Work Smarter, Not Harder
(Work Smarter, Not Harder is an annoying business term and is just one of the 212 Most Annoying Business Phrases Managers Effuse, Confuse, and Overuse detailed in the hilarious must-have guide for every workplace: The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room. Available right now on Amazon.)
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Why can’t we do both?
Moreover, why are you assuming we’re not working as smart as possible right now?
This saying is annoying primarily because your boss uses it when he believes you’re an idiot. An idiot wasting time trying to complete a task the hard way.
“If only he was as smart as me,” your boss thinks as he implores you to use your head and complete tasks more efficiently; more like he would do it.
Your boss is an ass; but then you already knew that, didn’t you?
Like so many of the phrases in this book, this one doesn’t really have a ready replacement because it never should have been said in the first place.
Work smarter, not harder is a placeholder for so many passive-aggressive ideas bottled up in your boss’s little head we cannot begin to fathom what he should be using instead of this idiotic and obvious phrase.
He might mean “do your best” or he could be saying “you’re doing it wrong, but I’m too much of a jerk to actually help you do it right, so I’m just going say something that makes me sound superior to you.”
Either way, he’s an ass.
Replacement phrases: No replacement needed; just please stop saying it.
See also: Give 110%; Bring Your ‘A’ Game
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The 30,000-Pound Gorilla in the Room is available on Amazon
Vee vee
August 10, 2023 @ 10:14 PM
How can I tell my manager this? He makes us do these stupid cycle counts of certain products every single day for every single shift. Since we work alone per shift. There are 3 shifts in a day. We do cycle counts for certain products. Which is fine and all, I dont mind. However he’s having us literally count product by product, item by item. Now we have rows of back stock that normally no one has to take out of. So to make life easier I’ve put post-its of how many products on eat row. So it makes everyone’s life easier. This asshole decides to come and pick off those post-its and have us count each and every item. When that isn’t necessary. I’ve even placed rubber bands to lock the rows. This puto takes off all attempts at making things easier when he’s not even the main manager of my store. But the main manager of my shop is too much of a pussy to say anything to him about it. Cus that’s technically his boss. I would like ideas or suggestions on how to tell this asshole to work smarter not harder.
TheManager
August 16, 2023 @ 7:38 AM
My guess is your manager knows exactly what he’s doing and its negative impact on productivity and morale. For most people, you’re left with three choices: Quit; Stay and suck it up (to feed the family); or Stay while searching for a better opportunity. In my career, I’ve always chosen to stay while I aggressively searched for a better option, and it’s worked out well. Toxic workplaces aren’t easily fixed, and so those with options need to consider them – even if it means changing careers.