Posted by tallman at 5:14pm Oct 13 '07As someone who's been working obscene hours lately, I've wondered similar things. I think your reasons are probably accurate, but there are a couple of other points I'd make:
Consider that multi-millionaire pro sports players are unionized. Consider that multi-millionaire Hollywood actors are unionized. Same for Hollywood writers. These people are smart. They know that their bosses are making a lot of money off their work, so they unionize and negotiate the best deal for them. How is it different for the average white collar worker?
How are they different? Each of them works in an extremely volatile industry that could turn on them at any moment. For sports stars, an injury can end their career. Hollywood actors and actresses go in and out of vogue all the time. Each of these people makes money from contract to contract, and they never know if their next contract will be their last. A bad choice or poor performance could cost them their career. And lots of these people work grueling hours that aren't very conducive to family, etc... (not that it's not annoying that they make so much) White collar employees don't generally have the same volatility. They have a more regular and consistent schedule, they don't have to worry as much about losing their job (er, mostly). Sports players and hollywood phonies actually take a lot of risk with each performance, which is why they make so much.
As soon as the best talent wises up, they are out the door and starting their own company in order to better capitalize on the fruits of their talent.
Indeed. In the tech industry, I think we're going to see a lot more startups. The process of starting a company these days is actually a lot easier than it used to be. It gets more difficult the older you get, and if you have a family, it becomes more difficult as well, but I think we're going to see a lot more startups from people right out of college.
There's a lot of volatility in the startup market too. You're taking a lot of risks and working long hours, and there's no guarantee of success. But the potential rewards are very large.
Many of the employees that become cubicle creatures see no personal benefit in giving it their best effort, so their effort becomes misdirected to finding creative ways of slacking off and doing the minimum without being noticed.
That's pretty much the same thing for unionized workers. From what I've seen, Unions breed mediocrity in the same way you mention. My father worked for a union and got constantly scolded for doing more than was necessary (i.e. more than the minimum, making everyone else look bad I guess). When he got the opportunity, he jumped ship and got a salary, and quickly started making a lot more money. Of course, he worked for SEPTA, so it was almost impossible for him to get fired, even if he didn't do a good job.
I don't know, I guess it comes down to the fact that a cubicle job (even a challenging one) is just a lot easier to do than a startup. It is curious that there aren't any white collar unions, but I guess that means people aren't that pissed about it. The ones that are are the smart ones who have no problem getting a better job, I guess:P
~[private]
Consider that multi-millionaire pro sports players are unionized. Consider that multi-millionaire Hollywood actors are unionized. Same for Hollywood writers. These people are smart. They know that their bosses are making a lot of money off their work, so they unionize and negotiate the best deal for them. How is it different for the average white collar worker?
How are they different? Each of them works in an extremely volatile industry that could turn on them at any moment. For sports stars, an injury can end their career. Hollywood actors and actresses go in and out of vogue all the time. Each of these people makes money from contract to contract, and they never know if their next contract will be their last. A bad choice or poor performance could cost them their career. And lots of these people work grueling hours that aren't very conducive to family, etc... (not that it's not annoying that they make so much) White collar employees don't generally have the same volatility. They have a more regular and consistent schedule, they don't have to worry as much about losing their job (er, mostly). Sports players and hollywood phonies actually take a lot of risk with each performance, which is why they make so much.
As soon as the best talent wises up, they are out the door and starting their own company in order to better capitalize on the fruits of their talent.
Indeed. In the tech industry, I think we're going to see a lot more startups. The process of starting a company these days is actually a lot easier than it used to be. It gets more difficult the older you get, and if you have a family, it becomes more difficult as well, but I think we're going to see a lot more startups from people right out of college.
There's a lot of volatility in the startup market too. You're taking a lot of risks and working long hours, and there's no guarantee of success. But the potential rewards are very large.
Many of the employees that become cubicle creatures see no personal benefit in giving it their best effort, so their effort becomes misdirected to finding creative ways of slacking off and doing the minimum without being noticed.
That's pretty much the same thing for unionized workers. From what I've seen, Unions breed mediocrity in the same way you mention. My father worked for a union and got constantly scolded for doing more than was necessary (i.e. more than the minimum, making everyone else look bad I guess). When he got the opportunity, he jumped ship and got a salary, and quickly started making a lot more money. Of course, he worked for SEPTA, so it was almost impossible for him to get fired, even if he didn't do a good job.
I don't know, I guess it comes down to the fact that a cubicle job (even a challenging one) is just a lot easier to do than a startup. It is curious that there aren't any white collar unions, but I guess that means people aren't that pissed about it. The ones that are are the smart ones who have no problem getting a better job, I guess:P
~[private]
Re: Why no White Collar Unions? - tallman