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Subject:Re: Re[2]: How not to attract staff! From:Lisa Higgins <lisa -at- DRDDO1 -dot- EI -dot- LUCENT -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 13 Feb 1997 17:16:08 +0000
> But what really offended me about the ad was the explicit assumption that
> unless you turned in absurd hours under loads of stress, you couldn't be
> doing anything you could be proud of. *That's* the problem I had with it.
I agree. I've worked at companies like this. Most of them developed
their corporate cultures right around the time that American business
was slobbering all over Japan, spooging their culture (which works
nicely for them) into their companies.
Working lots of hours did nothing to ensure quality or productivity.
It was just done for appearances.
It's all well and good to want employees who'll do whatever it takes
to get the job done well; but if a company's way of expressing that
is to say that you must be working long hours under a lot of stress,
I'd venture to guess that maybe they're approaching the issue the
wrong way.
This is a creative business (well, it's supposed to be, I think).
Creative people work all the time. They work while they're driving,
eating, sleeping, and all kinds of other things I can't mention on
this family mailing list. (Ha ha! wouldn't THAT be a boring family?).
I've pulled all-nighters. I've worked weekends and brought work home
and gotten wrapped up in projects, too. But if I am compelled to do
this all the time, I'm going to want to know why my company isn't
hiring enough people to do the job.
If this company wants creative, dedicated people, they should ask for
that. If they want a bunch of ineffectual people carrying clipboards
around all day (good "looking busy" trick), that ad could be a good
way to get them.
Lisa.
lhiggins -at- lucent -dot- com
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