Before you all proceed with my post….please take a few minutes to read Cirnelle‘s post on “Counting Hours“.
Done? Ok, that’s all I want to say.
LOL. Ok, just trying to be funny. 😛
Let’s get straight to the point (i’m actually rushing my work now). Do you agree that if one works late or long hours, it means that one is a good employee? I’m pretty sure most of you will not agree….but how many of you is actually doing something like that or have a boss who thinks like that? I’m sure most of you will say “Yea, I do work late, so i think i’m a good employee” or “I have a boss who only rewards those who work late” or “My colleagues always say that I never do my work because I go home earlier”.
Oh please….we’re no longer in ‘that era’. This is the knowledge worker era. What matters most is your work performance, your knowledge and of course the overall results. If i were to start my own business, i will of course set a timeline for all the employees to complete a certain task…….and to do some proper quality check on the end result. I wouldn’t even bother whether they come to work or not. As long as they are there when there’s a scheduled meeting/appointment…..then i’m fine. Come to work late, go back early or work from home, I don’t mind at all. Why? Because working late or long hours DO NOT mean you’re a good employee.
Let’s see….if you work late…maybe it’s because you have unreasonable deadline…….or, you wasted too much time during the actual working hours? Either way, you are neglecting your private life (family life…friends..etc) when you start to work late. I actually know some people who spend most of their time in office chatting, reading newspaper/online news, surfing, checking shares (ok, i do this, but not that often since the site I used only update once every 1 – 2 hours), watching youtube (that’s why it’s famous), etc (you should know as well as i do 😛). In the end, they are forced to work late in order to finish their assignments.
There you go…work late doesn’t mean you’re a good employee. Good end result + good work attitude + work delivered on time = good performance = good employee.
So, start doing yourself a favor…….don’t treat yourself like a machine which works 9-5 (OK machine) or 9-7 (GOOD machine) or 9am – 12am (candidate for employee of the year)…..because you’re a human and not a machine. Fully utilize your working hours, and go back home earlier….regardless of what your boss/your colleagues think of you. A boss will always reward those with good performance, not those who works late but lousy performance.
Again, feel free to post any comments here 😉
14 comments
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August 1, 2007 at 2:15 am
zewt
easier said than done. further… it’s easy to assume that the company will reward those who perform rather than those who stays behind and work much OT. unfortunately… for more company, not staying back means not performing…. not ambitious… not dedicated… not one who deserve career advancement.
sad but true.
i have been writing a lot about modern slavery to put forward this point… not to work late i mean… but it’s not working… and i am certainly jaded.
August 1, 2007 at 8:51 am
cirnelle
You are absolutely 100% right. But you discount 0.5% because you said “we’re no longer in that era”. 😛 This era is still prevailent in many Malaysian firms, whether they are right to do so, another matter altogether.
We are “slaves”, as zewt would put it. We have invisible chains tying us to this culture of ‘more is better’, which sadly, applies to time in the office as well.
August 1, 2007 at 10:24 am
Alvin
zewt : modern slavery is not good…yes, we might not b able to avoid it in certain situation due to the mentality of some ppl. but well, we just have to do what we need to do, which is to say NO to it. i do know of some companies which don’t do this. my team, for 1, has a good team leader who …well, he does slave drive us on certain occasions, but other than that, he don reli care whether u r late or early. there ARE indeed such ppl out there.
cirnelle : thats why i m hoping that if i do start my own business, i will not fall into this group of ppl/companies. i do blif in whatever i jz wrote above…and i will still do so in years to come (since i used to b a victim. hahaha).
the companies who think those who work OT (but produce same result as those who do not work OT) as good employees will not move far due to their mentality.
August 2, 2007 at 5:44 am
jamy
Working longer than assigned hours = unproductive + inefficient -> fired !
August 2, 2007 at 10:02 am
Alvin
Whoa…jamy…you do that to your staff? 😛 Too bad your company is too far away, else i will try my best to make you my boss. hahahaa.
August 2, 2007 at 11:15 am
jamy
Alvin, I don’t fire people too easily :).
I believe with good planning and direction from management , workers should be able to go home on time, otherwise, something is not right !
If you ever sit in my meeting, you got to love it.
Talk problem, aim at solution.
eg. Meeting for a project we set out to do.
Project A. Team member 10.
Project can be break down into 20 small tasks.
This is my format. All tabulated. No big English words like our miss Cirnelle.
Task # Person assigned Expected date to finish Delay reason
My meeting start with goal, end with goal . I don’t want to hear problem from stuff but solution.
It is 100% acceptable to have problems but I expect solution on delayed expected date. They knew too well to give me good reason for extended date.
So, every one before meeting knew what to expect and after meeting what to rectify and what to expect the next meeting.
I don’t like meeting that go round the bush and no end one. If I chair the meeting, I make sure everyone know what to expect. Very simple.
I am a bit like premier Lee, very autocratic. It worked with a new start up but might not work when company matured. I run with a militant discipline style but with a very creative, flexible biz model. Yes, it is very unconventional.
Fire : I give 1 verbal warning, 1 written warning then after that , last warning to director room, he decide what to do with you.
You know it is a common knowledge in textile industry that piece rate is common among workers, not how long you work, how many pieces you have sawed.
I personally think professional should used evidence base like piece rate than hours.
August 2, 2007 at 12:39 pm
cirnelle
Aik! I where got use big English words? I just longwinded only mah. 😛
August 2, 2007 at 11:12 pm
Alvin
jamy:
very inspiring. i mst say i agree with what you said…except the militant discipline style. 😛 Well, maybe i will change the next time i have my own company.
but yeah, i hate to enter those meetings which have no end result. the purpose of a meeting is either to update each others (which at times, is well…a waste of time) or fix a problem. no point turning round n round n round. Anyway, its never an easy task to held an effective meeting. 😛
ANd it’s never easy to decide whether to terminate a bad employee or not. Most companies will jz let the guy rot there. =_=
Cirnelle:
Nolar, you’re not longwinded. 😛 Don worry
August 3, 2007 at 9:30 am
jamy
I did not say Cirnelle is long winded. I said she used big big English words, I don’t understand 🙂
August 3, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Alvin
Jamy: I think my English is a lot worse than yours. 😛 But don worry Cirnelle…i think i can still understand you. Hahah.
August 9, 2007 at 12:24 am
Mark
Working late is something I did quite often at my present employer for many years. Things have changed, I actually go home at a normal time and still get my work load done. The change? The business saw how a lack of planning was causing a fair share of the problems we were having to work late to clean up. The downside (there always is): Our customers want us to be more productive and agile. So much for process, eh?
On a flip note, I have people who thought just because an employee of mine was working late, he/she was a hard worker. Some times that is the case. But as a manager, you have to look deeper. Is the person spread too thin on multiple tasks? Too many meetings preventing the person from working during the day, or do they lack time management skills?
Always temper highs and lows in any type of business. There is the busy critical section of every project. And at times, this will incur additional duties. But this should be more of the exception then the norm.
August 9, 2007 at 10:24 pm
Alvin
Hi Mark, thanks for dropping by again. It’s been a while since I last heard from you. Hope everything goes well for you there 😉
Anyway, i do agree that nowadays, most employers want more for less…..the want more working hours from you with lesser pay….
Many companies still fail to see the difference btw being productive in shorter amount of time, with being unproductive with longer period of time.
And also, some people spend nearly the entire day checking and replying emails….attending and conducting meetings…….or other administrative tasks. At the end of the day, their main responsibilities are neglected….and ended up, they get more emails the next day. 🙂 Never ending cycle eh?
August 22, 2007 at 9:23 pm
Work late = good employee? | Career Blog
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July 20, 2012 at 12:10 am
duuude
It’s 2012 now, and I feel that the work late culture is still prevalent in Malaysia. I think the fault also lies with Malaysian employees. I’m in a western multinational that encourages work-life balance but those who want to get ahead will stay back late (even with no shame about padding their time surfing the web, snacking, chit-chatting, listening to music etc), and make a target out of those who leave early.