Re: Motivation For Overtime?

[Dick Margulis <ampersandvirgule -at- att -dot- net>]

Tony,

David Brown is right, of course, that stock options can be a powerful
motivator. As in, we all want the company to do well. And for many
individuals that may be a primary motivator.

Looking back over a long career of doing better work than was requested,
putting in more hours than asked (a lot of them at time-and-a-half as a
contractor, of course), my introspective answer has to be that I am
motivated by deadlines.

My ninth grade English class was responsible for producing the junior
high newspaper, and our teacher, Miss Kirk, impressed upon us that
missing a deadline meant there would be a gaping white hole on the front
page of the paper. This was not then considered a creative use of white
space, any more than it is now. Forty years later, that woman's visage
still sends chills down my spine.

So it isn't fear of the boss, it's fear of Miss Kirk, in my case. I've
long rationalized this as professionalism, but clearly there are lots of
people who consider themselves professionals and who nonetheless
understand the word _deadline_ to mean something akin to an
over-the-fence homerun; they're quite content in their professionalism
even if all they manage is to hit a single one out of three times at
bat. Those people, if they choose to work overtime, probably do it for
one of the other three reasons already mentioned.

Dick

Anthony Markatos wrote:
> 
> Question for all salaried Technical Writers:
> 
> How are you motivated to work overtime?
> 
> I seek responses for career planning purposes.  All responses appreciated.
>