[HN Gopher] Are people bad at their jobs or are the jobs just bad?
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       Are people bad at their jobs or are the jobs just bad?
        
       Author : moonka
       Score  : 26 points
       Date   : 2025-04-02 21:54 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (annehelen.substack.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (annehelen.substack.com)
        
       | rqtwteye wrote:
       | I have been in the workforce for almost 30 years now and I
       | believe that everybody is getting more squeezed so they don't
       | have the time or energy to do a proper job. The expectation is to
       | get it done as quickly as possible and not do more unless told
       | so.
       | 
       | In SW development in the 90s I had much more time for
       | experimentation to figure things out. In the last years you often
       | have some manager where you basically have to justify every thing
       | you do and always a huge pile of work that never gets smaller. So
       | you just hurry through your tasks.
       | 
       | I think google had it right for a while with their 20% time where
       | people could do wanted to do. As far as I know that's over.
       | 
       | People need some slack if you want to see good work. They aren't
       | machines that can run constantly on 100% utilization.
        
         | Avicebron wrote:
         | The article addresses the fact that it's more of the "job" that
         | the software company provides as an extension of their services
         | isn't really a "job" a la "SW development in the 90s"
         | 
         | It's the after effect of companies not being penalized for
         | using the exploitation dragnet approach to use people in
         | desperate situations to generate more profits while providing
         | nothing in return.
        
         | kunzhi wrote:
         | Only 20 years for me, but this is my observation also.
        
         | temporallobe wrote:
         | This is my experience as well. In the late 90s/early 2000s I
         | had the luxury of a lot of time to deeply and learn Unix, Perl,
         | Java, web development, etc., and it was all self-directed. Now
         | with Agile, literally every hour is accounted for, though we of
         | course have other ways of wasting time by overestimating tasks
         | and creating unnecessary do-nothing stories in order to inflate
         | metrics and justify dead space in the sprint.
        
         | the_cat_kittles wrote:
         | sounds like bit of a death spiral
        
       | lupusreal wrote:
       | Some jobs are bad. Some people are bad at their jobs. Sometimes
       | it's both at the same time.
       | 
       | This furniture assembly job sounds like shit. But also, somebody
       | who puts in "several hours" of labor should be able to assemble
       | some off-brand Ikea slop by simply following the instructions and
       | using a little bit of common sense. If the pay is terrible so you
       | don't even want to try, I get it, but you should bail quick not
       | after "several hours", so it sounds like an earnest (albeit
       | incompetent) attempt was made.
       | 
       | This job sucks, not because there isn't training, but because the
       | pay is too low to attract competent labor.
        
         | Ylpertnodi wrote:
         | Karl Pilkington, how art thy welcomed.
        
       | zw123456 wrote:
       | I recently retired after 45 years in tech. I started out in 1978
       | at Bell Labs. I have had great jobs and terrible jobs. Great
       | bosses and horrific bosses. And all the things in between. I did
       | not just survive, I thrived and beyond and worked at 3 start ups
       | and a bunch of other companies large and small. What I learned is
       | to not to be afraid. Regardless of what is happening around you.
       | Fear is the enemy. Don't be afraid to be weird or crazy or
       | whatever is causing you to be timid.
        
       | Uzmanali wrote:
       | I've had similar frustrations with gig economy services. A while
       | ago, i hired someone from TaskRabbit to set up a standing desk. i
       | thought it would be an easy process, but the assembler showed up
       | late. then he had a hard time following basic instructions, and
       | he also left halfway through, saying he had another job to go to.
       | I finished the assembly myself at the end.
       | 
       | then i realize these platforms don't support skilled, well-paid
       | workers. they focus on cheap convenience, which often results in
       | poor quality. the issue isn't just that people struggle with
       | their jobs. it's that the system makes it hard for them to do
       | good work.
       | 
       | Now I hire local professionals, even if they cost more. Their
       | experience and trustworthiness save me time and frustration.
        
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       (page generated 2025-04-02 23:00 UTC)