ISerializable - Roy Osherove's Blog

I agree. I am blessed to have a great job with excellent benefits. My company might not always buy me everything I *think* I am entitled to, but overall I have nothing to complain about. Especially since I have a job...

The mouse squeaks!!! It really does!!! But the joy of getting quoted in a weblog for the first time makes up for the fact that it made me seem like a complaining idiot. :)

Comments to part one:

1. A bad screen makes employees tired and strains their eyes, reducing their ability to perform.
2. and 3. Bad mice and keyboards can create permanent damage to the wrists and hands. If one employee have to take sick leave because of damage to their hands or wrists the cost to the company is much more than it would cost to replace the keyboard and mouse. Think about it: a top of the line keyboard and mouse package costs less than 1000 NOK, but if I am sick for a week that costs more than 6000 NOK. (NOK is Norwegian Kroner for those who were wondering).
4. A bad machine can seriously hurt productivity. I used to use a seriously underpowered machine for what I was doing. I developed software on it that were supposed to run on a dual Xeon server with 1.5GB RAM. My machine only had 256MB Ram. Let me tell you something: when SQL Server 2000 runs out of RAM things start to get SLOOOOW. So there I was, feet on the table and using my mobile phone to read the news on the web while waiting for a test to run on the poor overworked machine since I couldn't surf on the computer while it was working because just opening IE alone took 2-3 minutes.
5. It is in a company's best interest to make sure the employees get better. Although sending employees to PDC can be overkill, but programming courses definately important. But we should all remember that what we programmers get paid for is our knowledge and if we want to stay in the game we have to make sure we are an attractive "product" our employer and future employers want to pay for.
6. If it seriously hinders productivity then it is the company's best interest to improve it. I have myself been on the phone with customers while they wait for 3-4 minutes for a simple page to load. When the system they work with every day is THAT slow, then it is a serious problem. But if the DVD screener to Return of the King takes more than an hour to download, that is NOT a problem (and in some cases that is the real reason some people complain).
7. Of course the employeer should make sure we have the resources to do our work, but as in my comment to number 5, we, the programmers (hmmmm... that actually sounds like some leftish "we, the people" speech), should also make sure we increase our skills. If we are not willing to do that in our spare time as well, then we have chosen the wrong profession... or at least we will remain in the same boring position with the same boring tasks for ever.
8. No comment.
9. If an employee gets asked to do overtime then why not buy the poor employee a pizza, he/she is, as mentioned in number 10, not getting paid for it. :)
10. Hey, isn't the pizza enough!
12. and 13. Either a door or an air conditioner is needed so the employee doesn't die. I'd go for the no door, but with air conditioner approach since then the employee can't leave. If the employee doesn't perform the employer doesn't have to fire her, just turn of the air supply and dispose of her out before she starts to smell. Anyway... I don't think anyone should make me a boss of anything... ever! :)

Seriously, 9-13, there are laws for those (at least in Norway) so they don't really matter in this discussion. Either the employer has to fix it or the workers union moves in for the kill. Simple stuff...

What I am trying to say here (before number 9 at least) is that in some cases it costs less to give the employee what he/she asks for.

Another huge problem is that employees often complain to each other, and never to the boss. In my case I have got a lot of things that other people should have gotten instead. I had one of the best computers in the company and still I got a new one before other people struggeling with much older computers, because I explained the situation (the one were the testing took 5-10 minutes every 5 minutes) to my boss . I recently got offered a new monitor that was just bought, but in that case I said no thanks since I knew other people had been complaining about their monitors, but of course not told the boss. Right now it is just sitting in a box waiting for someone brave to step forward and ask the boss. If no one dares, I guess I'll just take it.

Let me end with a conclusion:
Three things are important in situations like this: Communication, communication and communication.

All of the things you say here are true and you won't get any argument from me and not even from your boss that each one of these helps employees do better.
Still, we live in a world with limits, and the reality is that, short of very rich companies with lots of money to spend, most employers can and will do only what is in their power to make employees happy (if they even try at all). This is usually just a subset of the things mentioned in this post.
If there's one thing I'd like to tell a lot of people is "Get over it, you have it good and you don't even know it".
Fact is, I am still the biggest proponent of these things. But today I'm more of a realist and i know that some things, even if really needed, will take time to have\will never happen at all because of the real world situation we live in.
And I also know another things : sometimes, it's not just employers fault. From your comment it's apparent that communication is the lacking thing in your organization.
Why don't you do something about it? If you know of someone who deserves that screen, why not talk to them and convince them to step forward and ask for it? People need to learn to fight for what they believe in, and this is a very important battle.

Well said Roy!

I think there comes a time in your career when you realise that you'd better:

"Be happy that you have a job that you *can* enjoy. Start with that"

No one ever promised that life would be a big fat slice of chocolatey pie with extra cream.

You have to appreciate what you have and work hard to get the best out of it.

Turn your *current* job into your *dream* job.

Not by whingeing and complaining about unimportant things - but by improving your relationships with those you work with - stimulating your mind with interesting independent learning - and working hard to get good results with the customers and coworkers who rely upon you.

A squeaky mouse is *nothing*.

Eye opener, though it's not as black and white as you attempt to present to us Roy.

I think 'MKM' - quality Monitor, Kbd & Mouse is crucial. It's where we spent most of the time (in physical contacts). Having a good tech lead/mgr is important - recently, I had one who was clueless beyond his nose (http://weblogs.asp.net/sbchatterjee/archive/2003/11/22/39257.aspx)..