You Are A Victim Of Your Own Success

The perennially whiny Eric Banana was complaining to The Boss about the recent explosion in his workload when the latter made a comment that shut him up: "You are a victim of your own success." The Boss was essentially trying to explain how good work is rewarded in real life - with *even more* work. Eric Banana wonders if he can even be considered to be a good worker in the first place and plans to further assess the implications of being one.

It also means that it does not pay to be a top performer. While top performers are more likely to draw higher salaries, they are saddled with heavier workloads in return. On a per hour salary basis, they may be no better off than the cleaning lady. And the cleaning lady gets to knock off on time. On the other end of the scale are poor performers. It can be assumed that lousy performers will be eradicated by the organisation. This is somewhat true, at least in the long run.

So what about average performers? Well, they just do what is required of them. There is little need or motivation to go beyond the bare minimum - after all, the fate of a top performer is to be "rewarded" with more work while earning less than the cleaning lady on an hourly basis.

Nevertheless, Eric Banana is glad that he can *erm* do.

Why? Because according to the adage "rubbished" by Dewey Finn in the movie School of Rock:

Those who can, do.

Those who can't do, teach.

Those who can't teach, teach PE.

Eric Banana can't teach to save his life, and teaching PE is next to stabbing his wrists with a blunt pencil on his to-do list :P But while he somewhat agrees that 能者多劳 (read: the capable should do more), he also feels strongly about the incapable - 无能者绝对不可饶! Hey, it rhymes :)