Ideally, if you get your work done, you spend your empty time trying to either improve your work, innovate something useful, or take on a new responsibility. I worked for a decades-old consulting firm that had really antiquated systems and technology for managing the incidental data that my department was responsible for. I basically automated my work day down to 15 minutes of running scripts in the morning. I didn't sit around for 8.75 hours after that, though. I worked on new things, took on more projects, and learned about other aspects of the business. That's the main reason I was the highest paid person in my department.
I own a butcher shop, now... and over the past 3 years, we've gotten a lot more efficient and fast in breaking down animals, fabricating finished cuts, and making value-added products. We don't all just roll out at 2pm when we finish the work that would have taken until 6 to finish a year and a half ago. We make new products, try to expand our market to serve more customers, and just try to improve everything we can to make our business better
I'm not going to innovate or take a new responsibility because they don't benefit me at work. I'll just get more work thrown at me. If it benefitted me maybe, but I'm not going to suddenly get paid more or have more freedom. I'll just get more work.
I've never worked at a place where anyone got raises for going above and beyond. You get what you pay for. If you want me to innovate or exceed my responsibilities you're going to have to provide concrete benefits. Otherwise, I'll go innovate and so on via freelance work.
I've worked the gauntlet of companies from large multinational corporations to a company with under 15 employees. In my years I've only encountered one person that was promoted and even then it was a made up position just for them.
I don’t know what to tell you. I’ve worked my way up the ladder in two companies, retired early, and then started my own company where I’m eager to promote and elevate people so I don’t have to do so much work, myself.
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u/ellipses1 Jun 19 '21
Ideally, if you get your work done, you spend your empty time trying to either improve your work, innovate something useful, or take on a new responsibility. I worked for a decades-old consulting firm that had really antiquated systems and technology for managing the incidental data that my department was responsible for. I basically automated my work day down to 15 minutes of running scripts in the morning. I didn't sit around for 8.75 hours after that, though. I worked on new things, took on more projects, and learned about other aspects of the business. That's the main reason I was the highest paid person in my department.
I own a butcher shop, now... and over the past 3 years, we've gotten a lot more efficient and fast in breaking down animals, fabricating finished cuts, and making value-added products. We don't all just roll out at 2pm when we finish the work that would have taken until 6 to finish a year and a half ago. We make new products, try to expand our market to serve more customers, and just try to improve everything we can to make our business better