If you were your employer, would you be happy with your work performance and attitude?

[WhiteTilesWhiteGrout]

I wanted to ask a hypothetical question: if you were your employer, especially in a business where your employer owns the company/store/whatever so is directly affected by any drops in business performance, would you be happy with your (as in you, today) performance and attitude? Meaning - if you think about the work you do today, the way you approach your job, etc - if you were the employer would you be happy with that? Would you be saying 'I like what you do - great work. And great positive attitude to your job.' Or would it be a case of 'You don't work hard enough/put the hours in/you're negative/etc'?

I was talking to a friend today and he said that if it were his business (where he works) he'd make sure people were not skiving off for cigarette breaks/loo breaks/coffee breaks as much, wouldn't allow all the office politics/gossip, as they do now and that he wouldn't let people work from home because he knows that others in his team log in then go off and do other stuff every time they work from home (he's in tech).

I'm in the 'work hard and be diligent' camp because that's how I was raised - my parents were very strict and I think that's why I have almost too much respect for authority and I wouldn't dream of antagonising or annoying my boss! Interested in what others think...

I was talking to a friend today and he said that if it were his business (where he works) he'd make sure people were not skiving off for cigarette breaks/loo breaks/coffee breaks as much, wouldn't allow all the office politics/gossip, as they do now

what a tool. living in cloud cuckoo land if he thinks he can “make sure” that none of this happens

Yes I'd be happy with my attitude and performance, although my workplace is not the sort of business you describe.

I was also brought up to work hard and be diligent.

If I owned my own business, you'd be given flexibility until I thought youd taken the piss and then I'd stop. So I'd allow WFH and not be concerned if someone put their washing out "on my time".... as long as I was confident their overall attitude and performance was good.

I did the hard work and diligence. Then I got treated badly by a company and I now work my hours and no more.

I would say that my performance and attitude towards my employer is on a par with their attitude and performance towards their employees.

I work for myself, haven’t done anything today but I’m happy with that. My customers are happy which is the main thing.

Sort of. There are things in my job which I neglect or do badly, but that's because the job overall is not remotely doable in the time available. But everyone who does the job, and the employers themselves, know that perfectly well. It's like there's an unwritten acceptance that we all cut corners.

We all know that our employer could pretty much sack or discipline any of us at any time if they chose to really zoom in on what we are sometimes failing to do. I get the impression that my employers think I'm more efficient and better at my job than I actually am.

your customers are happy you’ve done nothing

love that! 😆

I work for myself and would be happy to employ me. I work hard, am incredibly organised and don't slack off. When I go to the gym in the day it's generally because I'm working into the evening.

I can be a bit grumpy with the clients who don't pay us on time though!

Thanks for the replies. My thinking is that if I'm getting paid for 8 hours, then I should be working 8 hours. If I take half an hour throughout the day to do something else, something that's not work related, then I owe my employer that time. The idea of 'I've done the work so it's OK' doesn't really work here because there's always more work waiting to be done :-(

Yes I would. Our work is customer focused and I'm one of the highest performers in the team. It's a large company with a few management levels and I've had recognition for it from the area manager. I've only been in the role for 5 months.

We are allowed breaks and wfh 3 days a week, this does not affect my performance.

Yes. I'm retiring on Thursday and have been writing my handover notes over the last year, handing over to three people the last 3 months and doing my job at the same time.

Have just worked my last Friday and am so excited to finish next week.

@minmooch how exciting - no nerves? Just excitement though? I have so many plans for my retirement but I've also seen friends 'retire' only to go back to work after a few months because they didn't like being retired!

@WhiteTilesWhiteGrout no nerves. Have so many plans, from doing nothing, to kayaking, camping, big trip to Canada later in the year, catching up with friends and family.

Can't wait!

I shirked and skived like crazy, I'm afraid. They were driving me potty with low expectations.

But they raved about me at probation review. They're making my position permanent.

I can only imagine that the guy before me set the bar on the floor, because there doesn't appear to be one.

Yes I’d be very happy, especially compared to some of my colleagues! I’m a teacher who regularly stays late, puts in hours at home, manages my team well, my students are always on task, making good progress and I know I am one of the better teachers we have at the school. My paperwork is a weak point and I can be quite outspoken about directives/ decisions I don’t agree with etc so I can probably be a pain to manage sometimes but I’ll also always put myself forward to volunteer for things out of school hours or stay late to deal with a problem etc and do go above and beyond so I think overall I am a positive worker.

I got an end of year award this month which has to be applied for & agreed at senior level, so work have recognised good performance.

But that said yesterday I found out the same piece of work has been trashed by the same SLT (not at all because it highlights embarrassing senior failures, definitely not, nope).
So today I wallowed, went for a run to try & shake it off & probably worked at about 40%. I wouldn't employ today's miserable LOD.

Next week's LOD will take a deep breath, focus on what's salvageable & start thinking of a way forward. She's a better employee.

I think the best approach, and one I have taken, is to have have clear expectations, develop real and good values, treat people with respect, motivate them, involve them as much as you can, then expect that to lead to productivity. It usually does in those circumstances. Measure performance and discuss problems early, with training where necessary.

Not really... However, I AM my employer - so, oh well. I'm very happy with my work-life balance though 😁

Yes, I've always appreciated the freedom I've had to work from and don't take the piss.

If I take time during the day whether I'm at work or at home I pay back the time.

I guess I'm a bit of a goody two shoes but it doesn't matter as the antics of some of my team means that those lovely privileges are being taken away.

Yes, I work hard and don't take the piss, and this is noticed. I go through periods of being stressed by it because I'm aware of how many people seem to not be working their hours at my work, or who put spurious meetings in their diaries that don't appear to exist. But then I get over it and think I'd rather be me than them!

My manager described me yesterday as "a safe pair of hands" which sounds bloody boring, but it does mean I get invited to work on a lot of interesting projects as people know I'll do the work.

I do work from home mostly, but I'm at my desk all day and put an alarm on for my lunch break, so I start and finish it on time. I know people who sit on the sofa with the TV blaring at them all day to work, which I just think isn't acceptable and if they don't have self-discipline they should recognise this and work in the office.

Absolutely. At my last appraisal I gave myself 10/10 for everything and told my manager if she didn't agree to tell me why. She agreed.