Let me tell you why I’m writing this blog article: because I’ve seen a pattern that keeps repeating when it comes to transacting value that doesn’t really capture the essence of what a business should be, namely, just a business. People want to work in a big company because it pays them well, they have some benefits, some perks and more of what they want, but they often forget they are just transacting value.
A business pays you money in exchange for what you know brings them value as well, namely, a service or a product. It could be in the form of sales, risk prevention like customer service or fraud analysis, or a service like consulting or education. There’s certainly more to it, but what we want is transacting a good in exchange for money, and this is the central part of my thesis here.
The problem is that people often forget, usually employees of a big firm, that they are providing their services, knowledge and time in exchange for money, and they start to demand more benefits of their service: remote work, gym memberships, a ping-pong table in the office, a library, a music club, team buildings, etc. While these are certainly interesting stuff, they are not the essence of the business, they are not supposed to have them, and you’re not supposed to expect them.
The essence of a business: You just need to provide value the best way you know (and the way they expect) and get paid. That’s it. If you don’t bring them money directly (sales, investments, a transacted good), you’re preventing loss of money (HR, customer service, fraud analysis).
I need to explain this because I wanted to get to my original point: people do not understand this, and they go around thinking that what they’re doing in the office is “valuable” when they are just being good people or believing “they deserve more” or that the business is “lucky to have them”. Why? No one knows, that’s just based on a hunch, a transcendent feeling that goes over their head…
I used to think like this, but that was in my younger years, and no one can blame us… but we’ve grown older and the more experience we have, the bitterer we become.
This article goes hand in hand with my previous Medium article on Productivity doesn’t matter, and the idea that performance reviews are an excuse to pay you less. You should definitely check that out if you want to know more.
In the article, I describe why productivity doesn’t matter and why you should do your bare minimum, and the key takeaway from that: don’t expect a job to save you, they will fire you any time if it’s convenient to them. They already have an excuse to pay you less through performance reviews, and an excuse to fire you if you don’t deliver, or you aren’t “productive enough”. They don’t care about you.
The reason they have all those stupid things like a ping-pong table is to make the environment attractive enough, so you don’t quit because the job is demanding or very repetitive, attrition statistics are high and hiring costs are expensive, and somehow they have to make it up to them. There is also another reason: they want to get the most out of you by letting you do stuff in the office and forget you’re working and instead make you believe you’re following a passion. Don’t fall for that trap.
Keep businesses as they are: just a business. Get paid and go home. There’s no innovative thing for you to do. And if that’s part of your job, so be it, but that’s on you.