roger@celtics.UUCP (Roger Klorese) (12/27/85)
It is a testimony to the scope of Usenet that I've caught some flak from people who misunderstood a previous posting, and despite the appearances of "the gentlemen doth protest too much", I think I must clarify it. (I wish I could post this truly as a response, but as the expiration period on my system is set to one week, the original is gone!) In the discussion of overtime pay for professionals, someone observed that he was afraid of being reviewed as "not a team player" for not doing free overtime. Someone else noted that an individual should require a set of accountabilities from his manager, and be reviewed against that. I added that any company which reviews its employees should put this in place as its standard procedure, and not require an employee to ask for it. Somehow, the notion got around that (a) I objected to "unpaid" overtime, and (b) I was having difficulty with my management about review criteria. (And, by extension, that Celerity is a gawd-awful place to work.) I left an employer I enjoyed working for, a Fortune 400 vendor, for the opportunity of joining an exciting new organization. I was certainly not so blind as to leave a fundamentally-9-to-5 home office job and expect the same conditions to prevail in a young company's field support organization! I expected overtime work, and (heehee) have not been disappointed. But of course, one of the reasons to leave a fundamentally secure large company for a younger one is the potential for personal reward. And while I consider personal growth and learning rewarding, I refer more to reward of the greenback variety. One of the reasons I joined Celerity (though by no means the ONLY one) was for the opportunity of equity. (And they are following through on this opportunity delightfully, thank you.) So I don't view long days as "unpaid overtime" at all. It's an investment in the company's success... and, by extension, my own. As for point (b): a good buddy of mine owns a $2million-a-year video rental/sales business. Since he has no procedures for personnel management, he notes employees' missteps in the back of his mind until some little thing sets him off. Then he fires them. It is by this counterexample that I was led to point out that systemetized criteria and review are as much the company's responsibility as the employee's. I was given a clear description of my accountabilities and measurements here when I joined. I expected no less from an organization of people as experienced and professional as Celerity's management team... and I haven't been disappointed. So: just because one knows the right way to do things doesn't imply that they're being done the wrong way! I wish all of you the privilege of working here! (No, this isn't a recruiting offer either, merely a clarification. Also a chance to SMILE about this place without being a net.criminal.) Someone also commented on my signature line. It is from an old National Lampoon album, and (since people thought it was an expression of dismay, or thought that rock'n'roll was intrinsically evil anyway) probably should be changed. Not yet, though. We now return you to your normally scheduled network. -- ... "What were you expecting, rock'n'roll?" Roger B.A. Klorese Celerity Computing, 40 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01701, (617) 872-1772 UUCP: seismo!harvard!bu-cs!celtics!roger ARPA: celtics!roger@bu-cs.ARPA