The Economics of Working Faster than Others

Venturion said:   I have faced this problem for years. The only practical way I have found it is to turn projects in near the time when they are expected. I fill the void with FWF and other money making and educational endeavors. It's very much like office space in that I probably do 9-15 hours of real work in a given week, which is equivalent output of colleagues putting in more time. How much more time colleagues put in is hard to say. I'm not convinced I'm exceedingly more productive than them - perhaps many of them are doing the same thing. FYI I have worked white collar jobs since graduation in case that matters.

Sounds familiar

As the saying goes, 'Work smart, not hard'.

Horseymen said:   I appreciate the candor of the answers, and I'm honestly a little shocked at them. Most people agree that work is an obstacle course - and you do what you need to do to navigate through it.

When I say shocked - not shocked/appalled - but shocked that so many people were honest about their work conditions - and how many of them are really a model of inefficiency.

Anyone who's ever worked for a company realizes that most companies are the well oiled efficient machines people want to believe they are.

Read the first half of posts , but... My favorite saying while working is mediocrity, though really not part of my intestinal fortitude.

outtawhack said:   The smartest guy in my part of my company, who is perceived as (rightly) a Bugatti Veyron compared to everyone else, who has saved more projects and generated more revenue for the company by pleasing customers, who spends most of his time traveling, who responds to every email within hours, still has time to write software algos for trading, and to trade in excess of 500 times each work day.

I don't think he could be much smarter, hardworking, or effective. But he still has time for a large commitment to daytrading.

So what are you saying...? You didn't make a point.

outtawhack said:    Technology has enabled everyone to be very productive and have time for other pursuits, if they're interested.

A Plentitude Economy - see 5 min video at bottom of page

What is the value of labor? As we learn to work more efficiently and be more productive in our jobs, are we worth more? Logically, you would think. But collectively, due to productivity gains, the human species need fewer man hours to provide for its survival. So it is highly likely those fortunate to have a job will be paid more, but the rest will be left without. And at 100% productivity gains we will all be without jobs (read this on George Ure's site and I think he's right. Individually we need to find a talent or skill not honed by technology to avoid being deplaced.) Just some random thoughts....but please view the video. I think it offers a solution to this conundrum of what do we do with all the soon to be unneeded human labor on this planet. The answer...I hope is not to work more and consume more (growth and spend). We seriously need to job share and use our time for other pursuits as outtawhack said.

Just an afterthought....but if we ever pursue this path seriously....be prepared for a cataclysmic waterfall event as all the derivatives are triggered. The present economic model needs exponential growth just to keep it from total destruction. It is a mystery to me how we can get this kind of growth with technology destroying jobs. The man on the street needs a new economic model... not like the present one built on growth and prosperity for only a few. Maybe this is what Occupy Wall St is all about.

Lately, I've been fixated with "simple living" (DIY) models. In a way, it is like going back to the hunters and gatherers age. But it is an alternative if you feel your survival is threatened by the present pigeon holed economy we have today. Just google "simple living" and there are tons of blogs that are a pleasure to read. In my spare time, I'm reading and thinking about how I could adapt our lifestyle to more DIY.

tooshy said:   outtawhack said:    Technology has enabled everyone to be very productive and have time for other pursuits, if they're interested.

A Plentitude Economy - see 5 min video at bottom of page

What is the value of labor? As we learn to work more efficiently and be more productive in our jobs, are we worth more? Logically, you would think. But collectively, due to productivity gains, the human species need fewer man hours to provide for its survival. So it is highly likely those fortunate to have a job will be paid more, but the rest will be left without. And at 100% productivity gains we will all be without jobs (read this on George Ure's site and I think he's right. Individually we need to find a talent or skill not honed by technology to avoid being deplaced.) Just some random thoughts....but please view the video. I think it offers a solution to this conundrum of what do we do with all the soon to be unneeded human labor on this planet. The answer...I hope is not to work more and consume more (growth and spend). We seriously need to job share and use our time for other pursuits as outtawhack said.

Just an afterthought....but if we ever pursue this path seriously....be prepared for a cataclysmic waterfall event as all the derivatives are triggered. The present economic model needs exponential growth just to keep it from total destruction. It is a mystery to me how we can get this kind of growth with technology destroying jobs. The man on the street needs a new economic model... not like the present one built on growth and prosperity for only a few. Maybe this is what Occupy Wall St is all about.

Lately, I've been fixated with "simple living" (DIY) models. In a way, it is like going back to the hunters and gatherers age. But it is an alternative if you feel your survival is threatened by the present pigeon holed economy we have today. Just google "simple living" and there are tons of blogs that are a pleasure to read. In my spare time, I'm reading and thinking about how I could adapt our lifestyle to more DIY.This is where entrepreneurs step in and create new demand for new products like website where you waste hours looking at others' lives. It's not required for our survival but is one of the most valuable products right now.

aleck said:   BTW, if you are a programmer and your boss measures your productivity by lines of code, look for another job.

A lot of the time that's very true, however, I just turned a coworker's ~100LOC script into one sed command (it was actually a task I did for myself then realized they did the same earlier, in another way). Does that mean his code is bad? No ... it worked perfectly fine -- but it does mean that it's not optimal, so makes me question the efficiency of the other stuff that was written.

Umm, without lawyers and courts we'd be ducking it out with fists or weapons over grievances.

Its a great idea to be mediocre if you work for the government or a union.

If you are a teacher and you find you have extra time it is almost a requirement to spend any extra time to create some sort of ” victim” status and complain about how hard your job is, how much you work, and how bad your students are. If there is any extra time spouse bashing can also prove a futile waste if time.

Mediocrity= where the minimum becomes the maximum.

If you can do more and want to.... go into business for yourself, bill per job, or if those don't fit do 5-10% more work so you slightly exceed expectations.

When I had a union job I was pulled aside and told to slow down. The called it ” milking the cow”. I milked like everyone else. I noticed I started to feel entitled and worked slower and slower until I was average. I did not like my job anymore.

I work for myself and work hard long hours, and doing well, revenues increase 50% each year for past 3 years. Not everyone wants that responsibility or the headache of self employment. There has been lots of good comments in this thread.

jkimcpa said:   tooshy said:   jkimcpa said:   This is where entrepreneurs step in and create new demand for new products like website where you waste hours looking at others' lives. It's not required for our survival but is one of the most valuable products right now.

I was thinking the same thing when I heard of "everywhere TV"...like we don't need more entertainment everywhere we go and 24/7. This is a dumbing down of humanity. We'll be destroyed as a human race IMHO. Sure we live in an interesting age. But the tradeoff is that we are slowly losing our survival instincts and self reliance. Too much will be done for us, making us dumber than robots. Soon we'll be less valuable than machines.

I'm protesting by way of requiring less from the system. Instead of buying into everything new on the market, going into debt to afford more conveniences, I think a better way is to get down to basics, consume and need less, and invest the balance of our free time in a "plentitude economy". Lots of nice inventions will probably be the result of everyone living this way. We don't need half the lawyers in this kind of world.If you look closely around now and compare to human history, 95% of our lives consist of plenitudes. In a few hundred years society will look like it's depicted in South Park Go God Go episodes. That's if we're not destroyed by an asteroid, solar flare, [insert other cosmic force out of our control that destroys all life every now and then].

You're right, we do have more "free" time than ever before...but there in lies the clincher and the video's push to why we need to SHARE paid work and spend the balance of our unpaid time doing noncommercial life enriching work, including going backwards in time to learn some basic survival skills IMHO. Are we doing that today? It seems we are scrambling and fighting to secure our tiny share of a smaller pie. That's why I am continually disappointed with the political leadership. When are we going to address this fate rather than suggest that we pit ourselves one against the other. There is not going to be enough work for all...ironic that this thread asks how do we get paid more for our work if we can do it faster. Answer....you are working to zero.

I've always encountered this. What I do is to do what I can do every hour even if I have exceeded the minimum set by the employer. Even if I can do more than average people can. Then for the rest of the hour I'll just rest and do something else.

Start your own company where you don't bill by the hour, but for the task. The more tasks that you complete, the higher your pay. Or, continue to work for someone else and seek promotion (i.e. become your peers supervisor and Coach them on improving their metrics).

zatires said:   Do the things you are expected to do and complete them when you are expected to complete. Getting things done earlier will not get you far in the corporate world. The key rule for corporate world is "If you are very good at what you do, you will not be promoted easily, because it will be hard to replace you".

So, so true. They just give you more and more responsibilities until you're impossible to promote because you're 'mission critical.'

If you get paid by the hour the amount of work you do doesnt matter one bit. You are paid to fill a cubicle (human sheep pen), thats it, and if you finish your work early theyll either pile more busy work on top of you or note that you dont finish assignments in a timely manner and it counts AGAINST you. Seriously its all about who you know not how hard you work, and maybe its always been that way. I also have to refer to office space because its just so dam true. As long as you do just enough work to not get fired and have friends in high places your career is all set. Look at George W Bush! Haha perfect example...

This thread perfectly demonstrates the dichotomy between idealistic, brain-washed worker bees and those who realize it's only bullshit, politics and nepotism that really matters in the corporate environment. Congrats to those (like me) who don't have a boss' ass to kiss.