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?

For me work helps with my mental and emotional stability (I have anxiety and ADHD and I suspect autism). Long periods not working derail my mental health whereas work gives me structure.

I feel it's very important to be accepting of peoples work styles. So long as they don't really impact the workplace in a detrimental manner.

One thing that's also important is to recognise the difference between a job and a career and that one persons idea of just a job is another persons career.

I agree, I've worked with many people who bend over backwards to do extra work, extra hours they're not paid for. It's like they think they owe their employer this unpaid labour and gratitude for giving them a job. It's very sad. I appreciate hard workers, but ultimately everyone is replaceable, and you shouldn't do more than what you're paid for ever.

I am one of those people. I’m also diagnosed autistic and am therefore in a minority since only 20% ish of autistic people are in full time employment. In no particular order…

I don’t really have friends, am single, no kids and live hours away from family, so get most of my social interaction from work.

I have special interests that develop whilst doing parts of my role that I then become a bit obsessed with - I.e. I spent all of this weekend just gone working on spreadsheets and learning advanced excel stuff - because I am enjoying learning about it.

I feel I have to work harder and showcase what I CAN do to compensate for the things I’m not good at, and show why I deserve to have this role, even though I am autistic.

I have to demonstrate I’m a ‘team player’ in other ways because I’m crap at the usual social expectations of what people see as a team player. So I do it by being efficient, being available and completing all pieces of work to a very high standard.

I go to the office early so I can set myself up for the day and work in quiet without having to use my noise cancelling headphones. Wearing them for too long causes pain. It also means I can leave earlier if I become sensory overloaded. Sometimes I end up staying late because I am in hyper focus mode.

I access emails/teams while off work so I know what’s going on and am not blindsided by changes on my return. Knowing things in advance is better for me.

I don’t care if others don’t do the same. I do care if they aren’t even doing the basics of their job though. I also don’t need you to feel sorry for me. I actually like living alone and being able to do what I want. If I want to create stuff on a weekend because it’s a subject I want to learn more about then yeah, that’s what I’m going to do.

I do have other hobbies that generally rotate through my special interest focus.

It sounds like school where clever and hardworking kids were mocked by the so-called 'cool kids' who never did their homework.

If people who are ambitious start off in a lower grade role but want to progress, it makes sense to 'go above and beyond'. If they are pleasant colleagues, it seems unfair to make assumptions about their empty and lonely lives.

Exactly this.

Also how would some of the YANBU people on here feel about being called 'jobsworths'?

It takes all sorts to make a workplace work effectively and for all team participants

Yes I recognise what the OP is referring to, we had or have one. Who now has had periods of ill-health.

I don't want there to be such people as I want everyone to be able to enjoy a period of retirement in good health. Not sure I can stop them though.

Yes I'm was one of them.
Firstly I was zero hours with kids mortgage car etc so every hour counted.
Next I went into overdrive due to coping with lots of family ill heath like heart attacks and cancer.
Then 12 or 13 hour days when df died and got addicted to the extra money.
Also my hobby is my career and so I'm really interested in it.
It's written through me like a stick of rock.
Diagnosed with hyperactive impulsive ADHD.
The long days were probably made for people like me.

Perijane I can see why this is how you operate.
I don't like socialising for socialising sake so most of my interactions are with like minded people at work.

I think it depends on the ‘season’ of your life. It was true for me when I first qualified as a teacher and that’s pretty normal. It’s not true now 26 years later with elderly parents and DC. It may be true again near the end of my career; who knows?!

It's just another part of working with other people. We all have different ways of being. I doubt the 'eager beaver' is actively trying to make you or anyone else in your workplace look bad, though they may be trying to make themselves look better. (Nothing wrong with trying to get ahead, and putting in extra effort is often required for that.)

Anyway, there's nothing you can do about it except alter your own behaviour or your inner monologue. Either put in more effort, if you feel you need to compete or be seen to be working as hard as Mr/Ms Eager, or try to stop focusing on it by reminding yourself that you're putting in a good day of work. If you're genuinely doing your job as stipulated, just keep at it. You'll just have to grit your teeth through any annoyance.

When I was younger I spent a lot of time working away from home. I was usually last out as staying at work was better than sitting in a hotel room.

Yes, and unfortunately for me, this person is my boss and expects us all to have the same standards 🙃

A colleague who works all hours doesn't diminish the quality of anyone else's work or advice. In fact, it reflects badly if they can't manage their time and I'd be concerned that they weren't looking after themselves.

But I'd rather have an eager beaver than a stirrer, moaning about their colleague behind their back & sewing division in the team because they are insecure in their own abilities.

Ugh I've been accused of being this.

Firstly I'm detail-oriented and conscientious. When I do something I do it correctly and consistently. I'd rather not do something at all than half-arse it. This isn't about sucking up to bosses - I'm far from one of life's brown-nosers - this is because whatever I do has to be done well if not perfectly. This is the case outside of work too!

Secondly I tend to be good at the tasks I take on and can work very, very quickly. I'm not slogging away putting in overtime hours to get everything right. I WFH and manage my own time so sometimes people see me working on things at odd hours and assume I'm pulling a 15-hour day - but often I'll have taken a few hours out of the daytime to do my own things (obviously having told anyone who needs to know) and am returning to work when it suits me.

Thirdly I'm private with colleagues and don't tell them 99% of what I get up to out of work. I couldn't care less if they think I don't have a life, because they're not my friends.

"It makes us look worse" - well how about you do the work well and not in a slapdash way so I don't have to go back and correct it?

V glad I'm not in that environment any more.

I know what you mean OP. In my experience it only takes a few people like this to really change the dynamics, and unsaid expectations, in a team.

I work hard, do my job well, to a high standard, and don’t mind doing an extra hour or two here and there. But when I log off work, that’s it until the next day. A few weeks back a colleague sent a non-urgent email to me and five others around 6.30pm (just after I’d logged off). By the time I’d opened my emails at 9am the next day everyone else on the email thread had replied, and they’d all got into a quite detailed back and forth discussion.

I then felt a bit on the back foot and as though I’d done something wrong and would appear lazy. Though I knew they were all going above and beyond and my approach was absolutely fine - the danger is there’s a tipping point when enough members of a team are doing this ‘eager beaver’ behaviour that it becomes the norm, and others feel pressured to join in.

I used to do bloody everything in my last job, worked myself to the bone and made myself sick. I did the work of most of my team of 8 people. I got assigned a lot more work than most. I was there for 4 years and when I didnt get my promotion - again - I went on paid sick leave due to an exhaustion meltdown and got a new job.

On the few days after I left, people were still texting me asking for help, and they were blocked. Another few messaged saying the company treated me appallingly and gave me best wishes.

Ive been at a new company now for almost 3 years and I do the bare minimum, and log off. 2 pay rises later as well.

Ive come to the conclusion that working yourself to the bone isnt worth it.

I really don’t see the issue with a person being like that.

IME when you have people often volunteering to do extra, the ‘extra’ becomes the norm which everyone is expected to do and then the eager beavers find something extra to do on top of that and then everyone else is expected to do it. For example, I work in a little village school. One eager beaver teacher decided she would man a stall at the village fete in the name of the school. Then progressively all the other teachers were expected to volunteer at the fete. Then an eager beaver TA decided she would volunteer too. So now all school staff are expected to give at least half a day at this fete.

That’s for other people to hold their boundaries then.

I work in academia. Being an eager beaver with fuck all else in life is basically a competitive sport in my sector.

My mind boggles at the "emeritus" staff who formally retire but then continue to work basically full-time hours for shits and giggles. Absolute losers.

100% agree. I have got sick of this shit. Interestingly the original eager beaver quit because she felt SLT were expecting too much extra from her!!

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.

Worse one I had was my projects company sponsor - traveling a lot e-mail all hours or day and night -- (DH suggested he may have a script doing this hidden by time zones) - but got back very last minute and always wanted changes - meant lots of unpaid overtime and work done twice - IT project even code freezes he'd get undone with no concept of work and testing that then needed doing for even minor changes.

I move projects in my time there to one he wasn't involved in - huge difference planned out - no last minute drastic changes - could start at 9 finish at 5 hours I was paid for - so much less stress and I found I has so much more time.

It was USA firm - though he was Swiss I think - very charming - project was his baby and idea - he didn't care about time/work and while lower managment tried to push back he was adept at getting senior partners on side.

He was very good at looking really busy but most of the hard work wasn't his but he was very visible so people accepeted he was a hard worker. I think he had quite a busy social life - I suspect he was banging out e-mails and demands in odd quite moments while he was busy living his life outside work.

I think losers is a bit strong. They probably enjoy what they do and are actually among the fortunate people who have worked at something they loved. Having retired and still have access to the resources is probably a bonus. OH was in scientific research, if he still had access to a lab/workshop I suspect he'd be in there most of the time.

@CowboyFromHell

I work hard, do my job well, to a high standard, and don’t mind doing an extra hour or two here and there. But when I log off work, that’s it until the next day. A few weeks back a colleague sent a non-urgent email to me and five others around 6.30pm (just after I’d logged off). By the time I’d opened my emails at 9am the next day everyone else on the email thread had replied, and they’d all got into a quite detailed back and forth discussion.

I then felt a bit on the back foot and as though I’d done something wrong and would appear lazy. Though I knew they were all going above and beyond and my approach was absolutely fine - the danger is there’s a tipping point when enough members of a team are doing this ‘eager beaver’ behaviour that it becomes the norm, and others feel pressured to join in.

Honestly, this thread is a bit of an eye opener and honestly it makes me understand partly why the UK has such a huge productivity gap. If you really regard having to open an email after 6.30pm as a great violation then you should try spending some time in a developing country where there's no safety net.

if I didn't do what some of you people describe as "eager beaver" behaviour I'd be fired. Occasionally having to respond to emails at 6.30pm isn't the greatest hardship. Some of you should try spending some time in places where there is serious underemployment.

I'm a single parent and sole breadwinner. I don't have the luxury of sneering at people who try to do their jobs well because I have to be one of those people to survive. Presumably most of you can fall back on a partner's income if you get bored of your jobs. But worth giving a thought to the fact that some of us actually need to work.