This is a common mind set to fall into. I fell into it at a previous company for a few months, and a top performer at my current company admitted to falling in the same trap. Here’s what I realized:
You can do excellent work AND work 40 hours.
You don’t need to work 5 hours or 100 hours. It’s not binary. In the short term do you see any benefit? Nope. Will you get promoted? Probably not. And if you do you won’t make that much extra money.
BUT! In the LONG TERM it’s TOTALLY worth it to be known as the proactive, friendly do-er who moves the project forward. That’s how you build those relationships to be the kind of person who gets brought along to a new opportunity when your coworker/boss quits. I’ve found myself at a startup FULL of ex-FAANGs who have this attitude and all worked with each other for 10+ years. It’s a great place to be.
People think ”networking” is going out drinking with new people. It’s not. It’s consistently showing up and finding opportunities to move your team and the project forward in a friendly, collaborative way.
You can do excellent work AND work 40 hours.
You don’t need to work 5 hours or 100 hours. It’s not binary. In the short term do you see any benefit? Nope. Will you get promoted? Probably not. And if you do you won’t make that much extra money.
BUT! In the LONG TERM it’s TOTALLY worth it to be known as the proactive, friendly do-er who moves the project forward. That’s how you build those relationships to be the kind of person who gets brought along to a new opportunity when your coworker/boss quits. I’ve found myself at a startup FULL of ex-FAANGs who have this attitude and all worked with each other for 10+ years. It’s a great place to be.
People think ”networking” is going out drinking with new people. It’s not. It’s consistently showing up and finding opportunities to move your team and the project forward in a friendly, collaborative way.