The Corporate Happiness Treadmill and the Case for Doing Less

Hmm. I had a recent example of why this is not as crazy a notion as corporates may want you to think. Guy in our team got burnt out, because he was ridden pretty hard by successive bosses, who did not understand why he is taking so long doing what he did.

He didn't quit, but he kinda broke and took some long term time off ( forget the exact legal framework ). So now the group as a whole has to recreate his processes that, while documented, did not account for constantly neglected changes imposed by other incoming timebombs ( all known and reported to management, mind ). So I spent hours in meeting yesterday trying to explain why things are thus to a new guy ( who appropriately was horrified -- and a little angry ) and his boss ( also new, just to spice things up ).

As it turns out, the guy was doing a lot, but was not good at making others notice that lack of him may make things difficult. Who knew? Well, I did. Did it help? No.

Bottom line. Be your best advocate. Don't kill yourself. None of this is real and, unless you really work as first responder, no one is going to die.

And I am saying this as a good corporate drone #9739843 not that many years ago.

Some people find hard work intrinsically rewarding and would be unhappy phoning it in, perhaps even more disgruntled, and perhaps spending the same number of hours. This is highly personal and dependent on the job.

I believe part of the message is correct though. Remember that you are an employee doing a job, and nothing more, to any corporation.

What you do under that contract is up to you.

Phoning it in at work is bad for you in the long term. That’s not balance, it’s wasted years. Either find a way you can do meaningful work at work, leave to do your own thing, or leave to find more meaningful work. Just my opinion.

Spend your time on things that matter to you, and especially with people that you like and people that you love. All we really have is our memories anyway.

> 37Signals does it too

It has been “basecamp” for a long time. Also they had a pretty big blowup where 1/3 of their employees took a walkout offer.

David went on stage last year and told people he would fire an employee who used their commit signoff process incorrectly. A process entirely designed around reducing CI costs by putting burden on the individual through increased process.

Which is to say that even companies that make a brand out of how well they treat their employees are still companies at the end of the day, and sometimes marketing and PR doesn't align with reality.

If you want to follow your dream, do that, but don't defraud others by taking money and not fulfilling your obligations. It doesn't mean you owe anyone your life but in most cases it means filling in the cracks, not letting things drop because 'it's not in your job description'. Nobody should suggest you owe them your life or unwavering loyalty. You are mowing a lawn - just make sure the grass is cut responsibly, and the home owner is something near satisfied.

Yes - there is a lot of variation in what 'obligation' means - and there are definitely questions about the nature of power in society and how surpluses are distributed, but at the end of the day, beyond very low paying work / unskilled labour, the system is fair by and large, to the extent that reality allows for that.

It's also understandable that people have a hard time finding their place in this system. Sometimes companies demand too much. Sometimes rewards are not commensurate. Sometimes we care too much. Sometimes we are compelled to care (medical services) which takes it's toll.

Some people have a natural affinity for a job, task or team, some want the burden of responsibility. Paradoxically, some don't stress about it.

And no system is ever perfect, not even close, and it will always be thus.

Let this sink in: "The Zen Buddhist way of "being" is an active, non-dual state of presence where ordinary actions—such as sitting, walking, eating, or working—are experienced directly without the barrier of ego, judgment, or conceptual overthinking". Powerful stuff.

About the 'systemic issues' - that's why you stay politically aware, and vote. That's your other 'job'.

> Today as always, men fall into two groups: slaves and free men. Whoever does not have two-thirds of his day for himself, is a slave, whatever he may be: a statesman, a businessman, an official, or a scholar.

This is not only offensive, but dehumanizing, reductive, and the co-opting of trauma in a hyperbolic way.

No one reading this is a fucking slave to their company. They may very well be in a third world country or a repressive regime; but, let’s be honest: those folks are not the intended audience here.

This is more of the, “quiet quitting trope,” rephrased in an objectively horrendous way.

> remote-first, asynchronous AND allowing you to set up your work schedule

The asynchronous part is a major distinction, I have met many companies who claim to be “remote”, but when you look closer, they are basically not. One company wanted to have a certain hours a day with cameras on.. another wanted to lock you in your house during work hours (yes, you can’t do your job say in the library), some other companies say remote within xyz country (or an indirect way by having a specific time zone), list goes on.

I would also add to that sentence: AND objective based, so whatever approach you do as long as you deliver it won’t matter.

sad you talk about work. I thought the article would talk about life in general. even worst if you were at a job where you don’t have any of those fancy things that make you “happier”.

this is the silicon valley forum :(

I’ve never had a rewarding experience going “above and beyond” at work, its the opposite honestly. If I’m working after hours or pulling teams together that should have already been, its over

I’m a software engineer so the above and beyond tasks involve trying new things out that I want to do for personal fulfillment, experience and learning. I would recommend it always being for those reasons. Don’t worry about or believe the performance goals

You can get thrown money and accolades by simply being visible, and you can synthesize visibility by helping other people even at the expense of your own tasks

I’m fulfilled by my work, I like getting paid to do things I would do anyway, but I don’t tell people about my occupation, I don’t tell people what I do for capitalism only what I do for fun. Yes, even though I’m fulfilled by the work.

I think most corporate unhappiness comes from the company’s board pressing down on the execs who in turn press down on the management (A good manager will keep you away from that bs). I have been at least two companies where the board decided to get involved in the day to day and it ends up where every decision must be approved by the board. For example, hiring a designer to design something and then the execs take the design all the way up to the board where they discuss how it should look before passing it back to the designer to change. Just fire your execs if you want to their job of running the company.