Eighty-Twenty, Best-Angry

From time to time, I've come across a reference to the "80-20 rule". What is it? Simply that, as a gross generality, 80% of the work in a given situation is actually performed by about 20% of the people involved. The question is, how true is this statement?

I'll be the first to admit that I've been in situations where there was a lot of work to be done and there were also a lot of slackers who didn't want to work hard to accomplish it. Then I, along with a small number of fellow hard-workers, would get the job done. And it would make me angry, because those in charge would never seem to punish those who wouldn't contribute their fair share of the work. I've discovered that this injustice is much more prevalent in loose, informally-run work situations. I have also worked in a highly-structured work environment, where each worker was assigned specific tasks that they were individually held accountable for accomplishing. In these situations, the 80-20 rule fell apart, and there was more of an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual respect among the employees. So, you may have correctly guessed that I prefer to work in such a highly organized work setting.

Besides the 80-20 rule, there is another rule that I have noticed by myself, and hence I don't have any spiffy sort of name for it. I'll just call it the "best-angry" rule. You see, on the other extreme of the spectrum from the lazy employee is the diligent, perfectionist worker whose personal impulse in the workplace is to be absolutely the best worker of all there. If it just stopped there, then that would be O.K. with me. But all too often, such a worker will then turn around and angrily express contempt for other workers not living up to this worker's exceptionally high self-imposed standards. Which pretty much comprises almost everyone in the work force! I appreciate hard-working colleagues, but they sometimes need to practice a little professional detachment in regard to judging others.

The "80-20" and "best-angry" rules permeate all places that I have worked for any amount of time. But the less structured the job assignments are, the more pronounced their negative effects are as well. Those in managerial positions would be well-advised to recognize these two pitfalls and to take care that they don't take too strong of a hold in the workplace.