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?

Every job I've ever done has always had one eager beaver, but I've never looked down my nose at them for it. I was the eager beaver when I first graduated, as I thought it'd help me move up the ladder, but it wasn't sustainable and now I work to live rather than live to work.

@SnugShaker

But my post was more about the impact their work style can have on workplace culture, not on their personal worth or stamina.

But basically what you're saying is that anyone who puts in more than the exact contractual requirement of their job is a saddo who has no life outside work.

You can't really be surprised that some people who like their jobs and have lives outside work think maybe you're just a bit lame in your own job...

I'd give up OP, you've riled the masses for some reason. It reminds me of the responses about performance parents, with half the site furiously claiming they don't exist and everybody who disagrees is neglecting their children. MN is weird sometimes.

Although, out of interest how does that tally with other countries where there is much more of a work life balance because people havent taken the american style approach of push push push. Even in public services in Spain, Italy, France etc. I dont know how much is 'performance driven' in the same way government is here.

I mean, sure, people who have no kids and decide to really dedicate themselves to a career are a thing.

And tbh I think they deserve to have that recognised with things like promotion. I go home, for the most part, at the end of my workday, on ocassion I will end up staying longer because i'm a manager and that's part of the job, but I have four kids and other things I like to do too, I'm not spending a ton of extra hours at work.

I don't expect my team to stay late either, they aren't that well paid and also have lives. I try hard to manage their time so they can take care of their other responsibilities too. However - I do recognise that some of them do go above and beyond and have special dedication - most (not all) of those do not in fact have kids.

I think sometimes that can come off as unfair when these people get promoted or special jobs or courses, and there is a balance to be had. Before I was a manager, there was a woman on the team I was working on who had been in the job many years. She wan't to move into a differernt position - almost a lateral move although pay was a bit more, but she wanted to go from working with the public to a behind the scenes job, in large part because the clientele had changed and she wasn't really keen on man of the new people who were a more challenging population.

She didn't get the position, it went to another internal applicant who hadn't been there as long, and caused some bad feeling, including amng some of the other older team members.

I think the differernce was, the older woman, although conscientious and competent, had always treated it as just a job, and had been clear she stayed mainly for extra health insurance as she had a family member with a serious health condition - (a family member who wouldn't need that insurance for many more years.) All perfectly good reasons to have a job.

The young women who was chose instead, otoh, clearly intended it as a career or even a vocation and had pursued extra education to that end. She was likely to stay for many more years in the role and eventually would be a good candidate to lead her technical team. I later, as a manager, had an interesting discussion with one of the other team members who had felt this was an unfair decision. She hadn't actually even considered the longer term planning elements, or the fact that the younger woman likely would have left eventually without a chance to move up, in a place where her education wasn't especially common. So my team member had been quite annoyed because she wasn't really thinking about the bigger picture for the workplace.

In view of my personal experience, I find your post incredibly crass and self-absorbed.

Ee had one such woman in my old workplace. A secretary (I’m old), conscientious in the extreme. In early, home late, took all the overtime going. Single, childless, no immediate family.

She committed suicide after she was let go in a round of redundancies.

You have NO idea what’s going on in the lives of people who happen to work where you also work. None. Get over yourself and how such people’s private and personal choices for their own lives might make you look or feel. You are not the center of the universe.

@soupyspoon

Although, out of interest how does that tally with other countries where there is much more of a work life balance because people havent taken the american style approach of push push push.

National approaches to work and work culture are all national averages, though. There will always be outliers in all cultures. Some cultures encourage dynamism over family life, some encourage work/life balance. Some people in all cultures will be dossers and some will be push, push push.

But the bottom line is all societies require some people to go above and beyond. Whether that's working all hours to keep a business running, voluntary work or training to be a musician or elite sportsperson. You can't achieve this without some push and some sacrifice.

Obviously not everyone is going to be like that (probably most people aren't) and that's fine: it takes all sorts. But anyone who sneers at people who have passion and drive to go above and beyond is obviously jealous and a bit insecure.

My point was that your attack on their life outside of work is equally imaginary.

Ultimately their commitment at work makes you look bad and you don’t like thst.

Me. I usually start early and finish late because I work in a job involving vulnerable people and they don't neatly fit into a nice box re time!
However I don't work weekends or whilst on leave.
I have a life but I'm also really diligent and just want to do a good job. You don't join caring professions if you don't care.

Ok, if they are trying to shame others..... then just plain ignore. Any attention or acknowledgement gives them just what they want.

I don't mind people being super keen at work. But I do mind people being super keen at work, doing way more than they need to, and then complaining about being stressed and overworked.

There is someone at my workplace who consistently complains about how busy and stressed she is, never misses an opportunity to tell us in a 4pm meeting that she's sorry she's eating a sandwich but she hasn't had time until now to eat anything all day, is always still in the office at 7pm, sends emails at all hours etc. Constantly goes on about this. But the fact is that she doesn't have to do any of this. All the other people at her level work like normal people - busy days, sure, but not consistently and obsessively putting in loads of extra hours. And when she was on secondment and her role was backfilled for a year, the temporary person managed to do the job every bit as well without all the extra hours. Basically the only reason this person works the way she does is because she obsessively micromanages almost to the point of bullying her team - and yes (as she freely admits) she has very little else going on in her life other than work.

You do you and let them do them.

Or alternatively, you do you and force them to do you as well.

I think your tone is a bit derogatory. I appreciate my co workers who can be a bit more flexible and lend a hand esp when mu kids were small. Now mine are older I repay the favours as much as I can

I've had someone like this in most workplaces. I felt sorry for a couple of them.

Others were jobsworths you had to watch your back around as they loved to put you down in order to make themselves look good.

I used to be like that, I think it was just to prove I wasn’t as crap as I was trying not to be! Just wanted to be helpful really. It’s fallen fallen fallen since kids, marriage, now even further since marriage drooping !!

I don't see how speculating about their private lives helps you with this? It does just sound like a nasty put down. If someone wants to make their work their whole life, that's their business. ( you might be very grateful if this was a dedicated doctor treating you for example)

You just focus on yourself, working your contracted hours, getting your work done and meeting the terms of your contract and you shouldn't have a problem....

I think that the bigger issue is those who don't pull their weight. I do end up volunteering quite a bit because when our boss ask for volunteers, there are only 4 of us who can do most of the higher skilled tasks, 1 is extremely lazy and full of excuses, 1 is battling complex health issues and does extra when they can bit often can't, and 1 is really stubborn and refuses to do extra and threatens to quit if made to do so, and its a hard area to recruit in. Other 3 are all full time and I'm part time but my boss comes to me as I'm capable and generally say yes, as the alternative is that some really unwell children don't get their needs met.

So yes, I'm the person who volunteers, who works unpaid overtime, because I have 2 annoying and 1 unwell colleague, a spineless boss and very unwell children to look after.

Yes. Had someone the other day bore on at me about how they always take laptop on hols with them so they don’t ’miss out’. What the ever loving fuck.

This was my old boss - super high achiever and once I got to know her I realised she was very Alpha and really did live to work. She loved her job and was very good at it. It felt a bit like she was always trying to prove something, maybe to herself. She was (or seemed) happy and wasn’t judgy about people who weren’t as driven as she was. I admired her work ethic and am the sort to do my best if I’m going to do something so we made a good team.
I get a bit more wound up by the people who don’t want to work that hard, tbh.

True but if it works for them I just leave them to it, it doesn't affect me i just get on with my work it doesn't make me feel anything other than remembering that it happens

I’d far rather work with someone like that than people who do the very bare minimum and think that’s good enough.

I was that person because I wanted to do well

There are also clock-watchers who do the bare minimum, have no interest in their job and wouldn't start a minute before their time. It does get tiring.

I find the eager ones much easier to deal with frankly.

They want to go ahead and put the effort, what else are they supposed to do? Bare mininum doesn't bring you anything.

Quite. Clock-watchers who do the bare minimum just create more work for people who do enjoy their jobs and usually massive resentment.

Why would anyone choose someone who blatantly can't be arsed over someone who puts a bit of thought and work into it? Such an entitled attitude.

If you hate your job try to work to find one which suits you better, rather than slagging off people who enjoy theirs.

Yep and what a shit-stirring bastard it was. Hadn’t spoken to her daughter for years but was fully up to speed with what everyone in the office was doing. Cunt.