Yes, its never actually about actual effort. Rewards are handed out based on outcomes, interpersonal skills and PERCEIVED effort.
I think perceived effort can be a positive or a negative. When you are starting you want to make it clear you are a hard worker. After that, no one cares and its better to look like you can easily handle what you are doing. No one promotes the person who is working really hard at the level below.
Well it's a goldilocks situation isn't it? No one promotes the person below who appears to be effortlessly coasting either.
Didn't know other economic systems beat the fundamental nature of physics and reality where infinite isn't simply a concept. Are you sure you're considering a "charade" in the right direction?
That’s strange, because capitalism is the one that thinks infinity is real. Also it’s trying to break nature, quite literally given the state of our climate. There are other ways to cooperate that don’t depend on sociopathy and infighting.
> That’s strange, because capitalism is the one that thinks infinity is real.
Your rhetoric doesn't pass. You contradict yourself in a single turn. Can't cite "scarcity" and "infinity" powers this fictional economic system you thought of as "capitalism".
"Just look at lots of the recent tech layoffs that have snared well-respected, senior technologists. Apparently they were "valued", until they weren't" You are actually agreeing with the author here. Rephrase that to "Apparently they were useful, until they weren't" They weren't valued. I think the author is apt in their observation.
I'll clarify, because, at least in my read of it, I am saying something very different than the author. I was using "valued" in scare quotes that sentence you quoted - yes, I agree, the literal meaning of what I was saying is that they were useful until they weren't. But, thus, I think it's important to understand that, at least from a business perspective, they were never "valued", and so I don't think it's helpful…
There's a distinction the author was making. If we ignore the words used "useful" and "valuable", can you see the distinction in the way a company may view people? I'm not sure you even think beyond "useful" and "even more useful". I'm not sure you see it as more than a difference in degree, when the author is claiming it's a difference in kind.
I’m not sure “useful” or “valued” really captures how things work at most jobs. In my experience, whether you get promoted or paid well has more to do with things like:
how much money you help the company make
whether your role is hard to replace
and honestly, how well you get along with others
But there's another layer too. The people who really stand out often:
think ahead of their manager and get things done before being asked
know how to make the right call in stressful moments
and are just genuinely good to work with
That last one is underrated. In a crisis, the person everyone quietly turns to that's usually the real MVP, no matter their title.
Playing office politics right is the most important thing at work. Doing real work is secondary. On other hand as a workhorse I punch occasionally every management’s darling in the face. They don‘t like me, but they know, that somebody must do technical heavy lifting. Of course, I am number one in the layoff’s list :-)
I understand the negative perception around the importance of playing "office politics", but realistically when people are working as a team it's important people can be cooperative, and office politics is mostly just the exercise of being a cooperative member of the team. 99% of the time people are not getting promoted or retained simply because they're more friendly with people at the top, but because they're broad…
Toxic people and environments are not uncommon. It sounds like you’ve not experienced that too much, which is good. But there are sociopaths, liars, ladder climbers, manipulators, narcissists, and lots of other imperfect people who care more about their own title and compensation than the product or coworker harmony. As an autistic person, you might invest in learning how to spot such people to protect yourself.
I have always been useful not valued, worked at 8 or more places. Only people who value me are family. Businesses don't. You find out pretty quick: suddenly on PIP, or get bullied thereafter because you phrased something slightly off in a Jira comment. If I can get paid and treated OK, I see that as good. Don't put stock in business relationships. Try to have good ones but put stock in ... assets, family, health, etc…
If you ever own a company, you'll find this concept flipped upside down.
I guess the point is that the ~slaves~ paid laborers that built the pyramids were "useful", but the people that told them what shape to build were "valued"? Tools are useful but ultimately can be thrown in the trash. Valuable things must be preserved and treated with respect. Strategic thinkers and VCs are treasured, but workers and ICs are dispensable. This is just a lot of words to imply a moral hierarchy around so…
> I guess the point is that the slaves that built the pyramids were "useful" just to nitpick - the consensus among historians now is that the pyramids were built by paid laborers, not slaves
I feel like "useful" and "valued" are very poor terms for the situations described in the article. I think a much better explanation is that just because you may excel in one role (and be recognized as such) does not necessarily mean you'll excel in another role. And heck, I think it's important to recognize these qualities and limitations in yourself . Calling this being "useful" or "valued" puts an emotional/moral…
I actually don't agree, but I'm open to being convinced otherwise. I posit that there's an employer expectation that every employee will be "useful", but utility is a fungible characteristic and the majority of managers and employers treat job descriptions of standardized roles just like that. Employees in those roles are susceptible to both replacement and career advancement, depending how "useful" they are, and how…
> Lots of fresh grads and junior staff focus 99% on being useful, but career advancement beyond the first one or two promotions depends MUCH more on being valued.
“People don’t remember who went to grab drinks on a Tuesday, but they’ll remember who helped them close a million dollar deal and get a huge bonus”
Give your coworkers superpowers and opportunities will flow.