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In Praise of Quitting Your Job, or The New Work Ethic.

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Re: In Praise of Quitting Your Job, or The New Work Ethic.

#21

Post by wccrawford »

I've been with the same company almost 5 years now. While I occasionally have times that I'm incredibly frustrated, I can deal with that because I know that I work daily to make things better. (A co-worker would laugh at this because he thinks we don't do enough better-making. He's leaving.) I've seen this company's software turn from 'oh ---- that's crazy' to 'man, this sucks' and it's continuing to get better.

While I'm making it better, I'm also adding features and pleasing the users of the software. And despite the state of the code, it ALL works. That's very important.

For me, the key to job happiness is simply to be making things better. For guys like at this article (and my co-worker), it apparently means having everything be perfect from the start. I don't know how people can live like that, since they will always be disappointed.

Re: In Praise of Quitting Your Job, or The New Work Ethic.

#22

Post by cmarv »

Why isn't this person just a consultant?

There is nothing wrong with just being a sprinter, but isn't there something to be said for being able to run the marathon?

If the spark is gone after only a few months at a company, seemingly no matter what the company, maybe the problem is within and not with the companies that you're working with?

Re: In Praise of Quitting Your Job, or The New Work Ethic.

#23

Post by cageface »

biggitybones wrote: post #2

I've been in consulting for 2 years, and switching projects is like leaving a job and starting a new one. I've gone through exactly what was described, and by 9 months it was outright defeat. I just quit that gig for a startup and couldn't be more happier with the move. This felt like reading what's deep within my subconscious.

This article struck a real chord with me too. I stayed far, far too long at my last job and it's only after finally getting bored enough to quit that I've realized how corrosive it's been to my motivation for everything.

Re: In Praise of Quitting Your Job, or The New Work Ethic.

#24

Post by boucher »

wccrawford wrote: post #21

I've been with the same company almost 5 years now. While I occasionally have times that I'm incredibly frustrated, I can deal with that because I know that I work daily to make things better. (A co-worker would laugh at this because he thinks we don't do enough better-making. He's leaving.) I've seen this company's software turn from 'oh ---- that's crazy' to 'man, this sucks' and it's continuing to get better. Whil…

The author isn't saying things need to be perfect from the start, just that he's frustrated by imperfection being introduced by people other than himself, especially when it's the result of compromise or design by committee.

The argument is inherently selfish -- I want to own everything -- but I think it's pretty natural for some people. The thing I hated most about contracting for other people was knowing that I was being hired because I'm good at designing and building apps, and still being forced to do something I knew was a bad idea because the client demanded it. I think the best contractors instinctively know how to pick clients who trust them and can be convinced by compelling arguments, and are themselves good at arguing their case in the face of opposition.

Re: In Praise of Quitting Your Job, or The New Work Ethic.

#25

Post by markstansbury »

jnovek wrote: post #11

"The longest was 12 months at [Redacted], and that was only because I wanted my options to vest. I handed them my resignation on my 366th day." This made me livid. I don't hire engineers with the intention of firing them the day before they vest, why would it be ethical to wait until the day after your cliff to quit? [EDIT] Let me clarify. This individual seems to have decided months before that they would quit the d…

I think it would only be dishonorable if the guy:

1. Was slacking off for months and just being a dead weight until he vested--and if the entire time you kept him around out of loyalty.

2. Left you high and dry at a vital moment that just happened to coincide with the vesting period.

Maybe a better idea is to rework vesting.

Re: In Praise of Quitting Your Job, or The New Work Ethic.

#26

Post by boucher »

jnovek wrote: post #11

"The longest was 12 months at [Redacted], and that was only because I wanted my options to vest. I handed them my resignation on my 366th day." This made me livid. I don't hire engineers with the intention of firing them the day before they vest, why would it be ethical to wait until the day after your cliff to quit? [EDIT] Let me clarify. This individual seems to have decided months before that they would quit the d…

There's nothing unethical about making the decision early; it would, however, be unethical to make that decision and then not continue to put in the required work while you wait for that vesting day.

Re: In Praise of Quitting Your Job, or The New Work Ethic.

#27

Post by moonpolysoft »

moonpolysoft wrote: post #13
jnovek wrote: post #11

"The longest was 12 months at [Redacted], and that was only because I wanted my options to vest. I handed them my resignation on my 366th day." This made me livid. I don't hire engineers with the intention of firing them the day before they vest, why would it be ethical to wait until the day after your cliff to quit? [EDIT] Let me clarify. This individual seems to have decided months before that they would quit the d…

Your employment agreements set up the economic incentives for working at your company. If the agreement is 1 year cliff to vest and the employee took advantage of that why would you get mad? You got a years worth of work out of that person and in exchange that person got his/her stock. Sounds like a fair deal to me. On the other hand, firing an engineer right before he/she vests is unethical because you are getting a…

Responding to the grandparent's edit.

I disagree with your premise that a vesting cliff exists as a "getting to know you" period. It is a guarantee of a minimum investment of time for a given amount of equity. The person put in the required time and now wants to do something else. This is not dishonorable in the least.

You seem to be confusing personal relationships with business relationships. This might explain why you see quitting as a sort of betrayal.

Re: In Praise of Quitting Your Job, or The New Work Ethic.

#28

Post by Tamerlin »

jnovek wrote: post #11

"The longest was 12 months at [Redacted], and that was only because I wanted my options to vest. I handed them my resignation on my 366th day." This made me livid. I don't hire engineers with the intention of firing them the day before they vest, why would it be ethical to wait until the day after your cliff to quit? [EDIT] Let me clarify. This individual seems to have decided months before that they would quit the d…

If the employer can't find a way to offer any incentive other than money to earn an employee's loyalty, then they're going to lose talent that way. The vesting cliff isn't a probationary period, it's deferred compensation. Leaving after vesting isn't any less ethical than having a vesting cliff in the first place.

A better question is, if good workers leave after they hit the vesting cliff, what's wrong with the company?

Based on my experience, I'd say that this is endemic to the ass-in-seat... I mean, IT industry.

Re: In Praise of Quitting Your Job, or The New Work Ethic.

#29

Post by markstansbury »

I can sympathize. I've been at plenty of jobs where my ideas were uniformly ignored--not rejected, or outvoted: ignored. That's deflating. It makes work not just menial but downright demoralizing. And it causes the employee to stop thinking and stop trying, which is bad for everyone.

Now I wanna go watch Office Space.

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