ARE YOU A RACE HORSE OR A WORK HORSE?

Have you seen  some of your staff or even yourself trying to keep busy all the day @ work? . This typically is the behavior of a work horse who would give meaning to the Parkinson's law which states that  "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion". But  is this a productive behavior?. It certainly creates a perception of hard working employee and in industrial era was appreciated and rewarded. This might have got you or even now would bring you a job stability ( unless you don't end up doing something really miserable) , but this is not what would be needed to for you to grow to being a leader or taking on higher responsibilities.

For that what you need is a race horse , someone who goes beyond the norms of a normal work, breaks the barriers and doesn't count the time he/ she or their team spends in the office. For this kind of a person it's all about performance and not about being afraid of having too much time in hand( which anyways won't get wasted). This person may make you feel that work is so simple and that things in office can be multitasked. The problem is that these people are normally considered still as outcasts or  hackers of work as described by Bill and Josh in their book" Hacking Work". Companies who don't allow internet access for their employees, having strict uniform guidelines etc are the ones who are afraid of these race horses.

Race horse at work are rare and as a company you need to have exceptional skills to locate and nurture them or else they would either become a workhorse or get poached by someone who values these race horses. As you have more of the new gen making up your workforce, there is a higher need for understanding the needs of these "faster" generation and giving them the right opportunity to grow. The choice is also for you as an individual to be a race horse and get taken care and rewarded( of course in the right organisation) or be a workhorse and be treated just like anyone else.