Your job and supply and demand
September 27th, 2004 by Bill
Job problems? Have a look at Escaping a dead-end job on David’s blog, Ripples. This is the best kind of writing because it doesn’t just describe a problem it suggests ways of dealing with it.
One of the things that has always struck me as odd about employees and their jobs is that while companies take a supply-demand approach to employees (despite the usual loyalty song and dance), and while it is so obvious (and logical) that they do, most employees don’t.
We seem to think that it’s about busting our behinds. It’s not. It’s about the quality of our work and it’s about what the market is willing to pay for our skills and experience. Similarly, I’ve never cared very much for employee recognition programs. The only recognition that has meaning for me is the pay check. And that is determined by what the market is willing to pay.
David has a few hints for dealing with the dead-end job thing, the first of which is, "Do the best work that you are capable of every day."
Some people, when the business realities of their job hit home, shift into an apathetic mode and let the quality of their work slip. It’s as if they think, "Well, the company doesn’t care. Why should I?"
This is like punching yourself in the face in order to hurt the other guy. You won’t affect the company. You simply devalue yourself and damage your opportunities, making finding other jobs more difficult.
If you get disgruntled and lose respect for your company, remember to at least respect yourself. In this case, it means respecting the work you do and how you do it.
Your work and the company you work for are not the same thing.
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