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Comment by _bxg1 | Hacker News Reader

I don't think the programmer is in the wrong for not disclosing the automation. I also don't think the company is in the wrong for firing them over that.

Here's the thing: for the foreseeable future there will always be new work to do with this skillset. As one blogger put it, "we are in the business of eliminating jobs". And it will be a long time before we eliminate all automatable work, if we ever do. Even if you automate one job for yourself you could find something else with which to continue growing and challenging yourself. You could also kick back and continue to (truthfully) fulfill a transaction you've made with your employer: X compensation for doing Y work. Nothing wrong with that; you don't owe them more than that. You may be taking a risk, but that's your decision to make.

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When company fires such an employee who is innovating and cutting costs, it's like killing golden goose. I am not sure why any employer would think of loosing such valuable asset when in fact they can get more automation done from him.

True, if they can convince him or her of that then that could be a third option. On the other hand, the employee did display a willingness to be deceptive. Again, it's all up to the parties involved.

    Tired: compensation = pay_per_job * jobs_completed
    Wired: compensation = pay_per_job * log(jobs_completed)

Use those sweet sweet economic incentives.

When companies find out their employees have automated their jobs but are at the end of their useful output they don't even blink before kicking them out on their ass but saving their sweet-ass automation. Honestly why is it the employees duty to give their employer information which would have been to wholly the employer's benefit and none of his own when the employee is the less powerful party here? Employer basically had no choice but to fire him even if he was worth keeping in isolation just because they can't normalize getting gamed by their employees.

There's often political downsides for the employee as well for automating their job. You become an existential threat to incompetent employees and/or employees doing automatable jobs. If you're TOO productive people may go hardball and attempt to crush you with their social connections. So you have political incentives to herd your productivity to something in proportion with other employees by reducing your actual hours working.

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