Hard work

Don't get me wrong, I like hard working people, or at least the ones that show a commitment and  passion. If there's one thing that typifies successful planners, they seem to work harder than most people.

But I don't think that necessarily means consistent long hours - that's for another kind of hard worker -the martyr who does 'lots of work' and 'produces lots of stuff' without thinking if what they're doing is actually any good. And more worryingly, there are agencies and agency bosses who think the only people worth anything are the ones who stay until 10pm every day.

I don't want to incite agency uprisings or anything, and I know all about massive workloads, and sometimes they days have to be long, but ask yourself, are you working 24/7 because it produces better results or because you think it's expected?

Here are five myths about hard work worth pondering:

1. Long hours are always a good thing...stress accounts for 14% of sick leave per year. That isn't very productive

2. Long hours are always rewarded...bollocks it is. You show me one agency that pays overtime. For every jobsworth who's face fits, there's the poor bastard doing real work who always gets overlooked

3. People always know who is 'working hard' and who isn't....they don't. They don't always know you worked the weekend, they didn't see you come in early, they don't know what time you left. Long hours tend to vary by team - if they knew exactly by how much wouldn't they try and even it up?

4. Hard work is always admired....sometimes people think you're just disorganised or slow. In a planner, being chained to your desk all day makes you worse in the long term - you need to get out meeting real people and hoovering up interesting stuff. You need to 'not think' which usually when the best stuff clicks in your head.

5. Hard work makes clients happier....no it doesn't. Masses of hours on the timesheets leads to fee renegotiations which they, of course hate. They only care about the quality of your work. Of course, there are some that expect you to be available 24/7 which is to be lamented, but having your phone switched on for occasional late night chats and stuff isn't the same as being at your desk at 10pm.

There's a world of difference between working hard and being seen to work hard. One gets results, on gets you an ulcer. I guess much of this is driven by crap agencies selling a process to clients rather than ideas to appear 'professional' and show clients we're serious people like them.

We're not like them, we take our jobs seriously, but we do the stuff they can't - pretending to be like them only ends up in them figuring out they may as well do it themselves.........

Comments

[Rob]

Excellent point ... which is why we should all look at what we're trying to achieve with the work we're about to undertake rather than just jump in with both feet and try to figure it out along the way.