Voice of the DBA

Tag: work

  • Carrots and Sticks

    Often,  we work on projects that might span a significant amount of time. Weeks, months, even years can be devoted to working on one system, or the same system. We may find that our motivation rises and wanes at different times. We get excited and motivated to get things done, and also become discouraged or distracted when challenges arise. Not all of us, or not all the time, but it is hard to maintain a high level of productivity and motivation over time.

    For managers, it can be a challenge to keep a team moving over time and focused on achieving goals. Life gets in the way, people take vacations, staff changes, and other things are all issues that can distract a team. Keeping a team focused and productive can be a challenge for many managers. Perhaps especially challenging when someone hasn’t received enough training on how to manage and motivate others.

    As tech workers, we could be motivated in a few ways. Perhaps there are goals, achievements, or rewards that spur us on to work harder. There could also be penalties or consequences if we don’t get enough done. There is always the threat of termination, but in practice, I see this as a last resort. More likely are subtle punishments such as boring assignments, more on-call work, or perhaps difficulties in getting vacation approved.

    As a worker, do you want more carrots or sticks? Is the possibility of a reward or the threat of punishment a bigger motivator?

    I’d like to say that carrots motivate me more, but as I think about it, I’m not sure. The carrot has to be significant to get me to change how I work. I think the stick also has to be fairly severe to force a change, but I think I’m often more motivated by the negative side of things than the positive. I’m sure that’s somehow from my childhood, but if I’m honest with myself, that’s what gets me moving more quickly. Though if there is too much of a stick, I’m quick to look elsewhere.

    What about you? Carrots or sticks?

    Steve Jones

    Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Spotify, or iTunes.

    Note, podcasts are only available for a limited time online.

  • The Return to the Office Debate

    At the end of last year, I ran into a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time. We were chatting and this person mentioned that they were looking for a new job. They had been laid off and needed something. This is someone with a lot of experience and skill, so I wasn’t worried for their career or future. At the time, they mentioned they had gotten an introduction and interest from Amazon, but they weren’t interested in a position because of the return-to-the-office (RTO) mandate that Amazon was implementing.

    I was recently chatting with another friend at a different company. This person manages a tech team, and was looking to hire another data engineer, but was told they could only hire in a certain city (City A)  in the US. In this case, it was the city with their main office. They have offices in a few cities, and a large one in City B, but the organization has been thinking of their own RTO plans and has limited hiring. My friend is now wondering if they need to consider moving to City A (not likely) or find a new job. They don’t want to have to go to the office every day in City B.

    Over the last five years, we went through a pandemic where many people moved to remote work. As we’ve come out of that ordeal, lots of organizations have questioned how to structure their workforce moving forward. Some want to have their staff in the office, some want to remain remote, and there are lots of reasons behind each approach. There is evidence that people can be productive remotely, and there is evidence that groups can be productive when they are co-located together. Inside most companies, there are wide-ranging opinions and desires on office work, from both management and workers, and there is no consensus on what works best.

    Tech professionals certainly can work remotely. They can also see benefits from being in the same office. The efficiency of their work habits can vary depending on the day and situation, so it’s not easy to decide how remote or how in-person someone should be, even week to week. It might depend on the job and tasks. I enjoy my commute down the stairs each day, but I also find the office invigorating. I like going to the office, and I think I’d go every day if my job required it. I’d get less done for the company each week, but I’d do it.

    How do you feel about remote work vs in office work vs hybrid? Do you have mandates? Would you look for another job? These are questions I see many people asking themselves these days as executives start to make new rules about their workforce. I don’t know there’s any good answer, but I am curious what many of you think. Leave a comment in the discussion below.

    Steve Jones

    Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Spotify, or iTunes.

    Note, podcasts are only available for a limited time online.

  • Back in the UK

    I flew overnight and am in the UK this week. It’s a time for me to get into the office and get some facetime with various other Redgaters while I’m over. I usually go a couple of times a year to the office and spend time with co-workers, which I find valuable to build bonds and relationships.

    I was chatting with a friend recently who is remote. Most of his data team is remote, but there is a main office in another city. They are debating Return-To-Office guidelines, and they’ve required any new hires to be in the other city.

    That’s a concern to this person, and others. Should he consider moving or look for a new job? Is there a lack of growth in this position if RTO becomes mandated. In this case, this person would rather have a remote team that gets together once a year.

    Interesting idea, and I’ve seen this in the past when different positions when there were remote teams. It can be expensive, but it can be an investment. I’ll need to think about this and maybe write a piece.

    Not much blogging this week, as it’s been a busy time, so I’ll be back next Monday with a set of more regular posts.

  • Part-Time DBAs

    Some of you reading this are database administrators (DBAs) who manage systems as their full-time job. Others of you might be developers, analytics people, or someone else who has another job, but you get stuck with managing the database somehow. I’ve seen a receptionist and a dental hygienist act in this role. We may call you the accidental DBAs, though that doesn’t imply you are good or bad at managing databases. I got into this line of work as an accidental DBA who was also a developer.

    No matter what your job title, my guess is that you aren’t over-staffed at your organization. Likely you wish you had one (or more) more person to help keep up with the work. It seems that we never have enough time to get everything done in a week. And that’s with a full staff. What do you do when someone is sick or goes on vacation? If you’re like me, you get further behind and feel extra stress while your coworker is out of the office.

    There is another way, and I thought this piece had a great title: Having a Part-time Database Administrator Can Help Improve your Bottom Line. It’s from DCAC, a consulting company that provides remote DBA services. There are other companies like this, such as Procure SQL, Straight Path Solutions, Dallas DBAs, and more. All of these companies are available to help augment or relieve pressure on your staff.

    The piece makes a good argument that often your staff is busy and might not have some of the specialized training or advanced skills that might help solve complex performance issues, architect HA solutions, perform cloud migrations, and more. For many companies, it can be hard to acquire these types of skills, and even if you have a plan, it can be expensive. What if your expert is out of town when you need them. What if you train them and they leave? I believe in training people, but I also know that you have to be able to augment your staff at times.

    Using trusted partners to help you improve parts of your business is something companies do in many ways. We might employ a handyman, but would still hire an outside plumber for some work, especially if it is a large job. Why not do the same thing with your technical staff?

    These companies might seem expensive when you look at their rates, but using them part-time, in strategic places, can often help your bottom line.

    Steve Jones

    Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Spotify, or iTunes.

    Note, podcasts are only available for a limited time online.