Rant – Page 14 – The Renegade Coder

It's been awhile since I've written anything for the blog, so I figured I'd write something a bit more on the edge for those faithful subscribers. In particular, I want to talk a little about something that's been bothering me about life in America for quite some time: we reward overwork. Residence Life Throwback Many of you know me as The Renegade Coder, but I've always had a life outside of tech. Lately, I've spent a lot of it teaching, watching anime, and studying for my qualifying exam. During my undergrad, however, I was heavily involved in residence life. Life of a National Communications Coordinator At one point, I was the National Communications Coordinator (NCC) which is a fancy title for "person who takes people to conferences and whatnot." As a part of that role, I spent a lot of time trying to find just the right people to bring with me on these conferences. In addition, I spent a lot of time planning those trips as well. It was a great time, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys mentorship. Of course, there are less glamorous parts of the job like voting on legislation and designing and editing bids. In fact, sometimes voting got really heated. For instance, I remember debating the distinction between small schools and large schools at length during one of the national conferences. Needless to say, it was a huge waste of time. At any rate, I wasn't the only one voting on legislation. In fact, there were three separate boardrooms: one for NCCs, one for Residence Hall Association (RHA) Presidents, and one for National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH) Presidents. Occasionally, we would reconvene for legislation that transcended the three groups. Naming Awards After People On one particular occasion, we got together to discuss the renaming of the RHA President of the Year award. Apparently, someone thought it would be a good idea to recognize one of their peers by naming the award after them. Needless to say, I was against this on sheer principle, but it was more complicated than that. Let me be absolutely crystal clear: their peer was still alive, and they hadn't donated a ton of money as far as I know. To make matters worse, legislation like this sets a dangerous precedent. Now, just about anyone is qualified for the same recognition. All that said, those reasons didn't really get me that upset. After all, it's a silly award for a group that you might spend three years in at most. In other words, life goes on. However, as lighthearted as the legislation seemed at the time, there was something about it that deeply bothered me. Why don't you take a look? Reviewing the Legislation To summarize, the legislation was written to recognize the regional director, Justin M. Schwendeman. In total, the document is about 18 pages and includes 13 whereas clauses, 9 authors, and 47 endorsements. That much support alone should allow this legislation to pass, right? Unfortunately, right. In terms of content, the document spends a lot of time highlighting Justin's commitment to the organization. For starters, the fourth whereas clause notes Justin's 6 years of service. Then, in the follow-up clause, the authors list all of Justin's roles in those 6 years which included 9 different residence life positions of which many were likely served concurrently. Naturally, the legislation then lists 38 unique accomplishments in that 6 year period. On top of that, the authors also felt it was necessary to list the 5 committees and task forces that Justin sat on, the 8+ pieces of legislation that Justin authored, and the 23 conferences that Justin attended. To add to the madness, the authors felt it was necessary to also list all 7 of the awards Justin had received as if this legislation wasn't a giant document glorifying him. To round things out, the authors list a few comments about Justin's experience has an RHA president to provide some sort of rationale behind the legislation. A Thought Experiment Now, at this point, I should mention that there isn't anything inherently wrong about wanting to recognize Justin. In fact, I actually like Justin a lot, and I think he was very deserving of this award. That said, I have some serious problems with how this legislation was framed. To try to help you understand what I mean, complete the following thought experiment: imagine you're an RHA president right now. In what world would you ever be able to meet the criteria to be an RHA president of the year? It is my understanding that awards and scholarships are typically given to individuals who align most closely with whatever the award embodies. For example, the Ashley Stevenson Memorial Scholarship (a random scholarship I found on Google) is awarded based on the following description: This scholarship was established in the summer of 2014 to honor the life of Ashley Stevenson and to continue her legacy of excellence, generosity and service. In other words, only individuals who embody excellence, generosity, and service would be eligible for this award, right? That same logic could be applied to the RHA President of the Year award. Before the name change, I imagine the award would just go to the best RHA president of that year—whatever that means. After the name change, however, RHA presidents would have to align more closely with Justin's character. Rewarding Overwork To me, changing the name of the award to honor Justin raises the expectations for future RHA presidents who might be the best in their class but not exceptional. In a way, the award embodies the most unhealthy elements of Justin's character, and I wouldn't want to recognize others for following in his footsteps. In fact, the name change almost introduces a competitive aspect to something that was supposed to be tame. Beyond that, I find it odd that the legislation just straight up lists a ton of accolades. Now, the award seems less about values and characteristics and more about the accumulation of resume bullet points. In other words, RHA presidents should be measured solely on arbitrary metrics like the number of conferences they've attended. Regardless of whether the naming of the award has any effect at all on future RHA presidents (it likely doesn't), I still don't love the idea of recognizing someone like Justin in this way. After all, it essentially awards him for overworking which only motivates him to continue. Likewise, I'm sure the legislation inspired a handful of other individuals to start grinding away—they'd be stupid not to. Passing Legislation When I finally got into that boardroom, I was dead set on ensuring that the legislation didn't pass. In fact, I was actually pretty confident it wouldn't because everyone I chatted with at my university was against it. However, a few of them did endorse the piece. When the discussion began, I realized pretty quickly that almost every other institution was in support of the legislation; I was dumbfounded. In fact, if you scan through the minutes (search MML), there's literally only two institutions that voiced any sort of dissent: Worried that this could set unhealthy precedents for the region. Not discounting Justin’s accomplishments, but could lose what naming and award is all about Penn State University Justin’s accomplishments merit him a lifetime of recognition, but we feel uncomfortable that we all consider ourselves Justin’s friends and this may not be objective George Washington University Funnily enough, I didn't feel comfortable sharing my thoughts at the time for the very reason mentioned by GW. As a result, you won't find anything from me in the minutes. At any rate, the legislation passed, so all the best RHA presidents since have received the Justin M. Schwendeman RHA President of the Year award: To me, it's still a little weird to have an award named after someone who is currently alive today. That said, I'm so far removed from residence life at this point that I don't really care. I just thought it would make for a great story to further drive home the point that Americans are obsessed with working. The Culture of Overwork When I was in RHA, I also found myself overworking quite a bit. In addition to the organization, I was in NRHH, a fraternity, and two ensembles. Of course, I was also working toward a degree in computer engineering, and I was working as a teaching assistant. At one point, I was even trying to get a degree in music. In other words, I was just like Justin—a workaholic. Then, I graduated and made my way into the industry. At that point, I was excited to finally get paid for my work while also getting my weekends and evenings back. Unfortunately, the culture of overwork permeates the corporate environment as well. Having a laptop and a cellphone meant I could work at any time from anywhere, and many teams relied on that fact. Naturally, I tried to dig my way out of the corporate environment. As a result, I decided to move back into academia where my schedule was more volatile. After all, if I was going to work all the time, I'd at least prefer to have a more interesting schedule. And yet, here I am near the end of my first year writing about my experience with burnout. In other words, the culture of overwork transcends jobs. Everyone is doing it, and it feels like there's no escape from it. The Path to Balance All I want is to be able to take the time that I need to get the work done that I want to do. If I'm ever able to reach any sort of financial independence with this blog, I'll have achieved that goal. Until then, it's seems the grind never stops. If you'd like to help me work through the burnout, share some of your tips in the comments. And while you're at it, give this article a share. I'd appreciate it! If you like this kind of content, you might also like my series which tackles some of the issues I noticed in the corporate world. Likewise, I'm also blogging my journey toward a PhD. Many of these posts are for members only due to the nature of the content, so spread the word. I'm sure some of your friends could benefit from my work. For now, I'll be grinding away on a summer course. By the time this article is published, I'll be almost halfway done. At that point, I'll be studying for my qualifying exam. Here's to hoping I pass!