Hacker News Reader

Comment by sky_rw | Hacker News Reader

Did you read the article? This is pretty explicitly about performance reviews at your job, either manager or peer based. Most people would want to be recognized so that they can keep their job and possibly get a raise. Maybe you float above us mere mortals and are not victim to such petty things as job stability and wages to support your family. For the rest of us this kind of practical advice could be very helpful.

View on HN

Yes I read the article.

It depends on what you want. Satisfaction and peace of mind, or an endless chase for the next reward/recognition/promotion/raise/etc? If the latter, than it’s very important to be effective at getting your work recognized. But if the former, why bother?

Most people would bother with this because they are not in the position to quit a $500k/year job and brag about it everywhere. Most people don't subscribe to existential nihilism and need to pay their bills so they can feed their children and afford better living conditions. Surely this career advice applies to them as much as to elitist coastal software engineers. In all the spare time you have not chasing meaningless and temporary satisfaction, maybe try developing some humility and empathy.

If you literally have problems feeding your children, you might want to change employers, or, if opportunities are that slim where you are, change field of endeavour completely.

If you don't mean it literally, there's no reason to conjure up an "elite" spectre and create a false argument against that to engage with the gp.

Obviously money/status matters a lot, but only up to a certain point. Are you able to feed your children right now? Are you paying your bills? If yes, how does getting a raise help with that? You can’t feed your children twice. My point is that we sometimes keep chasing these external rewards without knowing how much is enough. It’s hard to find lasting satisfaction when nothing is ever enough.

Because when the time for performance reviews comes around, you want to be able to have information to fill in your self-evaluation. It can be difficult to remember what you accomplished 3 months ago, especially if you have writing anxiety or are habitually inclined to lack confidence in yourself. If you hand in an empty self-evaluation, it can lead to you getting fired. This is a pretty big threat to peace-of-mind, so its worth putting some effort into avoiding it.

Source: This happened to me several months ago. It was very distressing for my wife and I.

In many disfunctional orgs with disconnected managers, showing one’s value isn’t necessarily about getting a promotion, but remaining employed.

Additionally, being respected by your managers isn’t just about a better salary. It is about having more power to choose tasks you want to do.

Fair point. Note that I didn't say you should never try to get recognition; Only to consider if that's really important for you.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com