Is grunt work worth it?
PexelsThe average length of time the youngest millennial employees (20 to 24 years old) spend in a job is around 1.3 years according to Bureau of Labor statistics. Since upward mobility is a strong priority throughout our generation, spending time doing grunt work can feel like taking a step backward in a career. However, although no one is ever going to scream enthusiastically from the rooftops that they love grunt work, it is necessary for long term career success — no matter which path you decide to take.
Building a foundation
If you have aspirations to lead a team, be responsible for other employees or grow into a C suite position, then it pays to develop the ability to relate to people in order to effectively manage them. One of the best ways to relate to people is to have empathy. And that comes from knowing the context of the hurdles they face and having first hand knowledge of what they are working on. This provides insight into their pain points and the techniques needed to solve them.
In fact, some of the most innovative leaders and best technical managers are the ones that still carve time out of their day to tinker. And while is it true that they may not have the time to engage in in a full coding set or build something complex from scratch, they still understand the language enough to know what they are looking for when they critique others’ work.
“Early on in my career, right after I graduated law school and was waiting for my bar exam results, I took a job as a file clerk in a small law firm,” said Pam Hicks, Vice President, Legal, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions. “Although I knew the job would be tedious, it gave me a foundation of practical knowledge that wasn’t taught at law school. That grunt work gave me the opportunity to see a variety of documents written by legal professionals with years of experience. When I began my first job as a lawyer a few months later, I realized I had saved myself a lot of time and stress. I was able to spend less time learning the basics and dive in to work with a higher level of confidence.”
Proving worth
Grunt work also builds character. Because we grew up on technology where answers are often at our fingertips, we tend to think things should come to us much faster. In fact, if we cannot find a short cut it can feel as though valuable time is wasting away. But establishing credibility and building a reputation and rapport with colleagues takes time and considerable effort. And it is ok, even preferable in the long run, that most day to day work is not easy or perfect. Spending a lot of effort to achieve something provides a deeper level of satisfaction and fulfillment than accomplishing an easy goal.
“In my first job I had to reconcile shareholder trades against bank records,” said Carmen Palafox, Venture Partner, Make in LA. “The daily function seemed inconsequential; although every few weeks I'd find a material error. Finding discrepancies helped me gain big picture knowledge. Over time, I developed an understanding about my firm's and my bank's operational and organizational capabilities. That knowledge and understanding positioned me (at a very young age) to oversee the relationship and negotiate win-win service contracts with our agent that allowed us to scale operations in line with growth in assets."
Necessary and manageable
Grunt work is necessary, and working through it can teach valuable skills that will help you succeed. However, it is important to make sure that delegation of tasks is done for the right reasons and that the purpose of the work is clearly communicated. For instance, if there are several people in your company at your level and yet you always get stuck with the most menial tasks while others are rewarded with more challenging projects, there is always an opportunity to bring this up with your manager. For best results, go into that meeting prepared with a couple of projects that you want to take initiative on. If taking initiative and discussing the situation still does not yield results, then perhaps it is time to search for greener pastures.
Likewise, when you receive a tedious task, if you are able to find a way to perform the task more efficiently, or if you start noticing patterns or insights that could be beneficial for others to know, discuss those learnings with your manager. Some of the better managers will either give you some hints about why this work is important or they will keep an open dialogue during 1 on 1 meetings so you can provide feedback on where else you can add value.
These tasks may be tedious, but they are also often a test to determine how well you can manage your own career. Conquering these smaller projects builds a foundation of skills like time management and prioritization that will serve you well for the rest of your career, and can prove to your coworkers and managers that you have a strong work ethic and follow through. So grunt work is a necessary evil, but it can pave the way for greater opportunities.
