Dear original post author, you really need to start doing something that you enjoy or that motivates you. You can also try to structure your life in a way that allows you to not work when you don't feel like you can or will be efficient. This is one of the very reason I'm freelancing: I work when I want/can, and do not pretend the rest of the time. But when I'm working, I'm trying to stay as close as possible to 100%. I charge a premium rate for those very focused session, and do not pretend the rest of the time. There are times when I work a lot, a d times when I don't accept new projects because I need time off (usually 4 months a year)
I'm really wondering how healthy is, psychologically, all this pretending.
Anyway, I don't think you're alone in your situation but I don't think it's a good thing either
>Dear original post author, you really need to start doing something that you enjoy or that motivates you. You can also try to structure your life in a way that allows you to not work when you don't feel like you can or will be efficient.
May I ask why? The OP doesn't suggest anywhere they are unhappy. Presumably, they have a very good work-life balance, seemingly leaning toward the 'life' side of the equation. They presumably have a lot of time to themselves, to enjoy as they see fit. Furthermore, they say that their performance reviews range from good, to great. So if all the above is true, both parties seem to be happy with the arrangement.
I am in a similar position, and I think it boils down to not relying on my work for personal satisfaction or happiness. I work to live, not live to work. I provide a good service to my employer, and I believe my value is in my overall output, not overall input. When I am needed, I work hard enough to achieve the end goal. Otherwise, I work enough to satisfy my employer, regardless of how long that takes. My relationship with my employer is transactional, and I see no moral obligation to work beyond what is absolutely necessary - providing I do enough to satisfy my employer.
I do however understand the mindset of someone who is motivated and driven by work and their career. If that's what floats your boat, more power to you. That's not everyone though, and as long as the person is still providing enough value to someone that their salary is still a worthwhile investment - hey ho!
Screw this advice. The world is filled with and is highly tolerant of mediocrity. Do your best and collect the biggest paycheck that you can. Not everyone gets to have their dream job.
With "maybe you'd like to consider searching for something ..."
And it's good advice? Everything doesn't need to be taken literally :-)
9-5 just isn't for me but it seems like you found a way around that with freelancing. I would love to do the same. Can you please shed some light on how you got started with it and how you built you client base?
I have always admired those that get to work in their own time as you do, it would be a dream to do the same.
I felt the same way. One of the weird things about the Internet is that it, as Randall Munroe wrote recently, "makes us see messages from awful people and assume they come from normal peers." That isn't to suggest that people who share OP's views are awful -- just that these comments could come from any world view, income level, religion, mood, and state of intoxication.
Working 5 to 10 hours a week seems very low to me, though as a lead or as a coworker I would judge OP by the impact, not by the time spent behind the computer. But I doubt anyone can have serious impact in such time.
I had the chance to work with a brilliant coworker who preferred to slack off - and have passed on recommending him for this very reason.
World is a big place and there are many ways to go through life, so I'm not judging - but if you're asking if this is common, then the answer is "no, not at the places where I worked, and not how I work".
Of course you would have to pay/promise me fortune to get more than 40hr weeks from me, but I'm not hiding that. :-)
But, five to ten a week?, get a different job that you like. I have worked in situations where there wasn't really enough to do. My response, write something else. If I was 100% retired I would work more than five or ten hours a week.
And I think, karawebnetwork, that you are right to inquire amount mental health. Having that little energy and motivation is not a good thing.
It was pretty frustrating and de-moralizing as it felt like they weren't pulling their weight. Among teams there is a social contract, it's not all just between an employee and the company, it also impacts your coworkers.
So I don't think it's unethical to work less as long as your employer is still happy with what you do. Sure, lying is always suboptimal. But if your company likes your output and would just be confused by the hours needed to achieve, I don't see a big problem with it. You could even argue that working full time and producing 8x as much could bring coworkers in trouble who already can barely match OPs output. And they will exist, he wouldn't have gotten to the point where he is if he constantly was the worst performer.
Then tell the truth and deal with the consequences.
If talking with much less technical people
But not if talking with a brighter and more experienced person
>> tell the truth
> Why? Perception is reality in engineering
There's also the saying that goes "pick your battles". -- Compared to other things in life, how important is it that the managers know that in fact you work only so and so much?
There is no amount of "smartness" that will allow you to tell the difference... they will flatter you, shadow you, mimic you, and hide behind esoteric jargon. And chances are, you will be none the wiser.
I've met one or more such people already (no harm was caused, but thereafter I started paying even less attention to clothes and voice and self confidence etc). Good to get to hear your perspective.
Please note that I included the words "more experienced" -- meaning, you would be more experienced, know more than them, about the things they were talking about. Any esoteric jargon -- you'd know all of it.
But you had in mind areas where one isn't experienced oneself, and then I think you're right. It's a different thing than what I was trying to write about though
> Engineering is a charlatan's paradise
Aha, you meant that the engineers could be fooled by business/sales/law people. Then I better understand what you wrote. (First I interpreted that text, the other way around)
I've never heard of any colleagues doing it either. I would never snitch if it happened, but I would certainly consider that person untrustworthy or think that they have an undisclosed condition that is between them and HR.
As you covered in your post, we don't write code 8 hours a day. This is normal. Meetings, context switch and times when focus is unachievable are expected and mostly understood by my experienced management. So are times when we are monitoring technology advancement and keeping an eye on the industry and community (e.g. lurking at HN but not overly posting and commenting) and times of social activity between workers (e.g. talking about the weekend).
Most of us take mental health breaks between meetings and need to take time to think through issues. Many also need to periodically break focus to think about personal life issues or hobbies. As long as you generally strive to work, this is not a problem either.
But walking into a stand-up and then lying about your day? To me, that's unethical.
The real question to me is:
Do you do that on purpose or is this something that happens even if you are trying to focus? There are many conditions, from stress and anxiety to diagnosed mental health issues that can prevent you from focusing. Burn-outs and bore-outs also come to mind.
In my eyes, the fact that you asked the community about it shows that you have some form of concern towards that behavior. Would you say it is negatively impacting your life?