As a remote worker, I couldn't help but feel infuriated when my coworker, who had been contributing more than me for the past three weeks, got fired for underperformance. He's a full stack software engineer. He actually solved difficult tasks involving math and such, and I found his solutions super clever and good for business. I felt like the decision was biased and it got me thinking about how to appear more efficient to managers.
One thing I noticed about my coworker was that he spoke less during meetings/calls and didn't seem super interested in some of the topics discussed. He was actually interested IMO, but just appeared that way. Additionally, he didn't always write status updates in our tracking system, and he tended to make big commits while I made smaller ones every two days. The managers never mentioned that though.
However, my coworker was actually doing a lot of work. A LOT OF BENEFICIAL WORK. And he cared, he actually cared. He was paying attention to a lot of small things, yet IMO he was supper efficient as well. It made me wonder whether managers prioritize appearance over actual output.
In response, I decided to focus on doing exactly what the tracking system says and accomplishing a lot in half the time. I've been doing it for a while before, and everyone was happy with my performance, but I'm a fast worker. The managers were super pleased with my efficiency, but it felt like a game of smoke and mirrors to me.
I still couldn't help but feel frustrated about the situation, and I continue to stay in touch with my colleague. I'm even considering changing companies altogether. For now I'm working 4 hours instead of 8 and doing everything it says there in the tracking system. I'm meeting deadlines. Now the situation got me thinking about how you appear to managers. What truly matters?
What are some tips to appear super efficient to managers? It seems that being vocal during meetings and writing frequent status updates are important factors. Or in my case, making smaller, more frequent commits rather than big ones could also help. What else helps in this game of appearances? By the way, it's not a shitty company, you'd be surprised if I named them.
Ultimately, it's truly a shame that my coworker got fired despite doing a lot of meaningful work. It's a lesson to us all that sometimes, appearing efficient is just as important as actually being efficient. How you do it though is another question, let's discuss it here.