Re:Modern workers are at the mercy of ratings
by VRay on Saturday February 08, 2020 @02:14AM
(#22274458)
It's all well and good until you get judged by a bunch of completely borked-up, unfair metrics. The computer sets you to running halfway across a gigantic warehouse again and again, then measures your "picks per hour" vs somebody who consistently ends up in a tiny corner of the warehouse. Your manager agrees that it's not a problem and tells you not to worry, then a few months down the line some algorithm decides to give your lucky coworker a big raise and you don't get a boost at all.
Thankfully I haven't had to deal with any metrics like this for more than a couple of months at a time.. Since engineers' specialty is to optimize ratings, it's an obvious-enough waste of time to apply them that they're usually short-lived.
The way I perceive work is very helpful in this regard. To me, the purpose of work is to maximize my income/lifestyle while not dipping below a lower bound threshold of misery. I don't seek personal or emotional fulfillment from work at all. I did that when I was younger and, for me, it was a bad way to approach life. This way I'm much happier and my focus/attention is more on the kinds of things I hope will wind up in my obit: family, relationships, charity, etc.
I wonder if sales people ever write articles about how they're at the "mercy" of their sales metrics. The idea of it seems hilarious.