I can't really answer this poll because of the way the questions are skewed. I mean, there are times when going 'above and beyond' is politically unwise so I refrain, but I regularly offer my added skills as needed. So my answer is: sometimes. But I offer them without any specific expectation around them. And if my boss asks me to do something _that I don't mind doing_ well, then... that means that I don't mind doing it. There are other people here at my office who are doing jobs similar to what I've already done and I can see that they are struggling simply because they haven't done their job long enough to figure out their best way of doing it, but I'm the new kid at this company, so how *I* do things lacks some of the specific corporate history... which I know is useful and relevant and can only be acquired over time.
I've been at a lot of jobs that have taken advantage of me, because I let them take advantage of me. I've worked at jobs that didn't give me the credit when it was due so I had to learn how to either stand up for myself or accept that the work environment was toxic (and leave). I didn't get the opportunity to really learn that until I'd been laid off from a place with a back-stabbing, lying wench who considered herself my boss (as she was of the whole damn planet) and an actual boss who regularly caved in to her. So now I know to avoid getting into those kinds of battles.
I think inevitably the interests of a boss and an employee are sometimes incompatible. A boss wants the most out of an employee with as little compensation, while an employee hopes to get the most compensation for as little "overtime" as possible.
Ultimately, I think we all reach a point or line where some employees feel like the boss is pushing too far, while others in the group don't think the boss has reached that point yet. I think that's partially what I was interested in seeing-- we as employees all have a different "point" or "line" where we feel they cross the line, but I Think we all reach it at differnet points based on our views and attitudes regarding the workforce.
Also with the "don't mind doing", I added it in because I didn't want to imply it was a hardship to accomplish the task.
A situation arose where a group of employees were supposed to work together to accomplish a task, and one insisted on not doing it, even though he didn't mind doing it, because it would "set a bad precedent for people in the future who might mind doing it". I feel that kind of work attitude is detrimental to group dynamic.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2008-04-05 12:04 am (UTC)I've been at a lot of jobs that have taken advantage of me, because I let them take advantage of me. I've worked at jobs that didn't give me the credit when it was due so I had to learn how to either stand up for myself or accept that the work environment was toxic (and leave). I didn't get the opportunity to really learn that until I'd been laid off from a place with a back-stabbing, lying wench who considered herself my boss (as she was of the whole damn planet) and an actual boss who regularly caved in to her. So now I know to avoid getting into those kinds of battles.
My $.02, YMMV
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Date: 2008-04-05 01:57 pm (UTC)Ultimately, I think we all reach a point or line where some employees feel like the boss is pushing too far, while others in the group don't think the boss has reached that point yet. I think that's partially what I was interested in seeing-- we as employees all have a different "point" or "line" where we feel they cross the line, but I Think we all reach it at differnet points based on our views and attitudes regarding the workforce.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-05 02:12 pm (UTC)A situation arose where a group of employees were supposed to work together to accomplish a task, and one insisted on not doing it, even though he didn't mind doing it, because it would "set a bad precedent for people in the future who might mind doing it". I feel that kind of work attitude is detrimental to group dynamic.