Of course there is more to life. That's my entire point. I want to be an actively engaged member of the team, rather than a peon. I want to value the work I do and the people I work with. But there's the rub. Being an active, committed, engaged member of the team shouldn't equate to giving away the one thing of value I have — my time — for nothing.
When you ask me to work for free you are making me a peon — someone of low worth whose time and effort aren't worth paying for. Someone who you don't respect enough to give them fair recompense for their work.
It would be absurd for me to demand that my employer gives me five hours of extra pay for doing nothing because otherwise I can't afford something that's of meaningful value to me. It's equally absurd for an employer to demand that I give them something they value – my work — in return for nothing.
A company is not a charity — it's a cooperative venture that exists to generate value for its owners. Every bit of work you do for the company is to generate value for someone else. I'm not going to work so that someone else benefits and I get nothing. I think any other view is either a manipulative management technique or a delusion.
When you ask me to work for free you are making me a peon — someone of low worth whose time and effort aren't worth paying for. Someone who you don't respect enough to give them fair recompense for their work.
It would be absurd for me to demand that my employer gives me five hours of extra pay for doing nothing because otherwise I can't afford something that's of meaningful value to me. It's equally absurd for an employer to demand that I give them something they value – my work — in return for nothing.
A company is not a charity — it's a cooperative venture that exists to generate value for its owners. Every bit of work you do for the company is to generate value for someone else. I'm not going to work so that someone else benefits and I get nothing. I think any other view is either a manipulative management technique or a delusion.