Does hard work get you anywhere nowdays?

[Conversationist]

Having worked in Human Resources (employee relations) for most of my career, I have had quite an opportunity to observe the people on their way up the career latter. I have also seen many people work like a dog for long hours and get absolutely no where in their life/career.

From my observation, (from twenty years in Human Resources) and being involved in the decision making on who gets the promotion, bonuses, merit increases and who gets fired/laid off, I think "hard work" does not "do" it any more.

Years ago, when most people worked at factories, working hard did get you ahead, but today when most jobs are in the service sector, hard work is not that important anymore.

Most people who are successful have a gift with people (interpersonal), have friends in high up places, look or act the part, or were at the right place at the right time. Most Americans are working harder and longer than ever before and getting no-where.

Do you agree? Or do you think that if you work hard enough, the American dream will make you successful?

 

[imsorry]

Well, you seem to have alot of time on your hands....guess hard work doesn't go far in your office.

 

[Free4Life11]

Nope! I work at a movie theatre and you get no respect and no thanks from anyone! There's no reason to work hard there. You wont get rewarded or noticed for it, but you WILL get frustarated, tired, and grouchy!

Oh wait you do get coupons for 10 free minutes of bowling. I'm not sure if it's a joke or they are being serious when they give them to us.

 

[Free4Life11]

Well, you seem to have alot of time on your hands....guess hard work doesn't go far in your office.

You don't get breaks at your job?

 

[Mysteria]

I am so sleep deprived right now all I can do is laugh.

Myst

 

[Crankyshank]

Not in my experience. Both in the work force and in personal lives.

 

[vacanut]

I'm waiting for q's take on this.

 

[RUDisney]

I manage 2 departments at my bank and I am an integral part of helping the others in my division to manage their departments. I can tell you that hard work gets you everywhere in my bank. Hard work, and the correct social and business skills will get you far. From where I sit, this is a rare quality. There are definitely more indians than chiefs in this world.

The problem, as I see it, rests with people's impatience to do their job to prove themselves. Too many people want to come in at the top and are unwilling to put the time in to be recognized. They also fail to realize the importance of computer skills. Heck, so many of them can't even remember their passwords to get into the system let alone have a desire to do their job well once they have access.

 

[Daxx]

Daxx's Wife here. You know, Daxx and I were just talking about this the other day. He is up for his review and he thinks that, although he's done a good job and found ways to cut corners and save the company a lot of money (small company -- 10 employees), he doesn't think it's "good enough" for his bosses.

Daxx was very upset the other day. Turns out the company finally put out a job search for a new tech. Daxx found the job search info. on Monster.com and checked it out. It turns out that the company is looking for a tech w/2 yrs. experience (Daxx has more than 2 yrs. exp.) and the rate of pay for the tech was $10K more than Daxx is currently making. Now ... Daxx says that when he goes for the review, he's going to "apply" for the new position and see if they'll give him the additional cash. He knows they won't, but he's going to say something about why are the people who have been working for you for years making less than someone new coming in.

All the people in the company work hard and do their best and are highly productive. Still, they all feel like the bosses think their work isn't "good enough" and they don't work "hard enough". Ugh.

 

[AllyandJack]

I guess it would depend on the industry....DH is in construction and he's a hard worker. He gets good raises and has never been laid off - even up here in the cold winters.

I'm an attorney and we don't really face layoffs too often, but our bonuses are tied to our performance, so working hard gets you a bigger bonus.

I can't speak for other industries, but I imagine there are a lot of them where it's not what you know or what you do, but who you know and what they do. In MA, we call it hackery.

 

[BostonTigger]

Most people who are successful have a gift with people (interpersonal), have friends in high up places, look or act the part, or were at the right place at the right time. Most Americans are working harder and longer than ever before and getting no-where.

Do you agree? Or do you think that if you work hard enough, the American dream will make you successful?

Bingo! That's it right there. They have that gift with people and they look the part. I have great people skills and I was recently promoted at work with less than two months on the job...and there are people here who have obviously been here longer than I have.

 

[Dodie]

What exactly is the career latter?

 

[Quackmore]

Well, you seem to have alot of time on your hands....guess hard work doesn't go far in your office.

It's not hard work it's who you know or who you.........

 

[Conversationist]

"Career latter" spelling wrong but you know what I am talking about.

To follow-up on the comments so far:

Working hard is not performance. Most performance appraisal results are based on SUBJECTIVE factors (opinions bosses have) that have little to do with working hard. Most bosses really lack the skills to know what good work really is.

It is like doing a performance appraisal on President Bush. Most Republicans think he is doing a good job in overseeing Hurricane relief. Most Democrats think he is doing a terrible job. But he is doing the same job in reality.
President Jimmy Carter worked 16 hour days and most historians thought he was a poor President. Did all the long hard days do him any good?

 

[Quackmore]

I know you have those weapons of mass destruction. Where are they or I'll keep giving you a noogie.

 

[goofyforlife]

It's not hard work it's who you know or who you.........

My thoughts exactly......

 

[Bob Slydell]

Working hard is not performance. Most performance appraisal results are based on SUBJECTIVE factors (opinions bosses have) that have little to do with working hard. Most bosses really lack the skills to know what good work really is.

Rarely can performance be acheived without hard work -- they're too interdependent.

 

[Kitty 34]

Unfortunetly where I work it's who you are, period.

 

[ducklite]

With outsourcing and corporate politics as they are these days, I think there are less opportunities than ever to succeed in corporate America, regardless of how much you give to a company.

Anne

 

[BabyTigger99]

Where I work, it has nothing to do with performance (or lack thereof), because we are all union. All that matters is seniority.