whether it is this that turns employers into assholes or employers being assholes that turns employees into bastards is chicken and egg. I don't buy into it though. I treat my job seriously and give what I'm paid for. And I do it on my terms and on the understanding that if the employer doesn't like them then they only have to say so and it's exit stage right for me. To be given a job is a privilege to me; to have me working for you is likewise. We have to be worthy of each other.

[Avatar]

Perfectly legitimate approach to my mind.

To an extent, I do the same, at least in the sense that in general, my work ends when my hours do.

However, being a so-called "professional" I do feel it incumbent on me to be available for crisis situations. Luckily, such situations are rarely (if ever) ones which require a physical presence. Usually I can manage with phone and computer from home.

--A

[peter]

Would that such were the case in my place of work Av - alas tills can't be manned and customers served over the phone. But in fairness, the only crisis can be precipitated or at least not resolved because I don't choose to do 'fire-brigade' shifts is that the tills stop opening and the money flow stalls. I've made clear that my labor is for sale in these circumstances, but costs more. It comes at the double-bubble..... minimum.... depending on how much it screws with my plans. I'm indifferent as to my employers opinion of this - the offer is there if they choose to accept it and let's face it, they also could turn out on a Saturday night to keep their own business open, but choose not to.

[Skyweir]

I hundred percent respect your work ethic and your dedication to it.

You are a wonderful human that any employer would be fortunate to have. I have worked with people more concerned about not working, skiving and being granted promotion for no other reason than their presence. Plus you .. Id imagine bring a wealth of emotional intelligence and nowse that is soooooo hard to find in my experience.

I think over a beer or two we could swap some curly tales

[peter]

That we could Sky - that we could!

[StevieG]

As an employee of a large company (in the past), I can totally get on board with what you're saying Peter. Although my line of work would align more closely with Av's - well, loosely anyway.

As an employer of a small business (now), I'd say around 70% of our workforce has that attitude, and it's fine as far as it goes. However, I tend to favour those who show more commitment and interest in our company's overall success - those who will see a possible opportunity and follow it up etc. There are around 19 of us, and those 3 or 4 that go the extra mile, so to speak, will see the benefits.

As far as respect, we have had one employee recently leave, first one in nearly 9 years of business. I believe strongly that this is because employees feel comfortable with management, and there is mutual respect. A natural hierarchy develops simply because we pay their wages, but apart from that, I feel comfortable socialising with people in the company.

The absolute challenge as a business owner is to strike the balance between happy employees, productive employees and profit for the business. It hurts my head almost every day

[Skyweir]

Commiserations StevieG its a tuff balance to strike.

Its admirable that you reward additional commitment .. and thats appropriate. In private industry I think there may be a lot more of that .. but from my perspective only .. in public service you dont see that so much.

Plus you have your quiet achievers, who go the extra mile reliably and dont blow their own trumpets .. then you have posters who take credit for others achievements and are brilliant self promoters and often get the rewards .. that in a truly merit based assessment, they probably wouldnt.

But there are myriad different ways things can work out.

I was a big fan of our young grads .. and always put my hand up to ensure we had at least one on the team. Not for their academic expertise particularly.. but knowing they could write was a biggy .. but they tended to be enthusiastic and energetic. Particularly the slightly older ones were my faves.

But I was fortunate enough to have some beaut straight from Uni young ones.

But jeez Ive worked with some surprisingly incompetent humans. And again emotional intelligence, the attribute that cant be overstated imo. Sooo many humans have no sense of nowse whatsoever.

But it is indeed for the most part a bit of a lottery.

Glad you got you some keepers.

[peter]

As an employee of a large company (in the past), I can totally get on board with what you're saying Peter. Although my line of work would align more closely with Av's - well, loosely anyway.

As an employer of a small business (now), I'd say around 70% of our workforce has that attitude, and it's fine as far as it goes. However, I tend to favour those who show more commitment and interest in our company's overall success - those who will see a possible opportunity and follow it up etc. There are around 19 of us, and those 3 or 4 that go the extra mile, so to speak, will see the benefits.

As far as respect, we have had one employee recently leave, first one in nearly 9 years of business. I believe strongly that this is because employees feel comfortable with management, and there is mutual respect. A natural hierarchy develops simply because we pay their wages, but apart from that, I feel comfortable socialising with people in the company.

The absolute challenge as a business owner is to strike the balance between happy employees, productive employees and profit for the business. It hurts my head almost every day

I have gone in the opposite direction StevieG, from employer of a small number of people to working for another company, and while 'a boss' followed exactly your path. It is to my pride that those people whom we employed ten plus years ago still drop in to see me to this day, to catch up and see how I am. It was while doing this that I learned my approach to management. If a girl left the workplace fifteen minutes beyond her finishing time I acknowledged it, every time. And not just by word but by action. By saying as she left that she could come in late the following day or by tallying it to add extra hours to her wages. It was my responsibility to make sure they got their holiday, not theirs to take it. By always being the one to be first at the scene of the nasty jobs - clean the toilet in your own workplace before you ask someone else to do it as an example. Too many employers who like to see the staff go the extra mile simply use it as a means of getting labour for nothing ( no allusion to present company intended). Staff labour is a commodity; pay for it and it will always be willingly given. When you phone and ask for emergency cover at short notice, pay for the service at it's higher value and the cover you need will always be there. This is how to show respect. Labour is a material thing; gratitude, for it to be meaningful, must be as well.

One of the problems with the 'go the extra mile' idea is the difficulty of establishing were that extra mile ends. Very often the employers idea of going the extra mile is vastly different to that of the employees. At worst it morphs into an expectation of additional service for no extra remuneration and then there is disharmony when suddenly it is curtailed. My way, inflexible as it might seem, leaves no room for misunderstanding. If I ask for your Saturday night, you will find me there sacrificing mine as well and I will recognise by remuneration that your Saturday night at short notice is worth more than your rota'd Monday morning. And then I will still view your presence there as going the extra mile and will have demonstrated it in a tangible and quantifiable way at the time.

As an employee my idea of fulfilling my side of the arrangement is (contrary to the behaviour I see all around me) giving one hundred percent of what I have contracted to give of my labour, in terms of honesty, industry, integrity, attendance and timekeeping - but all within the time and the limits of my remuneration. Is this going the extra mile? Perhaps not, but my steady regularity will keep a business going, where odd spurts of going the extra mile interposed with unreliability in the aspects I mention above is what causes the bulk of problems in a business in the first place.

[Skyweir]

Absolutely right Pete. Sounds to me that your were a good, fair and reasonable boss. Few in management throw their weight behind mucking out the bathrooms .. so good for you.

Its actually the strictness of your work ethic that I find admirable, as a matter of fact. Given its very reasonable posture.

Ive always worked above and beyond what was required of me. It was generally acknowledged.. and most generously in my retirement package and the consideration I was shown. Not all who put in the hard yards were equally awarded sadly. And Im not part of the self promotion generation.

Self promotion is a valuable skill to have .. I just never truly fully mastered it. Nevertheless I worked for bosses who were bloody brilliant and for some that were shocking at management.. requiring upward management. Real dicks if Im honest .. but I saw how they abused and mistreated other staff. People didnt try shit on with me because Im too outspoken .. and rank aside, if you are a dick we will have problems. We can choose to take it on the chin and move on, and in the majority of cases that works, or sort it somehow IF there exists a willingness.

Or less favourably .. Ill work around you. Respectfully .. but nevertheless find a workable work around.

Yes in a hierarchical workplace, that can cause occasional discomfort but a little seniority helps .. and if its necessary to getting the job done ... well you do what must be done.

Geez when I joined the ACC I worked for a well established jerk, who no one would work with. Lucky me One day in the elevator the Commish was griping about this jerk .. and called him a complete wanker. We had this moment .. looked at each other and then lolled sooo hard, we could hardly walk straight, nor see straight. I guess it dawned on him, that I had the great fortune of working with the wanker

But yeah he was ... and that first year was hard. What was majorly fucked up was he had zero on the road training or experience. So hed say stupid shit all the time.

I didnt get the job in the first round actually.. they gave the role to some dude. He quit the day he started .. he lasted literally an hour and a half .. went to Parliament House with this jerk and on the way back asked to be dropped off at the bus interchange telling him he wouldnt be staying. Before that they had a guy who lasted 6 months and before that 3 months. This guy was going through staff at an unprecedented rate and was a micromanager.

He had BIG tickets on himself .. whether he was delusional, or not .. who knows .. but they were hard yards.

He ultimately left .. which was great. The other thing in public service is its hard to get rid of people. You can but its really hard.

But yeah good management isnt always that frequent and when it is .. yes staff will very much rally for them.

Treat people like shit, and thats a sure fire way to achieving high staff turnover. Like you Pete, I retain friendships with most of my colleagues and teams to this very day. And that is a source of great satisfaction.

[StevieG]

There are massive differences in Government, private, and other arrangement of business. And yes, I acknowledge that employees/employers have vastly different approaches to management/arrangements.

In a government situation (in Australia at least) you would be an exemplary employee if you played your cards right. As an employee of my business, I would bet very strongly that you would feel the excitement and motivation to improve the company's profile. If that didn't happen (ie. you didn't share my passion) then your time may be limited.

But it's so related to circumstance, that every case must be treated individually.

[Skyweir]

Definitely a case by case individual thing. People come to a job with training and skills their pieces of paper say they acquired.. sometimes they work out great .. other times not so much.

Im sure if I worked for you StevieG, it would be impossible NOT to be affected by your enthusiasm and future aspirations for your business. My guess is that youd be a good person and decent boss to work for. I admire that you bring so much of yourself to your business. Its hard not to, I suppose ... realistically.

It was never part of my working style to hold some of myself back. That didnt always serve me well .. but for the most part it did. And is a great part of the reason I have maintained relationships with my workmates, be they above me OR below me. Also I never saw any compelling need NOT to treat all that I worked with in a similar fashion. I use the word similar as obviously you do ultimately and inevitably have to nuance your approach to suit the audience.

But thats pretty normal .. a bit of a given really

I love, love, love what I do now .. in my prestigious role of professional shit shoveler. Working with animals, caring for injured or sickly animals, looking after them in on our lovely property .. going on property stays caring for domestic pets, horses, poultry, wild birds and livestock has been brilliant. I hope I can still do this in ten and twenty years from now.

Sure as I get older it will likely not be as manageable. But Ive never been as physically strong as I am now. Well thats not entirely true. I used to be able to bench press and dead lift weights I could never do now.

And the hypotension kicks my arse more than Id like .. but Ive lost a lot of weight since doing this job. I was quite the tubbo in the last few years as a desk jockey. I much prefer being out and about. One of the things I loved about on the job roles.

Of course animal minding is not a living wage lol We could never have done what we do now BEFORE we retired from public service. So theres that