To think every workplace has at least one eager beaver who lives for work and has nothing else going on?

[SnugShaker]

There’s always that one person who comes in early, stays late, volunteers for every extra task and seems to have no life outside of work. They act like the office is their whole world and they almost seem proud of it. Meanwhile, the rest of us are just trying to do our jobs and go home.

I get that some people are ambitious or genuinely enjoy their work but does anyone else find it a bit… weird? Like, is it dedication or just a lack of anything else going on?

Some people just really enjoy their jobs and are naturally conscientious.

It doesn’t the mean that they have boring lives or that your life is more interesting than their’s

People choose to spend their time in different ways, I’m not why you care?

This

I agree with you and they're always the ones obsessed with what everyone else is doing and write the 'my colleague was 3 minutes late today and it had zero impact on me AIBU to tell our manager' posts.

We’re all different and you should climb down off your pedestal before you fall.

I've known people like this and it's generally been because they hate being at home and/or are lonely. (Taking aside those who are doing it from an ambitious perspective).When it's just to avoid going home, I find it quite sad. I love going home! I feel sorry for people who don't see home as a happy place, for whatever reason.

I’d take a couple of those over people who are workshy, incompetent and always late. I have a couple of those and they are terrible for morale and teamwork.

Mine doesn’t! :) I’m the one who would come in early but that’s so I can prep and get situated and have some time away from my kids! And get in the right headspace after a horrendous nursery drop off, usually. All of our staff have LOADS going on outside of work. We’re all music teachers with loads of projects going on outside of work. My kids don’t let me sing or play much at home!

Yep I agree that the ones I've know like this have been on their own/lonely/no kids or whatever. And often in low paying and low status positions.

Then you get the other extreme who regularly call in sick, coming in late, leaving early etc.

I’m not saying they have boring lives by definition, just that sometimes the extreme work focus looks like it comes from not having much going on outside. And I do care, only because it can shift the tone of a whole workplace, where suddenly staying late or doing the most becomes the unspoken norm and the rest of us looks like we’re slacking for wanting balance. It’s not about judging their whole life, more about how it affects team dynamics.

I think you are wrong in assuming they have no life beyond work. Some, maybe?.. but I would say many people like this do want to progress, they are conciencious and hard working. Plus, private.

We have someone in the office a bit like this.
She’s the most dedicated worker I’ve ever known but doesn’t cope well under stress and pressure and she’s always volunteering first to pick up any extra work and then has a meltdown if you ask her for the work she was doing for you because ‘I have too much to do’.

before you ask why she’s doing work for me and why am I not doing it myself, it’s mostly finance stuff which most of us don’t have access to and is a part of her job role!!

She’s nice enough but quite tiresome.

If it affects team dynamics it's the fault of the manager.

But I do get where you are coming from with that because I have a colleague who never seems to stop working. We are at different life stages and she wants promotion but it reflects badly on me if I don't put the same level of effort in.

She does definitely have a life outside work though including a child, a dog, and a horse. I don't think she ever sleeps...

I’m sure some of them are just private, conscientious and ambitious. But I guess I’m talking about the ones where it feels performative, like they want to be seen as the most committed or subtly shame others who aren’t doing the same. If it’s genuine and self-contained, great. But when it spills into workplace dynamics or becomes the unspoken standard, it starts to feel a bit much.

We have someone like this. On her annual leave she will always ALWAYS be online on teams and work when she should be out of office for two weeks. She's a loner and I personally have had many bitter interactions with her. She isn't pleasant to work with and I can only imagine what she is like outside of work (very belittling and rude) so I can imagine she doesn't get up to much anyway, therefore, works instead. It's weird.

Meanwhile, the rest of us are just trying to do our jobs and go home.

If everyone just wanted to "do our jobs and go home" you wouldn't have

• Entrepreneurs
• Successful creatives (of all kinds)
• Paramedics
• Politicians and activists
• Teachers
• Journalists
• Engineers

Etc etc.

If everyone had a clock in, clock out mentality and no one ever put in more than exactly what was required in their contract there would be no excellence of any kind in work.

The fact you can't be arsed with your job doesn't make people who do like their jobs boring. Maybe you should change jobs.

I’ve heard this said many times over the years about people who work hard. I don’t like the implication that just because someone is dedicated to their work, their life outside work is lacking in some way. It’s a put-down.

Some people do have rich lives outside work as well as a good work ethic. Some people just seem to have loads of energy and enthusiasm for all aspects of their lives.

I freely admit that I lean to the lazy, but I don’t try to make myself feel better about it by disparaging hard-workers.

Mine was a childhood trauma response (and you’ll find that many of the eager beavers have childhood trauma or at the very least very critical or not particularly loving parents).

It results in a deep feeling of not being good enough which you then overcompensate for…

But I agree with PP, it doesn’t mean they don’t have anything else going on. I used to be like that at work, volunteer for two charities, have a long-term relationship and friendships and over-function in most of them (and was very tired!)

I really hate this attitude. It's a lame way for people who hate their jobs to sneer at people who don't.

It's a bit like people sneering at very conventionally attractive women saying "they must be thick".

Stupid, reductive and nasty.

Maybe they have loads going on, but also lots of energy to fully engage in both? Maybe they’re feeling sorry for your sluggishness at work, and imagine you lolling weakly at home on the sofa because you can’t even cope with an ordinary workday, so you’re probably unlikely to have an exciting social life, fulfilling hobbies, be marathon training etc.?

I know exactly the type you mean. It's not just being conscientious, it's that they've made work their whole personality and the centre of their world.

It seems to make them happy but I can't relate.

Sure, maybe they do have boundless energy and a packed calendar outside of work, that’s great if so. But my post was more about the impact their work style can have on workplace culture, not their personal worth or stamina. It’s funny how quickly a conversation about team dynamics turns into imaginary attacks on my energy levels though!

Not just one, usually at least 10% of work force. They're either brown nosers or having nothing better to do IME.

YANBU

I agree with you OP, surprised at the polling

I dont mind too much the types you describe except the implication it then turns to, which is that others who are just doing their job, are no longer doing 'enough'

But worse is the type who want to make sure 'the team' are performing enough, doing enough, 'the team' may need new stategies to do that and 'hey guys, Ive thought of a new way to improve this and streamline that'

When actually, Im doing what I can, in the hours I have and Im not slogging my guts out for no extra pay.