Never Measure Performance by the Number Hours WorkedFriday, August 25, 2006The water cooler conversations are always interesting. Take my advice; never put too much stock in the wisdom spewed out over a lukewarm cone of water. This is where the blowhards gather to pontificate. "I worked 120 hours last week, how about you? "Well, this week was a little slow, only put in 80 hours. But next week is going to be a bear. I have the cot set up in my office." "Heck my wife never sees me anymore, just too busy." "You still have a wife?" Hello? I have had employees who could have worked 20 hours a week and accomplished more than the bozo who gloats about working 100 hours. Think about it. If you work 100 hours a week, you have no life. Work, sleep (5 hours if you are lucky), work, sleep, work sleep... Even though there have been studies confirming that productivity has no real direct correlation to number of hours worked, we live in a corporate culture where there is a mysterious, but very real expectation that a 40 hour week for an exempt employee is unacceptable. How many management meetings have I endured where the well-meaning leader says "I know how many hours we work every day and I know you all are making it happen.." "That is what makes us great!" (blah, blah, blah) I sat in a meeting years ago where my boss told everyone, including my staff that there was an unspoken understanding that everyone was expected to put in at least 46 hours. Why 46 hours and not 47 remains a mystery. After the meeting I told him that he could not legally say that. I got the lecture that I didn't understand how the company worked. I guess I didn't. I have been guilty of putting worth in the number of hours worked. I boasted 80-100 hours a week at a minimum. The reason I put value in the number of hours worked was because I saw management respond positively to it. Years later, we are still believing the same claptrap. I remember being in a meeting about performance where I unabashedly shared my very strong opinion on the subject. This is something I am passionate about. I lived the lie for many years and I have the scars to prove it. As I listened to the conversation I realized that there was a subtle message defending the correlation between a great performer and the number of hours worked. I knew I wasn't going to be able to stop what I was about to say. Actually I make no apologies for it. I am right. In a lull in the conversation, I calmly stated, "You can never judge performance based on the number of hours worked." There was immediate agreement by many of the other managers. I saw heads nodding affirmably. I may not have delivered the message that everyone wanted to hear, but I was true to a fundamental belief that I subscribe to. I have repeated this statement many times since that meeting. In fact, I just said it again this week. Even though I see little progress in winning the war against the common corporate mindset, I will not stop espousing what I know to be true. Don't measure your worth in hours. You need to find value in what you accomplish that is extraordinary and can be accomplished in a reasonable work week. posted at 8/25/2006 08:00:00 PM |
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Copyright © 2006 Beat Your Own Drum
2 Comments:
I remember sitting with an ex-boss at Christmas / review time one year. I was receiving my yearly bonus which turned out to be quite substantial. He said something like, "I know you always put in a lot of hours, but we appreciate what you do during those hours."
He was a great boss. It was a Merry Christmas.
Thanks for sharing, Ken. When a boss sincerely appreciates what you do and he tells you, it really makes a difference.
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