Value of bad work

[anotherlife]

corporations and managers always pride themselves in telling you how many bad workers they lay off every year. But we know from evolutionary models, that systematically getting rid of the weakest individual crashes the lineage.

So, what is the problem with bad work?

Bad work provides the statistical dead ends, that every engineering and scientific development counts on. For example, the entire semiconductor industry started by a bad technician accidentally cracking a silicon deposited tube in the lab, which then leaked oxygen in the system, giving the world's first insulator interface. Without that, there would be no semiconductor industry today.

Traditionally, bad workers were tolerated, because even good workers realized that they become bad workers as soon as bad workers are fired.

So, are people getting stupid in the 21st century, and pride themselves in it?

How do you get around a misguided corporate culture, that fails to acknowledge the contribution of bad work?

 

[MarathonMike]

Bad work is a bit too general of a term IMO. You can have workers that try hard but screw things up. You can also have workers that don't do a thing of value. Then there are other workers who are fantastic "communicators" but they end up talking all day and producing nothing. I don't think companies these days fire bad workers who try hard which is what I think you were referring to.

 

[Jomama]

OP - when I think of companies that encourage experimentation, like 3M, I get your point. But when you have personally guaranteed all the business debt, why would you ever tolerate anything short of exactly what you and the customer wants?

 

[waltky]

Doubt if Uncle Ferd's old boss would agree.

 

[anotherlife]

OP - when I think of companies that encourage experimentation, like 3M, I get your point. But when you have personally guaranteed all the business debt, why would you ever tolerate anything short of exactly what you and the customer wants?

I think that may be the problem. I think that if we already know how to do what the customer wants, then hardly any work is necessAry, and it becomes like a saLes effort or some logistics organization. Do corporations always know what their customer wants?

In my summer job, I always have to research how to do what I am told to do, and I can go wrong and then must try again. My boss has no answers, I must do it alone, and the project manager considers it time wasted. If I was an employee then I guess I would be fired.

I have no clue how they can operate. Gigantic international, constantly downsizing, but how can they keep it up forever, instead of just losing all their projects eventually and going out of business?