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Ask HN: Do we have to raise hand and make a mad dash all the time?

6 points by la64710 ↗ HN
Corporates have nurtured an environment where it is expected that everyone should raise their hand and make a mad dash for every new opportunity or work that shows up. However for some people like my friend , they don’t particularly like the mad dash part and rather waits for the task to be assigned. This comes from many years of experience where the novelty of something new does not bring the same sense of excitement as it brings to younger pups and secondly they are wise enough to know that what matters is doing the work diligently and with care and particularly not trample on everyone else to grab something. However this attitude is not looked at favorably by most minions of the corporate world and can result in significant setback to my friends career. Though he is aware of this he just cannot pretend and being the nice worker bee comes to him more naturally than being in a competitive mode 24/7 in the workplace. Question to HN - has anyone else feels like this and how do you deal with it?

7 comments

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azemetre
I mean you don’t have to play the game, as much as your company leadership would want you to believe otherwise.

Learning to say no, compartmentalize your job from your personal life, setting boundaries, and just accepting that the Sun will rise tomorrow regardless of what you do; these are all skills that are extremely hard to learn. It only seems that once you get burned by a business do you understand what these things mean, what they are.

la64710
Yeah my point is not playing the game proves to be unhealthy for one’s career.
caprock
From your perspective: What are the characteristics of a healthy career? Is it healthy to have a plateau where you sustain some level (say Sr SWE) and don't "advance"?
la64710
Yes that sounds healthy to me. I don’t think titles means much to my friend and he is just happy to continue learning (which btw is never ending in this technology landscape) and applying it to his job. He is just looking for enough annual increment to cover inflation and continued access to health insurance. But if he is not taking part in the mad rush and jumping up and down with excitement he is being marked for the next round of layoff.
johnpython
It's only unhealthy for your career at that specific employer. Fortunately for tech workers in the Western hemisphere, you can always move between employers
caprock
Difficult to learn indeed. Generally, employment gets a lot of interaction time each work day, and it's hard to set boundaries against that volume of input. I'd love to hear how people have learned to do that.