Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
As a manager, I fond the following to be normal in our corporate environment:
50% of employees did the required work and did it well.
10% of employees did not meet the standards.
20% exceeded expectation.
10% far exceeded expectation.
During any downsizing or layoff the 10% that did not measure up are gone. This is also the reason no one wants to hire the first round of layoffs. Every corporation has about 8% to 10% dead weight at any given time.
It depends on the gym. OP works at a help desk. As long as he meets his metrics, he's fine. There's not an opportunity to really be a shining star in a call center.
You're making this assumption based on how people claim they work. People can say anything they want on a forum, but 9 times out of 10, their actual performance will be far different than what they tell you. After all, not many people will admit that they are underperforming or that they really just don't care. They will chalk it up to the company being against them and holding them back.
Sorry, but I've seen with my own eyes how hard workers get screwed over - and these were people who were always helping and volunteering and doing a great job. The most they got was more work. Whereas the smooth talker who knew how to schmooze with management was the one who got the money and the promotions.
Sure, there might be some companies out there who truly reward hard work, but most of them reward the person who strokes their ego the most.
No you certainly do NOT go "above and beyond" your job responsibilities and duties. It is inappropriate, unprofessional, irresponsible, infuriating to your co-workers, customers, lower and higher management, and if it becomes protracted problem, it can potentially lead to dismissal.
Going "above and beyond" ensures that you will not be taken seriously. You'll be taken advantage of by more competitive co-workers, you will aggravate your supervisors who can't understand why you can't just do the job you are supposed to do, you will confuse any client you come into contact with, you will create enemies easily, and you will lose your friends when you show them you don't have a backbone.
Keeping to your own responsibilities is just that - more responsible. And focusing on them creates better opportunity to build more stable relationships with your team and your company. Teams and departments of any industry are usually in a state of conflict, which is very common and healthy. Rejecting to help because it is outside of your remit proves that you are putting your company first and you'll quickly make allies.
So if you want to excel, do that in your current duties. Or if you feel like working for free and volunteering then help the local orphans. If you want to go above and beyond then be a pilot or an astronaut or something. But on the clock - you do YOUR job.
Honestly, it depends on your boss and company culture. Some bosses will give people raises for good work. Others will only give raises and/or better/easier work to people they know or like more. I once worked at a job where people were exspected to work during a contracted lunch hour and were never paid for it. The money was good bur I, and others, eventually got fired in favor of friends and family who needed jobs. No, I would never go above and beyond like that again. Just like at my temp job I used to help where there were openings and where I wanted to be before and after my hours and during my lunch. I didn't get those jobs. I would work at 100% of my ability and no more and no less. Another thing about giving 110% is if you're having an off day or just get tired, people will assume the extra work was how you normally work and now you're being lazy.
Sorry, but I've seen with my own eyes how hard workers get screwed over - and these were people who were always helping and volunteering and doing a great job. The most they got was more work. Whereas the smooth talker who knew how to schmooze with management was the one who got the money and the promotions.
Sure, there might be some companies out there who truly reward hard work, but most of them reward the person who strokes their ego the most.
It depends on the gym. OP works at a help desk. As long as he meets his metrics, he's fine. There's not an opportunity to really be a shining star in a call center.
Exactly! I worked at a help desk (call center environment) for three years; never got a poor review, nor a particularly good one. I did express (and often) my desire for advancement to a more-proactive capacity, but this was simply (and repeatedly) ignored.
The OP should guide himself by Alexander Pope's observation that "all our knowledge is ourselves to know". Is there a specific part of the job at which (s)he's good? -- or finds stimulating? Likewise, are there specific parts (s)he'd like to avoid? -- or at least, downplay?
When I was starting out, too many years ago, it took quite a while for me to recognize that the principal reason for my disillusionment upon finishing my education was that I was transitioning from an open environment in which I was expected to produce, to a highly structured on in which I was expected to perform (under tight micromanagement). And even more depressing was the fact that any advancement would lead me further into that pyramid.
Admittedly the OP, like most of us, is probably on the wrong (from the view of an introvert and seeker of autonomy) side of the equation. But at least if you can define the problem, you can start looking for a way around it.
You will find out in the long run that it's probably not worth it for more than short periods at a time, only so you don't look like a total tool. Like on an urgent project or something.
Wow, the way you come across I thought you were gonna say $8-$9/hr.
So in 5 years do you see yourself making $56k a year with excellent benefits? Or do you want more?
At $54k you have what most consider a career-type job. If you don't consider it interesting enough to go "above and beyond" then you will never be successful in this job. Consider changing careers now, before you're cornered with a wife, kids, and a mortgage.
Im good enough with it.
Theres just a line between taking advantage of your Employees Vs just doing enough to get by.
I mean nowadays a job is JUST a job.
Don't people want their hard work reward instead of just being taken advantage of?
Im good enough with it.
Theres just a line between taking advantage of your Employees Vs just doing enough to get by.
I mean nowadays a job is JUST a job.
Don't people want their hard work reward instead of just being taken advantage of?
I think you are being too passive. And you have an "Us vs Them" attitude which was fine when the Union would stick up for you, but nowadays in most cases you have to stick up for yourself.
You sound young. How old are you? You won't be young forever. And some day "just enough to get by" according to you may be deemed "not enough" by your employer, and then what?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
