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0 pointsliquid_thyme6mo ago0 comments

>But if you say "this work will get the client's hospital equipment monitoring suite out sooner; if it works reliably, they'll be able to deploy it sooner, and it'll save the lives of some sick kids," then that'll also get the work done a little faster, and it'll make you feel good about doing it.

The problem is that the smart ones will easily figure out that 'this next version will save lives' is a total lie. If your monitoring product doesn't work, it gets dumped and replaced. In developed countries, if your code has the potential of harming someone you're in a heavily regulated industry. The software in those industries is speced out in enormous detail to avoid this problem.

>Arbitrary tension is a patch that you put on work that has no meaning. "We want you to go faster because it will make our metrics go up which might raise the stock a few percentage which might make our investors a few extra millions" has no meaning, which is the root problem.

I disagree. Financial goals are the easiest to understand for people, and also easiest to communicate, and personally for me easiest to reason about how to achieve them. Just hit a number and you're done, collect your bonus and go do something you enjoy. As they say, the best way to ruin something you love doing is by making it your job. IMO people who chase some higher purpose and meaning are destined to be forever unhappy at their job.

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Jare6mo ago

> As they say, the best way to ruin something you love doing is by making it your job.

As someone who made a job and career out of what I always loved, it's far from ruined. Your relationship with the thing changes, and like anything that changes, sometimes it will go well and sometimes it will go bad, often both in succession like a rollercoaster.

> IMO people who chase some higher purpose and meaning are destined to be forever unhappy at their job.

I can 100% agree about people like that being forever emotional and passionate at their job. But to label it as unhappy is terribly reductive. "Unhappy" is a part of it, but there are plenty of other emotions you will go through: happy, scared, hopeful, dubious, frustrated, satisfied, elated, etc. Much like emotions that play out for us in "real" life events and relationships.

liquid_thymeOP6mo ago

First and foremost, good for you! Its a guess, but it seems you have a lot of control over your work, schedule, terms, etc than most people, or are in a very high position where you're in the drivers seat, creatively. We all would like greater agency, but that ain't the case for the overwhelming majority of working professionals.

sisisbbs6mo ago

> IMO people who chase some higher purpose and meaning are destined to be forever unhappy at their job.

This is only because we’re ok with billionaires dictating what we have to do to earn money. We’ve absolutely got the technical mastery over our environment needed so that most people don’t need to work. The majority of jobs done today are performative. Have a kid and you’ll realize pretty quick that awful, boring work can still be 100% fulfilling.

Not to be personal but your attitude is disgustingly complacent. Nobody should be ok with being a waste of space so one human can have billions of dollars.

liquid_thymeOP6mo ago

Not to be personal, but you sound quite naive. The world is ugly and runs on money/power/leverage/arm-twisting. The "nice" people who lay down their arms get invaded and conquered, and thats the end of that gene pool.

Side note: For Americans, the ability to stay blissfully unaware of all of this is due to the 76 US Navy Destroyers and 11 aircraft carriers that are ready and willing to enforce/maintain/defend the current way of life for the civilian population.

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0 pointsliquid_thyme6mo ago0 comments

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Jare6mo ago

> As they say, the best way to ruin something you love doing is by making it your job.

> IMO people who chase some higher purpose and meaning are destined to be forever unhappy at their job.

liquid_thymeOP6mo ago

sisisbbs6mo ago

> IMO people who chase some higher purpose and meaning are destined to be forever unhappy at their job.

Not to be personal but your attitude is disgustingly complacent. Nobody should be ok with being a waste of space so one human can have billions of dollars.

liquid_thymeOP6mo ago

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