# I Have Seen the Light: Realigning The Average Joe's Work Ethic **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 11, 2003, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-seen-the-light-realigning-the-average-joes-work-ethic/218392 "2003-12-11T17:33:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ramanujan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/51bf81/32.png) [@Ramanujan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramanujan)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-seen-the-light-realigning-the-average-joes-work-ethic/218392/21 "2003-12-12T18:33:42Z")
wow, i must have the World’s Greatest Job. i take it none of you people work for research groups. i hope i never have to work in a job with more than one level of management. everyone i work with likes each other (there are only about 15 of us total), and we all actually _want_ to do our job well. i guess it helps when you see the benefits of doing your job better the same way the people you work for see them (i work in medical research, and when i do something particularly well, it may mean that someone’s hip replacement is going to be performed much better than it might’ve been). interesting reading, this. i have a friend who works in an office, and she and her dad are always discussing the politics of the place. it’s really foreign to me, but terribly interesting. she seems to be doing very well based half on a very high level of competence, and a personality that no one can hate. also, she is very direct. no one likes a passive-aggressive person, and bosses apparently love employees who don’t bring all of their problems to management. ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-seen-the-light-realigning-the-average-joes-work-ethic/218392/22 "2003-12-12T19:16:58Z")
Brilliant thread. Great ideas. And an attack plan for those of us who wage this battle every business day. I wanted to add a tip to **RickJay** ’s excellent list, specifically on when to get in your boss’ face: _Only present a problem when you can also present a solution._ It doesn’t matter if the solution is the one that gets used, although in my experience the first solution proposed is the usual winner. This method turns you immediately from a whining whistleblower into a proactive go-getting management type. **erislover** , you know you have the makings of a bestseller on your hands, right? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-seen-the-light-realigning-the-average-joes-work-ethic/218392/23 "2003-12-12T19:49:56Z")
The hell with that. I’m writing that bestseller! **erislover,** wanna collaborate? Your thread title would make an excellent book title. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-seen-the-light-realigning-the-average-joes-work-ethic/218392/24 "2003-12-12T19:56:45Z")
The hell with that. I’m writing that bestseller! **erislover,** wanna collaborate? Your thread title would make an excellent book title. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-seen-the-light-realigning-the-average-joes-work-ethic/218392/25 "2003-12-12T20:02:27Z")
No doubt! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-seen-the-light-realigning-the-average-joes-work-ethic/218392.md?page=1)