How important is it to be a hard worker?

H

hypochondriac

Senior Member
Location
Australia
I go through periods of being very conscientious at work. Then I think to myself , "there is more to life than hard work". Maybe at work it is more important to have healthy relations with people. Not gossip for instance. Be more a political animal. ( sorry animal is perhaps a bad word)
But to focus on just pleasing your boss and getting a good performance review? Im not sure that is wise.
Ive always been better at focussing on the task than maintaining good relations. Im not a good team player unfort.
Still I discovered Im not totally useless either.
 

I was with a small factory for the last 30 years of my career

A hard worker is good

If

They don’t disrupt the flow of production

This is where team playing is involved

Not in sucking up or any useless conversation, for that matter

Just keeping with the flow

Not too slow

Not too fast

All day

Punch out

Go home

Do it again tomorrow
 
Gary O' said:
I was with a small factory for the last 30 years of my career

A hard worker is good

If

They don’t disrupt the flow of production

This is where team playing is involved

Not in sucking up or any useless conversation, for that matter

Just keeping with the flow

Not too slow

Not too fast

All day

Punch out

Go home

Do it again tomorrow
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im gradually getting used to your unique posting style Gary.
you seem to think in short sharp sentences. thats not a criticism by the way.
 

Hard work is great but not as important as being dependable and available when needed.

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Yes, hard work is important and so is dependability. I would hope everyone already knows that.

However, throughout my working years I saw many hard workers get passed over in favor of people who kissed the right butts. Manipulative BS artists often reaped the benefits of hard working dependable people.

Also, appearance often played a role. An attractive person who knows how to play office politics can often go a long way without working all that hard.

Just saying many factors come into play.
 
hypochondriac said:
Im reliable and almost never call in sick. But if she wants me to work an extra shift, sorry. Im too tired.
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The cause of extra shifts is usually piss poor planning

Or

Unreliable staff

Dependable staff is what planners/schedulers thrive on

And why marketing folks are able to sleep

Sometimes it can be a sharp upswing in demand, but rarely a cause for immediate ramp up



It could also be that shortages of materials have been filled…but good procurement folks should already have known



Stick to yer guns

If they’re worth their salt, they’ll figure it out…it’s why they get paid
 
I have discovered at my company, and probably most other companies out there, that hard work means nothing. Being a good suck-up artist and being good at making people think what you want them to are the behaviors that will enable you go far. I have always been a hard worker, making sure I do a professional job and going the extra mile to ensure a job well done. It has gotten me nowhere. You have to be able to promote yourself, all that hard work you do to the higher-ups. Unfortunately, I have never been very good at that.

Outside of the corporate world, I think hard work means more. I own a few rental houses and hard work has paid off. We are in good shape with these but you have to be right on top of potential situations. Anticipate potential problems and head them off before they develop, if you can.
 
Uptosnuff said:
Outside of the corporate world, I think hard work means more. I own a few rental houses and hard work has paid off. We are in good shape with these but you have to be right on top of potential situations. Anticipate potential problems and head them off before they develop, if you can
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absolutely

'Anticipate potential problems and head them off before they develop, if you can'
The corporate world (middle and upper management) must do these things...it's basic
 
Some who are a hard worker may be workaholics but I don't think it's important to be one of those. Getting the job done correctly is what I've always done.
 
I was brought up in the "protestant work ethic" tradition where doing a good job was supposed to be reward in itself. Utter BS! Like others have said, too many people get places by sing their own praises and taking the credit for other people's work. I tried be dependable and to do a good job, but I also made sure that I got what credit was due to me.
 
There is lot to be said for people who work hard just for the sake of integrity. Not expecting praise from anyone. Not crazy over the top hard. Just careful and with pride.
Ive always admired such people. There is always at least one person like that in the workplace.
 
I was once working with a woman on a nightshift caring role. One of our tasks was cleaning.
She said:
"dont bother doing a good job. You will never get any praise or recognition from Virgil." ( our boss)
If we are only motivated by praise we will soon lose all motivation.
 
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