> Work that serves absolutely no purpose other than putting food on your table might fall into this category.
Have you read 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'[1]? The discussion on the concept of Value may challenge this idea that you have put forward.
I don't have any problem with individuals finding value wherever they want to. I might disagree with them, but that's OK.
I only have a problem when a certain interpretation of value becomes an oppressive social norm, i.e. when people force once another to adopt their interpretation and no other.
I've read ZATAOMM, but remember it as a discussion about Quality as the alignment/connection between objective and subjective worlds. Did I miss something?
I work for Ericsson - we are now allowed other phones after the partnership with Sony dissolved.. That said, the patent lawsuits related to Samsung have previously interfered with the selection.
If your employees would rather have your competitors product then you need to get to work rather than to forbid them to use it you need to make it so they would prefer to use their own.
Back then, Ericsson (And later, Sony Ericsson) was working really hard to make great phones, as well, and they certainly did. I never felt like I was lacking with my Ericsson phones even if it wasn't the same as everyone else's Nokia 3310.
Just like it's hard to make the new Facebook, it was hard to beat Nokia. Remember, back then, everyone was using Nokia 3310. It didn't just take a better product to become the thing everyone wanted to have, because everyone didn't want a mobile phone. They wanted a Nokia mobile phone.
I do not know much of how it is now. My dad went to Aastra Technologies 5+ years ago. I did enjoy being one of the first boys in school to get a phone, even though everyone followed up with getting a Nokia 3310 and I was left with the "unpopular" phone.
System integration work in domain specific areas can mandate significant travel - such as working for a telecommunications vendor on specialised software. Look at vendors such as Huawei, NSN, Cisco and Ericsson.
One time when I attended WWDC all the food served was vegan at the main social event. The impression here is Job's food preferences filter down as a mandate for all. At least in this instance.
OMG, I remember that year! It was even worse in 2003 when they moved it to Moscone. Fresh made Jamba Juice and mounds of Krispy Kreme donuts galore. It was super gross to be honest. :-) I haven't eaten a Krispy Kreme donut since that year.
Wow. There are so many levels of interpretation on this. From the unspoken progress of humanity down to the lack of recognition of fellow engineers who keep the show running with no apparent recognition from management.
> The big difference between knowledge workers and everyone else is what individuals and workers as a group will put up with.
There are exceptions, such as in Finland [1]
> Overtime work is allowed in Finland, and represents any work done extra the maximum regular working hours, to a maximum of 138 hours in a 4 months period and a total of 250 hours per a calendar year.
Sure, that's what the written rules say, but in reality, people put up with a lot more work. For example, they may not count work done outside the office, or even work done after 6pm in the office.
This is true, I suppose the difference here is that workers are offered some level of protection. I have had a Finnish person tell me he couldn't legally take on additional work before.
A concerning statement from a link in the Forbes artcile - 'Marissa Mayer admitting to 130 hour work weeks at Google' [1]
> "Burnout is about resentment," she said. "It's about knowing what matters to you so much that if you don't get it that you're resentful."
Is this statement implying that burnout is a psychological condition related to 'resentment' rather then the physical symptoms? I can't help but feel that one could interpret Google's VP as pseudoscience ...
> Work that serves absolutely no purpose other than putting food on your table might fall into this category.
Have you read 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'[1]? The discussion on the concept of Value may challenge this idea that you have put forward.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_M...