How not to get retrenched / 6
HERE'S another dirty corporate secret that most people are not aware of, or if they've heard of it, they refuse to believe to it: productive, hard work actually pays off.
If you come to office on time, agree to do the tasks that your boss assigns, and complete most of them on time or even earlier, and inform your boss about those you have difficulty with, you are on the road to career success.
There is no mystery to it. Let me repeat it in a different way -- you get promotion and a pay rise in good times, and you get to keep your job in bad times because your boss and other higher-ups are aware that you genuinely work longer hours, complete your assigned tasks much earlier and much better than expected, and are always initiating new projects and tasks.
Most important of all is your habit of giving credit to your bosses whenever you have successfully finished your task or project. By and by, your superiors get used to this habit of yours and will fight tooth and claw to keep you with them when job-cutting comes around.
They want credit for all good work so that they keep their job. You are happy to work hard for the credit and pass it on to them, so that you keep your job.
Many workers at the bottom of the corporate food chain believe wrongly that they must hog all the credit they can get. Credit is useless when you're at the bottom. What you need is goodwill from your bosses, not credit. It's a trade-off -- give your boss credit for your accomplishment and he gives you goodwill and protection.
In the real working world (not what is described in management goody-goody books), it's either big fish eats small fish or big fish protects small -- but hardworking -- fish from being eaten by other big fish.
Hey, stop reading this during office hours and start working, for a change.
