Deconstructing the
myth of workaholism
in web teams
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A badge of honor?
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Definition
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Definition
Working for 10 or 12 or 14 or even
more hours per day, weekends
included, for a few months.
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Definition (who isn’t)
Business owners
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Definition (who isn’t)
Freshmen
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On good web teams
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On good web teams
Good teams win!
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On good web teams
Synergy
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On good web teams
A sensitive ecosystem
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On good web teams
The frightening invisible bonds grown
among team members
(Spoiler: Barcelona)
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On good web teams
40 hours/week are enough
(Startups included)
-bit.ly/GJ0uxW
-bit.ly/17u5VOS
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On good web teams
Workaholics break:
- synergy
- the invisible bonds
- 40hrs/week
-bit.ly/GJ0uxW
-bit.ly/17u5VOS
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The profile of a
workaholic
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The profile of a workaholic
The next door nerd
With no personal life
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Insecurity
Low self esteem, antagonism, authoritarianism, fear of failure, perfectionism etc
The profile of a workaholic
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Power and money is the antidote
A need to constantly prove to themselves and to others their superiority
The profile of a workaholic
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An addiction with bad consequences
The profile of a workaholic
-bit.ly/tme5jb
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The attractiveness of
workaholics
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The attractiveness of workaholics
Why bosses love workaholics
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The attractiveness of workaholics
Case study:
A committed lead programmer
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The attractiveness of workaholics
Case study:
A project manager with guts
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The fake glow of
workaholism
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The fake glow of workaholism
A shortsighted,
not very smart strategy
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The fake glow of workaholism > A shortsighted strategy
Skott Berkun:
Simply outworking other people can have a
negative effect on others: that 5x improvement
may create a -2x impact on everyone else: if the
star demoralizes others and goes out of his way to
embarrasses them with his talent, morale and
productivity are sure to drop.
-bit.ly/109b4xD
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Even the most productive employees
can't keep working with such
intensity for too long
The fake glow of workaholism > A shortsighted strategy
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The fake glow of workaholism
It stimulates people express even
worse parts of their personality
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When a team struggles to cope with an impossible
project, its members tend to become fighters. This
incredible pressure reduces dramatically the
overall quality of work and people start competing
with each other.
The fake glow of workaholism > The worst parts
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The team is transformed into a herd
and the project fails.
The fake glow of workaholism > The worst parts
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A bitter end:
the team is broken and
its members are deranged
The fake glow of workaholism
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Not all workaholics are bad people but...
the worst ones will first appear as
workaholics
The fake glow of workaholism
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A badge of shame
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Working with
workaholics
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Follow the others
Working with workaholics
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Stand your ground
Gotta stay awake, gotta try and shake off this creeping malaise.
If I don't stand my own ground, how can I find my way out of this maze?
Pink Floyd - Dogs
Fighting workaholism
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Fighting workaholism
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To business owners
(with love):
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Fighting workaholism
Do you dare to create and lead a real team?
Stop burning people out
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Workaholism and working hard are
two fucking different things
Fighting workaholism