Work

recent events have got me thinking about the definition of work. of course, physical work (force*distance) is real work. everyone sees you working and also sees the results of your work. its obvious whether you are slacking or not.

i used to think that my friend's job as project management was not REAL work, since all it involves is admin/coordination. however, at the end of the day, you have something to show for it, there is a sense of accomplishment involved and of course all managers do is project management, and not actually getting their hands dirty.

i used to think that my work was real work. i mean, i have a project, i have certain duties, and sometimes there are also numbers involved (oooh numbers always equals real work!!). granted, the quality isnt always there, but i do not think that i do not put in enough effort. anyways, it is pretty common that what i think is not what others think at all, and sometimes the opinion of others is important, especially when they are like a bird sitting high up in the tree with the ability to shit on your head. according to certain indicators, i am doing NO work at all, in particular when placed in comparison to others who have a whole list of output, managing to tilt the input-output table so much in their favour that it makes it look like a over unity power generator. *geek speak and efficiency ftw*



so it means either i am too slack or there is something wrong with the system of measurement. but i am going to go with usual "in between lor" and say that it is a combination of both. it is a failure on my part to not play to the "rules", but also a defect of the system (in my opinion) that it measures our output this way.

i mean, no matter how you see it, the unit of measure will always be inaccurate. when you measure the temperature of something, you are already distorting the actual temperature simply by the act of observing. so when you set certain KPIs (), it only incentivizes people to work towards these indicators rather than working towards a greater goal. certainly, exams arent an accurate measure of someone's smart-ness or ability, wealth isnt an accurate measure of happiness (but i still love money)








so at the end of it all, what does work mean? i would like to think that it means adding value to something that is given to you. so for my friend in project coordination, getting a bunch of people and companies to do something for your boss is work, because something new (and hopefully useful) is created. am i doing real work? something to think about