Photo Courtesy of danamionline.com
As a knowledge worker myself (and most propably many of you) I've found often pondering about the term "working hard". Luckily I noticed a tweet about the issue a while back and we had a quick but an interesting bouncing of ideas and opinions.
Also the blog of @klakhani raises valid points: to the blog!
Are Your Programmers Working Hard, Or Are They Lazy? In other words it's hard to measure knowledge workers http://t.co/V7QMRxtjck
— Karim R. Lakhani (@klakhani) December 12, 2013
@klakhani No it's not. Knowledge workers are working hard if they offer and bring to the table more than they are asked for.
— Vili Urpilainen (@vonelone) December 12, 2013
@vonelone why should knowledge do more than asked for?
— Karim R. Lakhani (@klakhani) December 12, 2013
@klakhani Because if they are doing only what they are asked for they are not using their capacity to the fullest.
— Vili Urpilainen (@vonelone) December 12, 2013
@vonelone ermmm. Then you need to revisit incentives.
— Karim R. Lakhani (@klakhani) December 12, 2013
@klakhani Of course. But that's leadership. We were talking about lazy vs. hard if I recall right. 1/2
— Vili Urpilainen (@vonelone) December 13, 2013
@klakhani If someone wants to bring more to the table than just whats required means (most of the time) that they want their company to win.
— Vili Urpilainen (@vonelone) December 13, 2013
I've thought about the different things that make you a "hard worker" as in you being an investement to the company rather than a cost.
If you're evaluating someone do note that these questions should work as a guideline more than a black and white truth by number. Answers can be either yes/no or go from "never" to "always".
1. Is an employee doing the things what he/she is paid to do?
2. Is an employee sucking energy and time from co-workers or from his or her boss?
3. Does an employee charge others with energy?
4. Does an employee raise difficult issues to the discussion even if it wouldn't be good for him or her?
5. Does an employee spread and enhance trust around his or herself?
I hope that I could dig deeper into these questions right now but not tonight. I'll try my best to get back to these tomorrow.
