Voice of the DBA

Tag: work

  • Whiling away an afternoon, thinking

    I come to Heathrow often. Today is likely somewhere close to 60 trips to this airport in my lifetime. After over 19 years of working with Redgate (plus a trip in college), this is the airport I’ve visited most outside of Denver (my home).

    This is the view outside my hotel window. You can see an A320 (or a Boeing 737) taking off. This is a good sized plane I fly all over the US. It is about 35 meters (100ft) wide and carries 150-180 people.

    As it took off beside the A380 pulling into the terminal, it looked like a toy plane. Those things are massive.

    20260317_151547

    I’ve stayed here a few times after landing to try and get some work done, and to check in early to take a nap. I landed at 10am after flying all night, and I could use some rest. Rather than heading into London and getting stuck sitting in a restaurant waiting to check in, I booked a room here. Already had a nap and ready to work.

    Thinking Time

    This is good thinking time, which is sometimes rare to get. Years ago on one of our multi-times-a-week SQL Server Central calls, Andy told me that he needed time to think about his work as a DBA and manager of others. Time to just consider how things are going, why things are going well or not, and which direction to go.

    Time just thinking about a topic.

    It has stuck with me all these years that time to just think is important, and it helps me clarify how I view things.

    It’s often how I get editorials written. Turning vague ideas into something concrete. I’ll look at a note I’ve made or re-read something and think about it. When inspiration strikes, I’ll start writing.

    Today I was thinking, watching planes take off when I realized I hadn’t seen a plane in awhile. Normally they take off around every 45s at LHR. Then I saw this little vehicle doing down the runway, something I’ve never seem.

    20260317_151301

    I watched for a few minutes and realized there was another one coming the other way. They met in the middle and circled a few times before leaving the runway.

    20260317_151335

    I’m sure this is some FOD (Foreign Object Detection) process looking for pieces that might have fallen off planes (yikes) or vehicles, or somewhere. A pilot friend said that this is something that is done in the military, sometimes by grunts walking the runway looking for something that might get pulled into a jet engine.

    In any case, it was something new and unusual and inspired me.

    I don’t know that everyone needs thinking time, but if you manage or lead or are trying to develop strategy, I do believe you need some quiet thinking time when you’re not really getting anything done, but just thinking about work.

    Glad that I took the time today and grateful to have the opportunity.

    Now back to writing about AI and other things impacting the data professional.


  • 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.