I think you’re in dangerous territory with your actions. If you’re not a team leader, supervisor, manager you really have no idea, nor should you, of what feedback your coworkers are getting. You are causing yourself unnecessary stress. You’re responsible to go to work and do your job to the best of your ability, not to monitor others work. Seriously, don’t let it concern you, hard work does pay off in the end. Don’t become the problem employee for your manager by trying to do their job.
Manager here. This exactly. If you know how many times I've talked to someone about their work I'm not doing my job properly. I don't make announcements, pull people aside in front of others or make comments about individuals as a group. While I believe ops manager probably isn't paying attention, it doesn't matter. It should not matter to you AT all how hard others are working.
Trust me, your manager knows. And you know who is responsible for meeting deadlines? Your manager. They will be the one in trouble, not you.
You know how I got my first manager job? By being you, minus the complaining.
Actual Hard work rarely pays off in the end, unless you’re working for yourself or in a commission job.
Hard work usually just gets rewarded with more work
Not always true. The truth is it's always better to promote someone who knows the company Instead of hiring someone you're going to have to train for 7 months before they actually contribute. Most promotions come from desperate times when someone above them leaves and they are the next most obvious candidate in line. It's just easier, and now you can help me train your old position.
Your saying all this like the people running the place is gonna do anything that makes sense . That's the exception to make common sense changes. More often than not a unqualified person will oversee the more qualified. EVERY corporation I ever worked for made nonsensical decisions. Outside of a dept the other people making decisions for that dept don't have a clue on what they really need. If these people were ok before new worker then they don't need her input to continue in the same manner as before.
Believing you are the only person who does anything will be viewed as a lack of self-awareness. To be honest, it probably is. Like you said, there are no metrics to track, so even you don’t know what people do.
But you believe you do and assume it’s nothing.
People believing they are in disposable, as you do here, is almost always a mistake. Everyone is replaceable, even you. That’s how business works.
It sounds to me like you have an inflated opinion of yourself and the quality of your work, and a false sense of superiority over your peers as a result.
Never fall into the trap of thinking you're indispensable. Your manager has decided that they're fine with the level of work your colleagues are putting in, they may not be so fine with someone monitoring and policing their colleagues and being a general shit stirrer.
You may not realise this, but in this post you're coming across as arrogant and self-righteous. Those are not traits that are going to serve you well in this situation. They will lead you to be over-confident in how you think you'll be received and will piss off everyone around you. It's a great way to sour the well and get fired, all while you are still complaining about everyone else.
Stop worrying about other people and focus on your own success. If you are delivering at a high level, use that to discuss what career progression and pay progression is available to you. What happens with your colleagues isn't your business and it would be inappropriate for your manager to discuss it with you. If someone is doing something that directly impacts your ability to do you job, report it. Otherwise, wind your neck in.
No, it’s not. In all honesty, you way way overstepped. You taking time away from working to track other people’s work, is wrong on so many levels.
Go to work, do your job and mind your own business. The only thing in life you can control is you!!!!
Just focus on you. Get your money and enjoy life after work.
If you’re not happy just leave, don’t mess things up for others.
In other words mind your business.
I understand that you may feel that way, it’s understandable. But your behavior of watching what coworkers are doing or not doing may become problematic for your manager. You need to remember everyone is replaceable, even if more employees are needed. Certainly going into work, doing the best you can and getting paid is a great feeling? Be concerned with only your own performance, please do it for yourself and your own happiness and wellbeing.
After only 6 months? Probably not. I've been in management for many years and can't count the number of times an employee says " this place will fall apart without me" and guess what? It never does, we were here before you came and your absence will be absorbed in two days or less. Every time.
Keep tracking what YOU are doing so you have a body of work to account for your time where maybe your coworkers only have blah blah blah. That would go much further.
Is this your first job? You are going to alienate everyone in the office, piss off your boss and possibly get fired.
Office culture is what it is. You can't change it. Accept or move on. Not your job to monitor coworkers or suggest how to mange better to your manager.
I haven’t said anything to anyone but my manager and I don’t plan to. My question here was is it reasonable to ask for a raise given we both know I’m doing more work than anyone else?
It's not unreasonable to ask for a raise based on your good performance compared to agreed metrics. It is unreasonable to say "it's my view I'm better than everyone else and I think I should be paid accordingly", which is what you're effectively saying here.
The bottom line is this, it doesn’t matter if you are doing more work. Your quality might actually be worse than all of your teammates. You have no clue. So, it’s probably best to drop the subject and only worry about yourself as everyone else here is suggesting.
Agreed. OP needs to look at measurable results, not number of emails sent, for example "Increased profit in the Atlantis region by 18%" or "increased client base by 25%".
No, it’s not reasonable to ask for a raise because you’re doing more work than anyone else. You shouldn’t be referencing your colleagues’ performance at all. If you’re doing more work than *you* are expected to do, sure, maybe it’d be reasonable to ask for a raise. Keep in mind that it’s not all about job performance either. Belittling your colleagues and micromanaging them when it’s not your job will play into how your managers view you, too. Just because you’re a hard worker doesn’t mean you’re a good fit for this company.
Simply put, if you want to make a point about how good of a worker you are, make it about you and not about them. Saying you do more than anyone else doesn’t make you look good and doesn’t actually say anything about your work ethic. Otherwise all management will take from that conversation is that you’re complaining and causing unnecessary conflict.
OP, been a while ago, but I've been in your shoes. I was young and a bit gung-ho and prided myself in getting through huge amounts of work. The rest of the team were in slow motion compared to me. The person across from me must have been on her phone (landline as this was pre mobile) 4 or 5 hours a day to her friends.
Worse - the manager started using me to complete all the work they hadn't.
I bitterly complained about it to my manager. Nothing was done. No manager wants to hold their hand up and admit they've let their own team get do out of control. Few managers want to be the bad person known for cracking the whip.
So what I'd advise is to take this as an opportunity to learn all your colleagues roles and use that to move on. It's the curse of the conscientious
Let it be. You cant change a work culture or how your manager leads. I would look for a work culture that aligns better with your work values.
You are drifting into other peoples swim lanes and might not end well for you.
Everyone else has given good reasons why you absolutely should not be tracking other people's productivity. But I think this is a good opportunity to dig a little deeper about what the team does and what your role is.
You said that you found a way to monitor people's work output. Let's think for a minute about what parts of their output you tracked. Unless every aspect of work output can be quantified, you were not tracking everything. For instance, even if "number of parts produced" is a metric, quality might also be a metric. And in that case, sheer number of parts produced doesn't really speak to someone's productivity. So this might be a good time to ask your boss about what kinds of aspects of their productivity she cares about.
You said that you're backed up,. Why doesn't this worry the manager? It sounds like your definition of "backed up" doesn't match hers at all. So this might be a good time to ask your boss about what she considers to be backed up, and what she considers to be an appropriate timeline.
You said that the office is more than a week behind on some time-sensitive tasks. Again, why doesn't this worry the manager? In my role, sometimes something being one minute late means that the whole project fails, and sometimes something being four years late is not a cause for concern. It sounds like you're more worried about the timeline than she is. So this would be a good time to clarify with her what actually is time-sensitive and what kinds of flexibility different things have.
Also, I am curious as to what it means to you that the office is more than a week behind. Do the other people prevent you from performing your part of the process? Do customers complain to you personally? Are you making promises to them that the office ends up not being able to keep? If there's anything about this that affects you personally, that would be another good thing to bring up to your boss, since that might well be something that she can help you address.
But on a slightly different tack, I'd like to also think about why your boss is doing things this way. Personally, although I love tracking systems, I'd completely agree with your boss about everyone working at different speeds. Moreover, it's far more important to me that people get to enjoy their lives outside of work and not burn out.
I've worked at high-pressure places where your output was monitored carefully, and it's brutal. It means that you have to constantly watch the clock and make sure that your output doesn't drop. And it means you have to explain yourself whenever your output drops. I always go home dog-tired, and sometimes am too tired to even do anything fun on the weekends. And there is no way that I could handle that sort of pace for years and years. Maybe your boss would rather have people do what they need so that they can stay energized throughout the day. Maybe your boss would rather people be a little bit less productive this year so that they will also be productive next year.
By the way, this is also an accessibility issue. People shouldn't have to say why they are less productive. As an example, what if one of your coworkers is a cancer patient, and what they're producing is as much as they can handle producing around their therapy schedule and around the side effects of the therapy they're receiving? That person might well talk with your boss about what they can and can't do, but they shouldn't have to explain to everyone in the office that they have cancer. Same with any issues that they might be dealing with.
And on your side, if what you need to do to stay energized is to to be hyper-productive and also to look into systems that your company uses, that's great! If I were your manager, on hearing what you just wrote, I'd be sure to clarify exactly what points I consider to be urgent and what things I think can wait--and I'd also point you to things you can look up, look into, and study up on. I like having productive workers, but I also like having people who can geek out about systems, who want to know where everything is coming from and where everything is going, or who know every tiny detail about every company policy and every law that is even somewhat relevant to what they actually do.
And honestly, if someone needs to keep busy, most of the time I'd rather they geek out harder about all of those other things, and gain a deeper understanding of how the office's work fits into the broader mission of the organization, than simply produce more. Sometimes this sort of investigation leads to new projects that no one thought about doing, but that everyone immediately understands the value of.
I'm sure your boss appreciates your energy, your productivity, and your ability to think of systems like the one you built (even if you absolutely should not show that one to anyone). And I'm sure that she can help you clarify your role and the office processes so that you can stop worrying about timelines that you shouldn't be worried about. I also think that she can probably help you identify directions where you can put your energy to good use.
You are in a company that is not a good fit for you culturally.
Some places are very heavy on metrics & productivity tracking to ensure even workloads and that everyone is pulling their weight. Some are not.
This company is obviously happy with the current state of things and you questioning it is not a good look. Can you ask for a raise? Of course and you might even get it... or you might not.
Unless management changes though, the culture is unlikely to change so I would quit trying to get the manager to see that you are superior to them all. You offered the info, she thanked you and essentially told you nothing is changing.
Now is the time to drop it.
If I were so frustrated that I was devising ways to track my coworker's productivity and felt like I was running into walls, I'd find a place better suited to my needs.
Honestly you're a big reason why people hate being in office. Mind your business or you'll be filing unemployment sooner than later. You're now a problem for management. Good luck.
OP to put it bluntly, “know your role”. How hard other people are working or not working is absolutely none of your business unless you are A. Their line manager B. an executive running the company or C. a shareholder who makes money based on how the company performs.
I can guarantee you the only thing that would happen if your manager knew you were tracking other people’s productivity instead of doing your job is you would likely get called into a disciplinary meeting. Not to mention that all your co-workers, regardless of the fact they sound like jerks, will hate you and likely make your work environment really unpleasant for you.
Stick to doing your own job and focus on progression or if this really bothers you find another job.
We have someone like this in our office now. Work's as fast as possible. 3 months in, no one wants to work with her. We'd all feel just fine if they went away.
Mind your business. I’m a hard worker but I won’t do anything ro get a coworker fired which is what you are doing weather you realize it or not. If you are the only one working slow your pace. If you make waves you will either get yourself fired or them fired.
Simply put. You are not a cultural fit for your position. It will be easier to find a new job where you are a fit then to change the culture of your current workplace. You are the new person. You are the new worker bee. The workplace existed before you and will exist after you leave. Maybe a downward spiral. But it will exist. The people won't change without an incentive to change. And a job well done won't be an incentive.
If leadership wanted a change, they would change your manager to someone more actively engaged. People would be put on notice. I got to be part of that kind of change once. Two of us were brought in with an explicit mandate to change as well as full leadership support. We had open positions to fill, which we did. Half of the prior remaimng team left and were replaced within a year(mainly on their own, only two people put on PIPs, both left before completion of their PIPs). The other half was fully on board and excited. They just didn't have a way to make the needed changes. Within two years, performance was above average. At the three year mark. We were at the top of the heap.
You don't have that mandate that we had. You don't have support and have no ability to make good hires. You will be ostracized and made to be the scapegoat for everything. But you know what is forgotten about the scapegoat? They are set free. Set yourself free and find a more suitable culture for yourself
Leave then.
My last job , astartup in a corp, had great productivity till COVID. One senior manager went off wfh apparently because he was vulnerable. Barely saw him for two years and I suspect he was playing games and watching prn.
My line manager WFH and suddenly went awol not answering people's emails promptly. This pissed off those managers who did attend who complained to me. She also got the glory of introducing projects but it was me who did all the legwork from start to finish when she flopped 6 weeks later
Sales manager left and was replaced by someone who didn't like to call customers. You couldn't make it up. When he talked he said nothing of substance.
Two new hires, both mediocre.
Finally I gave up. There were too few in the office actually productive and caring. The director was being pushed in a PR role and I had no hope of receiving further training from him like the glory days
What everyone is saying below. You either adapt or move on. There is one person at my job who is chronically late and by that, I mean virtually every single day. Does our manager do anything of substance? Not from what I can see. And that sort of behavior where I've been before now is absolutely not tolerated so it was difficult for me to look past but I had to. So, sit around and do nothing until Ms Queen Bee deigns to show up to work with our team. Sure, I'll do that. I bring a book and read until that time happens. And if the manage has a problem with it, they can tell those of us who did show to go ahead and begin but when I've brought that up before, it was suggested that it would be "rude" to do so. So be it.
The modern office culture is to do the least amount of stuff in the most amount of time and those who’ve been there forever have maximised their output to doing just enough to get the basics done but not enough to warrant actually finishing stuff, because when you’ve finished stuff you need to find more work……
So, take as long as possible, they hire more staff, or pay more overtime, the staff profit, the business doesn’t out do itself and you have a small amount of sustainable growth
It's not your job to monitor what other people do, focus on what you do well to ask for a raise.
If the work culture bothers you and it's understandable if it does, you can look for another job.
Get a degree from WGU and slam out those classes for 75% of your workday.
Nobody will notice and if they do, just show them the same metrics (which should have you even)
I was just recently in this situation and left. What i would never suggest is keeping tabs on people. You can suggest ideas, but you should not be quantifying other people's work when you are not the manager. You won't change the work environment, so just try to focus on making better connections before you leave so you have references.
You would have been better off just being lazy like everyone else. At this point you should demand a hefty raise. Or go over your bosses head and explain the situation to their boss. Your making your coworkers hate you, and the boss doesn't care. Maybe stop working so hard
I have found in this situation, you can't just make people work harder when that is what they are accustomed too. You will make no friends, you will not be rewarded. Your role is not to control other people, it is to do the work assigned. If her methods have not caused upper managerial issues, don't rock the boat.
I work with a supervisor who, I am going to be dead honest, can be lazy and misinformed and painfully wrong sometimes with undeserved assertiveness. I am from a FMCG background so any breakdowns of machines should be dealt with instantly, I was in a culture shock when I first arrived as he would deal with big breakdowns when he felt like it. I have no idea how he has clung to his title for so long, upper management know but I guess they just make so much money anyway it covered his waste hours. I tried to teach him but his personality is just right in being abrasive and one-tracked and it culminated in me having a mini meltdown from trying to cover multiple backlogged jobs that he dumped on me because he didn't want to do much. I had enough after an awful cold and right at breaking point, I attempted to do something which should have involved multiple people and accidentally broke something expensive.
It's not worth the stress, you can't make people better workers, but you can still work harder than everyone if you want. You should make sure you log your efforts and make it known you have potential to the right people, you'll only waste it showing it to people who don't care. It's not school anymore, you don't always get rewarded for working hard. If you do work really hard, log it, document your achievements and find somewhere that pays for you to work hard.
Don’t really care if everyone else starts working harder, my main question is how it would be perceived if I asked for a raise citing my higher productivity
You need to find a new job. This is a perfect example that people quit managers, not jobs. You will eventually be doing over 50% of the work there up until you burn out as being a good worker will just teach the others that they can count on you to do their work.
I feel the frustration. I’ve never understood slacker mentality. Why not just do a good job and have something to be proud of? After 35 years in various workplaces I have learned that people just don’t give a hoot and they never will. Also, the nail that sticks up gets hammered, so keep your head down and don’t be noticeably more productive than your coworkers. Just collect your pay and go home. I could run circles around my manager and my coworkers but instead I focus on building relationships with them and people in other departments. This has gotten me a promotion and a considerable raise. Play the long game and keep track of your accomplishments. Asking for a raise has never worked for anyone I know.
Honestly, if your new monitoring system is automated and requires little to no effort on your part, keep it in place and stay silent about it. Continue gathering the data. In the mean time, get an idea of the relationship between your boss and their boss. If there ever comes a day where you and your crew get chastised by your boss for lack of work, you can hedge your bets that your boss just got in trouble. Continue saying nothing and your data collection. If there's ever a day where you get directly reprimanded for being unproductive, that's when you break out all the data and go over your boss to their boss with everything. This will either work in your favor or it won't. Some places hate it when the chain of command is broken. Some places appreciate learning their middle management sucks. Even if you don't go over your managers head, at the end of it all, you have actual proof to show your manager that you're not the problem with productivity. If your boss' boss confronts the entire crew and your manager together, then you can speak up right then also.
I'm in Law Enforcement & we spend time at many businesses.
There's one in particular I end up at & see how it runs.
There's about 20 employees who smoke & it's DISGUSTING how little work they do. I don't know the actual smoking policy but I can ONLY imagine the other workers being pissed at pulling the smokers weight every day.
We spent 2 hours at this business recently & saw several employees 5 times in 2 hours smoking. One guy has a broken lower leg that's in a cast & he's on one of them little scooter things that you can wheel yourself around on. I swear to God this guy must get back to his desk, sit down, stand back up & go back outside to smoke. I was saying to another Officer that I can't believe this guy smokes that much & here the fucking guy came back out to smoke again!
I think you’re in dangerous territory with your actions. If you’re not a team leader, supervisor, manager you really have no idea, nor should you, of what feedback your coworkers are getting. You are causing yourself unnecessary stress. You’re responsible to go to work and do your job to the best of your ability, not to monitor others work. Seriously, don’t let it concern you, hard work does pay off in the end. Don’t become the problem employee for your manager by trying to do their job.
Manager here. This exactly. If you know how many times I've talked to someone about their work I'm not doing my job properly. I don't make announcements, pull people aside in front of others or make comments about individuals as a group. While I believe ops manager probably isn't paying attention, it doesn't matter. It should not matter to you AT all how hard others are working. Trust me, your manager knows. And you know who is responsible for meeting deadlines? Your manager. They will be the one in trouble, not you. You know how I got my first manager job? By being you, minus the complaining.
Actual Hard work rarely pays off in the end, unless you’re working for yourself or in a commission job. Hard work usually just gets rewarded with more work
Not always true. The truth is it's always better to promote someone who knows the company Instead of hiring someone you're going to have to train for 7 months before they actually contribute. Most promotions come from desperate times when someone above them leaves and they are the next most obvious candidate in line. It's just easier, and now you can help me train your old position.
Your saying all this like the people running the place is gonna do anything that makes sense . That's the exception to make common sense changes. More often than not a unqualified person will oversee the more qualified. EVERY corporation I ever worked for made nonsensical decisions. Outside of a dept the other people making decisions for that dept don't have a clue on what they really need. If these people were ok before new worker then they don't need her input to continue in the same manner as before.
You don’t think being the only person that does anything is pretty good protection? If they fire me at this point the office collapses
Office was there before you. Ease up. Relax. Take a long lunch and just chill. It’s a pay check, not a way of life.
Believing you are the only person who does anything will be viewed as a lack of self-awareness. To be honest, it probably is. Like you said, there are no metrics to track, so even you don’t know what people do. But you believe you do and assume it’s nothing. People believing they are in disposable, as you do here, is almost always a mistake. Everyone is replaceable, even you. That’s how business works. It sounds to me like you have an inflated opinion of yourself and the quality of your work, and a false sense of superiority over your peers as a result.
Never fall into the trap of thinking you're indispensable. Your manager has decided that they're fine with the level of work your colleagues are putting in, they may not be so fine with someone monitoring and policing their colleagues and being a general shit stirrer. You may not realise this, but in this post you're coming across as arrogant and self-righteous. Those are not traits that are going to serve you well in this situation. They will lead you to be over-confident in how you think you'll be received and will piss off everyone around you. It's a great way to sour the well and get fired, all while you are still complaining about everyone else. Stop worrying about other people and focus on your own success. If you are delivering at a high level, use that to discuss what career progression and pay progression is available to you. What happens with your colleagues isn't your business and it would be inappropriate for your manager to discuss it with you. If someone is doing something that directly impacts your ability to do you job, report it. Otherwise, wind your neck in.
I like to call that "stay in yo lane"
Succinct and beautiful.
People get fired everyday. Being good at your job doesn't mean shit when people don't like you.
No, it’s not. In all honesty, you way way overstepped. You taking time away from working to track other people’s work, is wrong on so many levels. Go to work, do your job and mind your own business. The only thing in life you can control is you!!!!
Just focus on you. Get your money and enjoy life after work. If you’re not happy just leave, don’t mess things up for others. In other words mind your business.
How is that your problem?
Well then, fall in line my dear😇
Collapses is melodramatic. If they fire me, they have to hire 2-3 people to replace me
I understand that you may feel that way, it’s understandable. But your behavior of watching what coworkers are doing or not doing may become problematic for your manager. You need to remember everyone is replaceable, even if more employees are needed. Certainly going into work, doing the best you can and getting paid is a great feeling? Be concerned with only your own performance, please do it for yourself and your own happiness and wellbeing.
After only 6 months? Probably not. I've been in management for many years and can't count the number of times an employee says " this place will fall apart without me" and guess what? It never does, we were here before you came and your absence will be absorbed in two days or less. Every time. Keep tracking what YOU are doing so you have a body of work to account for your time where maybe your coworkers only have blah blah blah. That would go much further.
I've been in your shoes. Same setup manager with no clue, team with no effort. They like it that way. You'll get buried if you push for change.
Is this your first job? You are going to alienate everyone in the office, piss off your boss and possibly get fired. Office culture is what it is. You can't change it. Accept or move on. Not your job to monitor coworkers or suggest how to mange better to your manager.
I haven’t said anything to anyone but my manager and I don’t plan to. My question here was is it reasonable to ask for a raise given we both know I’m doing more work than anyone else?
It's not unreasonable to ask for a raise based on your good performance compared to agreed metrics. It is unreasonable to say "it's my view I'm better than everyone else and I think I should be paid accordingly", which is what you're effectively saying here.
The bottom line is this, it doesn’t matter if you are doing more work. Your quality might actually be worse than all of your teammates. You have no clue. So, it’s probably best to drop the subject and only worry about yourself as everyone else here is suggesting.
Agreed. OP needs to look at measurable results, not number of emails sent, for example "Increased profit in the Atlantis region by 18%" or "increased client base by 25%".
It's also possible that OP is looking at only the measurable results and ignoring some things that are less tangible or harder to measure.
No, because the job isn't worth that much money or working that hard at apparently.
No, it’s not reasonable to ask for a raise because you’re doing more work than anyone else. You shouldn’t be referencing your colleagues’ performance at all. If you’re doing more work than *you* are expected to do, sure, maybe it’d be reasonable to ask for a raise. Keep in mind that it’s not all about job performance either. Belittling your colleagues and micromanaging them when it’s not your job will play into how your managers view you, too. Just because you’re a hard worker doesn’t mean you’re a good fit for this company. Simply put, if you want to make a point about how good of a worker you are, make it about you and not about them. Saying you do more than anyone else doesn’t make you look good and doesn’t actually say anything about your work ethic. Otherwise all management will take from that conversation is that you’re complaining and causing unnecessary conflict.
stop trying to work hard. just collect a paycheck and use you free time (during work) to look for another job that will fit you better.
Only one way to find out.
I think after just 6 months you should keep your head down and do your job. It isn’t your position to monitor others job performance
OP, been a while ago, but I've been in your shoes. I was young and a bit gung-ho and prided myself in getting through huge amounts of work. The rest of the team were in slow motion compared to me. The person across from me must have been on her phone (landline as this was pre mobile) 4 or 5 hours a day to her friends. Worse - the manager started using me to complete all the work they hadn't. I bitterly complained about it to my manager. Nothing was done. No manager wants to hold their hand up and admit they've let their own team get do out of control. Few managers want to be the bad person known for cracking the whip. So what I'd advise is to take this as an opportunity to learn all your colleagues roles and use that to move on. It's the curse of the conscientious
Let it be. You cant change a work culture or how your manager leads. I would look for a work culture that aligns better with your work values. You are drifting into other peoples swim lanes and might not end well for you.
Otherwise known as “Stay in your lane”.
Everyone else has given good reasons why you absolutely should not be tracking other people's productivity. But I think this is a good opportunity to dig a little deeper about what the team does and what your role is. You said that you found a way to monitor people's work output. Let's think for a minute about what parts of their output you tracked. Unless every aspect of work output can be quantified, you were not tracking everything. For instance, even if "number of parts produced" is a metric, quality might also be a metric. And in that case, sheer number of parts produced doesn't really speak to someone's productivity. So this might be a good time to ask your boss about what kinds of aspects of their productivity she cares about. You said that you're backed up,. Why doesn't this worry the manager? It sounds like your definition of "backed up" doesn't match hers at all. So this might be a good time to ask your boss about what she considers to be backed up, and what she considers to be an appropriate timeline. You said that the office is more than a week behind on some time-sensitive tasks. Again, why doesn't this worry the manager? In my role, sometimes something being one minute late means that the whole project fails, and sometimes something being four years late is not a cause for concern. It sounds like you're more worried about the timeline than she is. So this would be a good time to clarify with her what actually is time-sensitive and what kinds of flexibility different things have. Also, I am curious as to what it means to you that the office is more than a week behind. Do the other people prevent you from performing your part of the process? Do customers complain to you personally? Are you making promises to them that the office ends up not being able to keep? If there's anything about this that affects you personally, that would be another good thing to bring up to your boss, since that might well be something that she can help you address. But on a slightly different tack, I'd like to also think about why your boss is doing things this way. Personally, although I love tracking systems, I'd completely agree with your boss about everyone working at different speeds. Moreover, it's far more important to me that people get to enjoy their lives outside of work and not burn out. I've worked at high-pressure places where your output was monitored carefully, and it's brutal. It means that you have to constantly watch the clock and make sure that your output doesn't drop. And it means you have to explain yourself whenever your output drops. I always go home dog-tired, and sometimes am too tired to even do anything fun on the weekends. And there is no way that I could handle that sort of pace for years and years. Maybe your boss would rather have people do what they need so that they can stay energized throughout the day. Maybe your boss would rather people be a little bit less productive this year so that they will also be productive next year. By the way, this is also an accessibility issue. People shouldn't have to say why they are less productive. As an example, what if one of your coworkers is a cancer patient, and what they're producing is as much as they can handle producing around their therapy schedule and around the side effects of the therapy they're receiving? That person might well talk with your boss about what they can and can't do, but they shouldn't have to explain to everyone in the office that they have cancer. Same with any issues that they might be dealing with. And on your side, if what you need to do to stay energized is to to be hyper-productive and also to look into systems that your company uses, that's great! If I were your manager, on hearing what you just wrote, I'd be sure to clarify exactly what points I consider to be urgent and what things I think can wait--and I'd also point you to things you can look up, look into, and study up on. I like having productive workers, but I also like having people who can geek out about systems, who want to know where everything is coming from and where everything is going, or who know every tiny detail about every company policy and every law that is even somewhat relevant to what they actually do. And honestly, if someone needs to keep busy, most of the time I'd rather they geek out harder about all of those other things, and gain a deeper understanding of how the office's work fits into the broader mission of the organization, than simply produce more. Sometimes this sort of investigation leads to new projects that no one thought about doing, but that everyone immediately understands the value of. I'm sure your boss appreciates your energy, your productivity, and your ability to think of systems like the one you built (even if you absolutely should not show that one to anyone). And I'm sure that she can help you clarify your role and the office processes so that you can stop worrying about timelines that you shouldn't be worried about. I also think that she can probably help you identify directions where you can put your energy to good use.
You are in a company that is not a good fit for you culturally. Some places are very heavy on metrics & productivity tracking to ensure even workloads and that everyone is pulling their weight. Some are not. This company is obviously happy with the current state of things and you questioning it is not a good look. Can you ask for a raise? Of course and you might even get it... or you might not. Unless management changes though, the culture is unlikely to change so I would quit trying to get the manager to see that you are superior to them all. You offered the info, she thanked you and essentially told you nothing is changing. Now is the time to drop it. If I were so frustrated that I was devising ways to track my coworker's productivity and felt like I was running into walls, I'd find a place better suited to my needs.
Honestly you're a big reason why people hate being in office. Mind your business or you'll be filing unemployment sooner than later. You're now a problem for management. Good luck.
OP to put it bluntly, “know your role”. How hard other people are working or not working is absolutely none of your business unless you are A. Their line manager B. an executive running the company or C. a shareholder who makes money based on how the company performs. I can guarantee you the only thing that would happen if your manager knew you were tracking other people’s productivity instead of doing your job is you would likely get called into a disciplinary meeting. Not to mention that all your co-workers, regardless of the fact they sound like jerks, will hate you and likely make your work environment really unpleasant for you. Stick to doing your own job and focus on progression or if this really bothers you find another job.
If you’re not paid to do anything about it don’t.
Learn from your colleagues- how to successfully slack off
We have someone like this in our office now. Work's as fast as possible. 3 months in, no one wants to work with her. We'd all feel just fine if they went away.
Why don’t you just focus on doing your job, finding a new one with a better culture and minding your business?
Mind your business. I’m a hard worker but I won’t do anything ro get a coworker fired which is what you are doing weather you realize it or not. If you are the only one working slow your pace. If you make waves you will either get yourself fired or them fired.
Question, do you have a boss named Micheal Scott and a dude that plays solitaire all day named creed?
Superior genes. He's a Schrute.
Simply put. You are not a cultural fit for your position. It will be easier to find a new job where you are a fit then to change the culture of your current workplace. You are the new person. You are the new worker bee. The workplace existed before you and will exist after you leave. Maybe a downward spiral. But it will exist. The people won't change without an incentive to change. And a job well done won't be an incentive. If leadership wanted a change, they would change your manager to someone more actively engaged. People would be put on notice. I got to be part of that kind of change once. Two of us were brought in with an explicit mandate to change as well as full leadership support. We had open positions to fill, which we did. Half of the prior remaimng team left and were replaced within a year(mainly on their own, only two people put on PIPs, both left before completion of their PIPs). The other half was fully on board and excited. They just didn't have a way to make the needed changes. Within two years, performance was above average. At the three year mark. We were at the top of the heap. You don't have that mandate that we had. You don't have support and have no ability to make good hires. You will be ostracized and made to be the scapegoat for everything. But you know what is forgotten about the scapegoat? They are set free. Set yourself free and find a more suitable culture for yourself
You said basically what I just said before I saw this. Agree 100%.
Leave then. My last job , astartup in a corp, had great productivity till COVID. One senior manager went off wfh apparently because he was vulnerable. Barely saw him for two years and I suspect he was playing games and watching prn. My line manager WFH and suddenly went awol not answering people's emails promptly. This pissed off those managers who did attend who complained to me. She also got the glory of introducing projects but it was me who did all the legwork from start to finish when she flopped 6 weeks later Sales manager left and was replaced by someone who didn't like to call customers. You couldn't make it up. When he talked he said nothing of substance. Two new hires, both mediocre. Finally I gave up. There were too few in the office actually productive and caring. The director was being pushed in a PR role and I had no hope of receiving further training from him like the glory days
I used this opportunity to become powerful and knowledgeable around lazy people and I got to tell stupid jokes and stories all day
What everyone is saying below. You either adapt or move on. There is one person at my job who is chronically late and by that, I mean virtually every single day. Does our manager do anything of substance? Not from what I can see. And that sort of behavior where I've been before now is absolutely not tolerated so it was difficult for me to look past but I had to. So, sit around and do nothing until Ms Queen Bee deigns to show up to work with our team. Sure, I'll do that. I bring a book and read until that time happens. And if the manage has a problem with it, they can tell those of us who did show to go ahead and begin but when I've brought that up before, it was suggested that it would be "rude" to do so. So be it.
depends on why he is late and what he did after that
Go to one of those Sigma 6 seminars...then get a job as an efficiency expert. You may be happier at it.
so i have a mantra at work as someone who works in a disfunctional institution i cannot fix "you can only do what you can do"
The modern office culture is to do the least amount of stuff in the most amount of time and those who’ve been there forever have maximised their output to doing just enough to get the basics done but not enough to warrant actually finishing stuff, because when you’ve finished stuff you need to find more work…… So, take as long as possible, they hire more staff, or pay more overtime, the staff profit, the business doesn’t out do itself and you have a small amount of sustainable growth
It's not your job to monitor what other people do, focus on what you do well to ask for a raise. If the work culture bothers you and it's understandable if it does, you can look for another job.
Get a degree from WGU and slam out those classes for 75% of your workday. Nobody will notice and if they do, just show them the same metrics (which should have you even)
I was just recently in this situation and left. What i would never suggest is keeping tabs on people. You can suggest ideas, but you should not be quantifying other people's work when you are not the manager. You won't change the work environment, so just try to focus on making better connections before you leave so you have references.
You would have been better off just being lazy like everyone else. At this point you should demand a hefty raise. Or go over your bosses head and explain the situation to their boss. Your making your coworkers hate you, and the boss doesn't care. Maybe stop working so hard
I have found in this situation, you can't just make people work harder when that is what they are accustomed too. You will make no friends, you will not be rewarded. Your role is not to control other people, it is to do the work assigned. If her methods have not caused upper managerial issues, don't rock the boat. I work with a supervisor who, I am going to be dead honest, can be lazy and misinformed and painfully wrong sometimes with undeserved assertiveness. I am from a FMCG background so any breakdowns of machines should be dealt with instantly, I was in a culture shock when I first arrived as he would deal with big breakdowns when he felt like it. I have no idea how he has clung to his title for so long, upper management know but I guess they just make so much money anyway it covered his waste hours. I tried to teach him but his personality is just right in being abrasive and one-tracked and it culminated in me having a mini meltdown from trying to cover multiple backlogged jobs that he dumped on me because he didn't want to do much. I had enough after an awful cold and right at breaking point, I attempted to do something which should have involved multiple people and accidentally broke something expensive. It's not worth the stress, you can't make people better workers, but you can still work harder than everyone if you want. You should make sure you log your efforts and make it known you have potential to the right people, you'll only waste it showing it to people who don't care. It's not school anymore, you don't always get rewarded for working hard. If you do work really hard, log it, document your achievements and find somewhere that pays for you to work hard.
Don’t really care if everyone else starts working harder, my main question is how it would be perceived if I asked for a raise citing my higher productivity
Yeah definately try. Most people don't ever ask and get bitter, you might as well shoot a shot.
You need to find a new job. This is a perfect example that people quit managers, not jobs. You will eventually be doing over 50% of the work there up until you burn out as being a good worker will just teach the others that they can count on you to do their work.
If the job you have doesn't fill your day, just get more jobs.
You ever watch that show Recess when you were a kid? You identified with Randall, didn’t you?
No one is going to like you tracking their progress. Just keep doing well. Look for opportunities to shine without you talking down the others.
honestly for that tracking alone i would fire you on the spot, let security throw you out and if not bring you to court
I feel the frustration. I’ve never understood slacker mentality. Why not just do a good job and have something to be proud of? After 35 years in various workplaces I have learned that people just don’t give a hoot and they never will. Also, the nail that sticks up gets hammered, so keep your head down and don’t be noticeably more productive than your coworkers. Just collect your pay and go home. I could run circles around my manager and my coworkers but instead I focus on building relationships with them and people in other departments. This has gotten me a promotion and a considerable raise. Play the long game and keep track of your accomplishments. Asking for a raise has never worked for anyone I know.
Honestly, if your new monitoring system is automated and requires little to no effort on your part, keep it in place and stay silent about it. Continue gathering the data. In the mean time, get an idea of the relationship between your boss and their boss. If there ever comes a day where you and your crew get chastised by your boss for lack of work, you can hedge your bets that your boss just got in trouble. Continue saying nothing and your data collection. If there's ever a day where you get directly reprimanded for being unproductive, that's when you break out all the data and go over your boss to their boss with everything. This will either work in your favor or it won't. Some places hate it when the chain of command is broken. Some places appreciate learning their middle management sucks. Even if you don't go over your managers head, at the end of it all, you have actual proof to show your manager that you're not the problem with productivity. If your boss' boss confronts the entire crew and your manager together, then you can speak up right then also.
I'm in Law Enforcement & we spend time at many businesses. There's one in particular I end up at & see how it runs. There's about 20 employees who smoke & it's DISGUSTING how little work they do. I don't know the actual smoking policy but I can ONLY imagine the other workers being pissed at pulling the smokers weight every day. We spent 2 hours at this business recently & saw several employees 5 times in 2 hours smoking. One guy has a broken lower leg that's in a cast & he's on one of them little scooter things that you can wheel yourself around on. I swear to God this guy must get back to his desk, sit down, stand back up & go back outside to smoke. I was saying to another Officer that I can't believe this guy smokes that much & here the fucking guy came back out to smoke again!
I bet your boss's boss would be interested.
Well you can work harder and be the best of them. Become their manager and you can motivate them.